dirt dame

Hmmm Haven't seen or heard a peep from papaalex yet. He usually chimes in about a ride he's been on, and it's been a couple of days now. He must really be feeling poorly I hope he'll be feeling good soon and hops back on-line and his bike

Well hurry up and get that camera, Joliet! I got mine today Now I just have to figure out how to use the dang thing, and decide if I really want to carry something that costs a weeks pay in a pack on a dirt bike. If one of ya'll crashes, this thing can click off 2.5 shots per second ,so I could get the whole story of your fall-down-go-boom

Joliet is right about the TE 450. I chose it because it cost less than the EXC, weighed within 5 pounds and because of all the technical features. Already geared for dirt out of the box, has coolant overflow bottle, don't need to pull cams to adjust valve shims, has manual and auto decompressor and hot start button in case your thumb gets tired of pushing the electric start. It has outstanding stability and low speed handling in technical situations. Not knocking KTM....I considered that first, but the Husky seemed like a better bargain. I certainly didn't pick it for street riding and I wouldn't pick the EXC for street riding either. Heck, my little KLX is a smoother, more comfortable ride on the pavement than either of those two, even if is revving uncomfortably at 55 mph.

The problem with getting a dirt bike to cruise at 80, is that they are geared for dirt...they don't have an infinite amount of power to pull tall gearing. They have good power for trails and fireroads. You would need a bigger motor to pull all that tall gearing with any meaningful acceleration, and then you would be getting into some "weighty" issues.

Sigh....after viewing all of KTMRads cool adventures in Nevada, California and Alaska, it makes me want to go out and ride the western-most part of the transamerican trail evn more than ever. I just don't want to do it alone. Anybode else out there thinking about getting a group together and doing this ride? I know it would be hard to get a group of people together who could all take the same week (or more?) off for this type of event but I'm just kicking this idea around a bit

My tires are worn out usually when they get down to a measurement of 8 or 9 millimeters in height at the center knob, but that is for dirt riding mostly. The edges of the knobs are usually worn alot more blunt, low and often ripped and cracked. If I do alot of pavement, the edges tend to wear more square and sharp, so I still have some good biting edges on the knobs for traction in the dirt, so I can go a little shorter. Also D.O.T. tires are only about 13 millimeters tall at the center knob when they are new (the shorter height is part of what makes them D.O.T.)so they dont last me as long as dirt-only tires. I was running dirt knobbies on my 300, but switched to D.O.T. Bridgestone ED03/04s last time I needed tires. I don't care for them in the dirt, but they are nice and smooth on the pavement. I don't think they are going to last too long.

Holy Cow! That photo of the drop shows it being more than twice as wide as it was in 1990! I have to work on Sunday and I'm pooped from work tonight, so I don't think I will see you all in the morning as well as not seeing the guys on the Sunday ride

Hmmm, temps in the 90s and the dropoff which I haven't seen in about 18 years. I don't think that tomorrow is the day for me to become re-aquainted with it But i have the rest of the evening to think about it, so I will (think about it)

I consider my truly underpowered, undersprung(even for me) and overweight CRF 150 an absolute joy to ride on the narley stuff. It is a nostalgic ride that takes me back to the days when all trail bikes were about that size, no matter what displacement they were, except that back then they REALLY had no power, no brakes, no handling and of course, no suspension-oh and no reliability too! As you must know, I took the little beast on the Pinnacles 50 miler, and would have done the tough trail if I wasn't so lazy. The later CRF 150 had a different design top end (with slightly smaller displacement)and "the magic button" making it a very agreeable starting machine, even in the event of a very rare dumping.

Holy Cow! I can't even get 4500 miles out of a set of tires on my street bike. Even at my small size and demure riding style, I can stretch about 1000 miles out of a rear dirt tire and double that on a front. I have already chewed through about half of my stock Michelin on the back of my TE 450 at about 500 miles and I think that is doing pretty good for a bike of that size, weight and power. I am thinking of dropping from the stock size 140 to a 110 or 120 so my li'l toesies can touch the ground better

There are a few easy trails and plenty of technical ones at Corral canyon, although at least half of the trail system is still closed from wildfire damage. If you want a fun easy one, try the spur meadow trail that connects from Corral Canyon campground up to the fire road just west of the fire lookout tower, then you can take the fire road back to 4 corners and try some of the other trails. The area also connects to Pine Valley via Kernan trail, but that trail can be some work since it is somewhat rocky and steep in places. I want to ride this weekend, but plans are still up in the air. Might see you guys out there.

Fine, take your li'l crf up over Bronco Peak. Not too bad going up the north east side from Bobcat meadows, but really wacky on the west side going into Corral Canyon campground. Be ready to really tear up your skid plate though. Well I have never riden there but 15 years ago I used to race there every year. Nothing was realy hard back then. I do remember some rocks. I love rocks. You will love this trail then. Don't mash your wifes bike up too bad

Fine, take your li'l crf up over Bronco Peak. Not too bad going up the north east side from Bobcat meadows, but really wacky on the west side going into Corral Canyon campground. Be ready to really tear up your skid plate though.

Yes, Corral Canyon is an OHV park for green sticker motorcycles... It is fun and has some challenging parts.... maybe I'll take my wife's KLR110... the only thing is that if you park your car in the park you need a forest adventure pass ($5.00 a day or $30.00 for one year). Where do I buy the pass, I think I might go there tommarow. You can buy a 5 dollar day pass or a 30 dollar yearly pass at any ranger station and most sporting goods stores like Big 5, Sports Authority or Turners Outdoorsman

I like barbequed farm fowl and ground bovine just fine. They both go perfectly with a serving of fresh summer day and mixed (but not tossed) trail bikes. Bon appetite, y'all. The grand dame of dirt will hopefully be able to make an appearance Uh....how do I get there?

Sorry, but I don't want to experience the effects of bad water(or food) while on a motorcycle. Been there, done that. Once is enough, and that was on a street touring trip-and I hadn't even left the U.S. It would be twice as bad on a dirt tour. I would have to get out my "just shoot me" sign

Welcome! While you are waiting to get your duallie machine, you may find some all ohv rides posted from time to time. We just went on one a couple of weeks ago up north of Lake Arrowhead and it was a certified hoot. I took my green sticker mini and had a blast. You would have probably loved it too

Any event on a Saturday night is good, as I have to work on Friday evenings usually. Any event with pizza is usually good too

Hey KTMrad, I spent a year in washington. Up there, you either ride in the rain or you dn't ride They have a say ing up there too, it goes "If you can see the top of Mount Ranier it means it will rain in 24 hours and if you can't see the top of Mount Ranier it means it's raining " And they weren't kidding. I don't remember the Wet Leather guys, maybe it was before their time. I belonged to a bunch of clubs up there, but my favorite one was Puget Sound Enduro Riders, also known as the"Pissers" for short We were all dirt, no street and we put on some crazy enduroes and poker runs through the forests of Western Washington. Good times! Hope to make some more good times here with the Adventure Riders. Whoops! Hijacked my own thread there....sorry about that. Just having fond memories Thanks for adding all the good ideas and tips on this forum, those who did. Now all I gotta do is start saving up the pennies and see who is gonna go and where, since a pretty solid when is already established.

That's an easy part. Rent a van/truck from Uhaul, etc for a one way trip to the start point. Then you rent one for a one way trip to home. I have done 300+ mile days on the pavement on my DRZ and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Duh, why didn't I think of that? Thanks

Another problem, at least for me....is what to do at the end of the ride. Presumably we would end up on the beachfront in Oregon. I would be sitting there on a smaller bike with about 1000 miles between me and my house. As a matter of fact, I have to think about how I and my machine will appear at whatever the starting point of my ride will be. I have ridden 800 miles in one day on a BMW RT before, and I can tell you, that was an experience I never want to repeat! As for adventure riding, I have cleared around 200 miles in a day for a mix of dirt and pavement all on my little KLX 300, a machine so benign and berift of any discernable power that it can be ridden from dawn until dusk in broiling temperatures, plowed down backroads at unchanging RPMs, all while getting more than 100 miles on the stock 2.7 gallon tank before ever hitting reserve. I have considered getting a larger bike, but why bother? I'd just as well slap a desert tank on the little guy and throw a set of soft bags over the back for this trip. What ever I ride,I don't want to have much highway time on the clock

Back in the early 90s I got caught up in a little backpacking craze. Because of this, I still have a bunch of backpacking gear left, such as a tent that weighs about 3 pounds and a sleeping bag thats rated to 20 degrees yet smooshes into a package smaller than a half gallon jug, so I can tell you right now that there is camping gear out there that will pack small and light. I am not a fan of roughing it (one reason I don't like backpacking anymore) but would be caught between comfort and budget, because I'd like to spend every night between clean sheets after a hot shower, but that would be pretty expensive to do every single night, so I think a mix of camping and motelling would be the ticket. I suppose ther would be some campgrounds with showers out there along the way. Ideally, from the packing point, the less you drag along, the less for you to drop in a sand wash or a slimey creek crossing and the more energy you'll have for staying upright and enjoynig the ride.

Sounds good to me

I think mid June would be best. If you have a wet winter a lot of the high altitude passes have snow until then. I need to pick up a GPS and the maps before anything else. I suppose so. I remember now when I lived in Washington state and I wanted to ride a certain pass on Mount Ranier. I rode my sportbike up to the south end of the pass on July 4th and was suprised and dissappointed to find that the pass wasn't clear of snowpack at that date!

I'm thinkin' about next May, myself. It's too late and too hectic for me to schedule anything for this summer. The very earliest would be late September or early October. Weather would be restrictive at other times.