Oracle

I'm bored so here ya go... Left side : http://www.ebay.com/itm/Husqvarna-TE450-Left-Radiator-TE-450-2008-low-miles-/381023545278?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item58b6c5e7be&vxp=mtr Right side: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Husqvarna-TE450-Right-Radiator-TE-450-2008-low-miles-/381023545801?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item58b6c5e9c9&vxp=mtr

I've used him a few times and can vouch for him. However, I crushed a radiator on my 530 a few months back. It was badly damaged so I decided to replace instead of repair. OEM radiator for my bike was $230. I found a used one in excellent condition on Ebay for $100.

On a 650L??? Oh, this is going be fun...

I'm your Huckleberry!

Well, most of us got home sometime last night. My crew and I (Vanjoosten, Boston Mangler, and Cl300Capt) mobbed it home from Mesquite in about 7.5 hours. And that included a stop for double doubles and a few "pit stops" for the Mangler, who contrary to his size, apparently has a female size bladder... Our trip started from my house in Ramona, where we loaded up the trailer with four of the sickest dual sport bikes every built, correction, three of the sickest dual sport bikes ever built and a Suzuki DRZ 400. We took off Thursday around 4 pm and pulled into Primm around 9 pm to partake in a few ICDB's (Ice Cold Delicious Beverages) at the Tree bar with Crawdaddy, and the rest of the Bar 10 crew that opted for the first day of riding out of Paradise. The first day option turned out to be a ton of fun, and the weather was epic. The forecast was for fairly warm temps but that didn't play out and we enjoyed excellent riding conditions, with a slight breeze and temps in the 80's. The scenery was amazing, but because I'm an impatient SOB, I only took a few photos...no time to stop...have to see it all...and pics never do it justice anyway...so ride on...that's what my little voice is always telling me...and I usually listen. We packed up and left for Mesquite around 2pm on Friday. As we drove, Mangler was telling us how he was going do a night ride as soon as we got there. Unbeknownst to him, I called my bookie and put a $100 at 20/1 odds and it paid off big. I'm pretty sure he just started drinking beer like the rest of us while we all partied in the Holiday Inn parking lot waiting for other SDAR members to arrive. All the talk at the parking lot party was the weather forecast for Saturday morning, our scheduled departure for the infamous Bar 10. The app of the day was Radar Now, and before our eyes, everyone became an instant Meteorologist and gave their expert opinion of when the thunder storms would start and stop. How much rain we would get and whether or not the washes would be flowing. Not unexpectedly, my predictions were spot on...aside from the fact I was convinced there wouldn't be enough rain to get the washes running. I was wrong...and my crew pointed it out several times…Even The Oracle makes mistakes. The majority of us pulled out of Mesquite between 9 and 10 am. After heading down trail for an hour or so, we encountered our first challenge of the day. The wash, that I had predicted would not be running, was basically a raging river with 2 foot rapids. A raft certainly would have come in handy at this point and would have provided us an opportunity to do some true dual sporting…dirt bike riding and river rafting (copy right)….hum, I might be on to something here…Chris, I think it’s time to add raft to your list of “tools needed” for dual sport riding. Anyway, back to the raging river. As we were debating our next move, I noticed my front tire was flat. Now, I considered riding a wheelie all the way to Bar 10 but decided because of the wet conditions, two tires on the ground was pretty important. So I knocked out a quite tube change and our crew decided to back track to the last trail crossing. Once there, we met up with the bulk of the Bar 10 crew and we all put our heads together to formulate a plan. That didn’t work out, so Strega pulled out his fancy tablet computer, plotted a new route, and we were off. The next 5 hours was a challenge, but fun as heck. We all rolled into Bar 10 caked in mud and wet to the bone. But that was quickly mitigated by cold beer and Crawdaddy’s stories about getting his truck stuck several times on the way out to the ranch. Sunday started early as the sun crested the eastern ridge. A few cups of cowboy coffee, a hearty breakfast, and pre-ride cleansing started the day off right. Our plan was to head over to Toroweap the hard way. But Boston Mangler decided to take another route as his shoulder (previous injury) was hurting and he wanted to hang out with guys who take more pictures. Myself, Vanjoosten, and Cl300Capt topped off our tanks and started out for the days destination. After taking a few spills in the “rocky” section, Cl300 decided to turn around and head back to Bar10 to fix his Johnson rod and to put some helium in his tires. Erik and I kept pushing forward through the 10 miles of rocky sections only to be treated to some of the best forest double track conditions I’ve seen in years. Now, you can’t talk dirt conditions with just anyone, but you dirt bikers will understand when I say the moist loamy soil was insane…and that’s all I have to say about that. The ride to Toroweap was nothing less than amazing. We had lunch on the ledge above the Colorado River and debated about whether or not someone would die of a heart attacked before hitting the ground if they fell over the side. Either way, it encouraged me to be respectful of the 1500 foot drop. Dying either way would suck. The ride back was uneventful, until my little voice told me it was probably unnecessary to be doing third gear through a downhill rocky section. And then it happened. The rock Gods taught me a lesson…again. The back tired swapped several times and I got launched. Luckily, I landed on the left side of the trail and managed to avoid “most” of the rocks. But I took one in the ribs, which evacuated the air within my lungs, leaving me gasping for precious oxygen. But I had enough air in my lungs to shout, I use the work loosely, to Erik to shut off my fuel petcock like any good biker would do. It was the hardest hit I have taken in a couple years. But I was grateful nothing was broken and that I would eventually mount my bike again and nurse myself back to Bar 10. Once there, Erik was nice enough to invite me down to the river view, which I politely declined so that I could start slamming Advil in private. Monday started out with sprinkles and the dread of having to ride 100 miles on a dirt bike with sore ribs and a bruised right elbow. The thought crossed my mind to ask Crawdaddy for a ride out but I quickly dismissed that when I realized the stigma that would certainly be attached to that…So I manned up and the four of use started for home. As it turns out, we had an excellent ride back, and although pain shot through my body every time I crossed a square edge hit, it was worth it. In all seriousness, I would like to thank Chris for putting this amazing ride together. And I’d like to say thanks to all the Bar 10 vets for making me feeling welcome. It was a pleasure meeting all of you and I look forward to many more Bar 10 visits in the future. The Oracle out!

Glad you had a good ride John. Did you ride all the way over to 78?

I have every other Wednesday off..so looks like we may be able to pull off a mid week day trip soon.

150 miles on dirt bikes = a fun day. Glad it worked out.

I went with Wiseco, as it's the only aftermarket piston I've ever used...

Rookie, we can't tell you about all of our secret routes the first couple weeks...

That would be nice, but I doubt it.

Riding in the shadows : ) so, are you coming? Lurking = a maybe. Today, I'm sorry to say, I'm a no go. I just checked my work schedule and I have a stupid training class to attend on Wednesday.... :-(

I am a sand fanatic and would normally be on board if tomorrow wasn't a work day....Keep posting future day runs though

Craig, I just left you a detailed voice mail with the directions. Hope you have fun!

Lurking!

Saturday is my normal ride day....when it's not football season. My boys play and I don't want to miss their games...but the good news is that Popwarner season is almost over...then I'll be down for a Saturday big loop. Usually ride the 950 on big loops...

Wish I could, but I work on Sundays...damn! I could show you a pretty fun loop from Ramona, to CC, and back (didn't I send you a PM last week with some ideas??).

Just got done installing my Suspension 101 forks. All went fine. Thanks for the tutorial.

It's good to see membership growing. Welcome to the club. Like others have said, jump in on a posted ride and meet some of the guys. Don't limit yourself to southbay though, because there is plenty of riding in north and east county.

If you'd like, I'll install / help you install it. I've done many seats over the years and currently have SC seats on both my KTM's that I installed myself. I have everything necessary to install too. Just show up with your seat pan, the new foam and seat cover and we'll get it done....no charge of course!

Bummer!

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That's funny because I actually have a drawer in my roll-away that is designated to obscure tools I rarely use, including my compression tester. Surprisingly enough, I often find myself going to the drawer for something.

I have seat concepts on both of my KTM's...I swear by them. Here a link to their ktm options: http://www.seatconcepts.com/products#!/KTM/c/1671352/offset=0&sort=normal