VENTURING SOUTH on DRZ's

We’ll go from the ground up on this one. I started the trip on some half spent Pirelli MT21’s that I really didn’t care for and packed my Maxxis Desert IT for the front and a Dunlop D606 for the rear (all in stock sizes). Absolutely loved the tires. They perform very well on road and are still quite aggressive for the dirt/sand action. I also got 10,000 miles out of the set which I consider pretty darn good. I used the stock brake pads which still have about 25% left. I ran a stock front sprocket and JT steel rear (15/44). If I were to do it again I would probably opt for a 15/41 for better highway speeds. You could even carry a 14 tooth front sprocket and swap it out for places like Bolivia or for serious offroad work. I think the clutch could still handle the 15/41 for the entirety of the trip. As you know I required sprocket and chain changes. Al rode his sprockets/chain (exactly the same as mine) for the entire trip. I am just a bit more aggressive and I like wheelies. I ran a Tonnes skid plate which I believe is about the best you can get. Change oil with it on, provides good coverage to the bottom, the waterpump, and the stator cover. Made from 3/16” aluminum it is very heavy duty and did it’s job on a few occasions. I can’t remember the brand but I have oversized footpegs which I wouldn’t go without…the stockers are tiny. I used the TT aluminum side case covers which are a must and a lot of companies make the exact same thing. I used a stainless steel oil filter and only removed it to clean with solvent and compressed air every other oil change (changed oil every 2,000 – 2,500 miles). I also put in a magnetic drain plug. Some say the stock one is magnetic but the difference between the one I installed and the stocker is HUGE. Full MRD exhaust was installed. My bike was able to idle better than Al’s at higher altitudes probably because of this but the main reason I did it was to save a little weight. I found it used for $225….i wouldn’t bother buying it new. The 2000 and 2001 came with really soft shitty front suspension that I absolutely hated and put on some stock 2006 forks from an S model that made a world of difference. Other than that the suspension was stock….I did adjust preload and valving to suit the load though. Also on the first two years the ACCT was porely designed. Some also think that the newer models ACCT is an area of failure but I just replaced it with a 2005 model ACCT because I didn’t want to deal with adjusting it. Before leaving a took the side case covers off and performed all of the Loctite Fixes that you can find on Thumpertalk. Al didn’t do any of them and he survived but mine being an early model I figured it should be done. I also installed a kickstarter which I have not used to this day. Probably because I also modified the battery box and installed an oversized Yuasa YTZ10S battery which always fired the engine….more than Al can say about his stocker that liked to go dead in cold temps. I pulled the rear linkage apart and applied fresh grease for fear of it freezing up. The 3x3 mod with JD jetting was done on both bikes and they really perform better. Safari 17L tank….I’ve talked about this enough that I think you know I really like it. Probably should have gone with the 28L after seeing how narrow the 17L still is. And you know in Mexico I had to order in a new Petcock from Pingle along with a vacuum operated valve so that I didn’t have to remember to turn it off everywhere. The Safari petcock is shit. I think it comes from IMS. The pingel stuff is very solid. Custom seat built for my ass by Don at Ed’s moto in Albany, Oregon. Nothing but good to say about it. I have the DRC LED taillight along with small LED blinkers on front and rear. They worked great. Al only had the stock brake light bulb go out once on him. Up front I have the HDB handguards with ADV top clamp and fold out mirrors. I love the whole setup. Quite pricey but I think I would be missing my left hand (and certainly bent handlebars) from the crash in Panama had I not had such a beefy setup. On my left clutch perch I have a 1” ram ball mount threaded into the hole where the mirror used to mount for my GPS. On the right perch I have a 1” ball used to mount a gopro. I also have the HDB aluminum holder for my Veypor digital readout. I really appreciated having a tachometer as well as an odometer that reads in KM if desired. All of this is obviously not necessary but I really really like have a nice “cockpit.” I fabricated the rear rack and side racks for the bike. They worked great. I also built brackets that moved my headlight forward about 3”. This allowed me to mount a small Pelican case right behind the headlight fairing. Inside the Pelican case is the PC8 relay/fuse box. From this I power a USB charger, a powerlet (mounted in the HDB top clamp), my GPS, my SPOT Tracker, my heated handgrips (must have these….very nice), and a voltage meter. Last but not least I have Galfer stainless break line on the front….never got around to installing the rear. Probably not necessary. I think that about wraps everything up. Is this what you guys are looking for? I will have more opinions on the gear but everything I did to the bike worked well and most of it was probably overkill. Al did this whole trip with an almost completely stock bike.

Good info, thanks, Andrew. Assume you had stock stator or did I miss that? I am so spoiled with my R's 700w I may have withdrawal once I get into a DRZ or DR, lol. Did you try to calculate your wattage budget or did you just make sure you weren't running it all at once?

I didn't even bother with the math. I think the stocker is 200 watts or something. The spot tracker and gps are literally negligable as far as amp draw goes. the heated grips are 20 or 30 watts and the only other real draw is the headlight. I ran everything and charged either my phone or my SENA headset while driving. When camped, I would just plug in one or the other and let it charge overnight. I'm not sure what you do with 700 watts besides add a bunch of lights and bring a blender and an aircompressor and maybe a sound system with you.

Air compressors are always good, lol, and a 20 ft battery jump cable, and oh yeah the 1500 lumen LEDs up front that vaporize small animals when you hit the high beams, lol, though they aren't that hungry. Running the heated handlebars on high is always good as you know, and firing up some heated goodness inside your coat when it is cold and rainy is also not a bad thing :). You just don't worry about anything that needs electricity, lol. OTOH, the tendons on my legs stick out like steel cables when I lean over a little too much, and when I tried to pull the front up to do a wheelie once I'm just fortunate I didn't lose my grip and throw myself off the back of the bike

I probably could run a blender and possibly a toaster if I left it on high idle, come to think of it, since the Odyssey battery is about bulletproof.

I may run up to Area 51 on this bike soon, and then when I get back I'm gonna move some coin around and start some serious shopping for a bike like yours or a DR...but man that TR650 sounds good, too

Just finished all 51 pages...Epic ride man thanks for taking us all along.

Now I know what I want to be when I grow up!

That was a dead give-away. I'm sure he was trying to be nice, but you shouhld have known!

Ya THANKS for all the good times,glad you invited all of us along!

I'm sure you've made many DRZ owners appreciative for taking the time out to write that.

I've had a set of HDB barkbusters and adv clamp, sitting in a box in my garage just staring at me. Glad they worked out well for you.

I look forward to hearing your opinions on gear

Regardless of all of that, why don't you tell the truth and let us in on how you got the dynamite back into the states

Yeah.............+1. Just finished this up after stumbling on the fan thread - ADV superstars! I was entertained - nice ride.

Since most of us like blowing things up - please continue on ....although I understand if Homeland Security restraints quell your pyrotechnic activity.

Door is open in potatoland.

Hope it's not a bad sign, the spot track stopped yesterday at a point that appears to be on I-5 in Medford, OR???

Yeah, that is still about 200 miles from Albany, on the other hand they disappeared into the jungle for a few days, too, and came out, maybe he found something cool to do? :huh

I have noticed that the combined accuracy of the spot and the online mapping services can be quite high. For example, I tested my own spot from my backyard, and the satellite map in pact depicted the location at a point that was within 10 feet of the actual. And it notice that for the recent points on the spot track on his RR, the points show up right in the highway. Of course we don't know where he actually was, but the points seem highly accurate. So it looks odd that the last point was on the I-5, because the accuracy implies he really was on the I-5, and not on an adjacent property (motel, gas station, old girlfriend from college...).

No problem. The best part is you really don't have to grow up to do it.

Yes, the spot can be accurate but the problem is that the data points are only sent after a certain time interval. Thus, a lot of the time we would arrive somewhere, shut it off, and the last point would be a mile behind us. As in this case, I just rolled into Ashland where Alex lives but I shut it down before it could send another data point. Anyway, safe & sound and working on a resume.

About time! I wan't having any luck finding accident reports along I-5 involving DRZ bikes and dynamite, lol

I wrote my riding areas but it is pretty boring. So I will just post pics and then we'll get back to the gear.













Mono Lake:





Then onto 89 headed for Tahoe....fun road:









Lost Leaf Lake:





Made a loop around Tahoe:





An idiot drove off the road:









Left Tahoe and took a detour to check out the Donner Pass Park:









Almanor Reservoir:





Then shot over to the coast. Passed through Red Bluff where it was well over 100-degrees.





Out of Redding and up passed Whiskeytown:



Over to Eureka for an all you can eat breakfast at the Samoa Cookhouse:






Yes, I had to do this:





Scenic detour on the way back south....these trees were on the large side of things:



Leaving the coastline I headed over Bald Hills Road, then to Happy Camp, then up Gray Back road and into Oregon.



















And finally after 10 days and 2,200 miles of California they are reunited:

Jeeeeeeez guys! Enough with the D-word already

I'm going to have spooks crawling into every facet of my life when I get home

I am going to continue to ride around my homestate (with the spot tracker off as to not alert anyone of my whereabouts) to take in all the beauty and beer that Oregon has to offer but this is where I will end the ride report. I will however be posting riding gear reviews as well as some tips and tricks that did or did not work. Thank you all for following along and giving me inspiration to keep up on this thing. The ride reports are tough work out in the field and I commend all of you that have shared your stories with the rest of us. Until next time, Audios.

Thanks for the report. It was entertaining! I also understand the difficulties and work required to post one. It was appreciated I'm sure by many.

Nice work, and I wish you luck in your future endevours.

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