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Doing hardcore rides on bikes that weren’t meant for it

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dash1

dash1

Joined
Jun 21, 2021
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Location
Denton
Anyone else like challenges? One of my friends and I always thought it was hilarious when people did long distance riding on dual sports and naked bakes or took goldwings off road etc.

In that spirit I restored a ‘92 Nighthawk 750 two years ago. I took it to the tail of the dragon and did a Texas in state saddle sore 1000, both within a month of it starting for the first time in a decade.

It was late fall/early winter and like an idiot I dressed for the warmer midday temps and didn’t have any luggage to take cold weather gear or water. I was in jeans with a textile jacket/gloves with no windshield on the bike and the air temp didn’t go over 40 for the first 6 hours. I also had a couple of jets in my carbs get clogged halfway through the ride and struggled to hold highway speeds at full throttle.

I’ve done plenty of sports, running and hard manual labor in my life, but the mental struggle of staying awake and fighting through the pain all day was absolutely brutal and probably the hardest thing I’ve done. It ended up talking about 21 hrs to go 1100 miles.
 
This may qualify more or less, but last Saturday I did about 150 miles of dirt county roads on a 580lb Super Tenere with a bald rear tire. I didn't have to fight cold and sleep, but I did have to fight the constant fear of that big bike squirting out from under me on the gravel or jerking the handlebars out of my hands in the deep sand. It made for a workout and a stressful but challenging and fun day.
 
I rode a bone stock DRZ400S all over the state of Texas to include riding down from DFW to ride the Sisters.
 
Texas to Prudhoe Bay Alaska, to the Suzuki Headquarters in Orange County, CA, then back to Texas and then to Key West, FL and back on the bike in my profile photo. 13,000 miles in 4 weeks with a week taken out of the middle to work a week.
 
In 05, I bought a R1200GS and that was my dual sport bike for many years until I finally bought a DR650 to relieve some of the beating the GS was suffering.
 
My first real motorcycle was an 81 Suzuki GS750T. It was my everything. Commuter, tourer, off road, go get a burger, whatever machine. I lived 9/10's of a mile off a gravel road way WAY out in the hills of Tennessee. We had the worst dirt rutted road on our farm.

I had to learn how to ride in those conditions. So now any bike is an adventure bike to me!
 
I rode a brand new 1970 Yamaha 250cc 2 stroke from North Carolina to Los Angeles, California, a distance of 3,200 miles, shipped the bike to Oahu and rode it there for another 32,000 miles in two years. Oahu is an island that is 45 miles long and 28 miles wide. In the last three years, I rode a stock engined DRZ-400 on one trip of 14,000 miles (2020), and another trip of 11,000 miles (2022). Quite a few one and two week trips were done on the DRZ during those three years. I plan on riding the same on a trip to Canada next year. Not hard core, just don't let stereotypes determine where and when I ride my bikes.
 
humanrace said:
I rode a brand new 1970 Yamaha 250cc 2 stroke from North Carolina to Los Angeles, California, a distance of 3,200 miles, shipped the bike to Oahu and rode it there for another 32,000 miles in two years.
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DT2 ?. Curious how may days this took and what speeds you were able to average. I read all your trip post, but this may be most impressive to me.
 
JQ1.0 said:
DT2 ?. Curious how may days this took and what speeds you were able to average. I read all your trip post, but this may be most impressive to me.
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I had just bought a DS6 when I received transfer orders from MCAS Cherry Point, NC to Marine Base Kaneohe, HI. I used the transfer as an opportunity to take my first vacation. I took 30 days of leave and the Marines gave me twelve days of travel time because I was going in a privately owned vehicle. I had to stop at Carswell AFB in Ft. Worth and at another base in Barstow, California to be paid because I had spent nearly all my money on the down payment for the bike. My last three pictures on the trip were taken in Big Bend because I ran out of money for film. Nearly all my riding was on back roads until I got to Needles, CA. About twenty days were spent in Ft. Worth where my girl friend, now my wife of 49 years, lived. The rest of the 42 days was spent riding and looking at scenery.
My Yamaha DS-6 on the Lava beach near the rifle range at Kaneohe, Bay.
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I did an enduro, 40 miles or so, when my Rickman broke a chain adjuster at the last minute on my mom's ST90, 3 speed auto clutch. Added knobbies (14") and shocks from my Pursang. I took 13th out of 35+. The scoot was never the same afterwards though. Circe 1973ish.
 

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I recall a Marine Captain dubbed “Captain America” that rode a Yamaha RD-60 coast to coast in record time 1974
 
humanrace said:
I rode a brand new 1970 Yamaha 250cc 2 stroke from North Carolina to Los Angeles, California, a distance of 3,200 miles, shipped the bike to Oahu and rode it there for another 32,000 miles in two years. Oahu is an island that is 45 miles long and 28 miles wide. In the last three years, I rode a stock engined DRZ-400 on one trip of 14,000 miles (2020), and another trip of 11,000 miles (2022). Quite a few one and two week trips were done on the DRZ during those three years. I plan on riding the same on a trip to Canada next year. Not hard core, just don't let stereotypes determine where and when I ride my bikes.
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Love this! I was stationed at Lajes Fld in the Azores and had a 1970 Bultaco Matador. I was PCSing to Travis AFB in northern CA in ‘71. I was able to talk the crew chief/loadmaster with the TN Airguard into transporting me and my bike to Charleston, SC. I rode the 250 2stroke from there to SD for some leave time and then on to Travis. When I was there I sold it and bought a Triumph Bonneville.
 
dashiznit1 said:
Anyone else like challenges? One of my friends and I always thought it was hilarious when people did long distance riding on dual sports and naked bakes or took goldwings off road etc.

In that spirit I restored a ‘92 Nighthawk 750 two years ago. I took it to the tail of the dragon and did a Texas in state saddle sore 1000, both within a month of it starting for the first time in a decade.

It was late fall/early winter and like an idiot I dressed for the warmer midday temps and didn’t have any luggage to take cold weather gear or water. I was in jeans with a textile jacket/gloves with no windshield on the bike and the air temp didn’t go over 40 for the first 6 hours. I also had a couple of jets in my carbs get clogged halfway through the ride and struggled to hold highway speeds at full throttle.

I’ve done plenty of sports, running and hard manual labor in my life, but the mental struggle of staying awake and fighting through the pain all day was absolutely brutal and probably the hardest thing I’ve done. It ended up talking about 21 hrs to go 1100 miles.
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I thought we were doing this for fun?
 
Wow, great adventures pushing the envelope of endurance/pain. Mine don’t quite measure up but I do get a kick outta of gettin thrown off every now and then.
 
I ride my 125cc scooter basically everywhere. Whatever is boring in a car is an adventure on any motorcycle. Whatever is boring on a motorcycle is an adventure on a scooter. Grocery store trips change from everyday drudgery into a trip worth doing regardless of whether you need goceries.
 
mr72 said:
I ride my 125cc scooter basically everywhere. Whatever is boring in a car is an adventure on any motorcycle. Whatever is boring on a motorcycle is an adventure on a scooter. Grocery store trips change from everyday drudgery into a trip worth doing regardless of whether you need goceries.
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Rollerskates to the mailbox? I like riding motorcycles, almost any place any time. Everyone do what you do, and have fun doing it! Many years ago I bought a new MC in Jan. 28deg. outside, rode all day and loved every minute.
 
One more thing, in 1970 I used to trail ride my Honda S90 street tires and all ,mostly successfully. Talk about a fish out of water!
 
In 1973 at 17 years old I went through 7 states in 9 days on a 1972 Suzuki TS-250. Made it home with .25 cents in my pocket. The next year I went to Florida and Back to Texas on a 1974 Honda Elsinore MT-250 with a Jemco Expansion Chamber on it. I was accompanied by 2 TS-250's. Didn't know any better back then. Not much more these days either. ;-)
 
KsTeveM said:
This stuff is great, love it!! But.......

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How about dirt biking on an Africa Twin? Maybe a little less hardcore than most, but I have pictures! You ought to recognize the venue.

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There was also the time I got my first twin stuck. @my6 knows all about it.

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We did get it unstuck, but it took a good while.

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The aftermath with @my6's 990.

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