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Third Place: Michael Millson

Michael took this picture of his Suzuki DR650 during the Perseid Meteor Shower. Living on the West side of the Cascades in Washington, he needed to get to the East side for darker skies to see the shoewer. Michael left after work on Friday and found a perfect spot on top of Bethal Ridge on the WA-BDR. It was a new moon, and the dark skies were perfectly clear. He took this photo around 3am before trying to get a few hours of sleep after a wonderful night of meteor watching.

Congratulations Michael on your stunning entry!

This month, Carl covers how to properly set the float height in your carburetor. Getting this adjustment right can solve frustrating stalling issues and prevent fuel overflow problems that plague many adventure bikes.

The Honda XR650L is a capable adventure machine, but like many motorcycles, it has its weak spots. While we've previously covered the notorious CDI failures, today we're diving into the transmission-related issues that affect XR650L owners. Based on our years of experience helping our customers with the XR650L, as well as its dual-sport peers like the Suzuki DR650 and the Kawasaki KLR650, here's what you need to know about keeping your XR's drivetrain running strong.

In this month's Tech Talk, Carl discusses aftermarket foot peg options to reduce rider fatigue and improve your dual-sport riding experience.

Foot pegs are often overlooked by riders, but they're actually a crucial component on your dual-sport bike. Beyond the obvious fact that you can't stand up without them, quality foot pegs play a major role in reducing rider fatigue during long adventures.

We've been seeing an increasing number of side panel replacements at ProCycle, and the cause is consistently the same: damage from rear-mounted soft luggage forcing the side panels against the exhaust. Riders often install soft luggage systems that initially appear to have enough clearance, but heat from the exhaust cause the plastic side panels to soften and bumps and road vibrations cause the bags to overcome the lessened stiffness of the side panels. The result is melted plastic panels, damaged luggage, and potentially ruined contents.

The Honda XR150L is a capable dual-sport motorcycle that offers excellent value for adventure riders and commuters alike. However, like any machine, it has its share of known issues that can impact your riding experience. Based on extensive rider feedback, here are some of the most common problems you'll encounter with your XR150L and the proven solutions to address them.

In this month's Tech Talk, Carl discusses aftermarket tank options and accessories to give you more riding range.

The limited capacities of stock fuel tanks are often a huge limiting factor for your dual-sport. Most riders travel 40-50 miles just to reach trailheads where off-road adventures begin, consuming significant fuel before the fun starts. Aftermarket tanks solve this problem by providing substantially more capacity.

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The Honda XR650L's CDI unit is well-known as one of the bike's m

This month, Carl discusses how to properly maintain your motorcycle forks to ensure top performance during adventure riding.

Most dual-sport bikes do not have bottom drain plugs, so they require removing the forks from the triple clamps before servicing. Remove the top cap and spring carefully, then turn the fork upside down to drain the old oil completely.

This month, we're riding along with Clint Kieffer, a seasoned motorcyclist with an impressive collection of ten bikes and nearly 25 years of riding experience that spans across North America.