Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Went to visit my son and his family in Pine Junction, Colorado over the 4th. It's up the mountains from Denver at about 8100ft. Took my two bikes and also got to see my good friend Pearson who also moved there from Ramona. My first full day there my friend and I rode from Pine to Breckenridge, going over the RedCone peak pass at 12,801ft. Less then two miles into our ride my buddy bounced off the trail. Even though it was only about 4ft off the trail, it was on the downhill side. We were struggling big-time to get that 348lb 701 back on the road. Fortunately a couple of guys on quads came by. One had a winch and they helped get us going again! I was beat before we really even started riding. 

I thought fire-roading would be an easy break-in, but the steep ascents were so dry, loose and rocky, plus the elevation, REALLY made it a workout for me. We came across about a 30ft patch of snow on the road and we both got stuck. Had to pile rocks under my buddy's rear wheel to get him out a hole his bike dropped into. My 500 Exc with FI ran great!

Had lunch in Breckenridge and then came back a different way. All told it was a great ride.

20180705_174251.jpg

20180629_103510.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Glad that road exit wasn't more serious. There are several places where the penalty is 500+ feet. The views are non-stop for sure.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Show us more. 

Elevation is a butt kicker for sure. I’ve been playing in Big Bear and it messes me up at 7000 or so feet. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Don't have many pictures;I was too busy riding or trying to catch my breath!

On the third day my son joined us. I let him ride the 500 and I rode the 300XC. We rode 40 miles of singletrack on the Rampart Ridge trail.I've got the JD jetting kit in my bike and before we left Ramona I put in their recommended settings for 7-10,000 feet. Once here I only ended up richening the needle clip position one ring and the bike worked good enough. If I was going to stay a while I'd fuss with it some more to really dial it in.

This was my first chance to ride some technical trails with the recluse installed. That thing's a game changer. You don't even have to THINK about covering the clutch; just concentrate on the trail and your throttle control.

The trails were incredible!  One thing I learned was that if you get off the trail, even just one foot, it can be Really tough to get back on. I made the mistake of moving over on the down side to let some other bikes go by that were coming the other way. I ended up having to push and pull just to get moving again. We each took turns needing help to get back on the trail. 

 

20180702_112907.jpg

20180629_122758.jpg

20180705_174627.jpg

20180702_132903.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That looks great! , the trails and the blue sky (no smoke?), I was going to ride 2-3 loops out that way and cancelled due to fires, dang, maybe not so bad. 

That bif looked Scary though!!  , even only a few feet drop off. I try to carry about 20 feet of strap and a few chain links when riding solo just for that.  Glad all ok. Well done!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

For the 300 if you were going to stay up there you would consult with Jeff Slavens...he builds up the best high altitude 2 strokes. (his mule projects)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, robertaccio said:

...consult with Jeff Slavens...

Legend! :smile_anim:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 hours ago, robertaccio said:

For the 300 if you were going to stay up there you would consult with Jeff Slavens...he builds up the best high altitude 2 strokes. (his mule projects)

Yeah, I figured he'd just tell me to buy his Slavens specific Lectron! :-)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Ptkatoomer said:

Yeah, I figured he'd just tell me to buy his Slavens specific Lectron! :-)

I just sold mine on advrider for that Colorado trip might have helped with elevation but around here nothing special, super tame power also

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

no no lectron. oem stock jetted for alt but with high comp head and other hi alt mods. low pressure=low comp add hi comp head to improve power in low pressure low oxygen environment.

all the very basic WW2 aircraft industry pressure altitude adjustments.

Ive got nothing against Lectron,shite even Kenny Roberts used them back in the 70s, but what I do know is that Keihin and Mikuni are the only championship carbs for quite a number of years also in enduro Dellorto was still winning recently. No other brand was or has been used in world class competition besides those three for many years. That's how I judge and not from the factory teams more from the satellite teams because they can use what the decide and collect sponsorship from. Sorry I digressed. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Prior to the CO trip last year, I installed a TPI Low Boy even though it wasn't "needed" with the DR650 CV Carb as many have ridden 14K without any mods. Hey, I like to tinker. Since I still have the snorkel in my airbox, opening the TPI valve almost doubled air intake. The seat of the pants dyno says it made a difference above 10K. It sits just under the left side panel so easy to access.

IMG_3456

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Most of us seasiders here don't know that at 10,000' there is 1/2 the air pressure as we have here at sea level.  Interpretation? Half the oxygen intake with each breath you take.

A great word picture for this is to just go out for a light jog around the neighborhood. . . . . . . and skip every other breath.  How far can you go now?  I moved here about a dozen years ago from Silverthorn CO where I lived at 9,000'.  The difference in "air" was never so well illustrated to me as when I would travel to L.A. for business.  I could step out the hotel door and run/jog pretty much endlessly.  Then fly home and jog the flat trail around the lake at 9,000'.  I'd jog for about a hundred yards then have to walk a hundred yards, then jog a hundred, then walk 200 yards.  You just can't breath . . .and your heart rate goes flying off the charts . . . and then you think you see your dead relatives that all went  before you . . . and you wonder if your wife paid the insurance premiums . . . . . then you stop and put your hands on your knees and pretend to be looking at some interesting bug on the ground between your feet . . . your chest heaving . . . the sound of Niagra falls in your ears --- only it's blood not water racing through your veins as your body wildly searches for a few more oxygen molecules.  Nope.  It's not there.

No throw in wrestling a 701 or worse . . . a GSAdv back onto the trail . . . .at 13,000'?

5 words : block and tackle and friends. Don't leave home without it.

.......... or ............ there's this:  

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I went off the edge in Mammoth only 15' or so, dam near had to call the insurance company and report the bike stolen. Turns out mountain bikers take no pity on a dirt biker who was on a trail that they consider theirs. Block and tackle, heck I wanted a helicopter.

:(

Bad thing was I was so winded and scared of going off again I hugged the bank to hard a swacked a hidden rock in a bush 40' later, dam near broke my foot, only went down 5'feet that time.

Sum Beach

Wench sounds good.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×

Important Information