Vermont and New Hampshire Dual Sport Thread

[jackpiner57]

Originally Posted by ellivnad

Tom (jackpiner57), sorry I missed you! Your voicemail just came through. We must have been sitting at the bottom of Woodbury Mtn road at the same time you were on Eagle Ledge. Maybe you ran into a rider heading south on County road, he was on an old Honda thumper, he headed south just after we split off to head home.

Looks like you guys had a good time! Eagle Ledge Rd. was flooded by beavers for over a hundred yards and a local told me it was about 3 feet deep and muddy. I decided to take the Shepherd Hill Trail and it was a blast.



Headed for home through Kent's Corner

[henrymartin]

Originally Posted by TMORAN

I just saw this part..... meaning you f'ers are out there right now!! I've been piddling around with the bikes down in the barn.... I took the family and some neighbors out there last week. with a side by side and the neighbors had four wheelers, one being a Kymco 150 four wheeler. What a POS. they had to tow it all the way back from Richmond to Troy. Slow....slow... ride. I found a great new place to park with lots of nice parking over on the Richmond side.

Yup, we were out there from 9:00am to about 4:00 pm. Swanzey, Troy, Richmond, powerlines, trails, pizza, crypts, .... we had it all. Guymanbro may or may or may not have some video and pics. I got nothing, except sore feet.

[guymanbro]

Originally Posted by henrymartin

Yup, we were out there from 9:00am to about 4:00 pm. Swanzey, Troy, Richmond, powerlines, trails, pizza, crypts, .... we had it all. Guymanbro may or may or may not have some video and pics. I got nothing, except sore feet.

I have pics and video, but it's gonna have to wait for a day or two [let the baited breath begin here]. When I get a chance to edit the video, I'll post up a full ride report... Right now I'm tired, my feet are raisins, my dog is anxious, and the beer is cold.

Had a great time out there today with you guys. When I get a chance to edit the video, I'll post up a full ride report...

[henrymartin]

Originally Posted by guymanbro

... Right now I'm tired, my feet are raisins, my dog is anxious, and the beer is cold.

...

Must get that image out of my mind...must get that image out of my mind...must...arrgh, I can't close my eyes.

By the way, guymanbro manhandles his KLR like it's a toy.

[NewHampWoodsRider]

Great time today guys! It was great riding!

I went into the garage to mess around tonight and noticed there was a wee oil spot below my KLR.
Looks like one of the "rocks" that nailed my bash plate also nailed my oil drain plugs.....

We shall see what happens!

Henry,
Why is it every time I ride with you something breaks on my bike...?

[henrymartin]

Originally Posted by NewHampWoodsRider

Great time today guys! It was great riding!

I went into the garage to mess around tonight and noticed there was a wee oil spot below my KLR.
Looks like one of the "rocks" that nailed my bash plate also nailed my oil drain plugs.....

We shall see what happens!

Henry,
Why is it every time I ride with you something breaks on my bike...?

Adam, Adam...do you really want to go there?

Possible answers to your question may or may not include the following:

a) become a better rider.
b) learn how to pick a line amidst obstacles.
c) get a better bike.
d) stick to the paved roads from now on.
e) borrow my kid's tricycle and practice in my sandbox (I can throw some pebbles in there to simulate a trail).

Any of the above might help you avoid asking the same question next time we ride together.

Now, in all seriousness, drainplug is an easy fix. My lil'KLR had busted threads and leaked a lot. Instead of inserts and helicoils and such, I just went up to a 1/2" plug (only so tiny bit larger dia than the stock), lubed a tap with lithium grease, tapped the hole, and put the 1/2" drain plug in. Hasn't leaked a drop since. Total cost less then $10, total time about 30 min, incl. cleanup.


And for others who might be interested in doing some trails around Swanzey, NH, here is a 1/2 of what we did today in a gpx format. The end destination is a pizza place - we were hungry.

[henrymartin]

This thread kinda slow down, eh?

Guymanbro: can't wait to see the video. (when you get a chance)

[Mellow802]

I rode the southern section of powerlines at the Meadowsend Timber Lands on Sunday. The trails are a lot of fun with waterbars lots of climbing and some good surface changes. Windham is turning out to be a great place to ride with plenty of dirtroad loops and great scenery.

[VTSteve]

Hey guys.

Have DRZ w/kobbies, will travel.

[kbroderick]

Managed to hit Liberty Hill Rd. both ways as I traveled the Rt. 100 corridor last night and then this morning; the road is in pretty good shape aside from the one big culvert in the middle that got partially whalloped back in the spring (the material washed out from around it but has been sort-of rectified now; the culvert was not reset, but someone apparently applied some material to fill the gaps around it).





I also have to say that the Mitas E-09 I recently put on the back end of my bike has made it incredibly sure-footed in any slippery stuff I've encountered thus far—with the Anakee 2 on there, I don't know that I would have been willing to ride Liberty Hill by myself after last night's rain, but I found zero issues, even when my line choice was less than ideal.

[jackpiner57]

Originally Posted by VTSteve

Hey guys.

Have DRZ w/kobbies, will travel.

Hi VTSteve, I'm thinking about a Class 4 and Legal Trail ride on Saturday in my area. but will wait to see if anyone else is planning a ride somewhere I haven't ridden yet.

Originally Posted by kbroderick

Managed to hit Liberty Hill Rd. both ways as I traveled the Rt. 100 corridor last night and then this morning; the road is in pretty good shape aside from the one big culvert in the middle that got partially whalloped back in the spring (the material washed out from around it but has been sort-of rectified now; the culvert was not reset, but someone apparently applied some material to fill the gaps around it).

I also have to say that the Mitas E-09 I recently put on the back end of my bike has made it incredibly sure-footed in any slippery stuff I've encountered thus far—with the Anakee 2 on there, I don't know that I would have been willing to ride Liberty Hill by myself after last night's rain, but I found zero issues, even when my line choice was less than ideal.

Looks like a nice shortcut KB , what are you putting the Mitas on? What are you running on the front?

[jackpiner57]

This is the route I'm thinking about for Saturday. There's some really good stuff here and some of the trails are a bit challenging. If anyone's interested, let me know.

Like I said in the post above, I'd just as soon go on someone else's ride where I haven't ridden before.

Click on "view larger map" at the bottom of the map.

View Larger Map

[kbroderick]

Originally Posted by jackpiner57

Looks like a nice shortcut KB , what are you putting the Mitas on? What are you running on the front?

R1150GS, substantially modified by the first owner (no telelever, long-travel suspension on both ends, and some other significant efforts with regards to weight loss). I'm fairly convinced that the bike will go just about anywhere, so long as I can manage not to fall off before it gets there. I've been running TKC80s on the front since I got the bike and have been pretty happy with that part of the tire solution; I did resort to getting a second rear wheel and rotor to make rear tire swapping a bit easier, as I generally park the truck and ride all summer (and knobbies on the drive wheel get expensive).

[jackpiner57]

Originally Posted by kbroderick

R1150GS, substantially modified by the first owner (no telelever, long-travel suspension on both ends, and some other significant efforts with regards to weight loss). I'm fairly convinced that the bike will go just about anywhere, so long as I can manage not to fall off before it gets there. I've been running TKC80s on the front since I got the bike and have been pretty happy with that part of the tire solution; I did resort to getting a second rear wheel and rotor to make rear tire swapping a bit easier, as I generally park the truck and ride all summer (and knobbies on the drive wheel get expensive).

Sounds like a very interesting ride and I'd love to see it sometime! I know the TKC's are pricey, but what do the Mitas roughly go for? I'm thinking about Mitas E-10's for my DL650.

[kbroderick]

Originally Posted by jackpiner57

Sounds like a very interesting ride and I'd love to see it sometime! I know the TKC's are pricey, but what do the Mitas roughly go for? I'm thinking about Mitas E-10's for my DL650.

The E-09 Dakar was about the same price as a TKC80, but is reported to be better in mud and have longer life. Given that I've now got two rear wheels, I figured that sounded like a reasonable option, as I'll just swap the other rear wheel (with the Anakee 2) on when I don't plan to be riding any dirt. So far, I'm quite happy with the E-09; I haven't noticed a significant difference in traction on pavement, but I have noticed quite a bit more in mud.