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Hi from Oregon. Short novel enclosed... ?


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Hi all. I'm in the Portland, Oregon area and recently acquired myself a beautiful 1290 Super Adventure R.

I grew up in NY (upstate, Utica area) and loved minibikes, ATC and ATVs.  Rode yards,  pastures, woods and dare I say it ... snowmobile trails in my Carhart coveralls!  I did some hare scramble races on a Honda CR80 at 14-15 years old but at that age, I only cared about the "moto" section of each hare scramble track.  Lol. I guess the rest of the track was just me trail riding... moto was where I wanted to be, all young and full of pi$$ and vinegar. 

Worked summers on a golf course and saved up, along with my parents matching funds, stepped into the big-time and got a used 1988 CR250. I remember shaking after I rode that bike the first time (freshly off a 1987 CR80!) It might as well have been a 10,000cc. I was immediately hooked on  big boy displacement. 

Raced CNYMRA, Central NY MX series from 1989 thru 1992 in the 250 class. Won their 250/open Novice championship, (then moved to a 1991 KX250) won the 250B series the next season and then moved up and placed well in a small northeast 250 Expert class. I stopped racing to work full time and go to community college. I figured I wasn't going to get a factory ride or anything and with money tight, my knees and my back always hurt, I wanted a break. 

Worked a few jobs but wasn't all that fired up about any of them ... until an old friend offered me a job as a service writer at a Yamaha dealership in Lewisville, Texas (North Texas Yamaha, just north of DFW metro). Moved there around 1998/1999 thinking I could talk about motocross for a living! Lol. Turns out, there's a little more to working in the motorcycle business than just chatting about motocross!

Worked at several shops in the DFW area (mostly parts dept and parts manager) until 2005 when I got a gig as South/Central Sales & Marketing Territory guy for Scott USA & Acerbis. Finally - the job where I got to talk about dirtbikes and gear all day! ;) Logged a lot of miles On my Nissan Frontier over two years doing that. Covered states of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas and New Mexico. It was my dream job (pay plan aside). I cold called shops all day, demo'd new goggle builds, explained foam configurations and if I was lucky, gave a parts manager a free pair of "No Sweats" to try out. The job was all about dominating market share in my region, however that needed to happen. We didn't sell direct so any sales were handed over on a silver platter to the Scott or  Acerbis distributor rep of the dealer's choice... not a bad deal for them! I held many ride day events of my own and it really hit me then what a universal communication method riding with people was. Scott USA killed their rep program but I got a new gig immediately at Honda, as a DSM in the NW. After I accepted the job, I realized I'd have to trade in my Yamaha YZ450F and KTM 250XC for a red bike...

My Honda District Manager territory was in Oregon & Idaho, so I left Texas for here. Moved to Portland area in 2007 and been here ever since. Since Honda, I've done a couple other things including being a territory rep again for Scott USA (now Scott Sports), manager at Fly Racing, rep for National Powersports Auctions (NPA) and now have been at Cycle Trader for 3 years. 

Good news is that I love what I do, even after 20 years in nearly all aspects of the powersports business. Bad news is that I'm constantly looking at motorcycles and dreaming of the next! Lol.  

I'm married with kids and have a 2001 CR250 & XR50 that collect dust and recently picked up a 2017 KTM Super Adventure 1290 R to get back out riding. Short list of things I'm planning for it: skid plate, bigger pegs, upgraded bark busters,  KTM MYRIDE (?), bags,  ... etc, etc, etc... LOL

Really looking forward to getting it dirty this year.  Anyone in my neck of the woods (I'm in Washington County) feel free to hit me up and show me the cool ADV rides/spots! :D

Thanks for having me in the forum. Look forward to chatting with other ADV folk. 

Brian

 

 

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Well I must say that was one of the best intros I have read.  Sounds as though you have had a moto dreaming career for quite some time and that's fantastic.  I look forward to making it up to Portland again and meeting up.  Feel free to holler when you make it to Northern CA (Sonoma County) and we'll find some fun places to explore.

We do have a thread on IG but I'm not sure exactly where that is at the moment.  When I log into there I'll take a look at your pages as well.   Mine (my buddy and I) is @WeExplore2

 

Sam

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Brian,  Congrats on the new bike, my buddy just got the same one.  It is very quick!  He is still figuring out the electronics, it won't let him wheelie now.  Check out the Pacific North Wet section of ADVRider forums for local rides in your area.  There is some great riding all over, but Mt Hood is especially fun.

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55 minutes ago, PeteN95 said:

Hi Brian,  Congrats on the new bike, my buddy just got the same one.  It is very quick!  He is still figuring out the electronics, it won't let him wheelie now.  

Thanks Pete! Yeah there's plenty to learn - I've been a dirtbike guy and now it's like I'm piloting the space shuttle! LOL

Edited by Brian Croft
wrong word used
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Hello Brian! - Congrats on the 1290SAR, hope it brings you years of enjoyment! 

Interested to hear your impressions of this machine after youve racked up some all surfaces miles. 

I happen to live and ride on the southeast side of the ADK's near Lake George and enjoy the ADK's , Vermont ,New Hampshire , Finger Lakes etc. 

How do you find the riding in your area of Oregon? 

Welcome to the forum👍

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16 minutes ago, PeteMoto said:

Hello Brian! - Congrats on the 1290SAR, hope it brings you years of enjoyment! 

Interested to hear your impressions of this machine after youve racked up some all surfaces miles. 

I happen to live and ride on the southeast side of the ADK's near Lake George and enjoy the ADK's , Vermont ,New Hampshire , Finger Lakes etc. 

How do you find the riding in your area of Oregon? 

Welcome to the forum👍

Thank you for the welcome!

Good stuff! Having grown up in Utica area (actually Sauquoit, NY) I do miss that scenery for riding but I'm pretty certain the NW had a bit of an edge on it ... if for no other reason than the less frigid temps here vs NE! ?

I've been busy with work and haven't quite gotten as many rides on my bike as I'd like. I see that changing soon as the weather is about to get perfect here - so I'll definitely keep ya posted how it's working ... or maybe more like how it's working me! ?

After this summer, I should know exactly what I'm capable on it. ?

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