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Some Useful Info For DR650 With Safari 30L Tanks
Afternoon all
Ok, we did a milage check the other day (when my bike was going). We decided we wanted know how far the bike would go till reserve, I do not know what the reserve capacity of the Safari tank is so if someone does know please let me know. So ..... riding the bike the speedo reads 60 mph, Mrs.Garmin shows 56/57 mph corrected. That gives a correction value of approx 5%. I travelled 441 miles so 709.7 km (approximately ) when is spluttered and I changed over to reserve. Correction of 5% on Speedo would be around 419 miles or 675 km till reserve which is not too shabby. We have yet to bend our fuel lines horizontal on the carb to get the last of the fuel out which I will do when we do the main valve service. Anyway, hope this info is useful for someone ponding the merits of a larger tank for your DR 650. |
G'day Andi/ellen
Guy's you've had me spell bound for the last couple of days ,Ive read all of your posts,very much enjoyed looking at your photo's,will follow the rest of your tour with interest,Noel
p.s kiwi's beat us in the football again,this where i claim my NZ ancestry (mums a kiwi):D:thumbup1: |
Missoula To Kalispell
Monday August 13th 2012
Lance takes my bike to work to check the balance of the front wheel, he didn’t even make 100 metres and Hobbit spat the countershaft seal out, same problems as Ellens bike Chiwi. I had previously written to Suzuki asking if there was a bad batch of cases on the later 11’s and early 12’s but they had not replied. Both bikes are only 3 months old, my has 11200 miles and Ellens had 8000 miles on it, 99% road use. All warrantee work is at the dealership and it is on us to get the bike to the dealership despite it being a Suzuki problem, this has cost us dearly now with excessive amounts (10 Litres) of oil be poured through the engines only to have it all spat out on the road. After a while I have started to not see the funny side of this and I am quietly getting angrier at Suzuki for not owning up earlier, being RTW bikers it adds an extra time, expense and energy just to get the bike to the shop which I don’t believe they appreciate. We do expect some bits and pieces but come on Suzuki you are fast destroying a reliable reputation here and it is getting to test our patience especially when it hits us in the wallet for new machinery. Friday 17th at 5.30 pm we left Lances place after getting some positive info from Lelands in Kalispell. We decide to take the back roads north so headed on out through Plains and Hot Springs, we did make a navigational fopar so carried on through to Elmo where we found the camp ground for the night, tent spaces were full and we were offered a catamaran to sleep in, how cool is that!!! http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...spell/file.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ell/file-1.jpg Now we have accommodation for Two Floaty Kiwis, the sound of the water tapping gently against the hull was very nice, this was a first for us sleeping in a cat so it was coul. The following morning we were treated to the very generous offer from Les of a hoon on a jet ski and to take Kayaks out as well to enjoy the sunny day, we duly accepted both and had a blast, first Ellen and I went out then I went out for a one up hoon doing hamilton turns etc ........well cool. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ell/file-3.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-48.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-50.jpg We then went out on the kayaks with Les and his sister Crystal, we enjoyed a great chat and paddle around the lake edge while taking in spectacular views of the surroundings. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-18.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-20.jpg Eventually we left to head up to Kalispell just prior lunchtime to find out the bike parts fate. Clocking in to Leland Suzuki in Kalispell on Saturday18th after waiting most of the week in Missoula, Lelands advised that “most” of the parts where available bar a couple of bearings. So being forever positive and looking to turn baddies to goodies we set too and decided to explore some more around Kalispell and make the most of all the time staying within a stones throw in case either bike let go again .... kinda like diarrhea and not leaving far from the toilet. :eek1 :D A decision was made to go to Lake Koocanusa via Marian through the Pleasant Valley, this turned out to be quite an adventurous road in itself. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-21.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-22.jpg We didn’t make it to the lake as we stopped off at a small river and met some local hooligans who invited us in for a swim and the camping was free so that was mint and fitted our budget perfectly. If you think this looks like a Chinese Laundromat that is because it is!! :rofl http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-23.jpg After setting up camp we piled into the river for a swim and sat in the sun, outstanding!!, on conclusion of the playing we were invited over to join them for home made burgers, I tell ya that had so much more appeal than the rice we were cooking. A fire was lit, drinks were poured and general shite was talked around the fire until we all went to bed, Shawn who was one of the lads was a bit crook after being attacked in broad daylight by Tequila....he had bottle flu in the morning. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-31.jpg Saying goodbyes after a monster breakfast of leftovers we did a loop of the lake and headed to Libby then over to Bull Lake to make camp for the night, stunning place, warm water so swimming was on the agenda. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-33.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-34.jpg Nec morning the large Cedars were calling us to have a look, these monsters were 500 years old and 2 -3 metres girth and beautiful but size does matter fellas, we have trees 2500 years old and 14 metres girth Tāne Mahuta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-39.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-41.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-43.jpg You can take a million photos in here, beautiful place. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-47.jpg Gettng back to camp we packed up and headed south and back around to Polson to catch up with Maren and Rocky, we ended up staying the night before escaping at 7.30am in the morning to Kalispell to Lelands Honda and Suzuki. |
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Welcome to follow us, any suggestions for writing etc would be welcomed for us to improve for you guys. |
Onya mate, lovin' the blog.
Cheers bloke Nigel in NZ |
Mate you guy's are kiwi's ,what can a Aussie teach you!
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Kalispell And The Whining Post
The sole reason to come 150 miles north from Missoula was to get Hobbit and Chiwi sorted out hopefully once and for all, 3rd gear was groaning badly in my bike and had been getting progressively worse from 5000 miles until Lelends took it apart at 11000 miles.
This is an image of a 3 month old DR650 :cry http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...0Fail/file.jpg On pulling down Hobbit they found 3rd to be bad .... blue from excess heat bad with hardening coming off (what a surprise), two set of cases were supposed to have been sent to fix the oversized countershaft seal hole however only one lot turned up with some confusion with Suzuki that Ellens bike had been fixed??? . New cases with number put back on http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ail/file-5.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...il/file-10.jpg 3rd gear, turned blue from heat, suspect from the hardening coming off and creating drag. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...il/file-12.jpg With 3 months to spend in the USA before our B2 VISA’s expire we have now used 3 weeks of this getting the F%&^$n Suzukis sorted out and we are not there yet, we have a good long time for our trip however our US bought bikes are now stuffing our US based trip, bearing in mind it cost us $3500 NZD with flights, application fees, interviews, time of work etc to get these so essentially it has already cost us over $583.33(approx) a month just to see the place before we had even set foot here. So this is the whining report of broken bikes and way behind on looking at what we want to look at, we may consider extending our VISA’s providing they don’t royally rip us if we can so we can at least see the US instead of Suzuki dealerships. Suzuki, you have a known problem, sort it out as you have now cost us a lot of time and money which we are less than impressed with, this will prevent other RTWers doing a Suzuki Shop Tour like we have been forced to do.:baldy:baldy Lelands Suzuki, Leland's Honda Suzuki in Kalispell, Montana offers new and used Honda and Suzuki parts, accessories & maintenance for your sportbike, cruiser, dirtbike, atv and muv vehicles. the non whining part, these guys are simply great to deal with and really pulled out the stops for us as best they could with red tape removal and getting stuff sorted but they too are jammed in the middle, these guys are our saving grace. We can’t complain really as the weather has been fine and we went to Glacier park again (but should have been west and back beyond Yellowstone by now!!!) but we will, sometimes you get a shit build up and now we are at that point where prematures failures are causing us time and monetary issues and being on a budget the last thing we need is unwanted, unneeded, unnecessary failures that beat our budget up as that means something else has to give!!!!! On brighter note Ellens riding is coming on well, we are as at writing our whinge report in a Walmart Carpark and Ellen is practicing her U turns, stops, starts etc which is cool. Not long now and we may even be back on the road and be able to put the practice to pleasure. New Note To Add Today is Friday the 24th August, Lelands rang and told us that they needed a part that only a New Jersey Dealer had so it won’t be here until Saturday afternoon at best. They wanted Ellens bike in so they can start that and make some progress, we took it in which left us stranded for wheels so they kindly lent us a DL1000 so we are leaving the country and heading back to Canada for a few days so we don’t waste any more time. The camping ground that we have been staying at White Birch RV Camping, Country Motel | Kalispell, MT the owner Larry has been outstanding to say the least, very friendly and accommodating and he is even looking after our gear while we are reduced back to one loner bike, Larry your support in a time where things got tight for us was mint and we really appreciate it. Bye bye USA hello Canada ...we are BACK!!!! |
I had a warranty repair done on a Kawasaki a couple of years back which took a month or longer. I was several thousand miles into a trip at the time, and ended up buying a backpack, flying to Europe with it, wandering around bike-less, then returning to pick up the bike. It cost thousands of dollars, and I got back to Europe with the bike just in time for winter--subzero temps, ice and snow all the way through Germany and parts of France, etc. etc. etc.
It's all part of the game. Be glad it happened in North America instead of, say, the Bolivian altiplano. Count me as one who will continue reading appreciatively. Thanks for the text and photos! Mark PS: For big trees, head for the Pacific coast, where there are many which put those puny Rocky Mountain cedars to shame. And if it's really thickness that matters, look for El Arbol de Tule outside Oaxaca--something like 15 meters in diameter (not girth). You and the DR's will be there before you know it, countershaft seals and all. |
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Thanks for your supportive words, yeah always better looking at the brighter side but I have to admit this has wound me up a bit having now spent 1 month sorting the bikes out out of teh 3 months we "had", especially with such little miles on them. Suzuki spent $1602.54 on Ellens and .......... $3953.71 :eek: on mine and third gear still grizzles :thumbdown: .... at least the countershaft seal is still in the hole!!! We have made the most of the situation by getting and out looking around but it has involved a lot of back tracking etc is now nice to be heading South again hopefully trouble free. |
Idaho Falls - Klim Visit
Finally picked up our bikes from Lelands, although Hobbit’s third gear still noisy, we have wasted so much time waiting for them to be fixed, time to move on or we will never see half of what we want to.
http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-65.jpg Just before we left, Larry’s neighbour Al came over, Andi and he talked about motorbikes (as ya do). He said he had a few “old” ones, including an Indian. Andi said to him he saw a great one in Kaslo a month ago and will show him some photos only to find out Al is the owner!!! We both jumped on the fully decorated Indian in the morning before leaving Kalispell and took turns at taking photos. Then AL offered us a ride in his baby car...a 1966 Shelby signed personally by Carroll Shelby .... how cool is that.!!! http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-89.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-87.jpg The Indian http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-82.jpg I think it suits Ellen better http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-76.jpg Finally we hit the road to Bitterroot, catching up with the lovely family we met at Caribou Creek nearly a month ago. Katie was working for the food bank that day till the afternoon, Tom and Nori came home after working on their lake house near Flathead Lake. We all ended up arriving the house nearly same time! Katie showed me her pottery workshop and all the art work displayed around their house. All of her three daughters have inherited her talent, they can draw, design and make beautiful stuff. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ll/file-96.jpg Katie and Tom's cat likes our bikes http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ls/file-13.jpg Their eldest daughter Meg Natural Dwellings Architecture came back the next day in the morning from Missoula to catch up with us. She is an Architect, we are very impressed by her design concept, using natural and recycled material to build cool houses that are sensibly green and easy to heat/cold control. Tom, the only man in the house, cooked us huckleberry pancakes for breakfast, used his grandmother’s sour dough starter which she gave to him about 50 years ago, yummy! Unfortunately, we don’t have too much time to spend with them either. Ellen would love to make sushi for them, we have to save it for next time meeting them again, maybe in NZ! We took 93 down to Salmon. Must be very close to the some serious forest fire, smoke became thick and strong, we even passed one firefighters camp and saw hundreds of tents and vehicles at one place. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ls/file-20.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ls/file-22.jpg The smoke made for some spooky backdrops http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ls/file-24.jpg We saw some really cool fence work too .... well at least I liked them cos we don't get them in NZ like that http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ls/file-25.jpg Andi found a place to get his knee down near Idaho Falls just testing the Klim pants and Heidenau tires ... it all worked ok.:evil http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...s/file-104.jpg We called Mark who is the Klim marketing person and the man that set me up, we contacted him along the way, we had also contacted Edward from ADV rider as tent spacer, Mark invited us to stay with them however we had already sent a request to Edward so we rang Mark to tell him where we were at. Well small world strikes again, I rang Mark and told him who we were staying with ..... Mark replies “I work with him” ... so now we know the Idaho Falls motorcycling circles are very communal. With some work to be done to the bikes and Edward having tools etc he invited us to take care of it all before hitting the road, we took the opportunity and went to get some wine for a treat .... we had a groovy night of talking travel, shit, motorcycles, Klim and all the other good things in life. Dunno who these dodgy buggas are..:D http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ls/file-11.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ls/file-16.jpg Next morning was our official business meeting with Klim being a sponsor of my gear, we met Mark and Edward and we were taken for a secret squirrel tour of Klim including “area 51” which is limited, secretive, sensitive, secured and under surveillance, although we have been sworn to secrecy I can say with authority to watch this space with Klim .... you will not be disappointed!!! At Klim HQ with Edward http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...lls/file-2.jpg Such was our status we were allowed fotos on the "star of the week park :rofl http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...lls/file-1.jpg Heise Hot Springs also called us for a relaxing plunge and mum nature dealt to us with a thunderstorm of epic proportions, we spotted a camp ground area with a building and a soffit so we piled in under that for cover. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...lls/file-9.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...lls/file-5.jpg After 10 minutes the rain was still going hammer and tongs, we walked around the other side of the building to the bigger soffit and a lady (Rose) greeted us and welcomed us in out of the rain, next thing she says Klim gear, my husband works for Klim!!! :deal ... me.. who is your husband? :huh Lady .. Mark, :eek1 me ...you are kidding me we just had lunch with Mark!. :D Lady ... so you are the Kiwis staying with Edward :eek1 :huh :D ... me ... well ... yes :evil Lady ... r e a l l y she says.. I will just ring him :huh :eek1 me ... doh!!! :eek1 He wasn’t in trouble but it was a very funny phone call, seems that if you don’t know Mark from Klim here you are not a local!! :rofl Friday night Paul from Klim came around to Edwards place on his F650 Bemma, we helped change his rear tire out and replaced the chains and sprockets for him. Paul very nice meeting you mate and a pleasure to help you as well. Saturday morning was a lazy start, Edward and I attacked his KTM 950 SE (note to oneself I must not to slobber on other peoples bikes) this bike has a setup that would make any ADV rider envious including 30L tank and winch ... too many things to list. A tire change and some adjustments, then it was onto the DR’s, I did our headlight turn off switch and both our new chain guards got RTV behind them and inner tube washers with flat panel washer to try and give them more support and stop them from breaking. Hopefully this will work. Saturday evening with groovy tunes playing and some Smirnoffs and beers we had an entertaining night, again mum nature dishing up a thunderstorm with lightning galore and thunder that rumbled the house...luckily we were not in the tent. Sunday morning is departure day to Yellowtone National park ..... |
Teton And Yellowstone
Teton tops, stunning and abrupt, the camera could not do this place justice and nor can my writing, the recommendation is to go there.
http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...stone/file.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...one/file-6.jpg Jenny Lake http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...one/file-8.jpg So Yellowstone was raved about by many thus it was on our list of must do’s.There is some real beauty and the thermal works are pretty cool. On entering the park we were greeted by a fat man in the booth who would not let Ellen in until she has signed our National Parks pass for her bike.... WTF ... her bike wasn’t signed??? So he (Park Ranger Booth Police) says she can’t come in, Me, why not? PRBP, she has not signed the card Me, ok chuck us a pen PRBP, reluctantly puts card on clip board with a pen and passes it too me Me, pass it to Ellen Ellen, signs it! Me, Ellen passes it back (Interuption) at least 8 cars behind us Me, pass the clip board back with the signed card PRBP, unhappily passes me back our card, I then ask for a park map, he says we can have two, I politely say one will do fine ... yet again he was put out ..... Hmmmmm nutha person who needs a job that does not involve people, maybe it is his sister in Mezadian Camp!!. Eventually we leave the booth after the card fiasco, funny thing is he did not even ask for ID!!! Mammoth was our destination for the evening so we cruised the park with everyone else at 20 mph and stopped and took it all in. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ne/file-11.jpg I am feeling a little inadequate now :eek1 http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ne/file-19.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ne/file-18.jpg Neat camp site at Mammoth with flush toilets and a great host and hot springs only 2 minutes down the road...perfect. The hot springs we visited three times as we ended up staying a second night after deciding that we wanted to see the rest of the park so we left our camp set up which made sense. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ne/file-36.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ne/file-64.jpg ADV salute http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ne/file-89.jpg Cool wee cave http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ne/file-87.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ne/file-86.jpg During the evening at the hot pools one of the Feds put a note on Ellens bike saying it was parked illegally and that her plate had been called in for “Driving Recklessly”, there were no “No Parking” signs and we were on the edge of the carpark so we can’t quite figure out if they were pulling the piss or not, secondly I am not sure where Ellen Recklessly drove although I did see her mindlessly and recklessly accelerate from 20mph to 22mph at one stage.:huh On one of the walks we went to the Ranger lady said we can’t park in the car park because if someone came in in a 12 meter motorhome there would not be much room!!!! ... .and she was serious .... I was waiting for some smart bastid to pop out of the bush with a camera and say “You Have Been Punked”, anyway treat it as a joke but mate the Feds in that park don’t have a sense of humour or even a personality. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...1221781050.jpg How to spoil a beautiful place, just add Park Ranger, give him/her a stupid hat and $1.00 dollar store badge and they think they are Starsky and Hutch. Mammoth hot pools, go there, absolutely great and so relaxing, can’t recommend that enough and certainly after Recklessly Driving at 20 mph in Yellowstone all day, stunting for that long is just hard work. :D From Yellowstone we left on 212 to Beartooth Pass, that is one seriously high road and fantastic views, there were many forest fire burning so vision was restricted but being there on the top of the world was awesome. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...e/file-122.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...e/file-125.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...e/file-129.jpg At the base of Beartooth we stopped at road works behind two dodgy dudes on Wings, we said giddays etc then on our merry way to Red Lodge, we did some fud shopping then it was agreed that a nice coffee would top it off before heading to find camp. We pulled in on the main street and saw the two dodgy Wings parked there, at that point the owner (Jim) came out and over to us, interested in what we were doing he offered to buy us lunch, we agreed on a coffee ..... that is what we wanted. On completion of their lunch we walked to a coffee shop and were treated to a coffee by Paul and Jim, two mate on a road trip. We sat and talked for maybe two hours when the shop lady said she needed to boot us out at closing time in 4 minutes ... we read the body language and took the subtle hint ... we said thanks and goodbyes to Paul and Jim, great guys and great afternoon, many thanks guys, just the stop we needed to relax and get energized. Dead Indian Camp was calling so we hunkered down and got there, we were treated to a magic sunset over the pass just before the camp with the forest fire making for an excellent backdrop of colours ... out came Two Photo Kiwis again. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...e/file-134.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...e/file-135.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...e/file-132.jpg Arriving at camp we were greeted by the host and a fello ADVer Keith, we all sat round the camp fire and had a yarn, drunk wine and beer ... it was harsh but we managed it. The following morning Keith gave us some great local info on backroad to Bonneville and he said he would ride with us up to Beartooth where he would turn right, we were ready to go but his KTM 950 was reluctant with the cooler morning so the mighty DR came to the rescue to jump start the KTM .... success and we were on our way. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ne/file-97.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ne/file-98.jpg During our return visit back through the Waterfalls area we followed a R100PD into the parking lot only to find out it was Ken and Carol Duval, what an absolute treat to bump into these guys. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...e/file-118.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...e/file-109.jpg Later that day we caught up with Keith back at his home in Jackson as he invited us to put a tent up in his yard which was well cool. Thanks to Keith for having us and we look forward to seeing you again sometime. |
Jackson To Bonneville Salt Flats To Moab
The day started with a breakfast at the local, we shouted our host Keith out for having us stay and giving us help.
On completion of breakfast we said goodbye to Keith as he had to go to work, Ellen and I set off back home to pack up and head South on the roads/track Keith had suggested but while in town we did the touristy photo thing. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...son/file-9.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...on/file-10.jpg Jim and Paul (the dodgy wing dudes) surprised us when they turned up, turns out that they too had stayed the night in Jackson, they had looked at our TMK page and looked on Spot only to find we were only a few hundred metres apart, well they set to, followed the directions and saw the bikes, well done guys and great to catch you up again. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ckson/file.jpg A yarn was had and hugs goodbye and they were on their way and we carried on, packed up and set off South toward Bonneville and to stop half way at a camp near Snowville. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...on/file-27.jpg We took various back roads and made a couple of mistakes and ended up heading over a goat track which turned out to be quite fun. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...on/file-20.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...on/file-23.jpg Part of our mission in the space programme was to check up on Rover and see what photos it had taken, couldn't find him tho :D .. .sorry NASA. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...son/file-3.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...son/file-5.jpg We arrived at camp a little late but enough light to put up the tent etc. Following morning with Bonneville in our sights we took a shortcut across the plains on shingle roads etc, we travelled 75 miles without seeing a soul, tar seal was in front of us for some 20 miles then off into the gravel again. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...lat/file-1.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...lat/file-8.jpg The road was corrugated to hell and smooth in other sections, we did manage to find one of three trees to have lunch under in the shadows before hitting the big desert to Bonneville. On arriving at Bonneville we went out on the the flat where Burt made us proud, for locals to get in it was $20.00 bucks ... for Kiwis it was free!! :clap On ya Burt!!! http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/.../BurtMunro.jpg We carried on out through salty water and salt crystals which soon caked the bikes sticking like shit to a blanket... who woulda thought eh. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...at/file-17.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...at/file-27.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...at/file-26.jpg We checked out the srutineering tents and there was some seriously high powered vehicle ranging from bikes, car to trucks, they even have a 200 mph tent!! http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...at/file-24.jpg Ellen and I had our own we race, her riding skill improving to Motard level.... really traction able eh :evil http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...at/file-13.jpg As we were short on time with our bike failures scoffing nearly a month of our US trip we decided to hit the road to Cantville where we set up for the night. Next morning we literally hightailed it down to Moab to our next wanted destination, the only highlight was watching a tire blow out and off only metres in front of me with rubber and smoke everywhere, luckily I was not hit by the flying rubber that flew past me. Secondly was the truck that rolled and caught fire which was front page news, we didn’t see it happen tho. Moab was hot on arrival and we set up in a RV park which had Wifi and hot showers so a bit of a treat really. We met two ADV fellos there as well on Triumphs so ended up having chats to them. |
Moab - White Rim Trail - Ellens Crash(s)
Day One
Whoa what day, started out ok with a leisurely ride to Canyonland Park in beautiful weather, today was going to be picture taking and rider training at Ellens request. The plan was to ride Moabs famous White Rim Trail which is used by 4 wheelers, MTBrs and Adv bikers. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...oab/file-2.jpg To be fair it is not very hard but you have to keep your mind on the job so you don’t ride off a cliff literally! ... and they are big heights in some cases 100’s of metres. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...oab/file-4.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...oab/file-5.jpg Ellen fell at various points along the way in the sandpits and technical sections, the worst we broke her windscreen extension. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-11.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-13.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-17.jpg At one point she fell 4 times in 30 meter or 100 feet, it was very hot, patience were wearing a little thin and words were said. Only 3 miles from what was to be our camp site at half way Ellen binned her bike very badly on a steepish short ascent, somehow she turned the bike 90 degrees to the tracked and gased it ending up hanging of the edge of a small drop luckily not going any further. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-19.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-20.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-22.jpg First assessment was that Ellen was OK, second was to check Chiwis health, at first glance the right hand case was smashed open and crooked, the tool tube had taken a hell of a hiding and was in bad shape and the highway peg set was bet, the Barkbuster saved the day again and it took a kingpin hit on hard rock. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-25.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-27.jpg The next mission was to try and right Chiwi and get her back on the track WITHOUT dropping her over the edge, if that had happened we would have had to set camp and just wait for help, no cellphone coverage etc and we were nearly at the midpoint of the 110 mile circuit. We tried our rope but could not budge her, we emptied her of the top box, removed the food bag and left case, eventually with much grunting and pulling we managed to get the front wheel back on terafirma then back onto the track, we managed to get her started and take her up to the more level section to execute at least temporary repairs so we could get to camp. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...eo/th_file.jpg On inspection of the right case it had been split open at the front, the full length hinge on the Kincrome case saved the day by not letting go completely and my kiwimade timber crash bars paid their way again but not enough to save the case. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-26.jpg The tool tube took an absolute beating and the hit S shaped the aluminium cover on the right hand side, the hinge was bent and the ABS plastic was ground back pretty badly, the aluminium swiping itself off on the bedrock on the way passed. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-24.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-21.jpg We levered the case back into shape, luckily with the heat of the day this helped with getting it sorted. The tool tube lid I removed and beat back out flat on some flat rocks with another rock ... who needs a hammer?!!! The tool tube will never shut properly now or keep water out as it has lost a lot of the plastic and aluminium to mum natures abrasive Moab rock. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-28.jpg The camp was a welcome site and we set too with Krazy glue and RTV, hopefully this will hold at least until we can get some plastic welding done, we straightened everything out as best as we could and made things function. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-55.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-56.jpg The camp area was very cool allowing us to take advantage of being in a beautiful place for the evening http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-60.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-62.jpg Some really groovy trees http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-29.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-30.jpg Beautiful sunset http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-71.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-70.jpg The night time provided with some stars to play with photography ... not too bad for a wee camera. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-72.jpg A couple of us after doing repairs and settling down for the evening http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-32.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-33.jpg Day Two Ellen at sunrise ready to race (or jump off the cliff) :D http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-74.jpg An early start was on the cards having not even made it half way due to Ellens cliffhanger episode, a quick breakfast, no coffee as we did not have enough for coffee and to fill our packs, filling our pack was way more important so that won. Only two minutes out of camp Ellen lost the bike to a sandpit, one of many that were to come, all the good work with glue etc was undone in an instant and added to the damage quite badly due to the weakened case. http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-75.jpg The trip to be fair was turning into torment for me as I spent half the trip going back and forth and picking her bike up and slowly watching it get wrecked. Ellen took a pretty good binning on the left hand side as well, this time smashing the front out of the left box, again there was more binnings which saw the case get damaged further. There were really neat rocks and formations as well as spectacular backdrops http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-77.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-78.jpg http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...ab/file-49.jpg We ended up having a break and scoffing chocolate coated coffee beans for energy as picking the bike up again and again in 38 degree heat knocks it out of you pretty quickly. We eventually made it out totally shattered and luckily we only ran out of water just as wee hit the road back to Moab, on returning to the camp we had hot showers, and BIG guzzle on Coke to take in the damage. |
Guys really impressive photos
Sorry its come at such a cost ,trust you will be able to make repairs,enjoying your posts very much.I hope the stacks havent caused to much personal injury.Noel
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