Been prepping my bike for a trip to Colorado this summer, and it is about time to start doing shakedown rides.
Purpose of this ride is to see how the bike does on 150 miles of dirt and rocky roads.
Come on out and shake loose some of those bolts from your dual sport!
Meet at Huddle House in Piedmont at 7:00am. We'll eat breakfast then ride down 500/281/600-2/600-1.
We'll turn around and ride the exact same roads back north to Piedmont.
We'll stop and get gas & snacks in Waldo. We should get back to Piedmont about 8-9 hours later.
I'm going to trailer to Piedmont and leave the truck somewhere. I'll be bringing my tool roll and extra tubes just in case, but no other camping/overnight gear ... that will be shakedown ride #2.
Here is the route (link and map attachment):
https://goo.gl/maps/5nSjXS7U9rv (https://goo.gl/maps/5nSjXS7U9rv)
I'm in! :)
One question, how "big bike" friendly is this, specifically when the rider of said "big bike" as a tendency to fall over? :(
Asking for a friend... ;D
Quote from: springer on February 27, 2018, 08:12:38 PM
One question, how "big bike" friendly is this, specifically when the rider of said "big bike" as a tendency to fall over? :(
Asking for a friend... ;D
At the north end, it's all easy dirt and gravel a Honda Civic could handle. From Adams Gap (where the southern end of 281 meets 600-2) down to where 600-2 meets Union-T Rd at the bridge/ RR crossing, that's the rockiest section. Lots of baby heads and some washed out areas. It's not impossible on a big bike, several BMW GS riders I know have ridden it, just have to go slow.
From Porter Gap to Bulls Gap on 600-1 is fairly rocky too but not bad. There are a few muddy spots from trucks here and there too.
Other than the "mud hole from hell" it's pretty doable on any bike with more than a couple inches of ground clearance. I believe Kevin knows which hole I am talking about, and it's not hard to ride around.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Ride-To-Cheaha-w-Larry-and/i-fXzXKBb/0/aca2cc01/XL/Cheaha%20ride%20Oct%2017%202015%20005-XL.jpg)
Yep, I know that mudhole. It looks like it would be just a few inches deep on the edge, but it definitely is not....buried my Husky Terra up to the fenders in it.
Bring that AT out...we'll get you through all of it. I know some guys that did it this past weekend on a WeeStrom and a Honda NightHawk...like James said, just gotta go slow and take deliberate lines through the rocky section.
Depending on how my work schedule pans out this weekend I'm a maybe.
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Quote from: KevinB on February 27, 2018, 08:46:52 PM
Yep, I know that mudhole. It looks like it would be just a few inches deep on the edge, but it definitely is not....buried my Husky Terra up to the fenders in it.
Bring that AT out...we'll get you through all of it. I know some guys that did it this past weekend on a WeeStrom and a Honda NightHawk...like James said, just gotta go slow and take deliberate lines through the rocky section.
It was tough on my GS too.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Cheaha-Ride-April-17-2016/i-VmfnPPH/0/ac5bfc4e/XL/Cheaha%20Ride%20April%2017%202016%20016-XL.jpg)
Wish I could make it, but this weekend is MFCKR*
*Mulberry Fork Canoe and Kayak Races.
Okay then! I hear by claim the worstest rider ever on this ride. ;) See y'all Sunday!!!
These are the same roads that punched a hole in Slater's oil pan on his GS800. The roads are very rocky in places, just so everybody is aware. Good idea to have skid plate and engine guards installed. Make sure you are well-rested also, because the rocky sections can be strenuous.
Quote from: springer on February 27, 2018, 09:40:30 PM
Okay then! I hear by claim the worstest rider ever on this ride. ;) See y'all Sunday!!!
If you get to that last stretch over horns mountain and don't like what you've seen so far, you can take horns valley road and you should beat them to their turn around point on 148. If I wind up camping at Cheaha or Pine Glen I will try join y'all. All of my bikes are in an egregious state of disrepair, don't know if I have time to get anything road worthy.
Quote from: springer on February 27, 2018, 09:40:30 PM
Okay then! I hear by claim the worstest rider ever on this ride. ;) See y'all Sunday!!!
I hope someone with a GoPro will be following you.
;D
Quote from: norton73 on February 28, 2018, 06:44:13 AM
I hope someone with a GoPro will be following you.
;D
I will have my GoPro...so y'all can hear my bitching n moaning. ;)
Quote from: norton73 on February 28, 2018, 06:44:13 AM
I hope someone with a GoPro will be following you.
;D
You rang?
Headed to Anderson, SC to help my mom with some stuff on her house she is selling on Friday. If I can knock out the list by Saturday afternoon I should be back in time to meet you guys in Piedmont. I would probably head north once we get to Sylacauga!
Hopefully I can make it!
Not my videos, but an idea of the rougher section...
Some photos from last year:
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Dual-Sporting/i-X27jGJj/0/b44455e5/XL/skyway%20%287%29-XL.jpg)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Dual-Sporting/i-gX5wRcR/0/cae31357/XL/skyway%20%2815%29-XL.jpg)
Sunrise will be 6:06AM and sunset will be 5:42PM, which means that we have 11.5 hours of daylight. If we leave Huddle House at 7:30am, we will only have 10 hours of daylight remaining.
Rough timetable below for the ride (more detailed plan is attached). Doesn't leave much time for fixing breakdowns or pulling people out of mudholes, so bring your "A" game. If we have to make up any time, it will come from reduced breaks.
-----------
07:30 AM -------------------------------
----------- Leave Huddle House, take 500 to Shoal Creek Ranger Station/Start of 281 (mostly smooth dirt)
08:39 AM -------------------------------
----------- Leave Shoal Creek Ranger Station, take 281 to Adams Gap (smooth pavement)
09:11 AM -------------------------------
----------- Break
09:26 AM -------------------------------
----------- From Adams Gap, take 600-2 to Hwy. 77 (combo smooth & rough)
10:26 AM -------------------------------
----------- Break
10:41 AM -------------------------------
----------- From Hwy. 77, take 600-1 to Hwy. 148 (combo rough & smooth)
11:51 AM -------------------------------
----------- Break
12:06 PM -------------------------------
----------- From Hwy. 148, take 600-1 to Hwy. 77 (combo rough & smooth)
01:16 PM -------------------------------
----------- Waldo Quick Stop (fuel and refreshments)
01:56 PM -------------------------------
----------- From Hwy. 77, ride 600-2 to Adams Gap (combo smooth & rough)
02:56 PM -------------------------------
----------- Break
03:11 PM -------------------------------
----------- From Adams Gap, ride 281 to Shoal Creek Ranger Station (smooth pavement)
03:43 PM -------------------------------
----------- From Shoal Creek Ranger Station, ride 500 north to Piedmont (mostly smooth dirt)
04:52 PM -------------------------------
-----------
Now you know why we are starting early! Not a lot of room for error!
Poor old girl, she's sobbing in the corner of the garage... Said something about "I thought you did that with the new girl, I'm old!"
It's been years, let's she if she can still get dirty :-)
Quote from: kylepeterson on February 28, 2018, 05:58:05 PM
Poor old girl, she's sobbing in the corner of the garage... Said something about "I thought you did that with the new girl, I'm old!"
It's been years, let's she if she can still get dirty :-)
Test run for taking her on a DS/camping trip up here? ;)
I wonder if she'll do 500 miles in the Smoky Mountains...
Quote from: jrou111 on February 28, 2018, 11:35:38 PM
Test run for taking her on a DS/camping trip up here? ;)
I wonder if she'll do 500 miles in the Smoky Mountains...
A few years ago I stumbled upon the realization that the best, most memorable , hilarious things happen on the "pre rides".... Instead of the "planned everything down to minute" rides.
Shake down rides are always more fun. The unpredictability and randomness of throwing crap on the bike and taking off - has massive appeal to me. Mix that in with old friends, you can't go wrong. :-)
Can't make it. Supercross in Atlanta Saturday. Probably be 2AM getting home.
Quote from: KevinB on February 27, 2018, 08:46:52 PM
Yep, I know that mudhole. It looks like it would be just a few inches deep on the edge, but it definitely is not....buried my Husky Terra up to the fenders in it.
Bring that AT out...we'll get you through all of it. I know some guys that did it this past weekend on a WeeStrom and a Honda NightHawk...like James said, just gotta go slow and take deliberate lines through the rocky section.
So my Weestrom XT with skid plate and bash guards will make it? Ive got plenty of dirt experience but not on the Strom. (DR650 amd KLX250). Sadly dont own those any more.
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Quote from: LT on March 01, 2018, 04:28:53 PM
So my Weestrom XT with skid plate and bash guards will make it? Ive got plenty of dirt experience but not on the Strom. (DR650 amd KLX250). Sadly dont own those any more.
Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
He did say a bash-plate is whats needed. ;) I'd say, come on out and have some fun!
You should be good to go.
Quote from: springer on March 01, 2018, 04:32:45 PM
He did say a bash-plate is whats needed. ;) I'd say, come on out and have some fun!
I've done it on a wee strom and a big strom...wasn't wet though.
Same here. In a Wee it's not difficult, just ground clearance limitations/ A skidplate is essential. On a DL1000 it was a good bit of work, but not impossible.
Come on Mr sun, burn off some of that surface water so I can run slicks instead!
I have never ridden up there and I certainly would like to explore but on a much more relaxed time schedule.
Hanging at the Huddle House...
Smokehouse Breakfast...
With my peeps!
Had an awesome time riding today.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Dual-Sporting/i-2d6RrSg/0/005a9254/L/IMG_0391-L.jpg)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Dual-Sporting/i-WrBZF2P/0/3e0d7a46/L/IMG_0396-L.jpg)
Hate I missed this. Bike was all packed up and ready to go, but When I woke up this morning I felt sick and it hasn't gone away. Woe is me. Looks like a great time. Next time hopefully soon I'll get out and ride with y'all again.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
Great ride!
(http://www.pbase.com/kwb377/image/167089937.jpg)
well that was a lotta fun ! i rarely ride the drz anymore, and forgot just how capable and FUN a bike it is to slide around on.
so much to do in talledega :-)
the elevation profile is from one short road (but very fun) road we covered.
fly the route on google earth (see the kmz) if you like, or do it one better and go play on your bike !
Kyle looks a lot more excited than Kevin. lol
Quote from: jrobinson on March 05, 2018, 09:55:14 AM
Kyle looks a lot more excited than Kevin. lol
I'm not used to waking up at 4am...I was still asleep. My brain wasn't processing things in real-time yet. At the moment shown above, I was still thinking "Why is Glenn standing against the window holding his phone sideways??". :)
The little kid in the background was thinking the same thing.
You're making me miss dualsporting. It was such a great day for it.
The previous owner of my 640 had it set up for single track (must be a masochist), with a 50t rear sprocket and soft-terrain tires. I've already re-geared it, and did my part yesterday to hasten a change to more dual-sport oriented tires.
Burned 1/2" - 3/4" worth of knobs off yesterday in 180 miles...
(http://www.pbase.com/kwb377/image/167091738.jpg)
Our track is attached.
We got started about 7:45 AM and arrived back in Piedmont at exactly 5:00 PM. We covered 180 miles total, but we were only moving for 5 hr 20 min. Average speed overall was 33.7 mph.
The dirt portion of CR 500 was dry, i.e., no mud, but there was a fair amount of fresh deep gravel. We averaged 32 mph on this portion.
The first part of 600-2 coming south from Adams Gap to Clairmont Gap, was also dry with some fresh gravel. This segment was five (5) miles long, and we averaged 31 mph on this segment.
The second part of 600-2, from Clairmont Gap to Talladega Creek, was rocky with a few deep mud holes. All of the mud holes were easy to go around except one. All three of us were slipping and sliding and doing seat and peg gymnastics to keep from falling over. As the elevation started to decrease, there were ruts in the road that were easily 2-1/2 to 3 feet deep. It was ridiculous. One mistake and the rut would swallow your bike. It is obvious that they are not maintaining this road. Anyway, this segment was also five (5) miles long, and we averaged 15 mph on this segment.
The first part of 600-1, from Hwy 77 to Sherman Cliffs (33.27485, -086.08585), is also smooth and dry with a bit of gravel. This segment was 7.3 miles long, and we averaged 30 mph on this segment.
The second part of 600-1, from Sherman Cliffs to Hwy 77, has some areas with sand and some other areas that are much more rocky than 600-2. The good news is that there were no bike-swallowing ruts, and the 5-6 mud holes were all easy to ride around. There is one rocky area which feels almost like steps; you really need to maintain your momentum and pick a good line. This segment was 6.6 miles long, and we averaged 20 mph.
We got to the end where 600-1 dumps into Hwy. 148 east of Sylacauga, and immediately did a U-turn and headed back north on the same road. This time we averaged 19 mph on the southern segment, stopped for one hour at Sherman Cliffs for some photos and snacks, and averaged 29 mph on the northern segment.
For several reasons, we elected to skip the rutted southern segment of 600-2. We bypassed it and jumped back on at Clairmont Gap. This time we averaged 32 mph on the northern segment of 600-2.
Not going to talk about our average speeds on 281...
The last segment we started on CR500 again, but this time, near Coleman Campground, we turned onto CR540 instead. This was the most scenic road, in my opinion. It looked like it had not been traveled by anybody in weeks. Lots of curves and a few single lane bridges. This segment was 24 miles long and we averaged 28 mph.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Dual-Sporting/i-h3C6X5W/0/32849788/L/tallietrack-L.jpg)
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Dual-Sporting/i-ggt4cNR/0/f95a5fb3/X2/tallietrack2-X2.png)
Did anyone run out of gas? ;)
Glenn is obviously a meticulous planner and calculator, practiced excellent fuel management and had precisely the amount of fuel required.
If the route would have been 30 feet longer, he would have been SOL.
Kyle must have gotten laid Saturday night! Look at that grin!
Hate that I missed it but didn't back into town until 1 pm Sunday.
I was thinking about the fun y'all were probably having when I drove by Talladega. Did y'all see a forest fire? Looked like one was burning south of Anniston.
Yeah, so the data analysis is above. Here is what I learned from riding with Kevin and Kyle yesterday.
- Getting up at 4:00 AM sucks. Getting up that early and driving 1-1/2 hours to Piedmont sucks worse.
- The Smokehouse Platter at Huddle House is awesome. You don't have to wait if you ask a friend to order for you before you arrive.
- The wrist strap on a GoPro remote will not stretch over your 4-season ADV jacket.
- It takes two bungees and two web straps to hold a 10-pound tool roll on your seat.
- The float bowl on a KTM sounds like a full steel drum chorus when you bang on it with boxed end wrenches.
- In a battle between a loaded KTM 640 Adventure and a comical state trooper, the KTM will win.
- Kyle is still faster than me in the dirt, even though he was riding on motard wheels and nearly bald Pilot Powers.
- When Kyle lets his hair grow, he is one sexy bitch.
- Kyle is so fast, the wind resistance stripped the threads off the bolts holding on his skid plate.
- Kevin wants to be a commercial realtor when he retires from the state. He's already learned the insiders' language. He plans to sell police substations in Meridian.
- Kyle can predict the future. Somehow he knew that somebody at Cheaha store would drop their 900-pound chrome touring rig.
- Andy Capp's Hot Fries are the best, because they are shaped like french fries but they taste like pork rinds.
- Harley guys love it when a dirty dual sport rider walks up unannounced/uninvited handing out stickers.
- It doesn't do any good to install a translucent gas tank if you are not going to monitor your fuel level.
- Cheese dip is better when there is a pool of butter on top.
- Mexican restaurants should not employ gringas, because they don't understand our Spanish (and they're not as hot).
Quote from: Fencejumper09 on March 05, 2018, 01:47:16 PM
..Did y'all see a forest fire? Looked like one was burning south of Anniston.
Yes, we smelled smoke and saw the haze south of the interstate.
After dinner in Piedmont, we smelled a different kind of smoke ... either electrical or a burning meth lab.
I could see the smoke from I-20 and was hoping Kyle's DRZ didn't burn down the forest when he had to lay 'er down!!
I just want to point out a couple of things....
That's Kevin's totally skint rear tire, not mine. Take a long long look folks, this is an anomaly in our universe. Normally a Kevin machine has tits on it, and if there aren't tits it's because it's on a machine about to have tits installed.
We trailed a Suzuki samurai for a good two miles with the driver toking hard, and Kevin was like "meh, my bike feels a little off, or there's a fire nearby, or whatever". Meh? he's slipping!
But...
Park him in front of your average American strip mall, and he'll have you signing a multi decade close ended commercial lease before you realize you don't know what an anchor store, zero maintenance agreement, or something about free lunch for life clause really means. He's gonna snooker you at real estate!
Glenn is going to sucker one of you Colorado schmuvks into lifting the rear of his bike just so- to slosh the last 2.3 ounces to the pickup side of his tank. Not because he needs it, but because you don't believe it's enough to completely finish the days ride AND load it on the trailer. You'll be wrong and your back will hurt, but it's OK. You won't realize it until you wake up the next day.
At one point on the way back we were behind a small sedan that was going just fast enough to blow dusty everywhere. I slowed way down to avoid the clouds (no marry j this time) and feel into a third gear cruise and just looked around. I didn't realize how much pleasure I was having until Kevin and Glenn pulled over and gave me that "hey, you OK? " look. Guess I forgot how much fun it was to plod along and look around.
Also, I'm gonna give the drz some more attention this summer. It's a great platform for dicking off.
There's something about that bike. Every time I think it's time to lay it down gentle and shoot it.... It looks like there might be another three miles on the rear tire.... And well... That would just be a shame to bury prematurely.
Quote from: Fencejumper09 on March 05, 2018, 02:37:53 PM
I could see the smoke from I-20 and was hoping Kyle's DRZ didn't burn down the forest when he had to lay 'er down!!
It sounds better now. Might have been the skid plate that was hold on by one bolt instead of the piston clattering after all.
I think I smell a certain 690' s fender drooping with envy, and it's revenge plotting against us for neglecting to take her places anymore.
Video posted here (http://www.motorcyclealabama.com/rides/index.php?topic=110.msg23536#msg23536)
Ranger station pit stop...
(http://www.pbase.com/kwb377/image/167099846.jpg)
"The dual-sporter is the master of all he surveys..."
(http://www.pbase.com/kwb377/image/167099847.jpg)
Do you have your route planned for CO this summer? I know some good dual-sport dirt/gravel roads around Colorado Springs, Telluride, Crested Butte and between Canon City and Cripple Creek. Let me know if you need any info about them.
Quote from: TC on March 12, 2018, 06:06:37 AM
Do you have your route planned for CO this summer? I know some good dual-sport dirt/gravel roads around Colorado Springs, Telluride, Crested Butte and between Canon City and Cripple Creek. Let me know if you need any info about them.
Thank you, but there are several of us in the group going who have been before. We also have several good books on off-road riding in the state, such as this one...
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61W0lT2G-qL._SX381_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)