Off Road vs Off Pavement: What is "REAL" Off Road Motorcycle Riding?

Hello friends and welcome back to the Dorkside. I'm the Dork in the Road. I'm out here in the woods on my brother's CB500X and today I want to talk about a conversation that I am tired of having. What is real, and I'm using quotes here, off-road riding. I'm the Dork in the Road and I want to be your internet riding buddy so please consider subscribing. I'm headed out to do an extended sort of off-road test ride on the 500X today but on my way in on this forest road, thought it might be fun to do an old-school motovlog style conversation like the old days. And the thing I want to talk about today is a conversation that that crops up in the comments of my videos a lot. So I'm out today doing an off-road test ride on the 500X. Obviously at this moment I'm still on the road, I'm on my way up there. But the second I hit gravel, in my mind that is off-road, that is an off-road test ride. But I always get comments on my videos, how come you said this was an off-road test ride, you never went off the road, a logging road is a road. And that drives me nuts. And it drives me nuts for a few reasons. One, you're just being semantical, right? It's a semantic argument. Yes, technically the term for the thing that log trucks drive on that's made of gravel is a logging road. You're right. You're correct. You win, Grammar Police. And believe me, I am I am one of the most veteran Grammar Police out there. I literally have a degree in it. So I guess to a degree I appreciate where you're coming from. One of the things I've learned over the years is that grammar Nazi-ing and semantical arguments like that are one, not helpful, and two, completely unnecessary when the meaning is understood regardless. Someone asks for your help, great, correct their grammar. But the point is, when I say off-road and then I get on a logging road, you know what I mean is off-pavement. Off-road is off-pavement, okay? And that is I think at least based on the people I've talked to, places I've been, publications I've read, classifications I've read on motorcycle websites, the accepted definition for off-road when it comes to motorcycling is off-pavement riding. So if you want to come in with your, oh that's still a road, what you're saying is the Washington BDR, the Oregon BDR, basically every BDR there is, they're all roads. Those are all on roads. Sometimes it's a banded two-track, sometimes it's really, really technical rough stuff that's been washed out and sort of fixed, but not really. But technically that's a road. So what you're saying is, when you say a logging road is not off-road, you're saying every BDR, every backcountry discovery route is not off-road. That's not off-road riding. And I would argue that doing a BDR, a multi-day trip in the backcountry, rarely touching pavement, self-supported, is the pinnacle of off-road riding. At least the pinnacle of ADV riding. It's not the most hardcore off-road riding there is. But you can't tell me that's not off-road riding. I'm sorry, it is. And to say that it isn't, to say that hitting a gravel road or a logging road is not off-road riding, is basically to say that you can ride it the same way as you ride a street. I can tell you that is categorically untrue. If you come in and try to do some street Rossi bulls**t, you're gonna low side on the first corner on gravel. The skill set is completely different the second you leave the pavement. So yes, technically a logging road is a road, but you need off-road riding skills in order to successfully and safely navigate it. My argument is, when I say off-road, you know that I mean off-pavement. Technically I should say off-pavement, but nobody says off-pavement, everybody says off-road. And more importantly, if, I don't know, you're a YouTuber and you got to make videos that people are searching for, you have to use the terms that people search for. People will search for CB500X off-road, but they're not looking for a video of me literally riding up this hillside off of the road. They're looking for footage of people riding off-pavement. They're looking for footage of people taking this bike into the backcountry. Maybe, maybe on an ATV trail, and maybe we'll do that today, I don't know. But for the most part, off-road means off-pavement. Period. That's what it means. That's what people are talking about. To take the argument that a logging road is still a road further, means anything that is technically a road doesn't count as off-road. And so then, the only way to ride a motorcycle off-road is to either A, just take off through this, the bushes right here, right? Just straight up the hillside, straight off into the woods, straight down into this ditch, across it, and up this hillside. Because any road doesn't count as off-road riding. So that's one way you could actually do off-road. And the other way you could actually do off-road is on ATV trails, or straight through like a freaking desert. That's the only acceptable off-roading for people. And I'm sorry, when someone searches for Honda CB500X off-road, review, test ride, what footage, whatever it is, they're not looking for footage of somebody riding it up this hillside. I think they'd be stoked to find it, and find out that that bike is capable of that. But can we just agree that when people talk about off-road motorcycling, for the most part, what they mean is off-pavement. Off-pavement riding is off-road riding. This is a crappy road. This is a slippery road. I'm taking it easy. But I would not classify this as off-road riding. I'm not riding this 500X off-road right now. I am on a road. It is a paved road. I'm riding on pavement, right? But the second I hit the gravel up here, I will be off-road. I will need off-road riding skills. I would benefit from off-road riding gear. And in particular, this bike, it will be the type of off-road that most people that buy this bike will be doing. I don't need to ride through that to be off-road. What am I trying to say? The semantical arguments are not helpful. Like, can we agree that off-road is off-pavement? Because when you come in and you're like, you didn't even go off-road, you're just being a gatekeeping douchebag, is what's happening. You are gatekeeping. You're deciding. I think I just killed a squirrel. I think I just killed a squirrel. You're deciding what is real off-road and what is not real off-road. What is real off-road riding and what is not real, quote-unquote, real off-road riding. And frankly, what someone else does, their opinion of how they ride their motorcycle and what's challenging and what's difficult for them, is none of your damn business. How they use their motorcycle is none of your damn business. Can we stop telling people they're not really doing the thing when they're out there doing the thing to the best of their ability or to the level that they're comfortable or to the level that they want to, right? Gatekeeping off-road riding helps nobody. A new rider is so excited that he got out on off-road, off the pavement for the first time on his dual sport bike, and he posts a video that says, ah, first time off-road on my 250L. And then a bunch of people come in in the comments and go, that's not real off-road. It is for him. It may not be for you, and that's okay. But let people enjoy things. Let people enjoy their accomplishments and understand that the accepted definition of off-road riding is off-pavement. That's what it means. I know most of you know this, you understand this, or at the very least you don't spend your time trying to make people feel bad for doing what they think is off-road, even though you would disagree that it's not off-road. But this idea that there's a real way and a correct way to use your motorcycle to ride off-road is not helpful to the community. All it does is make new riders feel unwelcome and eventually stop participating. And the fewer riders we have, the fewer used bikes there are on the market, the fewer new models they'll come out with, the fewer rides and events we have. That's all bad for the industry if you're just discouraging new people and people that are less skilled than you from getting out and riding. So you know, stop gatekeeping, man. Stop gatekeeping. Be welcoming. Don't criticize people when they didn't ask for it. Don't tell them what they're doing is not the real thing, because even if it isn't to you, it may be to them. I feel like I had a lot of salient points that I was gonna make, and if I'd sat down and written a script, this video would have been a lot more coherent. But I'm just out here riding, and it just is something that's been on my mind, and I wanted to throw it out there. So what do you think? I hesitate to even ask, because every time I post a semi-controversial opinion, a bunch of people come in the comments who don't know how to disagree respectfully. And you know, that's not fun for anyone. So you can disagree with me, that's fine. But do it respectfully, or at least be as respectful as I've been. So you know, if you want to be mildly sarcastic, okay, go ahead. But you know, you don't have to be a dick. I have a whole video about that you can check out if you're not sure how to not be a dick. I already made a video, I'll link that for you. Okay, actually I have two questions for you. Is the accepted definition of off-road motorcycle riding off-pavement riding, or do you legitimately expect, when you click on a video that says off-road motorcycle riding, that you're gonna see someone riding cross-country through the woods? And two, what is off-road motorcycle riding to you? Because everyone's definition is different, and I think it might be helpful for people to see a bunch of other people's viewpoints. But anyway, that is my rant for the moment. I'm gonna get back to test riding, and off-road test riding, and off-road reviewing, and giving my off-road impressions. Yes, I'm not there yet, but we're headed there. Of the CB500X. So thank you for watching, I appreciate you, and please do not forget to be excellent to each other. And that means not being a gatekeeping douche. Oh, thank you.