When I was living in Santiago, Chile, I rode all year around, no matter
the rain or cold. The bike I am talking about is Suzuki DR-350S, that has
more than 20.000 kilometers under my butt. I had too much fun and good
times with that bike. Use to ride to work, to the gym, going out .. etc.
The bike is also pretty good at traveling through the roads of Chile. I
went a long way to the North and the South, visiting many places to the
shore or the mountains. The engine is big enough to have fun, and also
to carry a passenger and two people gear for a couple of days.
Also, I would like to tell you that I never had an accident in the streets
or highways. This statement is for all those that criticized me for risking
my life in a careless traffic city. If you play it safe, you can prevent problems
even with the blindest car driver in town. Look three blocks ahead and never trust that a driver will do what he is supposed to do.
Ride faster than cars and you will avoid most problems. Beware motorcycles
faster than yours, you might be surprised.
Now, talking about falls off road: countless. But that is expected and
within the risks I wanted to take. Falling off road is part of the dirt
bike rider's life. Falling on the street or being involved in a high speed
accident is no joke, and you do not want that to be part of the street
bike rider's life. 
Well, I moved to Pittsburgh, and people said it was no good place to
ride. Ok, I waited for almost a year till I decided that there was no more
than a week I would not have ridden. I bought the exact
same bike I had in Chile, but brand new: Suzuki DR350SE with electric start this time (that feature
saves a lot of money
in worn shoes).
Short story: after 700 miles, somebody stole it from in front of a friends
house and I never
saw it again. Fortunately there was insurance and it paid the value of
the bike, some time later. Retrospectively, the bike seemed to be really slow for highway traffic.
That shortcoming made me feel
a little bit less sad when it disappeared. This happened one week before
departing to an interesting robotics adventure: The
Atacama Desert Trek, which lasted for three months in northern Chile.
You can see the picture at the top: you see Nomad, the robot and guess
whose bike is the one close to it? The bike was sold and it is in Alberto's
farm. Eventually a trip to the South will provide new roads and adventures to
this bike.
Once I was back from the desert (where I went around the Atacama Desert
with my old bike putting some more hundreds of kilometers to it), I thought
it twice before buying another bike. Why? There are almost no dirt roads
in Pennsylvania and I was riding mostly on pavement. Well, I chose a Suzuki
Katana GSX600F this time. Used (only 1000 miles when I bought it, though)
and in good condition. I would have liked a red bike better, but black
and purple was not bad at all (look at the picture). That is what I ride
now. Good choice, right machine for the highways and everyday commuting.
One problem though, the police did not like me testing high speed performance
in the I-79. I got some points in my driver's license, and I ride slow
since then.
