25Feb (My first Solo in the dirt, sand watercrossing and trip over the

[TrollingForFish 0]

Went out to Sloan Canyon th play in the dirt. I rode the road first. The gate is still locked at the end of the county maintained section. So, I turned around and went to play in the dirt. I had a couple of firsts this trip. It was my first time doing anything like that by my self. So I took it slow and easy. I came to a water crossing

It was my first one and I didn't even get my feet wet!

A little further down I came to another crossing and decided not to push my luck as both banks were deep sand

So I turned around and went looking elsewhere. I saw a track going up a hill and thought "let's see where that goes". So off I went. About 3/4 of the way up, I saw something that caught my attention (small shiny objects do the to me) so I pulled in the clutch and slowed to almost a standstill. I decided to keep moving and let the clutch out. The bike went BUH, and stalled, rolled back about six inches, then fell over. I rolled an additional 4 feet. Once I got back on the bike I realized I tried to start going uphill in third. Oh well, no harm, no foul. So I kept riding. I got back around down into the creek bed and was riding some woops, when I came over a big one and buried the front tire in a bigger one. I went over the bars and the bike did a handstand then fell back on its wheels. I bruised my hand and my ego, but am none the worse for wear. Bike looked like this:

Damage report:

Bent handle bars. I got to ride home feeling like I was making a long slow left.

Fun, fun, fun

[klr250 0]

I love riding out there. Looks like you had a great ride well except the crash. I rode out there a few days ago and the water was really deep and hard to cross.

[Mistress of the dual 1]

Great ride report and perfect attitude

[dirt dame 561]

Never been there, but it looks nice. thanks for sharing.

[bikeslut 1]

stock bars should come "pre-bent" from the factory... they always end up that way anyway

sounds like a fun little trip;

You obviously found the limitations of trail wings as well... good enough street tire, but a challenge on the dirt

[1kstep 0]

think of bent handlebars as an opportunity to stimulate the economy and perhaps to have people drink beers and watch as you swap them out! Works pretty good for me.

[Zenosan 2]

think of bent handlebars as an opportunity to stimulate the economy and perhaps to have people drink beers and watch as you swap them out! Works pretty good for me.

I have been bending handlebars for over forty years. Get yourself about a four foot long pipe bending tool which is used by electricians for bending electrical conduit. You can bend them back into shape with it. It is called an EMT Hickey. They come in different sizes and you just add a threaded pipe for a handle. I have several different sizes, valuable tools. Always brought one along when I went to the desert. You can bend your bars back where they were in seconds.

[eddie 0]

I was going to try to meet up with you, but got caught up doing hose hubby work. Looks like you had a blast - get offs and all.

Still don't know where this is, but it looks like fun.

[bikeslut 1]

Zenosan- I will respectfully disagree about "bending back" bars... they are crasp from the factory, and crappier once bent

buy good bars, keep controls attached a little on the loose side (so they shift in a crash, rather than bend the bars in the process)

I have NEVER had stock bars last a season, and I have only bent after-market bars ONCE in 30 plus years of riding... spend the $100, and improve your riding position while you're at it

[Zenosan 2]

Zenosan- I will respectfully disagree about "bending back" bars... they are crasp from the factory, and crappier once bent

buy good bars, keep controls attached a little on the loose side (so they shift in a crash, rather than bend the bars in the process)

I have NEVER had stock bars last a season, and I have only bent after-market bars ONCE in 30 plus years of riding... spend the $100, and improve your riding position while you're at it

Bob...I will give you your arguments based on what happens with metal fatigue. Microscopic hairline cracks accumulate with repeated bending of metal, hence the metal softens. But....a good metalurgist would just reheat the metal to cherry red and retemper the metal back to its original strength. Guess that means you also need an acetelene torch to go with the Hickey. I have both.

By the way...I don't agree about stock bars. They are plenty strong. I have never had stock bars break.

[TrollingForFish 0]

I was going to try to meet up with you, but got caught up doing hose hubby work. Looks like you had a blast - get offs and all.

Still don't know where this is, but it looks like fun.

Got to El Cajon and get on Washington St and go east. After a while it will turn into Sedesa or something like that. About a mile after you pass the casino, you will come to the only right turn lane. That is Sloan Canyon. Keep an eye out to the left for a K Barrier and a gap in the fence.

[TrollingForFish 0]

The Carnage:

Any one want to buy an acoustic guitar, an acoustic bass, and one slightly used handle bar?

[daijones 0]

Zenosan- I will respectfully disagree about "bending back" bars... they are crasp from the factory, and crappier once bent

buy good bars, keep controls attached a little on the loose side (so they shift in a crash, rather than bend the bars in the process)

I have NEVER had stock bars last a season, and I have only bent after-market bars ONCE in 30 plus years of riding... spend the $100, and improve your riding position while you're at it

Bending bars back as an aide to get you home is fine but I also would invest in a good set of after market bars. BS tip on leaving controls a little on loose side is a good idea but you can still break levers which can be costly and inconvenient at best. After doing this many times along with ripped grips, messed up throttle barrel I finally invested in Cycra wrap around handguards along with Bonz mounts and with my Renthal twin wall bars the setup is rock solid. Very impressed, no need to carry spare levers and saved a bunch $$'s in crash damage, and a lot of hassle in meantime, and they protect you hands quite good also.

[jimbob 0]

2nd on the cycra handguards and renthal bars and BRP triple clamp(that's how mine came). When I bought my DRZ a few months ago, I expected to crash EVERY time I rode it. After awhile I got worse and stopped crashing so much. Throttle got a little sticky once, but that was easily fixed with an allen and one of those cold malt beverages.

Back to the subject: careful out there riding alone!

[bikeslut 1]

The Carnage:

Any one want to buy an acoustic guitar, an acoustic bass, and one slightly used handle bar?

acoustic stand up bass violin (double bass) , or mariachi acoustic bass guitar? (guitarron?)

definite "no" on the bent handlebar... already have one of those... check out Cycle Parts West; I have seen good deals on bars there... also; if you are a "contributing member" you can get discounts at some shops... a discount on a good bar pays for your membership

bark busters, fold away levers too (I have the asv levers and like them)

[Bagstr 288]

TFF,

Love the Attitude!! Take the plunge and install DOT knobbies and joint me in the real Desert.

[Zenosan 2]

I will give you guys Bark Busters as a genuine improvement. We never had them, just brought along extra levers. When we got back to our shop we reheated and bent the levers back to their original shape.

[TrollingForFish 0]

Gonna be out of the dirt until I get better tires. When I do, I'm up for the real desert.

[Papa Smurf 0]

I have seen my bike in that position alot. As far as Trailwing tires go, they suck. They are true dual sport tires, bad both on and off-road. They came stock on my 2008 CRF 230L, straight off-road (Not DOT) tires worked better on and off road. I use KTM hand guards on my bike, for me a must. Although I prefer not to break levers I am more concerned about my hands. I carry spare levers just in case anyway. If you want 28mm bars (1 1/8th inch bars), I have two sets of used Magura handlebars in my Ebay store for sale one bar for $33.75 and the other $37.50 plus shipping.