DRZ 400 preparation for the Trans America Trail

[ClearwaterBMW]

great thread
can't wait for the ride report
enjoy every miles... glad it's all beginning to come together
the very best to you

[One Less Harley]

sailway66, I like that cat in you avatar!! Looks like it has wings, I sail a Hobie 17!!

[One Less Harley]

Concerns of the day...Yeah just thinking about the TAT, just like an 18 yr old thinks about.........well you know what I'm saying.

Gearing concerns- Running a 15-44t currently, thought about keeping it that way, except going to a steel 44t on the rear. Talked to a friend today who is a practical off road guy, not to extreme and used to race. He thought a 38t rear would work out fine, even off road. Got me really thinking about it.A definite plus will be on the road, less vibrations from the motor (good for the return trip), improved gas mileage (road). Considering that my ridding style isn't aggressive this might be a good option.
Found 38t and 39t rear steel sprocket from Wheeling Cycle today.


Another concern- Tires, currently front Pirelli MT21 and rear Dunlop 606, half used up. So they won't last the trip. Two choices lug two new tires along to swap out on the road or switch out hear at home?

I'm leaning towards bringing a new set with me and changing out in NM, as I don't know if a set of new tires will make it 7,000 miles.

Two tire choices- TCK 80's good knobbies and grip but mileage at about 5,000 miles.

Heidenua K60's - not sure what to expect for miles, but better than the TCK 80's, but less aggressive pattern. I think the K60's would make the complete trip based on what my G/S has shown with these tires.

Need to figure out how to mount the Moose roll chart holder, as the bars don't have a cross brace. I'd prefer to keep it simple w/o all the stalks like the Ram mounts. Any suggestion??

[rufus]

I DIDN'T take my 990 KTM on the TAT ( took my 525 KTM) because I realized that if I sunk the rear wheel in sand or mud it would be an ENORMOUS chore to get it unstuck. With a smaller bike I can just grab the bike and lift it. DRZ is a better choice the the GS IMHO.
I started with a kenda 760 rear tire. It was completely used up in 1400 miles. Both of my riding buddies used dunlop 606s. We did the western TAT, about 2500 miles, and they both had lots of tread left. 606 or a Maxxis IT would be my tire choice. Maxxis get better traction then the 606 but the 606 last longer and is more than acceptable.
I think that you are making a mistake with your gearing (39 tooth rear). Once you are set up you need to find a long (1 or 2 miles) section of DEEP sand , like a river bottom, and see how it works. It is easy to burn up a clutch with too tall gearing. We all used the cheap ( $15) steel sprockets from rocky mountain. They went the distance with hardly any noticeable wear.

[One Less Harley]

Originally Posted by rufus

I think that you are making a mistake with your gearing (39 tooth rear). Once you are set up you need to find a long (1 or 2 miles) section of DEEP sand , like a river bottom, and see how it works. It is easy to burn up a clutch with too tall gearing. We all used the cheap ( $15) steel sprockets from rocky mountain. They went the distance with hardly any noticeable wear.

Hum, I don't have much experience in sand yet. I can always take the 39t (chain length might be a problem) for the return trip, it's flat and doesn't take much room. Already have a 44t steel.

[sailwa66]

Originally Posted by One Less Harley

sailway66, I like that cat in you avatar!! Looks like it has wings, I sail a Hobie 17!!

Actually, it's a Skiff, like an International 14, but a little bigger... less like sailing, and more like flying. Beg/borrow/steal a ride if you can, it's awesome in 20-25! The 17's a great sport cat; even augered one while in the sling on a crazy reach once... that left a mark.

[rhino_adv]

Originally Posted by One Less Harley

Hum, I don't have much experience in sand yet. I can always take the 39t (chain length might be a problem) for the return trip, it's flat and doesn't take much room. Already have a 44t steel.

I think you would be much happier with the 44 tooth sprocket on the TAT. Take the 39 tooth and a chain breaker along for the trip home.

[One Less Harley]

I may be ridding w/ someone else for about 10 days on the TAT. The rest of the time will probably be solo, of course I might run into others and ride together for a while. Since I'm paranoid about potential problems, be that from bike breaking down or me (potential debilitating crash). I can try my best to eliminate those problems, but things do happen. Hence all the prep work to the bike and I recently found a Spot Personal tracker on Clearance at Camping World, for the ridiculously low price of $34!!!! It was the last one!!! It's a little larger than the Spot 2 and doesn't have some other features that I don't care about anyway.



....and for cold high elevation passes heated grips from Happy Trails. Thinner gloves can be used w/ heated grips, dexterity suffers w/ insulated ones. Plus one less pair of gloves.

...and to neaten up the battery connections a fuse block from Eastern Beaver. Chose this over the Centech mainly because of a cover for the fuses the Centech is open.



The hard part on the fuse block will be finding a location for it. There's not much room on a DRZ. I've got three extra pairs of wire on the battery right now, and it already looks like a bird's nest.

Fuse block for- 5 accessories-GPS, Heated Grips, Jacket liner, Eddie's Free Power Mod, extra plug (trickle charger/ cell phone/inverter/air compressor).

So stay tuned for wiring fun!!!

[One Less Harley]

Ok, I'll bore you guys with some picts of previous mods, can't update any work being done right now as the parts haven't arrived!!!

Highway Dirtbikes, mirrors, hand guards and top clamp. These things while a little costly are the CAT'S MEOW!!! Love the folding mirrors. Also put a switch on the top clamp to turn off the low beam. DRZ's aren't known for killer charging systems!! Zeta turn signals mounted in guards and a relocated ignition switch. Using the handle bar risers caused the speedo to be partially blocked by the top clamp, so it was relocated up and more to the center line of the bike, by welding on some plate steel and spacers.








Then there is the kick starter- not stock to a 400S



Tool tube and wolfman luggage mount reinforcements-







Rear brace acts as a bonus grab rail-



Here's one welded on tab to the main frame, just had to be careful not to block the body side panel bolts-

[Footprint]

[GoMotor]

Originally Posted by One Less Harley

Concerns of the day...Yeah just thinking about the TAT, just like an 18 yr old thinks about.........well you know what I'm saying.

Gearing concerns- Running a 15-44t currently, thought about keeping it that way, except going to a steel 44t on the rear. Talked to a friend today who is a practical off road guy, not to extreme and used to race. He thought a 38t rear would work out fine, even off road. Got me really thinking about it.A definite plus will be on the road, less vibrations from the motor (good for the return trip), improved gas mileage (road). Considering that my ridding style isn't aggressive this might be a good option.
Found 38t and 39t rear steel sprocket from Wheeling Cycle today.


Another concern- Tires, currently front Pirelli MT21 and rear Dunlop 606, half used up. So they won't last the trip. Two choices lug two new tires along to swap out on the road or switch out hear at home?

I'm leaning towards bringing a new set with me and changing out in NM, as I don't know if a set of new tires will make it 7,000 miles.

Two tire choices- TCK 80's good knobbies and grip but mileage at about 5,000 miles.

Heidenua K60's - not sure what to expect for miles, but better than the TCK 80's, but less aggressive pattern. I think the K60's would make the complete trip based on what my G/S has shown with these tires.

Need to figure out how to mount the Moose roll chart holder, as the bars don't have a cross brace. I'd prefer to keep it simple w/o all the stalks like the Ram mounts. Any suggestion??

On my KLR 650 I ran stock sprockets (15/45) to Salida, CO. It is mostly good roads, flat land and low elevations up to there. In Salida I switched to 2under/2over (13/47) for the steep rocky passes, higher elevations, sand and lower speeds on the rest of the trail. With 2under/2over I did not have to worry about changing chain length. You can go back to stock sprockets for the ride home.

I would not want the hassle, weight and space of carrying extra tires. Just in to Colorado at Trinidad the trail passes right in front of a good sized motorcycle shop called Valcom Motorsports that caters to riders on the trail. Also, arrowhead motorsports in Moab, UT caters to riders on the trail. You can call ahead to either and if they do not have what you want, they will get it for you.

I used Kenda 270 knobbies front and rear. They are a good duel sport tire. Long life with not too much noise and vibration on the highwayand good traction for sand, gravel and rocks. I put 11,000 miles on the rear tire before I changed it. It was really really worn out at that point, but no threads were showing.

[Sourjon]

You're gonna have a ball! I did the TAT to CO last year on 606's plus four days of passes (Mosquito, Hancock and Monarch amongst them) and still had a lot of wear left. I wouldn't carry tires especially if you camp. You'll get tired of loading and unloading them and you'll easily get to Arrowhead on what you start with.

Don't bother with the roll charts at least to Colorado. They take too much time fiddling with odo and doing math if you forget. Everything this side of Utah is in Mapsource (if you use Garmin). If you create routes turn off recalculate or auto-routing or it will f*&k you up when you get off route (and you will). I used tracks instead of routes because they never change and because they will cross gaps in roads where routes won't.

Sam has rerouted CO to go around Hancock and Tomichi passes because so many had complained (even though there were clearly marked big bike go arounds). Mistake in my opinion. This was a fun section and would be perfect for the bike you're riding. Yes it's rough, steep in places and rocky but it's Colorado fer pete's sake! The views are awesome. If you want tracks for that part PM me and I'll send them to you.

Here's a sample of Hancock:


John

[prsdrat]

Yeah. I'm in. Get started!

[Flyrotax]

Good decision on changing bikes for the ride. I also have a GS but rode the TAT two summers ago on a XR650L. You will find that with a full tank of gas and your gear that there will be times when you wish you had an even lighter bike. From experence I think that you will benefit from lowering your gearing from stock. Navada as well as CO. Has some very steep and rutted, rocky sections. I did use the 606s,which did well, got new tiers in Moab.
Bill

[One Less Harley]

So you think 15-44 is too high? I can go to a 13 up front, but it's such a pain to swap out, one big nut for the counter shaft. It's a DRZ issue to put a little lock tight on the counter shaft sprocket, so changing it requires a big socket and breaker bar.

Sure don't want to fry the clutch!!!!