TrophyHunter

I read some reports of Thing Valley Rd being open and with the cooler temps next week, may give that a go.

AFM kind of nailed it. The KLR is out of production but the most current model goes back to 2008, so plenty of bikes and support around. I've been around DR650's for 9 years now and built two. It's been the same bike since '96 and is highly supported in the aftermarket. You can make one to suit your mission. At your weight, it's sprung about right, maybe a little soft. Capable for what you stated. To gain confidence on it, the bike can be lowered 1.5 inches by switching a few parts around. Put it back to stock later. This is what we did with my son's. Can't comment much on the others, but if you like tall bikes, check the Honda XR650L, too. More dirt oriented and the same bike since '93, so plenty around. If you ever want to "go over" a DR, happy to talk ya through mine. Just PM me.

Good info - thx. I used it on a couple of tires - DR650 rears, and a Mitas E-07 set on my Tiger. No issues, but I will def blunt the edges. Appreciate it.

Google maps street view grab on the sign pic - dunno vintage. I've seen 'em but haven't been there in a few years, so.... Goodwill spread to out of staters is a policy of some.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/cleveland/recarea/?recid=47404 ADV pass needed - assuming INSIDE the fence. But I am probably wrong. I find it ridiculous that I could take a vehicle on the dirt there, but if I park and walk - or park and ride, I need to pay. Ditto on everything LB wrote. Forgive me, I'm mostly retired and currently bored. Even though history says they ticket there and have signed the area, my question at court would be "if the rangers wanted to secure the trailhead, where would they do that?" Being it's at the fence in the pic below, that would be where a reasonable human would thing "all things trailhead" apply. Without "between here and here" marked or "pay area" painted on the roadway adjacent to the cul-de-sac inside the fence, it's not clear. The signs are there to inform people if they park within the fenced in area, they need an ADV pass. That's my (i'mnotalawyer) take on it. Easements, etc. Your conclusion may be valid, dunno. There may be agreements in place but that'd take some time to research. SDPD had an agreement with the Navy for policing their housing areas - not just within city limits, but on base to a certain extent. I drove on Miramar past the guard shack to do a SWAT mission once. A weird feeling going on a military base for that. But, their map shows the forest going to the freeway. This isn't the designated Bear Valley Trailhead from my reading, it's CNF, unless an ADV pass is needed to park along Hwy 80 - which I doubt. The Bear Valley Trailhead map shows the road outside the fence line included. Were these signs still there? No other indicators of where that applies?

I cheat and use the Baja No Pinch tool. I too have watched others/videos/etc and I still end up taking a long time. My solution is the B NP.

The shop probably put new packing in, but if you want to have more on hand, a new package of packing was left here for give away by a traveling rider. Yours if ya want it. PM me.

Pfffffffttt....

I dunno if it always happens, but BP visited when we went in there. Nobody took a pic from the MEX side, though. 😀 BP said there are sensors in there, but who knows - they could've just been watching it. As with other areas of the border, a simple barrier installed at the USA/MEX line would fix at least that spot.

Switched from SPOT to InReach a few years back due to a head to head with the InReach getting better transmissions in difficult terrain and faster in other terrain. I don't know what current tech comparo's find. I do the survival(?) plan at $15ish per month which offers plenty of texting, etc. I pay extra for tracking if on a multi-day. My Dad followed along on my abbreviated ID BDR and was able to zoom in on the track and see great detail from Google Earth. Experience: Std InReach SE and Mini (ridin' buddy in ID). Both paired - bluetooth - using the Earthmate App. 2 way texting with spouses was flawless. No EMER activation, thank goodness. We charged them each night but they were holding pretty well. I do carry a mini jump charger I could power them up with if needed while camping. Also, as mentioned, USB port on the bike. I did accidently activate the EMER on Otay TT 2 years ago and those who needed a call got it. I did ask InReach why they didn't just call me, especially since the signal was moving. We straightened out the calling protocol and all was well. My fault as it was a selection.

We'll warm it up for you. A post with some tracks, etc around page 23-30. https://advrider.com/f/threads/dr650-rally-lasal-utah-sept-5-8.1359221/

With your fleet, I don't doubt it. And that would pan out on a VRT. For most, not so much.

The chances of that happening are negative zero. 😉 Cop runs a quick VRT - Vehicles Registered To by your name, calls BS based on results, you go in cuffs for 148PC - Basically, lying to the cop. As PMB mentioned, way too easy to check a story. Results vary on the cop. I was asked to write 2 tickets per month so my Sgt could say I did some traffic enforcement, but if one of those turned into a challenge, well......

Paid. When paying with a credit card, I didn't see a place to put a screen name, so just notifying here.

Get a 2-5 year old DR650 with low mileage for $3500, toss on a 790 kit. Still mid-sized with a ton of aftermarket since the bikes been basically the same since '96. The builder of the 790 - Procycle - also built a one off stroker DR900, which a ridin' buddy in PHX has now. I'll hopefully get a short ride on it in Sept at the 1st DR Rally.