An Old Man plays with his Wee

[Gramp-Z]

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Hello everyone , this is my first stab at a mini rr , so bear with me . Introductions first . I have been riding a little over 40 years and have had many kinds of bikes . But I haven't had an "enduro" since the early 70s . And I quit trail riding around 81' . This site has given me the urge to take the roads less travelled . Enter my latest bike , an 08' Wee . This pic was from the day I brought her home , notice she has no farkles . This report covers a couple of short day rides to get a feel for her on some gravel roads . The first ride on July 16th up to Stampede Pass . I left Maple Valley and ran up Highway 18 to I-90 , then up to where I could get on Tinkham Rd . Was a nice day for a ride , a little cool . Haven't got any mesh armor pants yet . I am not much for picture taking (skilz wise) , just a cheap 10 MP crap camera and a non HD GoPro . Here are a few shots from that ride .
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Sorry for the sound on video , just turn the sound off or down . Have to admit riding the wee on washboard and loose gravel has a different feel than my V45 Sabre or any of my last dirt bikes .

[Gramp-Z]

I don't know if you can see , but I made a skid plate with highway pegs right away . I have a bad hip and have to stretch my left leg out or I will want to cry like a school girl . Also added a 22" Givi windshield to try and kill some of the helmet wind noise , it helped some . Have been wearing ear plugs , something I have never had to do before . This video is from a snowmobile trail right off of I-90 at Snowqualmie Pass . It had some baby head rocks and nice pot holes to try out the suspension .

[Gramp-Z]

The second day of gravel was on Aug 1st heading south through Black Diamond , Enumclaw , Buckley and hitting 165 out to Mowich Lake on the NW side of Mt Rainier . I had added the crashbars and a second windshield I bought through an inmate down south , Silentray . My first one went away when the bike fell over on the bike lift , sorry no pics . You may have noticed my SPOT in one of the earlier pictures . Makes the wife feel better , I tell everybody that if they find a body , life insurance pays off quicker . It seems that I don't get as many tracks as I would like though . On this day it didn't get a hit at the lake , which is the end of the road . Here are a few shots , the first one for Ladybug .

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Once again , pardon the sound , but a video of some twisties riding on 165 coming up on the Fairfax Bridge .


Now a little gravel , man all the hiker's Subarus sure build some nice (bad) washboards ! Not to mention the amount of dust !

[Gramp-Z]

Think I was starting to get a feel for the Wee . I started out going a little too slow , but picked up the pace as I went along . I hadn't planned on paying a $15 fee to ride up into Mt Rainier Park , so all I could do was leave a $20 The next shot is one of the few open areas I could get a shot looking out across the valleys .

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Here is a shot of Mowich Lake , was going to take the 1/4 mile walk down to the lake , but it was pretty warm and the yellow jackets were a little thick for my liking . I have to carry a sting kit which makes me a little more careful around bugs . A sting is a two pronged problem for me . If I get stung , the sting will kill me and the adrenalin may burst my bad heart valve and kill me . I only saw one bike all the way up to the lake , it was parked at the lake , a V65 Magna . That must have been a fun ride ! Must have seen 80 subaru on the way up and back , had to dodge a couple on corners . Guess they were nervous , gave me a few "pucker" moment as well .

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There is an ORV Park part way up the road , Evan's Creek ORV , I think . So several truck and trailer rigs on the road . Wouldn't recommend this ride , too much traffic and some of the worst washboards I have ever driven on . I am getting a little more comfortable on the Wee . The whole idea of getting a wee is to hopefully ride to Prudoe Bay next June . After reading just about every ride report , it is a big ride I hope to do while I still can . I hope to do a several day solo ride and primitive camping trip in the next month or two . The only problem is forest fire season and then hunting seasons . Time will tell . Thanks for enduring my first try .

[Gramp-Z]

OK , someone who is smarter than I , what do I have to do different to post videos ? People can watch them if they click on the picture , but the arrow isn't there as is normal . Sorry for the greenhorn mistake .

[mrbreeze]

I put mine on youtube, then click the "embed" button (on youtube) copy the code it shows you, then paste it here.

easy peasy

[Kodanja]

Looks like your starting to get the wee broken in. Just don't break it

I'm looking at Alaska next year as well. Hope your trip goes well.

[Gramp-Z]

Kodanja ; maybe we should keep in touch and see how things pan out . Hoping for a June 25th departure , depending on how late the spring is .

[Bumpy ahead]

Hi Gramp-Z,

Nice ride and wonderful photos. You really have a well preserved nature out there. I can see you are using dual sport tires, is that Michelin Anakee?

[WU7X]

I really enjoyed your videos. The one crossing the bridge was the best. Glad you stopped and showed us the depth of that gourge!

Have fun with the Wee. It's a great bike. And safe and enjoyable trip to alaska next year.

[Gramp-Z]

Bumpy ahead ; I still have the stock trailwings on . Haven't done any serious mud or dirt , but so far they have been OK . Haven't decided what I will replace them with yet . If I get to take my dream trip to Alaska this summer , I will carry a set of knobies with me for the Haul road and Top of the world highway . Thanks for looking/reading !

[Gramp-Z]

WUZX ; see what you think of this video , added an old song that I thought fit this ride well .