WR250 SOLD !

Well, I am officially "bikeless"   :-(      ...for now.

I sold the DR a couple of months ago, and now the WR is gone. Actually, it's been 2 1/2 weeks since I handed her over to a riding buddy for a wad of cash. While it makes me sad, I am looking forward to getting some type of European 2-wheeled machine once I arrive in Berlin in about 6 weeks.

Also sold our house today, so my ducks definitely lining up nicely.  Next, I need to sell my car, pack up the house, and tie up a few other loose ends.

Anyway, here are a couple of pics of the WR taken on the day I sold her. I went for one last rip around town with the street wheels mounted.

Manypause Sunday Ride - Spring has arrived !!!

Wow. What an awesome day for a ride. The first really nice day of spring. 22 degrees Celcius and not a cloud in sight. About 25 guys came out for Carl's road ride. Of couse, my little 250 was the smallest displacement. I think the next smallest was a V-Strom 650. 

I had my 17" rims and street rubber mounted. Had trouble keeping pace for some of the ride, but it was still a blast. I clocked a little over 325 Kms for the day, and I peeled off early to get some work done around the house.

It's November 22nd and the weather forecast for today was calling for sunny skies and 12 Celcuis. That's definitely not "seasonal" weather, rather, I call it a bonus riding day.  For most people in Eastern Ontario, the dualsport riding season ended about a month ago, and two months ago for pussies. 

I was out with John, Jason, and Dave about 10 days ago (another great weather treat for mid-November) and we all thought it was likely the last good ride of the season. John has since put his bike away for the winter, Dave has already begun his big winter maintenance projects, and Jason was just not able to make it today. However, fellow ADV'er James was down with it. We hooked up for coffee at Starbucks in the morning, and hit some fun dirt roads and a few trails in the Calabogie area for a very nice day of riding. A real treat for this time of year. 

It took a while for the sun to warm things up. The morning was rather cool, barely above freezing with lots of fog. I was scrambling at the last minute and made some poor wardrobe decisions: I went with full body protection, and wore simply my "Kemptville dinner jacket" over my pressure suit.... To put it mildly, I was very chilled for the first 3 hours.  And by the end of the day as the sun was low in the sky, I was getting quite cold on the way home. 

Here I am posing with my "Kemptville dinner jacket"

This photo was taken just after my low-side slide 

in the frozen grass, as capture in the video below.

Here's the video of my low-side slide in the frozen grass.

Tweaked the right hand guard a little bit, and my hip and 

kidney are sore this evening, but no real damage 

to the bike or my body.

And here's a collection of video clips from the day.

Flat tires -

Today at lunch time, I was heading home to swap the bike for the car (needed the car to run an errand later in the day).  As I got to the first traffic light just a few hundred meters from my office, I noticed a slight increase in rolling resistance as I came to a stop. I looked down and sure enough, the front tire was flat. Shit... I just wanted to get the rest of the season out of this old tire. Just a couple more weeks! Fuck it, I moved my ass to the back of the seat and rode the remaining 3 or 4 Kms across town to get home. 

I had a few minutes, so I quickly put the bike on the stand and pulled the wheel off. I put it in the basement where it could warm up a bit (it's been a few degrees below freezing around here this week).  After work, I removed the tire and tube from the rim. It was pretty easy to spot the problem: the valve stem had ripped free of the tube. Colder temps are definitely tough on tires and tubes. I've been running 15-18 psi lately, and it probably began to tear away when I left the house this morning in the minus 8 Celcius frost. 

Oh well, I happened to have two brand new front tires sitting in the basement: a Pirelli Scorpion Rally and a Dunlop D606.  I bought both because I figured I would use one on the WR, and the other on the DR.  For no particular reason, I decided to mount the Pirelli. There were still a few miles left on the old D606, but as long as I had it apart, and as long as I was using a new heavy duty Fly Racing tube, I figured I might as well use a new tire. The old tire was more or less finished. Would have been nice to ride out the rest of the season and mount the new tire over the winter as I had been planning.

Valve stem separated from the MSR ultra heavy duty tube

The new 90/90-21 Pirelli Scopion Rally. This rubber is supposed to be a little softer compound than the Dunlop D606. 

I do like the 606 a lot, and it looks like a more aggressive tread pattern than the Pirelli, but lots of people have had lots of good things to say about the Pirelli. It's a popular choice among Dakar racers apparently.

Just a month ago, I had a flat rear tire. Here you can 

see a rusty nail sticking out. When that happened, I 

pulled the tire off and used a new Kenda Tuff-Tube 

size 110/100x18. The tire was a less than 1/2 worn Dunlop D606, size 120/90-18.  At the time of this photo, this rear tire probably had 4,000 Kms on it.  Still 1,500 left, maybe more.

I like the meaty look of the D606. It's a serious 

grass shredder yet is remarkably stable on paved roads.

Sensational fall weather riding

The weather was just too nice to be at work-- sunny and 20 degrees Celcius is unseasonably warm for the end of October so I arranged for a day off.

John had confirmed he'd be riding with me and whoever else we could con into coming with us. I conned Steve, and Dave, but Dave had a legitimate excuse to bail at the last minute. Then, John announced he was going to ride his Honda street bike with some others from the Manypause gang instead of some offroad riding with us . You see, John really doesn't like to get his KTM dirty. He pretends that it doesn't bother him, but we all know it really does. 

All in all, it was a very nice ride. Some gravel roads, some double track, some fairly easy single track, some mud, some water. A little bit of everything. We even ran into John and his large entourage of street riders at Munford's Restaurant in Calabogie.

We ran into a group of more than a dozen Manypause
road riders, who were also enjoying the nice weather.

Steve and I stopped to check out 

this old shell of a log building

At this spot, we got off the bikes to investigate 

the water. Quite a swampy area with a 

beaver dam, and lots of soft, deep mud.

Here's some video from the day. If you watch 

through 'till the end, you'll see me ride off into 

the rhubarb... careless riding because I was 

focussed on my GPS instead of watching the 

road ahead. I ultimately decided to just skid 

straight into the run-off because it was open 

and flat, having been recently bush-whacked. 

Sunday worship

While many people attend church services on Sundays, true dualsport enthusiasts prefer to worship double-track pathways, dirt roads, water crossings, and forest trails. And some pussies just stay home.

Yes, as always, there were a few no-shows --- you know, the usual cowardly, wimpy-wuss girlies who like to sleep in, spending a lazy Sunday morning doing the crossword puzzle in bed with their decaf soy latté and a lemon scone. One whiner even claimed he couldn't ride because he was on antibiotics....oh, puh--leeze. The others --too cowardly to respond to their emails-- knew they'd be subject to relentless public ridicule -- choosing instead to just not show up.

And then, there are the regulars... the reliable, dedicated, hardcore dualsport pundits who truly enjoy riding, and who won't let weather, poor health, old age, arthritis, or even antibiotics keep them from going for a nice Sunday ride in gorgeous fall weather. Amen.

We gathered for shitty coffee at Tim Horton's

...then we stopped to get rid of the coffee

lunch consisted of sausages and fries in Merrickville

Stopped to chat with some dirt bikers who were riding in circles in a gravel pit. 

Since their bikes aren't road legal, they are confined to riding in small, closed off areas 

like this. Fun, but only for a few minutes. With a street legal dualsport bike, the big 

advantage is that you can connect unlimited trails using paved roads.

Check out the dog that was chasing the bikes around the 25 second mark. 

He appeared from the swamp and ran after Dave and Steve for at least 

a quarter mile, with John following him for some time. Finally, John 

blasted by, scaring him with the roar from the big KTM's muffler.

And while we had a terrific ride, here's a photo for the pussies who didn't come. 

This is what  a real dualsport rider looks like, taking real antibiotics. 

Silly intravenous pumps only keep pussies from riding. 

Oral antibiotics? I push those tiny pills into my bike's valve stems to use as Dynabeads

pumps, tubes, antibiotics... makes a stronger rider.

OMG !!!  Look at that crazy dude! He's like the Incredible Hulk!

We're not worthy! We're not worthy!

Thanksgiving weekend ride

So....all the pussy-wussy, rain-fearing, noodle-armed, yellow-bellied marmots who call themselves Manypausers decided to remain in the comfort of their warm beds this morning, wearing silk pyjamas and wrapped in a pink cotton candy fleece snuggy as they spooned a lavender potpourri-scented body pillow, dreaming of kittens and unicorns.

Turns out that Dave and I are the only true hardcore dualsport riders of the bunch. We're not afraid of rain clouds, and we have no problem getting up early in the morning if the day is to be spent exploring logging roads, forest trails, and sand pits. As it happened, since we were the only two who actually paid attention to the weather forecast -- we didn't get rained on. Other than a little road spray from other vehicles while enroute to the meeting point, the roads were dry, and the sky was pretty clear for most of the day. We even saw the sun on several occasions.

While we didn't see any rain, we did find plenty of mud puddles and water holes, so yes, we did get very wet in the end.

Single tracks, double tracks, Shit, dawg! We even rode some triple tracks. Well, suck it bitches! You missed a great ride.

We stopped for lunch in Merrickville.

We ain't afraid of no cross bull.

Colorado Trip - just a few days away

It's the final countdown to our 11-day trip for offroad riding in Colorado. Things get underway in just 2 days. Here's the plan: John and I only travel in style, so we are flying to St. Louis because that's how we roll. Our motorcycles will be trailered by Jason and Eric, who will share the driving for the gruelling 20 hours from Ottawa to St. Louis. John and I will soak in Paul's pool, drink his beer and eat his food while we wait for Jason and Eric to show up with our bikes. 

Once the entire Ottawa crowd has made it to Paul's, we'll hang out for a couple of days, then swap Jason's Touareg for Paul's 4-door Dodge Ram 2500 truck, and the 5 of us will roll down the superslab to Donnie's place in Denver for a night. Russell (who lives somewhere near Donnie) will join us there.   

At Donnie's we'll unload the bikes and ride out from there. It'll be a 2-day ride of trails and dirt roads to Ouray (Colorado), where we'll stay in a hotel and run day rides based out of Ouray for 5 or 6 days. Then we ride back to Donnie's, and I will fly out of Denver, as I head to Hawaii to join my wife and kids who are house/dog-sitting for friends. The others will drive back to Paul's in St. Louis, and then Eric, Jason and John will drive Jason's Touareg back to Ottawa.

Just 2 more sleeps until we leave. Can't wait.

I was quite busy this weekend with a bunch of maintenance: oil and filter change, iridium spark plug, air filter cleaned and oiled, chain squeaky clean, Giant Loop Mojavi and Buck n' Roll luggage systems, IMS 3 gallon fuel tank installed, and a new 120/90-18 Dunlop D606 rear tire. I think she's good to go.

Today, we loaded the 4 Ottawa bikes onto the trailer. My WR250, Jason's WR250, John's KTM 690, and Eric's BMW GX450. It's snug, but this borrowed trailer is rated for 3500 lbs. Jason's turbo diesel VW has the pulling power of a freight train.

the 4 Ottawa bikes loaded onto Dennis' trailer

new rubbah.... a meaty D606 for my WR

WR250 crash -- Ouch! The pain!

This past Sunday was the 2012 Steve Garnsey Trail Ride and Dave, Jason, and I made plans to take part. Dave and I threw our bikes on my trailer to get there, while Jason rode. I offered to ride as the sweeper for the agressive dual sport route.  After everyone left the start line, Dave, Jason, and I waited a few minutes and we then began to follow. Just 5 minutes into the ride, we passed by what appeared to be a motocross track in the middle of a hay field. In order to let the other riders get ahead of us by a comfortable distance, we decided to take a few minutes to play on the track, as a warm up exercise, if you will.

Well, within about 90 seconds, I was regretting the decision. I was having a blast riding a casual pace and testing out my newly rebuilt rear shock when I approached a small jump -- or, what I thought was a small jump. Maybe it was the tall grass, maybe it was the sun in my eyes, maybe it was just me being stupid, but it really looked like a small jump to catch a bit of air in 2nd gear. Who knows? But just before I got to the top of this little jump, I realized the only way to clear the distance of this jump would be to have been speeds of 50 mph or more!  Holy shit, this is going to hurt! At the very last second, I attempted to abort the jump and exit to the left. Too late, I was headed down a very steep hill that was about 10 feet high. In hindsight,  should have pinned the throttle and hoped for the best. Here, just watch for yourself. I was wearing my GoPro camera with the chest mount strap:

It was nearly 30 seconds before I could take that first breath after having the wind knocked out of my lungs. I remember the panicked feeling of not being able to breathe -- seemed like forever and I was ready to black out.

Dave rode back to the starting point and got my truck and trailer, then he and Jason loaded my bike and Dave's onto the trailer, and me into the truck. Dave took me to the hospital down the road. They did a bunch of x-rays but they also wanted a CT scan of my head and abdomen, but it was a small town and the hospital didn't have a weekend technician for the CT scan machine. So, they sent me by ambulance to Ottawa, the hospital just 5 minutes from my home.

After all the blood work, urine samples, x-rays, ultrasound, and three CT scans, here's what the doctors came up with: bruising to a bunch of ribs and several organs, left kidney and lungs...heart, maybe. My spleen took the worst beating but didn't rupture. A little bit of internal bleeding but not a lot -- and likely from the spleen as it sustained the most damage. No broken bones, but collar bone was dislocated. And my head suffered a mild concussion. My neck and entire spine is seriously stiff and sore from top to bottom but no real damage. Rib cage is incredibly tender all around (front, back, both sides).

So, I'll be wearing a neck brace for a few days, and my right arm is in a sling to take the weight off my collar bone.

Just when I thought there couldn't possibly be any more pain... that's when I woke up and discovered the truth about that old saying "that's gonna hurt even more tomorrow!" Oh... my.... god.... It was painful yesterday but this morning it's much worse than I could have imagined. But at least I'm at home now.

Yes, I intend to ride the Roaming Rally in 2 weeks. I may need to sign up for a yoga class before then.

Oh, and damage to the bike?  A broken mirror.

WR250X rear shock replacement

A couple of months ago, I picked up a used shock and had it re-valved by WER Suspension in New Jersey. Doing it this way saved me from having the bike laid up while the work was being done. I just got around to installing the newly rebuilt shock today... in preparation for an upcoming dual sport event I am taking part in this Sunday.

Pulling the old shock from the bike was a piece of cake. About 15 minutes, tops.  Cleaning the bolts, applying a bit of grease, and installing the new shock took another 15 minutes or so.

When I finished, I went for a quick test ride around the neighbourhood for a few minutes. It definitely has an improved feel.

Step 1: Get the bike up on a stand so that the rear wheel 

is just about off the ground. An adjustable stand is perfect for this.

Step 2: Remove the nut from the lower yoke of the linkage assembly

Step 3: Remove the nut from the upper shock bolt

Step 4: Remove the nut from the lower shock bolt

At this point, you've removed only the three nuts, no bolts.

Step 5: Now, find a long rod or some type of drift and a hammer, 

and gently tap each of the three bolts to remove them. I started with 

the two bolts at the bottom, followed by the top shock mount bolt.

Bottom bolts removed, the dog bones will hang free.

Top shock mount bolt removed

Step 6: With the left side panel removed, just pull the shock up 

and out from the side. It doesn't get any easier than this.

The old shock on the left has seen a measly 3,500 Kms  

On the right is the used shock I bought and had rebuilt.

Re-installation is the same steps as the removal, but in reverse.

I also took a few minutes and applied some fresh synthetic waterproof grease to the  bushings/bearings/bolts. No, I didn't completely remove the entire linkage/yoke assembly for a full bearing service --- my bike has just 3,500 Kms on the odometer, so that will probably happen next year.