Mar. 28-31, 2013 Death Valley Noob's Rally

There are a couple rides close to PSR that should be moderately challenging.

+1

AKA- Rocket Man




yeah...thought I'd noticed some fuel vapors when I was behind ya

...hell I thought it was cuz you were just going really fast

He never seems to get any dirt or dust on him....

I carry 2 cans of computer duster in my bag....

Oooh, this sounds like fun.
Got the OK from NSFW to bring the Riders Recycle booth and spread the word to noobs about oil and filter recycling. I'll see if I can bring any schwag (we don't have much at this point), and if possible I'll see if anyone wants to let me use their bike for oil change/ proper oil and filter recycling demonstrations.

TRUCKING - Heidi (Rex Nemo) plus 1 guest – [R x 2] + [TR2 x 2] + [D1 x 2] = $114 ($40 + $34 + $40)

Now...should I pay now, or wait to see if spots become available from the wait list?

Just pay and you are IN. We will close the list this week.

Woohoo! Guess that means I got in. Paid via paypal yesterday #95. tae (stg) - mc3- d3 -wr250. Better get busy doing some planning & riding now. Thanks guys!

Q for Jimmy Lewis.

Seeing as this rally is geared toward noobs, wondering if either the 1 or 2 day classes you're offering is beginner-rider-friendly. Also, how do you think they compare as far as what might be covered. TIA.

heidi, by all means the good cause and your party are welcome. we did a similar "awareness" project during my 4wheelin days.

hope your friend recovers quickly and get to take the riding lessons.

that's correct. we love to have more noobs to come to this event but we have to move on to the next page.

1. we will post a page for carpooling. less trucks, save you some $, and get to know each other even before the ride.
2. food - friday, sat and sunday
3. ride groups
4. post ride activities - jlewis riding demo, dinner and raffle. possibly a tire change demo on thursday night.
5. go through campground and national park rules and regulations
6. volunteers - ride leaders, campground help, recycling, food, first responders, communications, etc.

lior will be there, he's a factory trained mechanic. he'll bring basic and commonly needed spare parts (tubes for sure). you still need to carry your spare cable, levers, tubes, etc.

most of all bring at least $100 cash. this is your emergency money. if you get stranded somewhere on top of steele pass, we may be able to get couple of 4x4 and get you out, but you have to pay for the gas.

the desert is not a forgiving place - be prepared and take caution.

I must have been living in my own private Idaho, but I just learned of this event last night. I'm not on the waiting list, but if I interpret the most recent posts correctly, registration is now first come first served with the last few spots going to whoever pays first even if they aren't on the waiting list since registration is closing in a matter of days?

If that is true I'd like to sign up. I'd be tent camping and pulling the bike on a trailer with a small SUV. It isn't clear
to me whether the 'trailer' part of the BT option suggests the trailer is a camping trailer -- from the campground diagram
it looks like BT sites are not intended for tents. Thus I'm not sure if I should sign up as a TR or BT, so assuming the worst case scenario I'll list myself as BT...

Steve (L18flyboy) -- R - BT3 - D3 - klr650

I'll submit a paypal payment of $107 as soon as I see confirmation that I'm not stepping on toes by jumping in
at the last second ala ebay bid snipers!

if it's a tiny trailer or something like a kendon which you can put away, then it's a TR.

thanks steve, and you made the cutoff.

paypal is good.

Cool! The trailer is a 5' x 10' flat bed (add 2 or 3 feet for the tongue), so it is a bit larger than a Kendon. Although I
could disconnect it and park it off in a corner somewhere it would still be taking up the space of a car, so I should
probably just do the BT option. Paypal for $107 on the way...

OK,

Here is the first round of answers to the noob questions. There may be a little tongue and cheek in there but the answers are still the same.

And to answer the question above, we can teach any skill level but we recommend rank beginners to go to a MSF dirt bike school to learn the basic operation of the motorcycle. Once you can ride, and ride down a dirt road, we can take it from there.

Here is the first batch of Noob Answers, fielded from questions PM’ed to me on ADV Rider. Though I have been riding, racing and teaching motorcycle riding for the better part of my life, I’ve never forgotten the thrill of the early days and the mistakes that come along with learning.

The names of the innocent and uninformed have been kept secret so you can’t make fun of them for being smart enough to ask the question you’ve been dying to know the answer to.
_____________________

My noob question for you is what do you suggest as a warm up drill/exercise for returning to the dirt after an extended break from off road riding. I do have dirt experience, I have been to one of your 1 day classes (at Glen Helen). The easy answer is to get out and ride, but what helps get the good habits started again for safe and fun riding?

You know the answer already but wait, like a game show, there is more. Dirt bike riding has so much to do with balance and muscle memory, it can not be overstated. And I have found most riders, of all ability levels tend to ride out of balance. So very easy thing to do, and you can do this in the privacy of your garage, is to try and balance and “ track stand” on your bike. It is much easier to show in person, but just the act of trying to stand on the footpegs, relaxed, without putting pressure on the handlebar, just for that momentary second were you are in balance, will pay dividends come ride time. You will tune up the feel needed to keep the bike balanced and also get comfortable in “picking a side” to put your foot back down when the balance goes off to one side or another. You will get comfortable crossing from side-to-side on the bike. You will start using the footpegs to control the balance of the bike, like you should when riding. Just remember, use your legs and not the handlebar to control he balance of the bike. You don’t use your hands to keep balance when walking relaxed, so don’t try doing that when you ride!

-------------------


Saw your last post on the DV Noobs thread and figured I would hit you up with a set up question or possible solution. I am riding an 09 R1200GSA and I know I push it too hard sometimes but have seen you in action on yours and know the bike can take it. Problem I am having is that twice in less than 3 months I have bent the rear torsion strut to the point that it restricts the spin of the rear tire. Replaced it with new stock part. In both cases it has been on hard landings off a big whoop where the rear end did a double hop bucking bronco.

I am a bigger guy at 255 lbs and had the suspension built accordingly by Wilbers through the Beemer Shop in Scott's Valley. In your years of riding the big Beemers was there ever a beefed up strut added to your bike. I see solid billet models for the K bikes but can't find one for the GS. Any help or ideas would be great.

You misinterpret how I ride. My bike could not take it either so I don’t ride it like you are describing and no suspension or torque arm modification will cure the forces you are putting through the machine. In fact if you were to increase the strength of the torque arm (torsion strut) then something else would fail. The GS was not designed to be ridden like that. Even on our race prepped HP2 we were using only a slightly reinforced torque arm. The easy answer is to get a real “race type” dirt bike that can be ridden hard that so you won’t have these issues, and on those machines the suspension can be modified to deal with your weight. But just like you would not expect a standard truck to be jumped like you see the off-road race trucks do on the short courses, the GS cannot be ridden like a race bike. I respect the limits and abilities of the machine I am riding. I am perceived to ride it fast or “hard” based on the speed in which I cover ground. I do that by minimizing my braking distances and having controlled acceleration all while being smooth through rough conditions and not bottoming the suspension. Trust me I ride my GS (or any other adventure bike) much slower than I could ride it but I’m thinking about safety all the time. That bottoming is a warning that something bad is going to happen.

---------------------------------



I have an 07 KTM 990 I am riding right now. Came with Mefo Explorers. Opinion for their use in DV?

Tires are one of the most overlooked components on an adventure bike and I’m surprised by how many riders will try and get away with riding a “round” tire off-road. If you do not have a blocked-knob-type tire, one with good-sized openings in the tread, you are flirting with disaster in the dirt. All it takes is running your hand across to different types of tires to feel the difference in adhesion and bite the knobby affords you. And to make it worse, the performance of the knobby really comes into play when you really need it, especially in turning or braking. A round tire just slides on top the dirt and has little bite to stop the sliding.

Specifically the Mefo is a less aggressive knobby-type tire that compromises a little bit on the longevity side for less outright dirt traction. It has enough openings on the side of the tire to have more bite than a street tire but it’s definitely not a Kenda Big Block or a Continental TKC 80 when you really need it.

What it comes down to for me is this: Would I rather change tires more often or wait the six weeks to have the cast taken off my ankle from the sudden and unexpected crash that happened to me because I was on the wrong tires? And as much as the saving money part comes into the discussion, we all know which one of those scenarios is les expensive, right?

Keep practicing and getting ready and I'll see you in DV... Oh, and keep the questions coming, PM for best results.

JIMMY

Jimmy,

Kenda Big Block or a Continental TKC 80

So are these your 2 top choices of tire? As much as I wish I could I cant swap tires for every excursion. Is there perhaps a 75/25 tire that is a good recommendation to use off road? There is no such thing as an all around tire is there?

Neither of those sound like much fun on the road for any period of time. My bike is a commuter and daily rider as well, it will never see a trailer unless its broken or damaged.

brian, having 2 set of rims are ideal.

one for the street and one for dirt. may be costly at the start but in the long run, it's economical and safer. whenever we compromise, that's what get us.

lots of people i know has a 19/17 and street oriented tires.

sorry and anyway, i'll let jimmy answer your question.

So something like a Karoo or Sahara Enduro may not be the way to go eh? Last question, there are enough tire threads.

#176 - jason - illking is donating a set of handguards......

http://www.powermadd.com/products/starseriesmirror.html

MIRROR ONLY


thank you jason.

Not the handguards, the mirrors.

Joel answered the tire question pretty good. And I'd rather slow it down a bit on the street than fall on my face off road for no reason. And I hate being hurt, that is my reason for the tire choices. There is no do-all tire, just compromises. And I've seen riders drag BMW cylinder heads with Continental TKC80s on the street. But not me.