Good-bye, old Katoom. (Hello new Katoom!)

UPDATE: I made it back from Oakland (510 miles to San Diego) in 8 hours. Encountered some rain, wind, lightning and the infamous Hell A traffic. Piece of cake.

The bike rides beautifully and I really think I'm gonna like this one. Hey, maybe I'll keep it for more than 3 months this time!

Now, to get it in some dirt!

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Does this sound familiar?

Well, I’ve gone and done it. I’ve sold the KTM I just bought in December! After barely 3 months and 1,500 miles, I had to let her go...

Here's a quick update on the continuing saga of my quest to find and buy "the Perfect Dual Sport bike" if there is such a thing...

As you may know, I bought a 2004 KTM 950 ADV a couple months ago. Almost right away, I realized that the bike just wasn't for me. Among other things, it had too many miles (30k) and I preferred a newer bike with EFI vs carbs.

So I put two bikes up for sale -- my trusty KLR and the KTM -- to finance another bike: a newer KTM 990 Adventure; they both sold right away.

After having no luck finding a 990 for sale (Craigslist, ADV Rider and eBay), I went proactive and put up some want ads. That got me some decent offers but none were really close.

I missed out on a really good one locally. It was a beaut but had too many miles for what they were asking. So my options were narrowed to a 2007 in Seattle or a 2010 in Oakland. I made the seller in OakTown an offeron his loaded 990 and will pick it this Saturday (a fun fly and ride deal).

In the meantime, a friend met me in Carlsbad this past weekend and let me ride his 990 ADV. Wow, that's quite a bike! We talked bikes over coffee and then I took the big girl for a spin down PCH. If I was on the fence about that bike at all, that ride put any qualms to rest. It is a super nice bike and makes my weeklong wait to get my own that much worse!

I fly to Oakland Saturday morning and should be back in San Diego that evening after a 500 mile ride down the coast that is supposed to be a little wet (the weatherman is calling for heavy rains!). Great way to break in a new-to-me bike...

Here are some photos to compare the two bikes (outgoing gray 950 and new orange 990):



Will update everyone when I have the new girl home.