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Desert Sledin Dummies Thumpin Utah

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KsTeveM

KsTeveM

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Dec 8, 2014
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Location
San Marcos, Texas
First Name
Steve
Last Name
Pylant
Losing yourself for a week in remote backcountry, away from crowds, beautiful scenery, boondock camping…..sounds like heaven to me. I like me some Utah for this, lack of people for the most part. I think it is due to the desert not being all peaches and cream when on a bike. I kind of like that not everyone is willing to ride a two legged machine across remote sections for a week at a time and possibly enduro some hardships. Sometimes you gotta hump it.

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So on this run it was decided to roll from central Texas and ditch the trucks as soon as possible in Southeast Utah. And then follow your nose, sniffing out the good stuff. Which bike to take? I really want to get out in the deserts of the southwest on the Super Enduro but this trip was shaping up to have some more techy stuff thrown in…..so my ol 5Hundy came out to play and has been getting some attention in preparation. Locked and loaded, shakedown ride complete. Time to head west!

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If my 5Hondo is looking lean and mean, it’s cause he is. I had a heart to heart with myself on the packing…..self, I challenge you self. Oh really? You’re on loser. More to come. More dummies.

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There are several other characters in the line-up. Licketysplit, LlanoRiverMan, Eulogite, KTMCarhart and Bwdmax. Cool story, what about their bikes? Lickety is on a new 350, otherwise known as a 500Jr., totally acceptable for this ride. He picked it up earlier this year thinking his WR250 wasn’t going to cut it for what he had in mind. It could do it…..but he will be happier on the 3fiddy. Lighter and more power….yes please. He prepped the bike this year for desert travel and made a few treks. Played with different luggage and settled on tusking it. I think the top bag is some kind of acme rocket.

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LlanoMano is on his tricked out WR450. He debated on selling it and getting a T7. I said why sell it, keep it and get a T7. Hmm, totally logical, so that is what he did. Yall can message me anytime if you need my counseling services. The WR big bore is perfect for what we are about to do, almost as good as the 500 he he. He spent some time getting the bike setup for this desert trek….and going all in on the yeller scheme. Also worked to pare down his gear, yet still be comfortable at camp, putting himself on a Green Chile packing diet to help with this. Looks bonito bueno.

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Eulugger is on a freshened up 500. He wanted to be able to jump higher and roost harder than any of us, so he had his suspension tuned up and top end rebuilt. We are expecting big things from U-lug this run. And his packing….looks pretty mosko’d out. They are pretty clever at the add ons in a cool way…but you have to be careful…they let you add stuff on in a cool way. Probably a coffee press in there….and I think I see a chair. I’m going to be watching to see if he tilts his pinky out when drinking. Also notice the orange tip on his foot brake.

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KTMCarhart….some of you might know him as Grape Ape from past reports. Grape is on his ’21 EXC 500. It’s still a pretty fresh unit and he already savvies the pack light doctrine and is Giant Looping, mini style. He is the young buck on this run and usually the first one there when you need help picking up a bike or picking up a person. Every group should have a Grape among them, especially if the majority of the group look more like raisins. We are counting on him to make America Grape again! Or at least incite a riot.

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Bmaxmullet is on his tried and true 525, a dialed in veteran war horse. In an effort to lighten up, he compromised and put his smaller big tank on (pulled the 6.6g in favor of a 3.3g). He also put his saddle bags on a diet, ditching the Giant Loop Coyote, too easy to take too much. He is on a rackless chile diet as well. An Idaho trip last year showed him the light….of being light, looks like a different bike. He said he also had a couple new tricks. Do tell. He forgo underwear altogether, said you don’t need spares of something that you aren’t taking in the first place. And he decided to only wear one sock. I didn’t fully understand it but he said you alternate which foot gets it each day. I didn’t argue, less is more, every time. He also doesn’t need sun block for his neck, he just grew his mullet out some more. Genius stuff, next level, pay attention!

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You already saw my 5Hundo locked and loaded….but here he is again, just cuz. What a unit!!! Not something I hear enough. My packing….I initially had 5L Wolfman side bags and got it done….but it was like playing an expert game of jinga….so I went to my 10L wolfies for this trek to ease things. And tried to use other dead real estate on the bike as well to spread the load. I like approaching this in small bites/solutions, less bulk. I think it is pretty tight….but always thinking about less is more.

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Ok, enough already, you get the idea, dudes carrying camping stuff with plans of riding harder stuff here and there. Truck ride complete. Standby, this mutha is kicking off!! I will try to give you micro doses here and there, with a full report to probably come after the trip is done at some point. If yall like that sort of thing. All right, all write, all ride!!!!!

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The front tire.
bwdmax said:
The wide front tire is an 18 inch rear hoop laced to a front hub and a rear MT-43 trials tire. @KsTeveM had one and I asked him about it. He sent me down the rabbit hole over on ADVRider. There is a user “Joe Motocross” that has been running this setup a long time. This will be my first long trip with it so I’m interested in how I’ll like it after this trip.

Advantages: carry one spare tube since front and rear are same size, extra side wall allows lower pressure without worrying about pinch flats or dinged rims, increased surface area allows great traction in loose conditions, increased surface area allows it to float on top of loose stuff even with oversized tank and extra gear, trials tire offers great traction so braking is good.

It’s an idea that seems to come and go from time to time. I remember a few KLR guys running rear tires on the front.

I just like to try different things from time to time and so far I’m liking this.
Click to expand...
 
Hello sand my old friend. I’ve come to ride with you again. Because a vision softly creeping, left its ruts while I was roosting. And the vision, that was planted in my brain, still remains. Within the sound, of thumping.

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KsTeveM said:
Hello sand my old friend. I’ve come to ride with you again. Because a vision softly creeping, left its ruts while I was roosting. And the vision, that was planted in my brain, still remains. Within the sound, of thumping.
Click to expand...
And in the desert sun I saw,
Six measly riders, nothing more
Riders roosting without knowing
No one dares disturb the sands of...... Sevier.
 
John “Licketysplit” had a bad get off on a ledge. It was apparent we needed outside help. Will go into more details later, just send up some positive thoughts/prayers. He is in Grand Junction awaiting surgery, most likely today. His femur has seen better days.
 
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