09/18/10

[dirt dame 561]

So....I hopped on my KLX and buzzed up to Ramona through the cold mist and fog to join Crawdaddy's Anza ride. The Craw D. was already there sipping on a Packards coffee and chatting with some of the assembled riders there. It looked like it was going to be a pretty good group. Shortly after I pulled in, Beezz and Wonderwoman arrived by truck, followed by Baldbeemer and Mistress Of The Dual on their DRZ400s.

Beezz just had to unload the bikes and slap on some riding gear. His KTM 520 was the last bike out of the truck. I went over to shoot the breeze and spot him as he backed the bike down the ramp. About halfway down he stopped....or rather the bike stopped. "My bike won't roll" he muttered. Finally the bike slid a bit and started to roll. I was watching the rear wheel and noticed that the rear brake caliper looked wrong. One of the pads was hanging out of the caliper....and then the brake pad was noticeably parted from the backing. Possibly the brakes had been damaged when he broke his hub in Utah. Anyway, that was the end of his ride until All American KTM opened for the day just down the street. Crawdaddy would lead the early group on out and I would end up taking the late group of Beez, Wonderwoman, Baldbeemer and Mistress Of The Dual through to Anza after the KTM's rear brake pads got replaced. Brian rolled his bike down the alley to find that RJ was out back early getting ready to set up for his big BBQ and sales shindig. RJ got a fresh set of pads and installed them for Beezz and we were on our way.

All was going quite nicely throughout the early part of the ride. Vistas were viewed and pictures were snapped. We hit the dirt past Indian Rock campground and continued on across Chihuahua Valley road. Everybody seemed to be having a swell time and ice cream seemed immanent within the hour. I would scamper ahead and take some pictures of everybody as they came rolling up, so after the one sort of gnarly hill that we came to after crossing CV road (if you ride this road, you know which hill it is), I decided to stop and take some more pictures. The valley below me was beautiful and quiet. I waited. And waited. Yup, sure is quiet. Too quiet. Maybe I better turn around and go see where everybody is....

I headed back down to "the hill", but all the drama was over by then. Seems that Zara had a moment of operator error going up the hill and bounced over the edge. She was not too worse for wear, but the DRZ mashed a radiator in the process and now held no more coolant.

Not sure how, but Mike's DRZ had a broken clutch cable at this point also. It was decided that there would be no towing at this time. Pavement wasn't that far behind us. The DRZ's were rolled down to a shady spot where Zara and Laura did their best to make themselves comfy and keep the halt machines company, while Mike rode Laura's bike, Brian rode his own bike and both of them followed me out to the paved route. The three of us headed for Santa Ysabel, where I stopped for fuel and snack. The men headed onward so Mike could fetch his truck. I'm sure they will tell the rest of the story this evening.

Meanwhile, here are some pictures from the morning.

A shot of a person taking a picture of a person taking a picture.

So sorry that the ride got cut short, and in such a yucky manner for Zara. Hopefully we will go on a more successful run soon. It was good to see everybody today.

[mctrails 38]

Dang, Beeez! You need to start doing your maintenance at home BEFORE going on rides instead of letting everyone else do it for you on the rides. You now have as bad a reputation as shockin-awe. That is not good...

[Crawdaddy 96]

Dang, Beeez! You need to start doing your maintenance at home BEFORE going on rides instead of letting everyone else do it for you on the rides. You now have as bad a reputation as shockin-awe. That is not good...

[tntmo 896]

I think I see the problem....every other SDAR ride has about 80%+ KTM's. Your low ratio of KTM machines caused a disturbance in the force, resulting in your bad luck today. Next time, bring more orange and you won't have nearly as many issues.

Looks like it was a nice day and everyone made it home in one piece so count those blessings.

[Crawdaddy 96]

I headed out around 8:30 with Andy (Daughter #1's boyfriend who picked up a Plated XR650R....that may catapult him up to Fiancé status if he plays his cards right ), Erick, Bob (don't know screen name?), and KTMRad/Laura riding two up on Randy's 950.......we rode the entire planned loop to Anza and back incident free....stopped off at The HideOut for a beer/burger on the way back to Ramona......Fun day/ride........also saw KKug driving by in his truck out by Hideout before we split......

Put the new 3.0 IMS to the test on the girl bike...... a lot of high RPM riding in lower gears (then again, it's ALWAYS in high RPMS - it's a 250! )........low fuel light came on at 105 miles (GPS).......it sputtered and quit at 149 miles (GPS)......just about as I had figured.......sweet range......now I'm good for a conservative ~170+ if I just carry a couple of quart bottles, ~190+ with my 1 gallon Rotopax, ~210+ if I carry it all......

SPOT: Http://www.CrawdadRacing.info

I only snapped one photo with my phone at the end of the day....

"Sorry Andy, daughter's boyfriends ride in the back"

[Mistress of the dual 1]

As Mimi noted the ride was going great in the begininging.

Dirt Dame & Wonderwoman at the Black Canyon Bridge

A shot of a person taking a picture of a person taking a picture

Beez & Wonderwoman

Just before I crossed over Chihuahua Valley Road a ground squirrel ran under me and I squished it. My DRZ decided that helping ground squirrels committ suicide was hard work so half way up the next hill it spotted a nice soft sandy area off the road and took a nap.

Unfortunetly it filleted it's radiator in the process of lying down so continuing on the ride was out of the question. Thanks again to Wonderwoman for keeping me company and Beez for helping Baldbeemer and I get our bikes home.

[racerbill 0]

A broken radiator on a DRZ is easy to do, they're very fragil. On a 3 day Baja trip I lost the right radiator on day 1. Luckily I was able to block off the leaky one and as it turns out you can ride for days with only one. I now run guards on mine.

[baldbeemer 0]

A broken radiator on a DRZ is easy to do, they're very fragil. On a 3 day Baja trip I lost the right radiator on day 1. Luckily I was able to block off the leaky one and as it turns out you can ride for days with only one. I now run guards on mine.

It was all good in the end. Got the truck out to pick up both DRZ's and had a nice drive home with Beez and WonderWoman. The Mistress has a nice bruised shin but still has good attitude.

First thing she asked me was when I was going to get her bike fixed

[tntmo 896]

Oh yeah, for the radiator check this place out.

http://www.motorcycleradiators.com/

[wanna be 0]

Glad to see that Zara is OK. It looked like a great ride. Look forward to joining in on a ride soon.

[dirt dame 561]

As a side note, we also passed a truck and trailer loaded with old electric appliances (washing machine, etc.) on our way out Lost Valley road. It was sort of obvious what he had in mind, since there is nothing out there except for dirt roads and a campground.

I am pleased to say that when we were headed back through Warner Springs later in the day, the rig was parked by the gas station with it's load still intact. So he hadn't dumped it out there (yet).

[baldbeemer 0]

Oh yeah, for the radiator check this place out.

http://www.motorcycleradiators.com/

Unfortunately they don't make rads for the DRZ. I may have found one on TT for cheap.

[tntmo 896]

Oh yeah, for the radiator check this place out.

http://www.motorcycleradiators.com/

Unfortunately they don't make rads for the DRZ. I may have found one on TT for cheap.

Might not make them, but they sure can fix them. Even if you think it's totall destroyed, they work miracles.

[baldbeemer 0]

Might not make them, but they sure can fix them. Even if you think it's totall destroyed, they work miracles.

Saw that on the "repair" section of the site. Looks like they will repair for a max of $100. I will consider this option if need be. We stopped by AAKTM yesterday and RJ said he can order OEM parts for any brand and to get with him on Monday for prices.

[wonderwoman 0]

Hey Mistress of the Dual,

Your not going to believe it, but I ran over a squirrel today!!! I couldn't believe it, it just ran right underneath my tire. I could see it thrashing on the ground in my rearview mirror, I felt horrible!!! So what is the deal with the squirrels? Of course Beezz made me feel soooo much better by calling me a murderer. Anybody else having this happen?

By the way, great write up Mimi, and fun pics! And nice pics from you too Zarah.

Wonderwoman :scratch_one-s_head:

[Beezzz 6]

Dang, Beeez! You need to start doing your maintenance at home BEFORE going on rides instead of letting everyone else do it for you on the rides. You now have as bad a reputation as shockin-awe. That is not good...

You know it will be a trying day when your rear wheel locks up backing down the truck ramp. What the @%&!. I was unable to push the bike up or down the ramp. I ended up pulling it off the side.

Brake pad broke and gave the rotor a hug that wouldn't stop. RJ at All American KTM sold me the parts and installed them while I waited for FREE!!! RJ knew all the short cuts and quickly got me back on the trail. Thanks again RJ!!! Ride started quickly from there.

[pyro 1]

You know it will be a trying day when your rear wheel locks up backing down the truck ramp. What the @%&!.

LOL! Ya that blows!

Thanks for the great write-up and pics ya'll.

[Mistress of the dual 1]

Hey Mistress of the Dual,

Your not going to believe it, but I ran over a squirrel today!!! I couldn't believe it, it just ran right underneath my tire. I could see it thrashing on the ground in my rearview mirror, I felt horrible!!! So what is the deal with the squirrels? Of course Beezz made me feel soooo much better by calling me a murderer. Anybody else having this happen?

By the way, great write up Mimi, and fun pics! And nice pics from you too Zarah.

Wonderwoman :scratch_one-s_head:

We keep trying to shoot the little buggers that pillage my veggie garden but they are just too quick. Now I see that we have been going about this in the wrong way and we just need to ride our bikes around the yard.

[dirt dame 561]

So what is the deal with the squirrels? Of course Beezz made me feel soooo much better by calling me a murderer. Anybody else having this happen?

I think squirrels don't have such hot depth perception.

[baldbeemer 0]

UPDATE:

I got a complete rad coming from TT, should be in hopefully in time for Trophy's party. Total cost w/shipping $87

[ARGMISTER 0]

Hey i rode by a white truck with 2 yellow(drz's) bikes in the back on the 78 by the camel farm on sat afternoon? i was on my ktm going east.

[baldbeemer 0]

Hey i rode by a white truck with 2 yellow(drz's) bikes in the back on the 78 by the camel farm on sat afternoon? i was on my ktm going east.

YEAH! I thought that was you! The Trailtech x2 headlight is pretty distinctive on your bike.

[ARGMISTER 0]

nice, and i had a feeling it was you, was riding to my dads to sadly park it in the garage for abit, needs clutch work done, hope its just air bubbles.

[eddie 0]

I couldn't believe it, it just ran right underneath my tire. I could see it thrashing on the ground in my rearview mirror, I felt horrible!!! So what is the deal with the squirrels? Of course Beezz made me feel soooo much better by calling me a murderer. Anybody else having this happen?

Wonderwoman :scratch_one-s_head:

A friend of mine had a squirrel encounter on Mesa Grande. The little bastard darted out while he was in a turn and ran under the rear wheel.

I was always told that if it was small enough to eat in one sitting hit it as hard as you can. I have reconsidered that info.

[bikeslut 1]

damn! That squirrel got jacked up... who took it to the vet for X rays?