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Barstow to Vegas 2013

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JMZ said:
The little Honda that could :lol2: Yall are some fart smellers ,,,, oh I mean smart fellers :doh: I mean , your tow vehicle is a Honda and not a Husky or BMW :eek2: At least your tow vehicle is RELIABLE...................................................................................:duck:
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We were glad to prove you wrong here. Both the Italian and German dual sports performed absolutely flawlessly. Not a single issue even after we both dropped them into the dirt, sand, rocks and snow multiple times. They came back up begging for more. We rode to almost 9,000 ft. elevation in AZ down to sea level in CA and everywhere in between without even a burb or hiccup. EFI is the shizzle as most carb'd bikes (especially the red ones without a CV carb, haha) would have required a rejet along the way.

Oh and the Honda tow vehicle performed flawlessly also. We averaged ~25mpg over the 3,000 mile trip. Would have been slightly higher but the trip out required A/C running (windshield defroster) due to the cold and wrapping the bikes in stretch wrap on the way out actually took away mpg instead of streamlining like we thought.

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JMZ said:
I'm like the umpire behind the plate , I just call it like I see it. Lol
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haha cant fool you. Actually I forgot where I put my beer and they both pointed to it at the same time for me. You got me liking that cactus lime now.

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TwoSmokeDS said:
I heard about a car-hit-rider fatality at Barstow.
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Yea, sad to say it was Cal Bottom. Rman, ThrasherG and I shared a meal with him last year. A really nice guy (as most of the DS guys are.) This was the second time a rider was hit walking between the hotels.

BTW, there were a few 2 strokes and a number of DRs. I didn't see a 200, but it would be fun, if a little trying to run the DS route on one. Longest day 1 stretch between stops was 56 miles, a little longer on day 2.
 
TwoSmokeDS said:
I heard there is a fatality at Barstow.

Did y'all all run HD tire tubes? Any problems?
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No HD for me. Bridgestone MX tube on rear and cheapo Sedona standard tube on front. But both filled with Ride-On sealant and I keep air pressure higher than most (~18-20psi) for rock protection. No problems whatsoever, very clean five days of dual sporting and one day of CA freeway cruising. But TWT Wildernessrider and his son had 4 flats between them and they didn't get to finish day two.

Meriden said:
Yea, sad to say it was Cal Bottom. Rman, ThrasherG and I shared a meal with him last year. A really nice guy (as most of the DS guys are.) This was the second time a rider was hit walking between the hotels.

BTW, there were a few 2 strokes and a number of DRs. I didn't see a 200, but it would be fun, if a little trying to run the DS route on one. Longest day 1 stretch between stops was 56 miles, a little longer on day 2.
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Cal was 87 years old and completed the Day one ride. Long life and went out doing what he loved. He was happy that this year they assigned him Rider #1.

I've been tossing around the idea to ride next year on my KTM 300 two stroke. IMS makes a 4.2 gallon tank which would give me ample range so just need to pack a little oil for fuel stops. I would then be taking all the hard way options to make it a slightly shorter but more technical ride.

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I ran Bridgestone HD tubes, but the secret is to run air. I was about 15 lbs the whole time and anything less is begging for a flat, regardless of the tube.

I mentioned that I might go back again to the wife and she acted like it was a given, so maybe I have a kitchen pass for next year. Since SB and I discussed smaller bikes at length during the long drive home I'm looking for another one now. Something with a big tank. We'll see.

Still working on that ride report. Like Sam said: If I had more time I would have written a shorter letter.
 
Rman of 237 said:
PICS!!!! VIDS!!!!! RR!!!!!
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Sorry for the delay. I have almost 93 DSHD disks of video to get through and it's overwhelming my 30/30 hard drive. Anybody have a Sony Beta they can loan me? Also my free video editing software is worth exactly what I paid for it. To top it all off my customers have suddenly come to the realization that I'm the greatest thing since the introduction of the Rotax 654 and are all over me for EOY work, so I gotta do that first since they pay me. (Unfortunately, my grandfather would haunt me if I charged them for the time while I'm doing motorcycle stuff... unlike some people constantly posting LAB2V RRs on another, more - how should I say - global ADV forum, and who seem to have no compunction regarding involving themselves in such activities while living off the corporate dole.)

So anyway it may be a few more days. One thing I won't be doing is cross posting the same ride report on several forums (like those mentioned above.) I'll post only once and provide links. In the meantime here is a video about riding in Arizona.


Riding an average, run of the mill road in Arizona
 
SilverBullet said:
You tease. You stopped the video just when the trail changed to unmaintained and got interesting. Those downhill switchbacks covered with snow and ice with dropoffs on one side were fun!

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What chu talkin' 'bout?

[ame="http://youtu.be/7t71OdDelYQ"]More average, run of the mill Arizona Roads.[/ame]

I'm not sure if I like the way YT fixes shaky video.
 
For anyone thinking about doing this ride in years to come or just wants to know exactly what it is about or what to expect, here is an excellent video. A few years old but still 100% accurate and up to date.



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