18 hour day on a klr 650

This is a day ride I took 2 springs ago.

At the time i did not know how to post pics so put it off till now.

Gasguzzler ,on his 2006 1200 GSA ,and I left my house in the DETROIT suburbs at about 6 am and ran Hines drive (this is southeast Michigan's suburban version of the Blue Ridge Parkway)Yeah,right !!! West till it ran out.

Then we pounded the freeway till we got out past Lansing,and then started running dirt and gravel till we got to Whitecloud,Michigan on the far west side of the state,where the MCCCT (Michigan Cross Country Cycle Trail) starts and runs through the Manistee National Forest.

I wanted to run the KLR through some of this single track.


First fuel stop.

The KLR wasn't really set up at the time for single track,with only Mefo explorers,and a 16 tooth front sprocket,but it made it alot better for getting across the state and back when dead tired.

What i did have going for me was the Cogent rear shock,front springs and Race Tech emulators.

This was some really sweet single track.

The trail headed North and had forest roads intersecting it every so many miles(and the forest roads are pretty gnarly out there too)so Gasguzzler would loop around on the forest roads on his GSA and meet up with me when I popped out on the singletrack.

Then we would take a short break and do it again to the next intersection.

It worked out amazingly well.

I did not see another bike out here on the trail all day.

And the MCCCT sections of the trail are plated bike only,and no ATV's ,so those sections are really sweet.

I had to wait a little while at the next intersection,cause Gasguzzler had a two track road to traverse that some beavers had dammed up and it turned into a dicey water crossing.
Wish i was there to get some pics.

The next intersection Gasguzzler was waiting and got some pictures of me coming down the flooded trail.

Looks like a nice ride. I couldn't do 18 hours on my KLR . . . . my butt would divorce the rest of my body. Glad you could do it and post up about it though.

I miss home. Oh, well at least there is nice riding in Texas too.

What saved me on this run was the Rick Mayer seat and Alaskan leather sheep skin.
Otherwise I would have been toast.

OH NO,the sugar sand strikes !!!

The trail in areas was traveled so little it was hard to make out the trail.

See the little red triangle on the tree?

Thats the MCCCT marker.

I came upon a cool area up on a hill where they had a logging operation going on.

The pine forests had a really unique and relaxing feel to them.

More deep, rutted sugar sand catchs me being lazy.

Gasguzzler had to get back across the state to pick his kids up, so he headed home and I kept heading North on the trail .

I hit one mud and water hole that was up to the seat (I had wet leaves in the air box when I checked it later.) In the middle of nowhere, I hammered the throttle and climbed out, thankfully.

A couple of hours before dark I got out of the woods, and ran back roads back to Whitecloud, Michigan to look for something to eat and decide where I was going to stay for the night.

I sat down in subway and had dinner and after I ate was feeling pretty good and decided I would just push myself and head home.

So, I gassed up and started knocking down miles, cause I had about 250 miles to do.

Sometime between midnight and 1 am I rolled in the driveway, satisfied and tired, 18 hours, and over 500 miles today with lots of hours in the woods on singletrack.

The KLR truely is a versatile machine.

This is my first ride report, so I know it isn't perfect, but I hope it is somewhat informative and enjoyable.

I think you did an outstanding job with the ride report. Thanks for taking the time to post it for our enjoyment.

I've had a couple of KLR 650's and they can do a lot of things well. I don't think I'm a good enough rider to do much single track on one and I noticed you took a couple of spills in the soft sand.

Thanks again for posting.

Actually, I dont have many dirt skills, I'm just persistant.
I think that's one of the reasons I like the klr so much, cause even on a real dirt bike, I'm still slow, so I figure I might as well be comfortable.
And for me, its all about taking in the surroundings and woods and just enjoying the adventure and exploring, not flying down the trail in suicide mode.
Plus my wife and daughters expect me to be able to go to work on monday.

its never about the amount of skill you have as long as your out there doing it.was a good read,having a few spills is always part of the fun and adds to the memories.

I enjoyed this quick report. Thanks for posting. Nice to see I'm not the only one that dumps his KLR in deep sand.

right on! that is what having a KLR is all about! just getting out and riding. decide to throw some dirt in, some exploring and then some slab. don't have to head out with a plan or agenda...just make it up as it comes. enjoyed the RR thanks for posting.