Solo Trip to SoCal - Sitting on a brick all the way down...

[SVsick50]

I had this convention for work that I had to pay for all out of pocket. Since I had to pay for everything, I decided to make it a little solo, mini-vacation/tour. I looked over and packed KLR and left on Thursday (I took every emergency tool I could possibly think of, and I'm glad I did that!).

This was my set up (from L to R)

1. Garmin 330 GPS unit (adpated to work with the REI universal mount) 2. Cigarette Lighter/Adapter (for my GPS unit) 3. Trailtech computer (as always) 4. LED Charging System Moniter (good to have when you plug in gadgets) 5. Grip Heaters (not shown) 6. Fan Bypass toggle switch (when I'm off road and I want extra cooling). 6. Cramp Buster (like a throttle rocker) 7. Big ol' IMS gas tank (6.6 Gallon)



Off I rode. I took 101 all the way down. As you all know, most of California looks like this - But F*ck Egypt.



I stopped by Pismo on the way down. Very pretty place and I really was starting to feel like I was in Southern California.





This was a cool rest stop in the valley of some mountains. Note: I still represent Westside Santa Cruz to this day.



I finally got to Ontario and did business. The first night was pretty casual and Friday-Saturday night were spent in suits and ties. Here's me and my collegues (Knights of Columbus Insurance reps, I'm the one in black.) I got an award for be a good little insurance rep boy in the state of California (140% of quota at year end).

[slydrite]

damn D what size is that tank?....looks HUGE....

[SVsick50]

Sunday morning I left at around 6:30am. Since I saw the Universal Studios exit, I decided to take a small detour.



They were closed.



I stopped in Pismo again on my way back to SJ. It was cold and foggy.



So I decided to cut through 101 via 154. It looked nice and twisty on my GPS, so I was excited to check it out. Off 154 there was a little, one-lane, twisty road called "Painted Cave Rd." so I decided to check it out.

[silverbelt]

Way cool dude Keep the pics coming........

I stayed over at the best western in pismo beach. Your right, it is pretty. Thats when I really felt norcal was gone and I was in socal.

Didn't take 154, but it looks cool.

Did you get a chance to ride 33 and Naciemento-Ferguson?

[Grunz]

Cool trip and pics Dion.

Though I gotta say I'm a bit mad at ya for taking away one of my big excuses for not getting a supermoto - the long trips.

Hmm, gotta find another retort before Chi's next assault..

[SVsick50]

Well, I found out why it was called "Painted Cave Rd." - because it actually had a painted cave! The sign said that the paintings were done by the Chumash shamans as far back as 1677.



Cave paintings.



This was my last rest stop before I went on the non-stop home. My GPS indicates:



866 total miles
Moving Avg. (including traffic and stops) - 62.8 MPH
Max Speed - 84.8 MPH (hey, it's a KLR!)
Total Riding Time - 14.09 Hrs.

I had to re-wire my headlight (connectors broke) and I blew one fuse. Thank God I brought all my tools. I thought it would be a bit much, but I had a solution for every possible mechanical emergency.

The KLR was a fine bike to take on that long asphalt haul, but it really isn't for everybody. A lot of people were asking me if I was exhausted after riding that long haul on that bike, and I have to say that all that dirt riding has helped my endurance incredibly. At times, on the road, I wished I had a V-Strom or something like it, but that will have to wait. The rear suspension only has 5 possible pre-load settings, so all the luggage made steering very, very bad. I had to slow things down in the turns to compensate for the reduced front end traction.

In the meantime, The KLR still reigns as the most versatile bike I've ever owned.

[SVsick50]

Originally posted by Grunz
Though I gotta say I'm a bit mad at ya for taking away one of my big excuses for not getting a supermoto - the long trips.

The KLR is FAR from a SuperMoto, bro. It's a dual sport. It's crazy, that was my only bike I had for dirt riding for awhile (before I got my CR125). It's very, very underpowered, though.

On a real SuperMoto or unconverted Enduro, there's no way you could do that trip. I mean, I guess you could, but it'd be very, very straining on the rider and on the bike.

[Grunz]

Phew, I was worried there for a second.

So if SM is a street legal dirtbike with street wheels/tires - how is a dualsport different from a dirtbike? If you don't mind to eduidmacate a noob.

[slydrite]

think abour the term 'dualsport' and what do you think that means?

[Sane_Man]

Originally posted by Dion Rides
Sunday morning I left at around 6:30am. Since I saw the Universal Studios exit, I decided to take a small detour.







They were closed.

Shoulda' checked with the Griswold's before you stopped there, plus the moose out front should have told you!


Looked like fun.

[SVsick50]

Originally posted by Grunz
Phew, I was worried there for a second.

So if SM is a street legal dirtbike with street wheels/tires - how is a dualsport different from a dirtbike? If you don't mind to eduidmacate a noob.

Okay, people cash-in on the fact that they have 17" wheels and big brakes on a single, and all of a sudden they think they have a SuperMoto. You can put 17's and big brakes on a toaster, that still doesn't make it a SuperMoto.

A true SuperMoto is directly derived from an aggressive, race dirtbike which are usually not street legal. Really, it doesn't matter if it's a 4-stroke or 2-stroke, but you really have to think CRF450's, CRF250's, Huskies, etc.

You can do a SuperMoto conversion on a dual-sport, but it's still a dual-sport. My XR650L was never a real SuperMoto, IMO. It was a dual-sport.

In comparison, you can put saddlebags and a top box on an R1, that doesn't make it a touring bike.

Back to your original question, a dual-sport is 50% street, 50% dirt, supposedly... they are more like 20% street, 80% dirt just by set-up/chassis alone. They are always street legal directly from the factory. People will plate an enduro or dirtbike, but it's still an enduro or dirtbike, not a dual-sport.

The street-legal status of the new Huskies and KTMs are really riding the line. Those bikes are more enduro'esque than dual-sport, but are probably registered under the dual-sport label.

People love to do SM conversions on dual-sports because it's as close to SuperMoto as you can get without crossing the red tape at the DMV.

BTW, I hate it when people put 17" wheels on KLR's.

[Grunz]

Thanks for the explanation Dion.

[NoGall]

Nice!

[uhmeebuh]

I've been thinking about the new (07) KLR since it was redesigned and seemed to fix a few of the previous models "issues". I like to tour and like beat up goat trail roads and the KLR seems like it would handle those needs really well. It just sucks on the freeway...