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Those first scratches always cut the deepest! A well used adventure bike is like a pair of the old cotton fatigues we wore in the Old Army. You had to break 'em in and then they took starch better. They seem to wear forever. Those scratches are battle scars.

This is a great topic, that I think deserves a bump 👍 The short answer for me is, EVOLUTION - I've been riding on the street for 20 years. I grew up camping, hunting & fishing, and loving the outdoors in general. My early motorcylces took me a lot of cool places but never very far off the pavement. Here's just a couple examples: To combine my two passions, I needed a bike that could carry my camping gear, Enter the V-strom. A fantastic bike on the road and plenty of room for all my junk. In my never ending desire to see what is around the next corner, the trails got "tuffer and ruffer" She served me well for many years, but I had pushed the strom to and past her limits. I debated a lot of smaller dual sports, but they always left me wanting on the tarmac sections. I had drooled over the big KTM's and BMW's for years, but they were always out of my modest budget. Then the 1190's showed up on dealer floors and lots of 950/990 owners put there machines on the block to move up. I scored a deal on a 2005.5 950ADV with S spec suspension and the rest is history. For me the 950 is the best combo of hwy comfort and off road prowess. AND IT HAULS ASS, Love it -

Update: good intro video on what this whole topic is about This is a great question that comes up time and time again. I think the first company I heard about avoiding was Camelbak due to their funding groups who want to shut down riding areas. I'm not an adv-fascist and you are certainly free to do whatever you want with your money. These companies are the problem, not you. I'm not going to try and shame anyone. This is simply for you to make an informed decision. On the one hand we have rabid OHV activists who are ever vigilant in protecting and preserving our off road areas and I applaud that. On the other are the die hard green environmentalists who pretty much want to shut down everything to access via anything that isn't "human-powered." In the middle you have those who say we have to work together to share outdoor spaces and support the outdoor industry. I'll let you decide where you are and leave it at that. I will try to keep this list up to date so follow along so as not to miss any updates. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3 Source 4 (most current) Source 5 Source 6 3Point5 4 Corners Riversports Adidas Outdoor ADS Ventures Adventure Bound RiverExpeditions AdventureCorps, Inc. Adventure Journal Adventure Photo & Film Adventure Travel Trade Association Ahnu footwear All About Rivers, LLC Aloft Group, Inc Alpert-Tebrich & Associates Alpine Sports Altrec.com American Alpine Club/Institute American Alpine Institute American RecreationProducts American Sports Group, Inc. Arc'teryx ARTA River Trips Asana Climbing ASK Associates Aspen Skiing Company Atlas Snow-shoe Babbitt's Backcountry Outfitters Backbone Media LLC Backcountry Gear Backpacker Magazine Backpacker's Pantry, Inc. Backwoods Retail Belinda Sanda Sales Bellwether, Inc. Ben Moon - Moonhouse Bergans USA, LLC Bergans of Norway Bernzott Capital Advisors Bidland.com Big Agnes Black Diamond Equipment Blackshrimp Blue Magazine Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine Bluesign Technologies Boco Gear Briggs & Riley Travelware Bronwen Jewelry Brook Hoopper Consulting Brooks Sports Broudy/Donohue Photography Bryce Valley KOAKampground Burlington Industries Burton Snowboards Burt's Bees CamelBak Products Cairn Campmor, Inc. Canada Goose Candian River Expeditions & Nahanni River Adventures Carmichael, Lynch, Spong Public Relations Cascade Designs Cascade Financial Strategies CGPR Public Relations Chaco Sandals Clear Water Outdoor, LLC Chalk Bag Specialist Christoph & Company Clif Bar Climbing Magazine Columbia Sportswear Co. Consoltex Inc. Creative Energies Dansco Darn Tough Vermont Deer Hill Expeditions Desert Bistro Desert Rock Sports Dick's Sporting Goods Dong-in Entech Dry Creek Enterprises Eagle Creek Travel Gear Eagles Nest Outfitters, Inc Eastern Mountain Sports Ecco Eco-Heaven LLC Eco-x Sports Inc Eddie Bauer Egan & Associates LLC Edgeworks Elemental Herbs Elevation Outdoors Magazine Equip Everest Textile, Ltd Excalibur Distribution/DMM Inc. Exped Far Bank Enterprises Far Out Expeditions Farm to Feet Fathom Expeditions Fendler Communications Filson Fishpond Inc. Flamand Sports Footloose Communications FootZone of Bend Free Heel and Wheel Frontier Group, Inc Garmont North America GoalZero GoLite GoPro Grabber Performance Group/Grabber Inc Graham Spencer Grand Union Trading Co., Ltd. Granite Gear Grassroots Outdoor Alliance Great Plains Mountain Stuff Greenspace Gregory Mountain Products GSI Outdoors GTHI GU Energy Labs Guyot Designs Headsweats Healthbarn USA High and Wild Highgear USA Hi-Tec Hipcamp Horny Toad Activewear HotWax Media HOWADesign HydroFlask Ibex Outdoor Clothing Icebreaker Idaho River Adventures Imlay Canyon Gear Indigitous Injinji, Inc Innate International MountainEquipment International Mountain Guides IPA Connect JAM Media Collective Jansport Jetboil, Incorporated Jimmy Chin Photography Johnson Camping/JWA Juniper Ridge, LLC Justin Bailey Photography Keen Kelty Pack, Inc. Kiitella, Inc Kennan Ward Photography Kirwin Communications Klean Kanteen Kling Mountain Guides Kokatat La Sportiva Leatherman Tool Group Logan Outdoor Products/Camp Chef Loki Outerwear Lotus Design Lowe Alpine Systems LowePro Camera Bags Malden Mills Industries, Inc. Mammoth MountaineeringSupply Mammut Sports Group Marmot Mountain, LLC MercuryCSC Merrell Midwest Mountaineering Montrail Moonstone Mountain Equipment Co-op Mountain Gear Mountain Hardwear Mountain Lake Marketing Mountain Safety Research (MSR) Mountain Tools Mountain Waters Rafting and Adventure Co. Nahanni River Adventures National Geographic Maps NAU Nemo Equipment Company Neptune Mountaineering Nester Hosiery, Inc New Balance Athletic Shoe New Belgium Brewing Company New Normal Consulting Nichols Expeditions Nike, Inc. Nikwax Waterproofing Nite Ize, Inc North Drinkware Northwest Rafting Co Noto Group Nuu Muu NRS Oboz Olukai Oceanmedix.com, LLC Onya Baby Open Sky WildernessTherapy Osprey Packs Outdoor Gear Exchange/Gearx.com Outdoor Industry Association Outdoor Retailer Outdoor Specialty Group, LLC Outdoor Research Outdoor Sports Marketing Outdoor Utah AdventureGuide Outdoorindustryjobs.com Outpac Designs, Inc Outside Adventure FilmSchool Outside Magazine Pachner & Associates Pack and Paddle Pack Rat Outdoor Center Pale Morning Media, Inc Patagonia, Inc. Peak Design/Sports Pearl Izumi Penguin Brands Perception, Inc. Performance Bikes Perpetual Motion NW Peter McBride Productions Petzl Foundation Phoenix Creative Picky Bars Pine NeedleMountaineering Pinnacle Outdoor Group Planet Outdoors Point6 Polartec prAna Press Forward PR PrimaLoft Quality Bicycle Products Quick Feat International Rabbit Mountain Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) Red Desert Adventures Rennie Publications, Inc. Revolution House Media Rising Tide Associates River Magazine River Runner Outdoor River Sports Outfitters Riverside Design RLP Wealth Advisors RLX Polo Sport Roots Rated Royal Robbins Ruff Wear Inc Runner Girl Races LLC Saloman Sanitas Sales Group Saucony SAXX Underwear Scarpa North America Schoeller Textil USA Sea to Summit Seaview Outfitters Self-Propelled Outdoorsman Shift Advantage Sierra Designs Sierra Nevada Brewing Slingfin SmartWool Corporation Smith Optics, Inc SNEWS SNOCRU SOAR Communications Sorel Sorensen's Resort Spiker Communications Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association Stanley, a brand of PMI Stio STM Bags Stohlquist WaterWare Stonewear Designs Sullivan-Bishop Agency Superfeet Teva The Access Fund The Base Camp The Conservation Alliance The Family Outing The Forest Group The Mountain Lab The North Face The Timberland Company The Whiting Group Thompson Manufacturing Inc. Thor-Lo Sock Company Thule Timex Toad&Co Trails Illustrated Treasure Mountain Inn Tributary Whitewater Tours Trio Restaurant Group Ultralight AdventureEquipment Under Solen Media Unicorn Recreation Products Ursack Ute Mountaineer Vapur Vasque Velocio Apparel Venture Snowboards Verde PR and Consulting Veterans Expeditions Vibram USA Virasana Productions Vishnu Temple Press W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. Wasatch Touring Waypoint Outdoor White Horse ResidentialHomes Whitewater West Wild Iris Mountain Sports Wild Places, Inc Wilderness Press Wildland Trekking Co Wilson’s Eastside Sports With Gaia Design Woods Wheatcroft Photography Wyoming Woolens Yakima Yeti Coolers Yonder Young One Zappos Zephyr Adventures Zumiez, Inc

May 13 day 15 Two days ago... May 11 day 13 I packed up my camp at slick rock campground in Moab, said goodbye to the new friends I had made, and headed towards four corners. The ride there was beautiful (191 to 262 to 162/41 to 160) and uneventful but I personally found four corners itself so boring there I forgot to take out my camera. I walked around the monument and was about to get on my bike and head towards Mexican Hat when I met two friends in a jeep out on a road trip from Kansas City. Nick and Hayden are videographers and youtubers who film mostly with drones and GoPros. I told them where I was headed and they decided to follow me for some footage and of course I agreed because who could turn down drone footage of yourself riding in the middle of your adventure!? We ended up making camp about 20 miles outside Mexican Hat at the Sand Island BLM Campground, and I am glad we did. What an incredible place to make camp. 15 per site per night and the place was crawling with reptiles and rock formations and petroglyphs all within a 1/4 mile of any site. Nick, Hayden and myself made camp there and took some drone footage of me riding around the dirt track behind the campground. As well as some incredible aerial shots of the vibrant green San Juan River valley surrounded by desert. Once the stars came out we pulled out my dslr and tripod to see if we couldn't get some shots of the night sky. --------------------- May 12 Day 14 We decided to head towards Zion in the morning, and make camp somewhere to charge up all our camera go pro and drone batteries. We ended up at the hurricane KOA and it was pretty good. The ride there. found Monument Valley to be the best part of the ride and a very moving and borderline spiritual place. I would recommend that ride to anyone who's got the time for sure.(163 to 160 to 98 to 89 across the southern edge of lake Powell to 389 to 59 to 15 into hurricane KOA). We made camp, got to shower and charge all our gear, enjoy some ice cream and access to a nearby Walmart to restock on random items and get ready to go into Zion in the morning. We also stopped by this really cool lake a mile from be KOA. ------------ May 13 Day 15 This morning Hayden, Nick and myself headed for Zion early hoping to beat the rush for the gate and things went awry as soon as we got into virgin. GoPro problems had me pulling over to sort it out which got us separated and screwed up the footage of them following me. Then miles long lines traffic and 90 degree sun had me turning around so quick and headed for a less populated area. Nick and Hayden had decided to stay and push on through the crawling line of tourist driven cars. I am glad to have camped with them but it's much easier to travel solo. I stopped at a gas station and whipped out my butler map of Arizona and decided to head for north rim. I stopped at Jacob lake inn for a top shelf bacon cheeseburger don the way where I saw a ton of bikes, Harley's KTMs and old Honda VFRs and a lot more I forget. While talking to some other bikers it turned out North Rim is closed until Sunday so tonight I made a free dispersed camp inside Kaibab forest. It's a beautiful and very private spot to set up camp. And I found a new piece of jewelry for Furiosa Looking at my map I'm pretty sure tomorrow I'll head for the south rim of the Grand Canyon stop to check it out then turn south again towards Prescott and make camp somewhere around there . Right now it's dinner of ramen, canned peaches and pistachios; a little bit of journal time, then sleep. Thanks for reading Follow my tracks here http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0vOdQ17Gkzl75o9nCrbjzbmjyUZI7hDtx

Hey Ruppbike, white rim was pretty epic but at a couple points I was really wishing I had a buddy with me and an unloaded bike. The 700 can do it no problem though just make sure you've got a solid bash plate on there. I'm riding on hidenau K60 scouts and they look to me as if they might have about 2k miles left on them and they've got probably 6.5 now. I really like this tire a lot. Thanks for reading!

Good thread. Many of these fascists are even against the mountain bikers, claiming that ANY wheeled recreation is "wrong". They portray themselves as intellectuals and critical thinkers. They are neither. They are simply selfish. I believe I read the gear manufacturer Black Diamond is very anti-ORV.

It was the best camp site of the trip so far still. I can't even say how quickly I made my tent so I could just sit around watching the sun change on the canyon walls while listening to the green river. That's so cool you stayed at the same site, and during the gs trophy no less! That must have been seriously epic! And yes I defiantly had a bit of an adventure. There used to be a small tool box there which houses my spare hardware and such for the bike. Those are both from a pretty good crash from deep sand and I bashed a huge rock with the front tire dinged the rim and could here it seeping air and bashed it back into place, and it's been holding fine since. It's hard to see on the panniers but there smashed in pretty good and neither are waterproof anymore. I've got to try and bang them out with something at some point. I'm in northern Kaibab today and tonight where I've got good cell service at a sweet free dispersed camping site. I'm planning out the next couple days and going to catch up on here with everything tonight.

Thank you for this list! It will come in handy.

Wouldn't want your "long way home" to become a "long way down!"

Hey folks! This is going to be fun, and for me it's even more fun because this area has been my summer stomping grounds since I was a toddler. As Eric mentioned, I'll be leading a very easy ride through the old mining districts. Lots of photo ops and historic stuff. Some shady stories, too... This loop does include Dunderberg Pass. However, the first section (Jordan Basin to Copper Mountain) can easily be skipped if nobody wants that kind of challenge. There is an easier way up to Copper Mountain, or we can just skip it altogether and go straight to Dunderberg from the Virginia Lakes road. I understand some riders had a tough time with the tricky section last year, and that's probably my fault for not explaining it better. Those are some tight, rocky switchbacks. Sorry to anyone who ended up on that section and was cursing my name... But it is worth it to go into that area. If the tough climb is out, we can go in from the other side, which is much easier. It depends on how long we want to be out riding (and what time we start). Cutting out this section can save us a big chunk of time. The rest of the route is easy, with an occasional moderate section. By moderate, I mean still relatively flat, but it might have a few rocks here and there, or a patch of sand. Not a long slog through a sand wash...just a sandy patch of road. This route will bring us into Bodie the back way. If we want to poke around Bodie and take pics, we may want to get an early start on this loop so we have plenty of time. Before Bodie, there are other places we'll be stopping for pics as well (Chemung Mine, Masonic, etc.) and a short little side trip to a cute little pond in the Dunderberg area if anyone is interested. This option has a bit of a challenge in that we might have to ride in a creekbed for 60-70 yards if the creek has washed over the trail. It's a beautiful spot, great for pics but not much else. This time of year, there will be little or no bugs. After Bodie, we'll come out Cottonwood Canyon to Hwy167 for a short distance, then off road again towards the banks of Mono Lake to DeChambeau Ranch. This place is set up like a museum. It served all of the mining communities back in the day with meat, produce, feed, lumber, etc. If we've kept up a decent pace to this point and have an hour or two left over, we can make the run up to Log Cabin Mine before heading back to camp. But I expect we'll already be running a bit late due to stops. But who knows? Best advice would be to get rolling early on this loop. That way we can decide on any or all options and still make it back before dark. Bring a camera...the photo ops will be amazing. Especially in the Conway Summit/Dunderberg/Green Creeks areas. Looking forward to this.

I've been riding single track for over 35 years now. My dad introduce me to it, growing up in Portland Oregon. And, I had an amazing time doing it! I'm now 45 years young and maybe a few years back, I somehow contracted the adventure riding bug. Now, I'll admit, my dreams of packing up with my best riding buddy and riding around the globe over the course of a year probably won't happen. Time, money, work, family.... You know the story. After many years of rippin' it up in the woods, desert, etc., I found myself riding less. I sort of felt guilty about it too. Sometimes it was because riding buddies had moved on or couldn't go. Sometimes I just had too many irons in the fire with work and family stuff. But, sometimes I just didn't have the burning desire to load all my stuff up and drive. I was attracted to the idea of gearing up at home, starting my riding from the driveway and getting lost, even if it was for a just few hours in the morning before the family was up for the day. I tried to sell my 2008 KTM 450 XCR-W a few times, but I could never bring myself to hit the "publish" button on the ad. I loved that bike! But, last summer, when Las Vegas was hotter than hell, I managed to get her listed and within a couple of days, I watched her pull away in the back of another man's truck. And, it didn't take long before I wondered what the heck I just did. Later that year, I ended up selling my house, landing in Tampa Florida. There just isn't the off-road opportunity here like there is out west (very little public land) and I began to really feel disconnected from the sport. And, that was a good thing. I was craving riding again! I decided that going the adventure bike route was my next, new path, so I began to research what might be my new skoot. Now, if you think dirt bikes are expensive, dive into the ADV pool! I really wanted a late model KTM 990 Adventure, but they are almost non-existent in my neck of the woods and I couldn't stomach plunking down 15k+ at the KTM dealer for a new machine. I finally found the right KTM Adventure just outside of Houston Texas. I called the guy and pointed out that he must be a ThumperTalk fan because of the TT sticker on the bike's skid plate. We talked, the bike sounded perfect, so I had my long time buddy and site moderator (Mike Berg) who happens to live about 45 minutes away arrange for a time in the morning to have a look. So, I was pretty excited that night about the prospect of a KTM ADV in my garage. But, as luck would have it, the guy sold it the next morning. I was a little ticked that he didn't bother to call me to give me the 1st right to buy or go away, but it was what it was. Back to the search. I was also looking at the BMW F800GS and the new Triumph Tiger 800XC. I found a few BMW's that I liked, but I had a hard time with the price. Most of these guys wanted a couple of grand less than the original MSRP of the bike with 20-30k on the clock. I know they are good bikes, but who's paying that for a well used bike? Maybe some, but not me. I tried to be patient, waiting for the right deal to come along. Eventually, an ad popped up for a 2013 Triumph Tiger 800XC in a little town outside Chattanooga Tennessee called Soddy Daisy. Soddy Daisy? I know that place! My buddies that invented/own KnobbyKnife live there! Now, my relationship with Mark and Jennifer, the owners @ KnobbyKnife had only been by phone and email, but none-the-less, people that I felt that I could trust. So, I reached out to Jennifer, she said that she'd talk to her husband and Mark was more than happy to go check out the Triumph for me. :worthy: Why was I willing to drive almost 10 hours to look at this bike? It had 950 miles on the clock, the owner described it as "new" and the price rather good. Interestingly enough, when I told Mark @ KnobbyKnife the owner's name, he said that he went to grade school with the guy and they've both lived in the same, small town for almost 40 years! Mark made the less than 4 mile drive to the seller's house and gave the bike a good rip for me. When I talked to him, he said, "I'm jealous!" Mark is a heck of a good rider and after only a short time on the bike, he said that he could see an ADV bike in his future (he rides dirt and supermoto). So, my confidence level was brimmin' about the path that I was going down. As you might have guessed, I came to a deal with the seller, Mark picked up the bike for me and waited for me to make arrangements to drive up to get it. I have to mention, I love Mark and Jennifer (and family)! They are such good, honest people. Mark stored my bike in his dad's climate controlled basement, so that absolutely nothing happened to it. I think he might have washed and waxed it for me a few times before I got there too. Thanks Mark & Jen! I owe you guys! The way that this was all turning out, it is exactly what adventure riding is all about; exploring your world and seeing what happens along the way. Now I was set to meet some great people face-to-face and when my wife heard that we needed to head up to Chattanooga, she was excited because she wanted to checkout Nashville for the first time. Nashville? Wait? Doesn't the founder of ThumperTalk live there? Yep! Bryan Hulse, the founder of TT calls Nashville home! I was living in Portland Oregon when I took over TT from Bryan and he was living in Denver. Some years later, I ended up moving to Denver and I missed him (he moved to Nashville). I ping'd Bryan through Facebook and we set-up a date/time to have some lunch. I was excited to meet the guy that started it all! Bryan is very tall, super funny, a hell of a smart guy, spells him name the right way, and isn't riding because his Ducati needs parts. Bryan, fix than thing dude! Interesting factoid: the founder of TT is named Bryan and the current partners in TT are Bryan Bosch (me) and Brian Wilson. I also had a chance to explore Nashville. My wife and I left the kids at the hotel and we picked a hopin' country/western bar on famous Broadway Street. There were three older guys playing acoustic guitars and singing; they were pretty awesome. Broadway Street was a lot of fun, the people are very nice and there are plenty of "interesting" characters. Of course, lots of neon and beer. A highlight for me was our visit to Andrew Jackson's Hermitage. Being from the west, it's interesting to get up/close/personal with the early history of my country. Kind of weird to think that I stood in the same place that Jackson did, looking out over his plantation from the same window. After we left Nashville, we headed down to Chattanooga to meet up with Mark and Jennifer for dinner. Again, talk about the nicest people. The least that I could have done was buy them all dinner for the time, effort and care in helping me line-up and store the Triumph. We all enjoyed our time getting to know one another and I'm proud to call them friends. The next morning (Easter) we drove up to Mark and Jennifer's place, as we were heading back to Tampa that day. This was the first time seeing the Tiger. It was as new looking as Mark had described, but man, it looked huge! Having ridden light weight, single cylinder dirt bikes my entire life, I was excited, but at the same time, wondering if I'd get used to the size & weight of this bike. I brought my Sarge Industries rail carrier that is rated for 500lbs, but I could tell by Mark's face that he was thinking, "You're putting the bike on THAT?" At 473lbs. ready to ride (all fluids, including fuel), I knew that I was under max weight for the carrier, but when you have a nice, somewhat expensive bike to haul 570 miles, you still think about "What if this thing lets go?" But, I was there, that's what I chose to haul it with, so no turning back now! For the first hour or two I drove pretty cautiously, but we had a long way to go, so I settled into highway speeds. Long story short, the bike arrived at home without a scratch the the carrier never missed a beat! So, I feel like before I even had a license plate on the bike, I had a great adventure that I won't forget. The bike is cool, but the highlight was putting faces with people that I've known for years and the time with my family. I'm currently on the injured list, healing up from having my distal bicep tendon reattached to my forearm bone. It's what happens when middle aged men try to play weekend badass warrior at mud runs. I SHOULD be back on the bike by end of month, but only for street duty. I'll take it!

Years ago, I started hunting on an XT350. The XT350 was my poor man's 4x4. I don't hunt anymore, but started riding again a few years ago. I was completely self taught and have been in some places completely in appropriate for a XT350 with DS tires.......anyway, longer trips, more gear, equals bigger bike, but I'm usually happy with 650cc. We'll see what the future brings.