America's Clean Air Act has regulated certain out of the box dirt bikes to specific "riding" seasons. Most off-road bikes are issued a red sticker limiting the months a rider can use his/her bike, seeing as most motorcycles are gross polluters. The response to this, and the accessibility to trail networks, has resulted in an explosion in popularity of dual-sport riding. The problem is, converting a "dirt bike" to "dual sport status" is a pain (especially in California) and often impossible. As a result, bike manufacturers have been slow to make out of the box alternatives that perform as well as race bikes. I was reminded of the disconnect between the options available to the rest of world vs. America when I spotted this Honda Africa Twin in Melbourne.
2 comments:
dude, we saw this bike in melbourne :-)
Hey! Thats my bike. I bought it about five years ago after spotting it in the back of a city bike shop. Originally, it lived its life in Japan before being exported into Australia. I had to complete an engineers report before being able to register it here. Not long after, I took it on its first real trip. Melb to Darwin (around trip of 10k klms) and since has taken me lots and lots of places. I just love it.
Post a Comment