MacDuncan

Yikes Zubb, you better be careful.... a posting like that which may be making fun of older folks could be sacrilege in the moto world! smiles. We all want to ride forever . And I anticipate that the last remaining bike in my stable will be a smaller dual sport (Get one Bub-hannah) Zubb, I can see myself on a trike like that still looking for adventures down the road, and maybe with you..... and although it will be fun racing you around the orange cones on your basketball court on a trike before too long, you'll still need to be careful that you don't cut the corner and tip over and get hurt - haha. And by the way Zubb, that was a nice offer by you to help that rider on ADV who high sided, as I was feeling sorry for that dude too (RIBS!!!! ) And JaJa, no need to answer as we all know if you can ride a bike, you will, and if you can find an adventure, you will, and if it doesn't kill you, it will all be good. Hope that is a long long time away still . Zubb, I didn't wear the Adventure bike chest protection in the desert, but I did wear a new Fox Raptor. I had been wearing one on the dual sport for a long time and it has taken some decent impacts to my upper body, but I do not think many riders who may be using an older one like I was until recently actually know that it is CE1 (still better than most roost protectors). My new Raptor is CE2, and it is easy to see and feel that it is about twice as think. I wear it as an outside armor on the dual sport. Level 1 protectors: The maximum transmitted force must be below 18 kN, and no single value shall exceed 24 kN Level 2 protectors: The maximum transmitted force must be below 9 kN, and no single value shall exceed 12 kN. In regard to the Forcefield you asked about, I will use it for my Adventure Bike, it was super comfortable today on my first ride wearing it, and I liked that I had in on as some of the traffic today was acting sporadic in the rain, especially as I was heading south on 15 approaching Hiway 8 and random folks started slowing way down when it poured RAIN as others used that caution to speed up to pass and fill in the gaps - grrr. It fit great in the jacket I got from you (no shoulder pads or elbow pads, and I did take out the D30 back protector to make room). I will post some pics: velcro waist band is part of the armor set, and keeps it secure. Still a little gap of unprotected area, but nice chest and front rib coverage. Thanks to those who shared support, here and on other threads. Cheers

Had a great ride, but did skip Camacho's as the web site stated that it was closed. FYI.

Thanks for the prompt Goofy, and for the info on ADV rider (san Diego zone, and the link there to the riders cruising around later this week from stagecoach). I had planned all along to ride this week to find the gate to Coyote unlocked before Jan 1, and then buzz up to the bridge, and then over to superstition, and then with a possible stop at Camachos and end it with a cruise through Yuha back to ocotillo (on a 525, not a T7. likely solo). I'll carry some gas unless I plan for a quick stop after superstition. I am hesitant to open invite due to a recent biff 9 weeks ago that still has me sidelined (Damn ribs are taking forever!! and still haven't ridden yet). So unsure if after a few miles I will need to throw in the towel and baby it home. I'll likely calmly cruise to enjoy the winter desert. Might rain later in the week, so packing up tomorrow morning may be the choice, but not sure yet. Goofy, well done on the prompts for Anza and Death Valley. Thanks, Mac.

FYI,

Holy Smokes, dizzy from reading the hundreds and hundreds of posts on adv rider. And as is usually the case, the experts were right here on SDAR. Well done!

Bump, because...... I often do all the leading for my riding group, so I told a few buds that I would be buying them a GPSMAP 78 this holiday....., and charging them for it. . They politely nodded in agreement. By doing so, when I make tracks for the group ride, and install it on their new Garmin from my basecamp, they can lead for awhile on our 8-10 hour day rides, and BDR pieces. That way, they can spend some time watching the devise for turning spots while looking in the mirror to see if all are ok behind, while also communicating that there may be a big rock in the road, or on-coming traffic while navigating the lead..... and share the responsibility that comes with no dust! And, for the increased safety issue that they will know where they are in case of a wrong turn or.......... the rare bif - ahem. However, oh my, dang, there does not seem to be any Garmin GPSMAP 78 available any more, (discontinued?) and the replacement doesn't have too many good reviews, and pricey. (PM if you have one to sell that is sitting on your shelf unused). If you know of a replacement that works well, please share, or maybe, since this original post is almost 2 years old, have many of you mastered this new set-up (specifically the first video on Jan 5, 21 on this thread! looks super cool) and be willing to offer a workshop for a few others? I have an iphone, but I can learn something new if a shift to android is needed.....also, if you use this set-up of a samsung android as kindly shared by. @97xr400r, do you also have to pay for a service like verizon too, or add it to your existing phone account (if for satellite use only?). Thanks, Mac

Hey Tntmo, Nice video, and.... I think I resemble some of those remarks - haha Once again, well done on the coordination of the event. Lots of folks really appreciated your efforts!! It was so very true what you were sharing just after your reference of a rider down. Riding solo, emergency communication devise, trying out new bikes with new gear, and newish tires, purposefully searching for the traction (and slipping points) for the bike, as that is exactly what I was doing (although a better location to experiment may have been more wise). Heck, I had anxiety watching your video as you purposefully spun your tires on the "marble road". :). I'll get over it. This morning, I touched my bike for the first time, as I need to fix a few things, and until today I was unable to hold a bike off the kickstand due to the injuries. Note: 4 weeks and a day later. I will also hold a beer high as a toast to wish Bubba for a quick recovery as he was heading out to hang with you all! A member asked me what happened, and this was my PM reply cut and pasted below. Thanks again, I'll be riding soon, as I am mostly grumpy that the desert is cool and I am not in it. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thanks, I knew you knew when you arrived that I was digging deep to appear ok. Earlier, I let tntbromo?, who was sweeping, go ahead because I wanted to practice some riding stuff, and actually go more slowly to smell the roses. I knew the largeness of the group would allow for an easy catch up, and even if not, I knew where the campground was located. I had also brought beers for folks (1 for me) and shots for folks who were staying to camp (none for me), and I also brought my sleeping pad pump, as the blowing up of a sleeping pad is one of the worst tasks for me when quick pirate camping. I figured some folks would like that. In the area where I crashed, I was actually enjoying the view of the cross-over trail, and occasionally trying some slide braking since that road is so marble-y. I was not actually trying to do power slide turns at the time, but was preparing to do so by seeing how how quickly I needed to snap the throttle for the rear tire to let loose and spin. However, I messed up when I spun the back tire while going about 25+ miles per hour while I was in the center of the road on the hump, so the rear tire spun off the center berm, and slipped ~15 inches to the left of the front tire track, the sensation was that I might go down on the right side, so I started to put my right foot down (hence, no rear brake), and my thought was to stay off the front brake as I thought that would guarantee a front wheel slide out and I would go down even quicker..... so I worked hard to stay upright..... but at that instant, since I let up a bit on the throttle, the rear wheel hooked up ...... all of that was within 10 ft, and 0.1 seconds...... next, I was moving at high speed at a 45 degree angle off the road straight toward the cliff, and embedded in the cliff, was a massive boulder. I saw it coming, so at the last instant, I let go of the right handgrip and pulled my right arm up against the side of my body and slightly jumped off of the bike. The side of my body hit the boulder and I instantaneously stopped and dropped, right on top of the bike, where I sat dazed for a few. The crunching sound of a couple broken ribs, and torn cartilage, both laterally and against my spine had me worried, but it didn't feel like I had spine damage, nor a punctured lung, so I opted to calm myself and head home. I grabbed my delorme where I could get it easily in case I had to pull over and drop to the floor. Once home, I went straight to bed, where I didn't move for a couple days, then went to doc to get X-rays. It has not been fun. 2 weeks out of work. That has been my worst moto bif in my life, so pretty lucky still. But likely just like your recent injury, we will be lucky to heal, and ride another day. . I actually think a large percentage of adventure riders do not wear chest or rib protection, just elbow, shoulder, and spine protection in the adventure jackets, which is a bit ironic given that we go 80+ mph on dirt on 500+ lb bikes. And, I ALWAYS wear my fox raptor (CE2) on my 500, so what was I thinking - grrr. I would bet that you have a seen quite a few injuries given your experience. I will swing by in a month to chat about some of the armor options soon. Thanks again for circling back and checking up on me. It was appreciated. I really think one can learn by reading info like that... especially older newbies like me. Cheers. Mac

Tough day, navigated well, all the best to you and family!

FYI, for those who may want to consider chest and rib protection..... From what I have read recently, the tekvest seems to be the primary choice for those who have had a rib injury already, followed by a close second place choice of forcefield (which may be the one Zubb had under his sweater?) (and that folks wear that backwards for better rib protection). But there are more choices as evident in this thread. I had often thought about chest protection on my adventure bike (even though I always wear it on my dual sport), and have occasionally thrown on a chest roost deflector, except a couple saturdays ago, I lagged and didn't wear any armor on my chest, but I think I will wear something more substantial from now on as it isn't much fun waiting a couple weeks before you can grab a beer from the top shelf of the fridge 🤨 Zubb, that marakesh looks like a leisure suit, maybe they have it in light blue. . and I am sure that the man in black was popping off about your dis about all black attire, not that there is more info about a BMW suit. AND! Next time, I will avoid practicing power slides to see if I can tell if the wheel looses traction slower when packed for camping, especially along a skinny road on the side of a cliff that might have the tire hook up and throw me straight into a boulder bigger than me! Live and learn - cheers.

Howdy all, In a recent post, Zubb shared the following, "use separate armor under a shell when needed" , which is the focal point to my post today. And, as I looked at the recent Newb Camping post pics, it was a bit unclear what the 15-ish riders were wearing for armor. Unless Zubb has been hitting the weights quite seriously, it looked like he had some protection under his sweater, but he has also mentioned that he may be looking for other solutions in the future. For other riders, it was not apparent whether or not they had chest protection (even though likely, and hopefully, spine/shoulder/elbow protection) I have a few jackets, and in each one I have taken out the rubbish padding and inserted D-30 or other for more protection. Many of us have (or have had) 2 bikes, with one being a bike that you might trailer to the desert or mountains, and the other being one you might ride from your garage to the desert or mountains. In over simplified terms, a dual sport and/or an Adventure bike. And, as you step into the garage to prep for a ride, whether it is to load gear into a bag, or put gear on, you may have to decide which gear will be your choice for the day. For some of you, it may be the exact same helmet, armor, clothing, gloves and boots for either bike/ride. Yet, for some of you, you will reach for your dual sport gear, or your adventure gear, which are mutually exclusive (except maybe synthetic under garments), and those 2 different outfits may even be stored in entirely different cupboards. For me, I generally don't intermix my gear much, but given a recent bif, and that I ride solo often, I may need to reconsider a more specific piece of ATGATT (all the gear, all the time). Hence, why I chose to tack on to this previously written post about upper body armor). Even with some research, it was difficult to find the specific difference between chest armor and roost protection (normally a mx term for rocks tossed up from other riders). (although this article reads well - https://gearhonest.com/roost-deflector-vs-chest-protector/ ) hmm, maybe knowing what "street only" riders wear on a touring bikes (goldwing, FJR, R1200 , or even a cruiser like a Road King) would help to better understand choices). This post has some good options, but maybe there is more info I can consider from the many riders who take off from their garage with the intent to ride through dirt and rock, as well as hundreds of hiway miles, in a single outing. I just bought a 2nd fox raptor (so one will be free of tricep and shoulder pads), but not sure if that is the answer. Please feel free to share insights you have learned, so not only I can learn, but others who may not be attentive to the reasons and choices can gain insights as well (because frankly, nobody wants a fellow rider to have a rib injury) . What do you wear on your adventure bike to protect rib cage, and why? Cheers. Mac

I like it, but ATGATT has me concerned.

Beautiful day to ride to the mountains, but my ride along was cut a bit short given a bif (probably shouldn't have been riding so dang casually.. who would-da thought). Not sure if the riders will have reception out there, but if so... Home safe, and thanks to the fellas who got me going again. Cheers

Thanks Zubb, rode by a few times, but you were likely out and about. Been cruising around and had some great rides in Mammoth recently. But... regardless of the bike, I am excited for the "cool" season so I can drop down Interstate 8, Banner, or Montezuma and roam around the deserts. See ya soon (Hmmm, maybe today as I might wander just beyond Warner. . Kudos to you and tntmo and others who organized a noob ride/overnight! Well done!

Well done Zubb, glad to see you out and about again!

Super that you are still out roaming around on adventures, Thanks for sharing the views! Hope you are finding some of the best loops to share with us when we can get out that way. .

That's good stuff Dave, Well done... for exploring and zipping around in the back country!!

Thomas Mountain is a pleasant ride, but has gotten a bit more busy with many more overlanders roaming about in SUVs, so watch for oncoming traffic... especially as you begin to have fun on the windy road and may want to go "fast" . The route from Warner Springs to Thomas Mtn mentioned here has been a popular one and worth taking. Many folks use the destination to practice overnight moto camping, as Thomas Mtn is a nice destination with great views and the road from Warner to there is bumpy enough to help evaluate whether you should have used straps instead of bungees After navigating Anza, and 371, and then turning west on 74 at Paradise cafe, it is only a short distance to the entrance through a small community. Some folks only use the NF-6s13 and wind up and then down to 74 early, but if you add HF- 5s15, you can extend the Thomas loop further west and enter 74 at a lower elevation..... And, for a bonus, you will be very close to Bee Canyon, where you can climb back up to Idylwild on dirt. Don't be alarmed if BIG guns are being fired not far from where you will be riding. Cheers.

Well done Dave, super cool that you guide a bunch of folks new to DV to all of the great roads and spots to see! I am sure it is appreciated by many 👍

Wow, That looks like a great loop, with some great action too! Well done.

Zubb, Is level 1, 2, etc a national norm or a Moto38 scale? Is the implication that down is easier on a big GSA, or even mid-size bikes (as you wrote in the Pokey post....hence the reason you put "down only" on Mason ... as that implies going up is a harder level? Cheers.

Thanks Zubb, nice to know as I always like to learn! Cheers.

CRFxer, as PB shared, closed at the top, but even an up and over, and even back up and over again, without going to the top gate is a nice add-on to a desert roam around (as it takes you out of the sand for a while and offers some rocky terrain, at least on the south side). I apologize that I may not have the clarity needed for using the names of the mason-rodriguez loop, vs the oriflame ride loop vs the California riding hiking trail loop. In case folks don't know that route, I am only talking about a couple of 10-30 yard sections that make me jump into alert mode. PB, yep, much has been graded, and sometimes it bums me out as it invites more traffic, but the smooth compacted tire lines seem to be more prevalent these days. Don't take your cooper there, use crfer's jeep.

Zubb, can you remind us of the scale you use as you guide Pokey? Pokey, safe travels and have fun! Actually, I will start another post for Zubb to use to respect Pokey's post.....

Great read. Thanks. hmmm, Jasper trail near culp and grapevine are out that way - so wonder if that is where James Jasper lived..... so much good info!

ECDave, If your whereabouts as posted on this site was Northern area of ABDSP, that is still a lot of ground to search. And as you mentioned, good logic that you were glad that you saw other folks on the way to fonts. I had similar thoughts when I passed 17 jeeps just a mile south of Banner, but I didn't pass many others on the other 70 miles of dirt I rode alone. Even fantastic riders go for a tumble and bif occasionally. My bike and its rider took a nap or 2 saturday as well. 😕 As you contemplate safety and communication, there are a bunch of knowledgable riders on this site that are kind and wise and will offer pointers. Feel free to PM me and I will be happy to share what I use as I ride solo a bunch. Or.... Maybe take notes from this recent event: There are experienced and excellent riders sharing good info there, and you can research what will work best for you. Wishing you a quick recovery. Mac