6:10 to Yuma

Heading back north I hit pavement again. Yuma is an interesting place, nothing but old farts having fun & spending their kids inheritance


This road looked promising and was going in the right general direction.


Eventually I found myself on "county road 3". but it gradually petered out and started to look kind of like a wagon trail...


Dang, there were signs on the side of the road, but this one was facing the direction I was heading. Again some signs are just not worth ignoring. "Danger US Government Property
Impact area
unexploded ammunition"

Is pretty much one of those signs that I'll heed every time


I turned around and off to the left was still bombardment area


But off to the right I didn't see anything, and I figured The Army probably doesn't shell the power lines all that often so I headed off across the mesa.


It was really strange terrain, rocky turned into Sandy turned into silty washes then a bit of what looked like a road and over and over. It was really hard to discern what was what.
I was looking at; and trying to avoid the large stump on the far side, when my front hit this buried stump. The soil was very loose and sandy and the stump rolled out to the side shifting my front end a good foot to the side.


The terrain turned hilly and got a little more technical, steeper than it looks, really!


Eventually I ran into a dead end, a large fenced in farm with no trespassing signs everywhere so I turned around and headed back to the bigger intersection. This section was super steep


I found myself in a maze of farms. Absolutely stunning land, lush vivid green fields with elevated gravel roads and surrounded by thick woods I could definitely live in a place like this (though I might have to re-evaluate in August


I followed a riverbed for a while, then cut across undeveloped desert for a while until I hit the highway again.
No pictures because it was a very hard section

I intersected the 95 again and headed off to the North once more, glad to have a little rest. This is what I find so amazing about a dual sport bike. I guess I'm a pretty curious person, it's so unique to see something off in the distance and instead of wondering what that place is like I can just point the bike down a dirt road or no road and go check it out. Then find another road and head off again. cruising down the highway I came upon the entrance to the Yuma proving ground and a sign for imperial dam so I decided to check it out.

What? you're not going to tell me I don't need the clutch cable!?? lol I got the extra mostly because of your reports (well that and the fact mine lasted only 4k)

I think the HDB's will protect the levers against anything, they are almost too strong. I think a really good hit and the bars are bending or the riser's breaking before the hand guards. That said They are pretty small, light and hard to get on the road. I'd be too pissed if I broke one and had left it at home.

Re the camelback, I do kinda do that but it interferes with my movement on the bike. Later in the report you'll see I had another incident with it. It's just annoying... I guess I have to man up and get used to it.

I bet you anything his dog was deaf as a post Probably slept like a puppy in the dark backstage while all the explosions and lasers were going offoser

Splotch had 'selective hearing' very young, but went completely deaf at about 10. I really Like Jack Russels but I think they are too smart to be a good match for me. Does he deal with being alone ok or does he get bored & destructive?

Oh, you definitely need the cable!! I've never broken a lever on a bike that has good handgaurds.

The first six months were pretty rough as he ate everything in sight and tormented the cats so bad that I had to put up a child proof gate thing so the cats could hop over to take a break. He is very smart and learns anything you want to tell him within seconds. I got him the doggy door when he was a few weeks old, I sat on the floor and shoved him out, reached out thru the door and drug him back in, told him to poop outside on his own and that was it. It took the cats three years to figure out how to use that same door. As a grown dog he has been great, no problems being alone. The only thing with him is that he doesn't like babies and has rag dolled a couple of toddlers...I told them to leave him alone..he doesn't break the skin and the little brats deserved it.

OMG that is so funny! Splotch bit a couple people hard.

Once he was taking a dump and a guy on rollerblades swooped up does like a hockey stop behind him while he's mid-turd and tried to pet him. I mean, who does that? The guy's like "ow" and I was

yup been there. YPG, my 4th of july ride!.. 16th st or(hiway 95) stretch all the way from mexico to vegas and utah. nice steady ride.

Many moons back, I was stationed at MCAS Yuma for four wonderful years ('70-'74). But back then I road a Harley Sportster and could only ride the "improved" roads. It would be a blast to go back with the GSPD and really explore. Meanwhile, I'll live vicariously thru your report. Thanks.

Tom

They have a really nice military-only RV park at Yuma Proving grounds, you should go for a visit Sorry I keep raving about the place but boy oh boy was the riding spectacular!

PS, something's wrong with my webserver for images, I hope to have it fixed soon.

Just wanted to say that my 10-year old Rhodesian Ridgeback is battling Thyroid Carcinoma and the outlook is grim but he is doing Very Well at the moment!
So as you can see i will be faced with the same tough decision you just had to make, just hope it wont come for a few months. I feel for you man and i wouldnt doubt one bit that after he's gone i will be loading up the Transalp to points unknown, cant handle much more loss.
Oh, and try and stay on the bike will ya!!!!!!

I think I got something on the lens cuz a few of these pics came out pretty fuzzy. I'm still really astonished at the VAST amount of water flowing through a completely dry barren desert.


I really wanted to go along this canal but they had it posted everywhere.


I did find a road that paralleled the canal and I followed it for a ways. The road degenerated and I had an incredible feeling like I'd been down this road before


The duck and goose hunting round here must be off the hook. There were tons of quail as well.


I followed this old narrow gauge rail but the BLM had it barricaded around the corner


There were several of these de-silting ponds The water flows over the top and debris collects in the bottom. Then they drain them periodically and bulldoze out the crap.




I drove around the area for quite awhile, but couldn't find any connecting roads going towards Blythe.


Again hit some pretty challenging and different terrain.


Finally I gave up trying to find a connecting road North and I decided to head back to the main highway. I heard a strange very faint whine. I unfolded my mirror to see a CHP on my butt with his lights blazing.
He turned out to be the nicest Cop I've ever met. We chatted for a long time, and he ended up giving me a verbal warning

I didn't wanna push my luck asking for a "you and the cops shot" actually I sort of forgot. Anyway here's a shot of him leaving.


A few miles down the road he damned near got me again :
45 Mph limits suck!

I'd been riding for several hours and Figured I better gas up, Nearest gas was back in Yuma.
4 hours on the road, total progress 5 miles, still in the City Limits. !
After gas I stopped by Yuma Prison, but I was feeling like I needed to get out of town so I didn't wait for the fifty mile long train to go by. Anyhow I wonder if this is the same rail line as in the movie.


The officer told me about Pachaco Road and said it went through to the 78 to blythe. It started out as a gravel road to the local dump that is heavily washboarded. Eventually the road went into a OHV area in rolling hills. As far as you could see people had made some natural graffiti


It went on for quite a ways

Well, I just got off the phone with MotoXotica (husky parts guru).

Geeze I dunno what I did to Dan but I think he hates me!

Remember that tiny little hole in my engine case?

Yeah well apparently you have to buy both sides cuz they are a matched set, the PARTS cost is $1600 not counting about 15 hours of labor to swap the engine guts.

my Quicksteel epoxy patch seems to be working damned good

I'm tempted to put in an insurance claim and buy a new 630

Ouch!! :huh

I'd clean it when you get home and do a super clean permanent quick steel repair...or sell it. Did Dan say what it's made out of? Peterman here on the board is pretty good at repairing cases(He's in Oregon), might be worth it to talk to him about fixing it.

That's a good idea, do I just pick and chip the quiksteel out? Or heat, or???

I'm pretty sure it's cast aluminium. Though if it were magnesium I don't know if I'd know the difference.

I'd probably use a flapper disc on an air grinder. If you don't have air I'd go with sand paper so you don't make it worse.

The inside of the case makes me think it's just aluminum, the outside makes me question what it really is? Maybe take it to a specialty welder type of shop and see what they think about welding it up without taking it apart?

http://img509.imageshack.us/g/dsc07893.jpg/

The road turned into a roller-coaster! Small hills undulating and the road twisting and turning. Every turn was banked and there were no ruts. It was the most fun road I've ever ridden on. I was probably going too fast, but I just couldn't help myself. Then I hit a bump and the cooler hit me in the butt.

I had my Camelback bungied with the cooler and it was nowhere to be seen! This was a major problem because my (brand new) Warm Jacket was inside it.

I reattached the cooler and took off looking for the camelback, but it was nowhere to be found.

I had passed a couple in a dune buggy and I figured maybe they picked it up so I kept going and eventually I caught them up and they had it
I was really starting to freak out about losing it.


Time to celebrate finding my Camelback! Happy Aaron


Then I noticed that I'd (re)broken the fender support. I also noticed that the wiring for the signals looked a little weird.


Aaron No Happy.


There didn't seem to be anything to do about the subframe so I left it. (like a doofuss)


On the trip down, I had a difficult time downing the big can of fosters and I could have swore it said is was one pint. boy did I mis-read that! These things require a degree of commitment!


The terrain just got better and better and better. Roller coaster road into wide sandy rivers.


The road went in and out of the riverbed.


Then up onto rocky plateaus


There were dozens of well-marked roads in the area, (if you can really call this a roadoser) but only the main one showed up on the Nuvi's topo map

your reporting is great.....and your luck is getting better....

Yeah if you call $1600 worth of damage to a 6k bike lucky.:huh
Actually more like $1900 cuz I did buy $300 worth of crap to fix/replace stuff.

i was thinking more on the line of you survived and no trip to the er. the expense is the tuition for the lifelong experience you had that none of the smarter rider will ever get.....

you're one adventurer, wear out those tires soon and i could sell you another pair including the 3rd hand....

That's like my Husky on the last trip..spent $800 in parts and stuff just so I could leave and did $2500 in damage during the trip...bye bye Husky.:huh

I didn't think it was possible but I am getting better in the sand I was actually starting to enjoy this stuff. Though to be fair it was much more gravelly than the crap I broke the chain in.


Around the bend a whole nuther kind of terrain!


Stellar views everywhere you turn. It was hard to restrain myself from just Bombing down this stuff.



Twisting and turning and back into the River


The GPS said I Was getting off track in the river and so I tried to take a cut out and over to another road. I don't really know what happened here. I suppose I was tired from surfing in the sand and I came over a bump while slowing for a small wash and the font end just went away.


I don't understand why a Fuel Injected Bike leaks on it's side like it has Carbs


When I lifted the bike I re-learned the lesson to stop and fix shit when you notice it. I dunno how many times I need to have this pounded into my head.


This is like my third set of rear Blinkers, and I just installed the taillight... This is getting expensive.


I didn't need it but I decided to lighten the load on the tail by emptying the extra gas.


For this break I opted for a cold Coke
I decided I should at least fix the tail-light before it got dark, so I unpacked my tools


The light didn't work when I wired it up, not surprisingly the fuze blew when those wires were flopping about.


I was able to add a bolt to the right side to stabilize the tail from flopping so much. Which I should have done when I first saw it was loose. It was broken on the left but I didn't spend enough time investigating the whole situation.
Here's the finished re-wire job.


I discovered that I'd put the master link retaining clip on backwards in the dark. I seriously considered leaving it thinking taking it off might stretch the steel a little bit. But I decided that I'd learned my lesson and so I fixed it then and there.

Success!


All packed up and ready to go.


Gotta love the beer bottle next to the sign asking you to take your trash with you...


The funnest road ever!


It was getting late in the day so I slabbed it back up to where I got stuck in Blythe to look for that part.