New to this forum. I have always been a go fast kind of guy but will turn 70 this year and the old carcass is getting worn out. Definitely having thoughts about slowing down and going to an OMB...Old Man Bike. I say this tongue in cheek, attempting to inject some humor.


I am currently riding a 2020 KTM 790 Duke and love that bike but my creaky old back is hating it. My Nephew has several bikes so I rode the Duke over to his house this morning and we launched out with Mark on the Yamaha T-700 and me on the 2016 KLR 650.


We did an 80 mile loop on a number of unimproved mountain roads. The Duke would have beat the stuffing out of me but the KLR gave me a pretty smooth ride and was a lot of fun even though the power was a bit uninspiring.


Swapping bikes about the half way point I found the Yammy to be a hoot with that gem of a motor and suspension in the high performance realm. Of course with the fancier suspension comes the associated rougher ride which I am wanting to get away from. After about 10 miles we swapped back on the bikes.


The longer I rode the KLR the more I liked it. I was amazed at how comfortable it was to ride with it's totally relaxed riding position and my back loved the big soft seat and the much more plush rear suspension. I am having serious thoughts about springing for a clean lower mileage OMB aka KLR 650 in the near future.


Cheers.