Adventure riding short rides and BS thread

[1962siia]

Bummer John!!

 

[SFMCjohn]

Bummer John!!

thanks, man, was just one of those things.
hope to see you soon!

Had a chance this weekend (yesterday) to ride up there again.
This time I brought extra gas.

I'm happy to say it was nothing. Here's the line we took.
[YOUTUBE]X8a8tAlIoc4[/YOUTUBE]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8a8tAlIoc4

Now I just have to build out a new tool kit and go with a tool roll instead.

that vid is awesome, and you guys made the crossing look easy! arty

 

[SFMCjohn]

update on my $2K twenty-year-old ADV bike that I couldn’t wrestle to the ground when it wouldn’t start, recently:
it was the battery, apparently.

know Mr Eric B installs one of those LED charging system monitors on his ADV bike, and now I know why.

anyway, things I need to add to my kit: multi-meter, LED charging system monitor thingy and an electric air-pump.

so, my pre-gen KLR now starts, and my next plan is to head south on Friday, 3/18, to the annual ADV.com Death Valley n00b’s Rally, where I’ll get to hang out with 200 of my closest Internet ADV moto buddies ...

here’s a map of some of the area I’d like to ride before I can use my tent space, which reservation begins in Panamint Springs Resort on Thursday 3/24:

and here is a google maps zoom-in Saline Valley Loop link, to the map above, that may work.

that’s the update. I’ll either try to camp at Carrizo on 3/18 or 3/19, or dash across the Sierras on Hwy 50 or Hwy 88, depending on the weather.

 

[Cabrito]

Good stuff John,
I've always wanted to do the noobs rally, and can't wait to ride DV again.

We looked for you in Carrizo last week, but only found EricB..

My CRF300L Rally was built for Carrizo


This last weekend the small bikes were shepherding the big bikes. it's hard to keep them contained.


Here we're looking for SJMCJohn, but never saw the mighty KLR on the Plain


Here's Anytwowilldo filling up with his RotoPax


We had a really cool mix of bikes too. Some of my favorites:






I took a chance at finding Barfer EricB at Selby and he showed up right on time to lead us on a great loop. Hopefully he'll post his awesome pics of this side trip.



The EricB loop ended when the trail got too steep, and loose and we had to turn around. Not easy on a steep narrow road for the big bikes.





We did end up with a little delay going home though.

 

[SFMCjohn]

Good stuff John,
I've always wanted to do the noobs rally, and can't wait to ride DV again.

awesome Carrizo pics ... don't recognize a lot of the places in the pics, will be fun to sit down with you and a map and have you show me where you went.

are you doing the Mendo Rally? he just opened it up to pay the money.

I'd totally be doing it but I'm on the hook for that ride in Redding and the Sheetiron the following weekend, so the first weekend in May was just toooo much to get away with at work.

food at the Mendo Rally is off the hook.

the n00bs Rally is fun, maybe next year?

 

[Cabrito]

awesome Carrizo pics ... don't recognize a lot of the places in the pics, will be fun to sit down with you and a map and have you show me where you went.

are you doing the Mendo Rally? he just opened it up to pay the money.

I'd totally be doing it but I'm on the hook for that ride in Redding and the Sheetiron the following weekend, so the first weekend in May was just toooo much to get away with at work.

food at the Mendo Rally is off the hook.

the n00bs Rally is fun, maybe next year?

I can show you where we went. EricB's side route was pretty fun.
Spotwalla should show some of it in broad strokes.
https://new.spotwalla.com/trip/a31e-2882ff-5fa0/view?homeActive=1&showAll=1

Here are a few the EricB took.

West of Soda Lake Road





On the way home (Parkfield Grade area I think)


Taft, CA in the am...


Team Made in Japan after the Euro bikes ditched us

 

[SFMCjohn]

I can show you where we went. EricB's side route was pretty fun.
Spotwalla should show some of it in broad strokes.
https://new.spotwalla.com/trip/a31e-2882ff-5fa0/view?homeActive=1&showAll=1

Here are a few the EricB took.

West of Soda Lake Road

love this pic, and love SpotWalla ... fun to see where you went in broad strokes. I've camped up above Selby, years ago, but in general have not explored the west side much.

did the big bikes get tired of trying to follow Team Made in Japan up scary steep stuff?

 

[ThumperX]

Great pictures!

 

[Cabrito]

did the big bikes get tired of trying to follow Team Made in Japan up scary steep stuff?

Um, no.. If anything we were too slow for them even in the dirt. Those BARF Baja guys are pretty fricken good riders and ride those things like giant dirt bikes. We did turn around on the steep hill in consideration of the older BMW GSPD in case it was a dead end and we had to backtrack. He was grateful.

 

[SFMCjohn]

Um, no.. If anything we were too slow for them even in the dirt. Those BARF Baja guys are pretty fricken good riders and ride those things like giant dirt bikes. We did turn around on the steep hill in consideration of the older BMW GSPD in case it was a dead end and we had to backtrack. He was grateful.

yeah, I was projecting about scary stuff, I'm sure I'd have been grateful to turn around too.
positive all those Team Baja guys would ride circles around me.

 

[1962siia]

Super fun tracks this weekend! I had a great time, and nobody had any trouble keeping up, and nobody was slowing us down! I did really start to gel with the 950 on this trip. I think it was the first one where I didn't worry about crashing it. Probably should install my crash bars before the next trip!

Love the Team MIJ pics!

 

[Cabrito]

I did really start to gel with the 950 on this trip. I think it was the first one where I didn't worry about crashing it. Probably should install my crash bars before the next trip!

yeah man, you're 950 is a beauty. One of my favorite color schemes

 

[SFMCjohn]

got to Carrizo and the Mojave this weekend:

Mr MTERK joined me ... moonrise over his KTM 890 and tent and my fave camp spot in the Temblor Range.

late-ish March worked well for us with the wildflowers, we got to see orange, yellow and purple wildflowers this weekend, and got a really good look at a herd of resting pronghorn antelope just south of Parkfield.

on Saturday morning, Mr MTERK headed off to Yuma to meet up with Mr greenhornet, Mr mjj and Mr Frisco to begin their SoCal BDR adventure, and I headed off toward Trona Pinnacles and Death Valley. the killer app for the Carrizo Temblor Range camping spot I like is for through-riding on my way somewhere else.

pic is the Tehachapi end of Comanche Point Road which is where I headed after seeing Mr MTERK off at the Sinclare gas station in Taft.

Mr MTERK, at the famously incongruous Elkhorn Road street sign in the Carrizo Plain, loaded for SoCal BDR shenanigans.

turns out he’s a super-nice guy (we had only known each other from our BARF posts) and an old motocross racer, and much better rider than I am, which I found out because I made him take the lead a couple times on our ride from the Parkfield Cafe to Carrizo.
(we also almost met up with Mr Weeweno?, but he wound up having his own adventure in the eastern Sierras. next time! )

anyway, Comanche Point Road is still there, and still cool, I can report today. arty

I made it to moar wildflowers in the Mojave Desert, just east of California City, before the KLR stopped answering the call of the starter button.

that’s the “Some Gave All” memorial. I neglected to take a pic of the gentleman in the visitor book in the box, who I guess the memorial is for, thinking I’d be able to find it easily on-line, but no luck.

I’d ridden east fast enough to stay out of the forecast rain, but after an elderly couple gave me a push to bump start the KLR in a rest area on Hwy 58 near Barstow, I had to ride back west and into and through the rain in Bakersfield and then again on I-5 to get my silly self returned to Lower Haight. an over-twelve-hour day on the KLR, ouch, gassing up three times without being able to turn the engine off to finally extract myself.

never a dull moment with SFMCjohn.
see you around a campfire, maybe at StonyBARF, if I can recall the KLR starter to its duty.

 

[matty]

Oh man, not again Sorry man. If it means anything at all, your pictures are lovely and more importantly inspirational

Wonder if you can add a kick start to that beast. A big 650 without a decomp lever, yeah, it should kick over easy.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for a Versys 300

 

[Cabrito]

Oh man, not again Sorry man. If it means anything at all, your pictures are lovely and more importantly inspirational

Wonder if you can add a kick start to that beast. A big 650 without a decomp lever, yeah, it should kick over easy.

x2 - Not again! Did your battery die again or what?

Awesome that MTERK and the others are doing the CABDR.

 

[SFMCjohn]

Oh man, not again Sorry man. If it means anything at all, your pictures are lovely and more importantly inspirational

Wonder if you can add a kick start to that beast. A big 650 without a decomp lever, yeah, it should kick over easy.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for a Versys 300

kick-starter would be cool ... think you can add the KLR 600 kick-starter to pre-‘96 KLR 650 cases, and that some guys used to do that 20 years ago.

I’ll see if I can find an old ADV thread about that mod.

edit, guy provides overview of parts needed for a kick-starter:

[YOUTUBE]J86fMFqiwxI[/YOUTUBE]

pretty sure my KLR has an auto decompression assembly on the end of the exhaust cam, to assist the starter to a longer life, I guess.

x2 - Not again! Did your battery die again or what?

Awesome that MTERK and the others are doing the CABDR.

so, the current theory is maybe it’s a bad brand-new battery or a bad starter (suggestion from one of my BMW R1200GS Adventure buddies, who just rebuilt his starter).

pretty confident the stator is putting out 13.4 volts at 3000 rpm, but I’ll check that again.

as you know, they are pretty basic bikes, it just sometimes takes me a while to wrestle problems to the ground, because ima clown.

for example, this bike used to not run in the rain.

turned out it still had the stock carb vent, and adding the “T” mod solved that issue, as proved by how the engine ran flawlessly in the poring rain, recently.

but that was a problem with this bike that drove me nuts for a while. anyway, I imagine my recurring failure-to-restart issue will be something similar, a straight-forward solution.

So cool that Mr MTERK and the gang are doing the SoCal BDR!
hopefully Mr greenhornet will post some pics.

 

[N4teTheGreat]

Sorry to hear your adventure was a bit more adventurous than planned, great pics though!

 

[SFMCjohn]

Sorry to hear your adventure was a bit more adventurous than planned, great pics though!

thanks, I always have fun taking pics, at least.

had some moar fun this am:

my good friend Kalle (@kalle on teh BARFs), took mercy on me and purchased this tricky little voltage reader for me after having gotten tired of listening to all my non-starting KLR stories-of-woe the last couple months.

I dropped the KLR off at my friendly local shop this morning, and before I bump started it, the new voltage reader read 12 volts, and of course the KLR didn't start when I pressed the starter button, and the voltage reader dropped down to 9.4 volts.

I gathered up my spare stator and put it in my backpack to bring to the shop and bump-started the KLR and at the shop we looked at the voltage with the engine rpms at 3000 and it read 11.4 volts. so, not charging when hot.

we're think the solution may require a new voltage regulator/rectifier and stator. idk. apparently they sometimes fail together? in any event, sounds good to me. like motorcycle suspension, I find motorcycle electrical stuff to be a profound, unsolvable cosmic mystery.

happy with Kalle's little voltage reader, it will also charge my cell phone, and plugs right into my pig-tail trickle battery charger plug, which I have on all my bikes.

anyway, that's the KLR update. shooting to wrestle the starting issue to the ground by the next StonyBARF in late April. arty

 

[xx4fun]

Great pics and awesome looking place the Plains are! I need to check it out. Picked up a 990 last year but have not took it on a multi day camp trip yet. Plenty riding experience but just starting to dab in the ADV world. Will have to check in here for some rides.

 

[elemetal]

Good thing the stator didn't die on you in Baja. Good place to be stuck for a while but you may have been stuck there a while...

May be a loose ground at the stator but more likely a broken wire in one of the windings, doubt its the reg/rec as you would see some voltage coming from the stator while running, just not be able to do much with it.

Saw a guy in Portland selling a "lot" of 2nd gen KLR stuff a few months ago; spare motor, some cases, swing arms and all kinds of parts that you collect after having a couple of these for years. Immediately thought of you and your two cannibal bikes to keep the one running...shoulda' sent you the link but it was too far away to be practical.

Only a couple of weeks to get it sorted...better hurry!