Weekend of trail riding

I managed to rack up about 800 Kms this weekend, riding back and forth to rural areas west of Ottawa(Calabogie, Ompah / Mosque Lake) as well a good number of trails in those areas. It was a long weekend (May two-four) and the weather was terrific. I enjoyed two days of riding with two groups of people.

1st Ride: Monday

Saturday was a trail maintenance day for the BMA. I joined in and went along to explore some fantastic trails in the Calabogie area. No idea where we went -- I was just following the leader. Saw some great trails and got a real workout. Managed to dump the bike in a big muck hole and got my leg trapped under the bike while lying in 10-12 inches of muddy water. Fortunately, Scott was there to lift the bike off me (you just know KLR riders are strong because their bikes are heavier than DR's).

We rode a total ~100 Kms of trails and gravel before the day was done. It's too bad it takes an hour of highway riding to get to the area. We also walked a couple of Kms with folding saws and cleared from branches from the trails. Kevin --the KTM man-- our guide and leader, knows these trails very well and showed us an awesome time.

FYYFF  !

taking a breather

first break of the day

The little KTM got drowned in the giant puddle

 (deeper than it looks -- airbox full of water)

a serious tool for riding through the woods

The muck hole where I had my get-off

Airing up the tires before the ride home.

Ready to head for home

2nd ride: Monday

Then on Monday (Queen Elizabeth's birthday) a bunch of ADV riders were getting together for a ride on some trails the other side of Ompah. A great bunch of guys and we had a great time. Got up at 5am and met at Tim Horton's in Almonte by 7am. Trails weren't as 'hardcore' as the BMA trails but a lot of fun, and still challenging at times. I had to split a little early to head for home, while the others apparently suffered through a gruelling trail shortly after my departure.

Almonte Timmies -  way too early in the morning

one of the half-dozen or so muck holes we passed through

break time

Hydro line trails - easy going

The lone Beemer (the sleek 800GS)

One of a pair of big KTM's (these are monster bikes)

I sent my wife a text message to tell her that

I was on my way home, but she was on her way

to the beach with the kids. So I rode to the

beach and spent the rest of the afternoon there

(Gatineau Park).


Odometer: 16,625 Km

BMW Demo Ride Day

The local BMW dealer was holding a demo ride day so I booked the 2010 R1200GS Adventure. I was thinking about a ride on the awesome 180 horsepower S1000RR supersport but to be riding it along in a group with 15 other bikers on city streets would be like taking a Formula 1 Ferrari race car for a spin to the supermarket... how much fun would that be? You'd really only appreciate a bike like that on a racetrack and I'd probably just end up doing something stupid and get myself in deep trouble (or worse). I also considered the F800GS, which is probably the most practical bike in the entire BMW lineup, but since they were offering free rides, I figured I might as well go for the big boy (and I can pretend I'm Ewan McGregor or Charlie Boorman).

My first choice would have been the HP2 Megamoto ... but unfortunately that model wasn't available for a demo.

The entire demo ride fleet.

A total of 15, I think. 

cockpit

R1200GS

F800GS - this thing has one

 sweet sounding exhaust note

  

HP2 Megamoto

- too bad this beauty wasn't on the roster.

My impression of the R1200GS Adventure:

• 
  
  sitting at a red light with the engine running, just give the throttle a good crank and the engine gives a strong twist to the right. That's because the crankshaft is lined up front-to-rear and it's turning clockwise. So when you rev it, you can feel the crank turning as it wants to twist the whole bike to the side. Very cool feeling.
• the brakes were awesome (ABS braking system, of course).
• power delivery was very smooth and linear. It pulls hard if you give it lots of gas, but then again, it's a very big motor and it cranks out about 105 horsepower at the rear wheel so I expect it should have lots of get-up-and-go.
• front suspension felt like it had way too much static sag. In fact, I noticed the forks felt like they were almost bottomed when stopped. I watched carefully as I honked on it hard and the forks extended a good 5 inches, which tells me that they were compressed at least that much when I was stopped. I also noticed that I kept sliding forward on the seat, which also indicated to me that the front end was too low. Probably just an adjustment thing.
• above 5,000 rpm, the mirrors vibrated all to hell. Annoying.
• it felt lighter than I expected. Just look at the size of the thing, and knowing it weighs just under 500 lbs, it felt quite manageable in traffic and in the busy parking lot. Certainly not nimble but not as bad as I expected.
•  comfy seating position and plush ride.

Final thoughts: the BMW R1200GS Adventure is to dirt bikes as the Cadillac Escalade is to pickup trucks. If I had big bags of cash lying around, I'd love to have one. However, I think I can have much more fun (and get into much more trouble) on my DR. I could buy four brand new DR650's for the price of one R1200GS.



And the dealer asked all participants to make a $10 donation to the Ride for Dad organization.

Look, Ma... new boots !

Gaerne GX-1

Off-road riding with sport bike boots is just asking for trouble. So I'll put away my old Alpinestars SM-X boots for this new pair of Gaerne GX-1 motocross boots. These are Gaerne's "entry level" MX boot, but compared to all the other entry level boots I looked at, these are way out in front.

I wanted a well-made boot, not some cheap crappy plasticky imitation leather boot glued together in a Chinese sweatshop. I expected to pay in the $200-$400 range for a decent pair of boots. After doing lots of research and shopping around at various online stores, I finally decided these Gaerne's were for me. 

Gaerne is a top quality Italian brand, and the GX-1 is a great bargain with an MSRP of $200 USD. The problem is trying to find them locally, or for that matter, anywhere in Canada -- I couldn't. So I did a little shopping around online and I found a retailer on eBay selling them for $159 +$13 shipping.  Wow. These are everything I was looking for in a good boot, and they're dirt cheap at that price. A great boot for a great price.

TCK-80 tire wear update

About a month ago, I gave a tire wear update after the first 1,000 Kms on my new Continental TCK-80 Twinduro tires. 

Time for another update to show what they look like after 2,000 Km. Again, I've mostly been riding it hard and wheelie-ing all the way to work and back, so mostly hard city riding. These tires have seen a little off-road action since the first 1,000 Kms, but not much.

Rear tire - new

Rear tire after 1,000 Kms

Rear tire after 2,000 Kms

Front tire - new

Front tire after 1,000 Kms

Front tire after 2,000 Kms

Conclusion: the rear tire is beginning to show some wear, but there's still plenty of life left in it. The front, on the other hand, is barely showing any sign of wear, maybe because it spends a lot of time in the air. I've been abusing these tires for 2,000 Kms now on the street mostly (I've probably ridden less than 50 Kms in the dirt).  I will buy these tires again. They've proven to be pretty good on the street as far as their ability to provide grip on wet and dry asphalt. They've also proven to be a very good tire off-road. They are remarkably quiet on the street for a light knobby.

Odometer: 15,452 Km

Rainy day maintenance and upgrades

A cold and wet rainy day brought the opportunity to tackle a few repairs, maintenance tasks, and upgrades I've been putting off. It was nearly noon, so I decided I should eat before I start.

 

 

 

 

Then, a quick trip to the liquor store.

 

 

Next, gather all the tools I will need.

 

 

 

The first job is to check those pesky screws that hold the neutral sending unit under the clutch basket. For some reason, Suzuki doesn't tighten them properly and should they work loose, it could lead to catastrophic engine damage. This threat is always at the back of a DR owner's mind, that is, until they take the time to check them.

 

Remove the clutch cover.

 

Number the bolts.

 

Lay out the bolts in order.

 

Clutch cover, brake pedal, foot rest removed.

 

There's the neutral sending unit. Many DR owners report that 

those Phillips screws are found to be finger tight (or worse). 

However, I was surprised to find they were quite snug. 

I snugged them a little more just to be sure.

 

The tool used to reach the inner screw. Without it, 

I'd have had to remove the clutch basket.

 

I had a good look at the clutch plates, inspecting them for wear. 

I used my digital vernier calipers to measure for wear of the 

plates and the clutch springs. Everything was well within the service 

limits according to the manual, in fact, the clutch components 

showed almost no sign of wear 

(not bad considering the bike has over 15,000 Kms).

 

 

 

I had a new gasket on hand but this one was in 

such good condition I decided to re-use it.

 

Clutch cover replaced, and I swapped the chrome OEM case 

bolts for some new polished stainless steel hex bolts.

 

The only oil I use, plus a new Hi-Flo filter.

 

And a magnetic drain plug.

 

 

 

Then it was on to more farting around with the carburetor.  I've had the new TM40 running very well lately, however, because of the giant hole I've cut in the top of the airbox, the noise from the intake system is quite loud. I'm a fan of the performance it has provided, and I love the deep tone of the GSXR exhaust system, but the intake noise is excessive. So I covered up about two thirds of the gaping hole, leaving an opening that is definitely larger than the snorkel hole. Restricting the air requires a corresponding restriction in the fuel delivery, so I went from a 145 main jet to a 135, and from a 20 pilot jet to a 17.5.  I left the needle where it was previously, on the 2nd notch from the top.

 

 

 

 

 

Remembering how much fun the Yamaha R6 throttle tube was on my old SV650, and knowing that the SV650 throttle tube fits on the DR (because I've been using my old SV650 tube since changing grips last summer), so I decided to order Part Number 5SL-26240-01 from my local Yamaha dealer ($15).  The difference between this throttle tube and that of the DR650 (or the SV650 for that matter) is that the R6 tube gets you all the way to wide open throttle in just a 1/4 turn. Once you do this mod, it will take a little getting used to, but I guarantee you won't go back.

 

The R6 throttle tube is a wicked upgrade, and it's cheap at just $15.

 

 

 

Galfer stainless steel braided brake hose. When you grab the brakes really hard (like in a panic stop) the OEM rubber hose expands a lot. With a braided steel line, the hose doesn't expand, instead the caliper responds with authority because the hose does't give, and the brakes are quicker to react, and it has a noticeably improved feel. Also, the longer the hose, the better the improved feel (the rear brake hose is much shorter and you wouldn't feel it as much, but with the front hose being so long, you definitely notice the difference).

 

I went for a short test ride last evening (after the Whiskey wore off). The engine seems to start easier in the cold, but required more choke, and it wanted the choke to stay on a little longer. Once warmed up, the engine's power and the throttle response seem identical to before, however, the intake system noise is far more subdued. Previously, the intake noise overpowered the exhast noise, now, the intake is quite tame, and you can hear the deep growl from the muffler. Awesome. I went for a brisk ride around the neighborhood last night, and for a longer test ride early this morning - including a few minutes on the highway. No surging, less exhaust system popping on deceleration when you chop the throttle. Wheelies are the same as before. I'm hoping my fuel consumption may see an improvement.

And the R6 throttle tube is every bit as much fun as I remember on the day I put one on my old SV650. It will take a little getting used to, but it's pure fun. This is one of the greatest mods .... the ratio of fun factor to price can't be beat.

 

15,350Km