Big Bend: Can't get enough! (lots of pics/videos)

[The Bruce]

Number three on the old view counter. I can't compete with Beemerchef and Alaska though. Thanks everyone. This really was a great trip.

[db]

A very good report of an area I always like to visit.

[aircrftmec]

Great trip report. We are heading down to Terlingua Nov.22-26 ( after a 22 year absence )

Rob

[The Bruce]

Ah, the memories. Perry and I are prepping the bikes for our summer trip and reading these old reports is perfect motivational material.

[Multisurface Rider]

When Doug and I was there at that spot. We were drinking a bottle of water and eating a snack when we heard a bike start up. Down off the hill came the guy you are talking about on an XR400. He pulled up and asked if we would like to sit in the shade and have a cold beer. You get one guess what my answer was. We followed him up the hill there was his nice cover with chairs, ice chest full of beer and a table with a cage on it with four rattle snakes. He was a nice guy, but different. He would slap the cage often with a fly swatter and say sing to the snakes and they would all start rattling. I said he was different, but the beer was good and cold. He worked for a local ranch and live there. Nice guy living a simple life.

Good report, sorry for your accidents.




[quote=CBAT;398543]


On a hill overlooking the end of the road sat a travel trailer with permanent power drop, a pickup truck, and a picnic table with a steel cover for shade. At the table sat a man and his dog who watched us the entire time we were there. I wonder who he pissed of to get that lonely assignment.

How many "deals" were arranged at this old pay phone. Would be nice to find an old recording device and listen in on history.

[wanabeguru]

Excellent write up/pictures!

[Top Cat]

Bruce, Reading you RR and setting here considering the next bike purchase. The roads in Big Bend, are they too umimproved to ride a DS like a BMW 650 or 800? The KLRs have more power but are heavier than your 400 Suzuki. Which is the better choice in the unimproved roads in BB? I am trying to figure out how much DS to opt for and of course how much pave road capability to give up.

[Vinny]

Thanks for the bump.
I had not seen this report before. Thanks for the effort of placing the pics and describing the ride. Hope to make it for Feb.

[The Bruce]

Originally Posted by Tchuck

Bruce, Reading you RR and setting here considering the next bike purchase. The roads in Big Bend, are they too umimproved to ride a DS like a BMW 650 or 800? The KLRs have more power but are heavier than your 400 Suzuki. Which is the better choice in the unimproved roads in BB? I am trying to figure out how much DS to opt for and of course how much pave road capability to give up.

Nice to see the old report come back to life. All of the bikes you've mentioned would do fine on the roads in the the park. The heavy adventure bikes like the 1200GS, the Stroms, and the older Tigers can have problems coping with the sandy sections. Especially if you are there when the roads haven't been maintained in a while. HERE is a trip I took out there on a '96 Tiger which convinced me look for a lighter dual sport. You really need to consider how much highway you plan to ride in your dual sport adventures. If you are hauling to where you are riding and just need a street legal bike to get between trail sections then I'd recommend that you go light. If you plan on riding the bike across country on the road to where you plan to ride some dirt roads then the heavier bikes are the way to go.

[iphorde]

Larger bikes should not have any problems.. for any bike... just stay on the throttle, sit back and use your butt for balance and your feet to steer.

There is only one spot in the entire area that I would consider it deep sand, and its not really sand, its more like deep silt with rocks under it... that is in Terlingua Ranch.. and a 2005 Tiger handled it just fine.

Originally Posted by CBAT

Nice to see the old report come back to life. All of the bikes you've mentioned would do fine on the roads in the the park. The heavy adventure bikes like the 1200GS, the Stroms, and the older Tigers can have problems coping with the sandy sections. Especially if you are there when the roads haven't been maintained in a while. HERE is a trip I took out there on a '96 Tiger which convinced me look for a lighter dual sport. You really need to consider how much highway you plan to ride in your dual sport adventures. If you are hauling to where you are riding and just need a street legal bike to get between trail sections then I'd recommend that you go light. If you plan on riding the bike across country on the road to where you plan to ride some dirt roads then the heavier bikes are the way to go.

[The Bruce]

Originally Posted by iphorde

Larger bikes should not have any problems.. for any bike... just stay on the throttle, sit back and use your butt for balance and your feet to steer.

There is only one spot in the entire area that I would consider it deep sand, and its not really sand, its more like deep silt with rocks under it... that is in Terlingua Ranch.. and a 2005 Tiger handled it just fine.

Not my experience; YMMV. The year I was there with the Tiger I didn't have a problem through Terlingua Ranch but River Road was a mess. It had not been maintained in a long while. The washouts were deep and the fine gravel, aka sand, was deep in many spots. The trouble spots where corners where you could not "stay on the throttle". The front end would plow no matter how far back my butt was. Also washed out stream beds with ledges on both sides. Maybe only a foot tall but the front heavy bike would not just pop up. Maybe it was just the rider as I make no claim to being an expert Rally rider. But a lighter bike (DRZ 400) solved all the problems for me.

[Johnf3]

Originally Posted by CBAT

Not my experience; YMMV. The year I was there with the Tiger I didn't have a problem through Terlingua Ranch but River Road was a mess. It had not been maintained in a long while. The washouts were deep and the fine gravel, aka sand, was deep in many spots. The trouble spots where corners where you could not "stay on the throttle". The front end would plow no matter how far back my butt was. Also washed out stream beds with ledges on both sides. Maybe only a foot tall but the front heavy bike would not just pop up. Maybe it was just the rider as I make no claim to being an expert Rally rider. But a lighter bike (DRZ 400) solved all the problems for me.

Bigger dual sport bikes are really only limited in Big Bend National Park by how their riders are able to operate them. Plus, some big dual sport bikes are much more suited to more typical off road conditions, like deep sand , rocks, ledges, etc. The Triumph Tiger you had was probably a big part of your problem, not trying to diss the big Tiger.

If you are comfortable riding your big dual sport bike like a real dirt bike, and are an experienced dirt rider, the Big Bend area is a great place for the big trailies. Look for the orange and blue 950 in the area the weekend of Feb 20th, and stop and say hi.

[The Bruce]

Originally Posted by Johnf3

Bigger dual sport bikes are really only limited in Big Bend National Park by how their riders are able to operate them. Plus, some big dual sport bikes are much more suited to more typical off road conditions, like deep sand , rocks, ledges, etc. The Triumph Tiger you had was probably a big part of your problem, not trying to diss the big Tiger.

If you are comfortable riding your big dual sport bike like a real dirt bike, and are an experienced dirt rider, the Big Bend area is a great place for the big trailies. Look for the orange and blue 950 in the area the weekend of Feb 20th, and stop and say hi.

I agree with your assessment completely.

[iphorde]

Different riders, different skills... it's not the bike.. it's the rider.

[The Bruce]

Originally Posted by iphorde

Different riders, different skills... it's not the bike.. it's the rider.

I can't agree with this. Different bikes are more suited to different conditions. The best riders can make a bike do things they weren't intended to do but they can do so much more on the right bike.

[Desert Skies]

Having been on all the rodes in the park as well as some outside on my GS, I can say, aside from slick mud, deep sand is the most challenging on a big bike. In order to float it, you have to be going crazy fast and then all it takes is one wrong twitch and you are meeting up with the ground with uncomfortable force in a big cloud of dust.

You can hoss a big-ole bike around in the rough stuff but a smaller and lighter bike sure is a lot more fun... until, you want want to ride from the park up 170 to Pinto Canyon to Marfa then back down co169 then back back to the park. Then that big-ole bike gets to feeling pretty sweet.

I'm headed that way mid Feb with a couple buds to do just that.

[ed29]

Big is relative too. I am not a big guy, nor a fast guy. As I get more comfortable tossing a 400 pound bike around the rough stuff it gets easier. I am learning how to use its weight and torque to my advantage. Some of the rougher downhill sections are actually easier on the KLR than on the XR-250 simply because the bike is not bounced off of my intended line as easily.

[whitesands]

Great pics...Looks like an adventure!

[Tallbassguy]

Wow!
Excellent read.
Thanks for posting this thread!
I'm stoked for making this trip.

[The Bruce]

Thanks. You gotta go. I'm heading back this spring as well.