Welcome to Road and Trail. My name is Randy, and I created this website to share my experiences with, knowledge of, and perspectives on, motorcycles and motorcycling. I chose the name "Road and Trail" to reflect that the website focusses on both road and trail riding from a recreational point of view (laidback and fun). Mainly I created this website because of my long interest in motorcycles and for something to do. I'll create new content as I am able to do so (I'm considering creating some video content).

Currently there are three main types of content on this website consisting of BC motorcycle rides, motorcycle reviews and motorcycle servicing, but there's also some additional content.

The BC motorcycle rides that are documented include paved (mostly) roads, dual sport / adventure and trail (dirt, off-road). There is some overlap in these ride types. For example, the dual sport / adventure rides may contain sections of pavement as well as sections that are suitable for dirt bikes. The paved road rides are predominately pavement, but some may contain short sections of good gravel road. Consider all the information when deciding if the ride is suitable for you and your bike. Often you can choose to ride just a portion of the route. I don't consider all off-pavement riding the same as offroad riding.

Although the rides that are documented on this site are all in the southern interior of British Columbia, I have ridden in other parts of BC as well as in Alberta and in a few of the north-western US states.

The bike reviews are mostly of bikes that I, or family members, own or have owned, but a few are of bikes that I have only test ridden. I make the distinction in the review.

This website replaces another motorcycle website that I created and ran for a number of years: Motor Sport Rider (motorsportrider.net). I've shut down that website; requests for that website will be redirected here.

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Now, a little bit about me...

I started riding over 40 years ago. I'm a recreational rider. I ride solo quite a bit, exploring backroads, forest service roads and trails. I also enjoy riding the twisty, scenic secondary highways. I usually try to avoid the main highways. I've done a number of multi-day motorcycle trips. I also ride with family members frequently. In the past, I would often commute by motorcycle, but these days I don't ride in the city much except to get out of it.

I have owned many motorcycles over the years including dirt bikes (ex. MR175, XR200, XR200R, CRF250F), dual sport (ex. DR350S, KLX250S, DR650SE) and street (ex. 550 Seca, NT650, VFR750, V-Strom 650, ...). I (and my family) have owned others, and I have ridden many more. My current bikes are a 2010 Suzuki DR650SE and a 2022 Honda CRF250F, though I ride a DR200SE quite a bit and sometimes a CBR250RA.

I hope to buy a Honda CRF300L this year (2023), but I'm not willing to pay inflated dealer fees (additional markup). I seriously considered the Kawasaki KLX300 as well, but I've already owned a KLX250S, and the KLX300 is pretty much the same bike but with EFI and a bit more power. By all accounts, the KLX300 has better suspension, but I think the CRF300L will suit me better overall. I'm also quite interested in the new Honda Transalp 750, but I haven't heard if the bike will be coming to Canada or not. I've also been looking into the 2022-2023 Honda CB500X.

I perform most of the maintenance and minor repairs on my (and my family member's) motorcycles, and I have done so for many years. There's a certain satisfaction in doing the work yourself, and you can save yourself quite a bit of money. A lot of the maintenance tasks are not difficult. My advice is to get the factory service manual for your motorcycle and get some decent tools, including an accurate torque wrench(s) if don't already have some. Other than taking shop classes in high school, I have no formal training in servicing vehicles. My knowledge comes mostly from experience and reading service manuals, although I've searched for and found some good information online (you have to be critical of what you see on the Internet, though).

That's it for now.

Have fun and ride safe,
Road and Trail

Green Mountain Road near Penticton, BC