bboyle9

@Goofy Footer when is this ride happening!?!

Just re-rode this area this weekend, and confirmed that the deep sand.... is in fact, deep gravel. So take that for what its worth, all the roads are in great shape and tons of fun in the first part of leg one of the BDR.

Sand was deep but its that arroyo style sand rather than the super powdery dune sand, but if you're used to riding in the dez nothing crazy. I was on a 450L so maybe I was cheating.

Did the first few legs of CABDR a few weeks ago. Fun ride! Cerro Gordo was more then snowed in when I went. I wonder if it will be cleared up by March?

Just bought a Kyocera. I am very familiar with OnX hunting as GPS app on my Iphone. Has anyone tried OnX offroad?

Adding to this and not to hi jack the thread. Based on research the difference between 350 and modern 500 are negligible. However, my 06 525 has a much taller first gear, and i don't do a great job of on the feathering the clutch in and out in tighter washes/canyons. Thoughts on adding a 350 to the garage in addition to the 525?

So this ride report really started awhile back when I got a hand me down 06 KTM 525 after not having a bike for the better part of 5 years. Some of you may remember me as the slow guy on a DR650, or the slow guy on a DRZ400, or the slow guy on the KLR 650 or the slow guy on a bike that belonged to someone else. Well, finally back in California, and back with a bike. Couple warm up rides, and I manage convince one of my buddies to get a bike and he buys a DRZ 250. After a semi unsuccessful day of riding in OW and Anza Borrego(DRZ 250 stalling issues/hard starting issues remember the issues.... it comes back up) he took the bike to a local mechanic to get it baselined. Valves were out of wack, carb needed cleaning, some dirt in petcock etc. we were off to ride. When the pin that Goofyfooter dropped for me led me down a drive way for the "Hills have eyes" family... i knew we it was going to be a good weekend. Eventually found our way and met up at camp. We went to bed early and Goofy and we woke our buddy up with the ole' rev limiter alarm clock. Now if you've ever ridden with Goofy you know that 9am kickstands up is pretty good. Plan was to leave Football field, hit some trails and peculiar alien tower, up through Randsberg/Johanasberg, over by Red Mountain and Cuddleback Dry lake and out to Husky monument. Wouldnt be a ride without a couple low speed step offs on the pit bike track. Keep in mind, said friend has ridden a bike all of 5 times now. This was going to be his first "long day" so there was a bit of "lets see how it goes" First hill we come up on he manages to get seat bounced and spin the bike back down hill. After some encouragement, some 2 foot paddling and multiple accidental attempts to start up the hill in 2nd gear(didnt work) we made it to the top of the hill and we we're on our way. Bikes were running well, DRZ was cutting out from time to time but we suspected a vapor lock issue due to the cap on the tank. We were stopping and talking lots so making slow progress but still on plans to hit Husky monument. We stopped in Randsburg, or Johanasberg for gas... and after filling up Goofy noticed a couple drips of oil from the DRZ250. The drips were not coming from the normal oil drip kind of places. So my friend, who has not ridden or wrenched on bikes very much, decided to change his oil a few days before we rode...but not replace the oil filter. In doing so he drained the oil without opening fill cap or oil filter cover. So needless to say the bike had a little extra oil in it Back to camp for a mid day oil change, and bike are back up and running in time for a sunset cruise. We managed to get another 20 miles in. Mostly of long straight sandy stuff and some fun whooped out hard pack. Up the next day with little intention of racking up miles but we started on the slab and had good momentum. After hitting Cuttleback dry lake bed... and my buddy and Goofy explored what they thought to be a mirage. (turns out dry lake bed means its only partially dry) we headed south east out of the lake bed and found some the most pristine 2 track i have seen in awhile. We didnt have tracks but we did have service and Goofy was able to navigate us all the way to husky monument. This is pre my shift lever stripping and falling off. Cuttleback (partially dry) Lake Bed My clutch was feeling odd, so we cruised back to camp... the valleys and the trails were amazing post rain no dust Super fun hard pack, with twisties and elevation changes and definitely whooped out in places. One more stop at the pit bike track before loading up the bikes. 106 miles on the day ~150 on the weekend. Awesome place to ride and looking forward to getting back there when this is all over! Credit Goofyfooter for most of the pics

At what point to you start feeling like sag needs to be adjusted? Meaning- if you just camp for a night does it change if you are just day riding?

Good call on the rings. Seems to be the oil in the airbox has stopped. He learned his lesson for sure!

Looks fun!

Great bike! Speaking from experience I'd highly recommend case armor and the upgraded oil filter cover if you don't already have it. Some big pegs help move the bike around. Lots of DR riders/former owners here and people are here to help!

Plus 1 for joe hauler. I use on the back of my E350 4x4 for my KTM 525. It bounces for sure, and there are definitely slicker set ups but the thing is sturdy and simple and hasnt snapped off yet.

Been a long time since I posted on here but back in LA and riding again. Not too long ago I inherited a 07(or 06) KTM 525 MXC. Bike was my uncles, well maintained and ridden hard for a long time. Then was a consummate buddy bike until a buddy crashed because he couldn't handle the high seat and fire breathing 525. Long story short, I've been riding and recently had a buddy replace the front sprocket(went down a tooth). I couldnt get the front sprocket off because I have a desk job and I have no wrench with enough leverage. Anyway, after a couple rides, it looks like I may have an oil leak on the countershaft? I recently changed the oil and replaced both oil filters so thought it may be excess but there was definitely some fresh oil under the front sprocket by the serial number. 1. Is it possible that under/overtightened front sprocket would cause a small leak? 2. If no to #1, question number to is help! Any ideas what it may be? Thanks in advance hope to see some old faces out there one of these days!

Got it. Figured that was the case with the flakes. Cant say I've ever bled a hydraulic clutch. From what I read there's a conventional bleed and a back bleed? I'll youtube it and figure it out but other than buying recommended Magura Oil any tips/need to knows?

According to BLM website pretty much any developed campground OHV or not is shut down. Based on what I have been able to gather anything that doesn't have a bathroom is probably open. Super/places in ridgecrest(if you want to drive) still have lots of people posting pics and vids so it seems like they are very open. Good luck!

Well, good an bad news. Good news- it stopped leaking and I still don't have a wife(or is that the bad news) Bad news - started leaking again. I tried tightening and for about 50 miles seemed fine. Throw in another 100 miles and definitely leaking. To make it worse, now some metallic flakes in the caked on oil. In other news, the shifter lever stripped out and shifting has gotten reallllyyyy clunky. (maybe the source of the metal flakes) I realize these are separate issues but heres how i am planning on fixing Leaky countershaft - order OEM bolt/lockingwasher/seal adjust to 44ft lbs and double check chain Stripped shifter lever- new OEM shifter lever Clunky shift- replace oil (just changed before this ride) buy a Rekluse and pay someone a quarantine worth of beer to help install? I should note its not just a clunky shift. The clutch is dragging/not fully disengaging in 1st gear and clutch is much harder to pull then when i got the bike. Joke aside here are my 2 questions 1. Any thought on what the flakey metal flakes are? 2. Thoughts on the clutch? Thanks in advance for the help!

Staying tuned. More advance notice the better.

Scars...chick dig scars

Welp, I am not much of one to write ride reports but for the first time ever I spent more time riding and less time crashing so I was able to take some pics. (Not saying they are any good, but i took some) Goofy can write the details about where we went, the names of the roads and all that good stuff. The trip was awesome, frankly I am mad at myself for not taking the opportunity to ride in Baja when i lived in SD. It had been nearly 10 years since I was last down there and still as awesome as i remember it. Great people, killer food, and in my opinion one of the most beautiful places i have ever been. Cliff notes for the trip and accompanying pics. 1. Goofy got stung by a bee. 2. Goofy got lost even with a GPS and i had to rescue him before he got eaten by a pack of wild baja pitbulls. 3. Stop at Coyote calls for some of the best Chicken Panang Curry I ever eaten(apparently Ricks wife gives a killer massage too) 4. Lots of riding along the pacific included some awesome baja single track. 5. Long day of slabbing back and practically running out of gas about 15 miles from the tecate border Goofy standing by his shiny pre baja dust WR450 I still dont have any idea what this store was for I thought those things were fake... Riding on the beach was sick! No SDAR ride report is complete without the obligatory Looking forward to the next one, sounds like there may be a trip to Dave's Diving Board?

Alright all, the good lord blessed me with many things, but good eyesight is not one of them. I am still wearing the very first helmet I bought, and AFX-39 for 125 bucks about 5 years ago. After a recent trip to baja, I realized it was about time to get a new helmet. Particularly because it was hot/dusty/and really sunny in baja. And my helmet smells now...That being said, I am weighing my options. I like the idea of having a dirt helmet with a couple pairs of prescription goggles(one clear and one tinted) On the other hand, I have really enjoyed having a dualsport helmet for longer slab rides. I am looking for something lighter in terms of a helmet. So heres what I need feedback on. Prescription goggles: Who has them, why do they like them, and where do i buy them Dualsport helmet: Whats your favorite and why? Thanks for all the help guys!

Thanks for all the help guys. At this point i am wrapping my head around spending $500 bucks on a helmet.( mostly because i could probably buy a running KLR for that much) But currently leaning towards an Arai XD4. I will probably buy some over the glasses goggles just to see how i like them.

Ive owned a KLR and a DR650. Both good bikes, wouldnt ride the KLR off the road unless i felt like testing out new body armor. My guess is you are a lot stronger than me, at the same time both the KLR and DR were built for 5'6" Japanese guys to put around, and without some modding they will be a ton of work offroad. Now theres people in this group who ride a KLR like its RV's factory race machine. It s a great bike for the road and will have way more passing/pick up and go power than the DR on those daily commutes. Both great bikes, thats why my vote is for the XR650L. My suggestion, ride all of them before you decide.

Calnub, you wouldve appreciated our big bear adventure. What i mean by that is you can appreciate when goofy says hell be there at 8 it really means call me at 10 because I slept it.

this looks fun...

awesome ride...just a couple things i would like to add... 1. Riding off road is at night is significantly more fun than i imagined. 2. Anyone who has ever ridden with Goofyfooter knows that " typical college friends we were running late" really means- that he woke up 45 minutes late and our departure time was nearly 3 hours after originally planned. 3. Avoid the knock off 7-11 in Yucca at all costs Not living in san diego last couple months made me realize how much i miss riding. Looking forward to the next one, expect to see some other familiar faces. Whens the next mojave trip?