Eat. Sleep. Ride. - The Great Divide

[Shibby!]

A "quick" picture post of the Continental Divide Trail with a few detours ending my trip I started last October. For me this was the end of 5 countries, 7 states, 2 provinces, 6 tires, 5 flats, 14,000 ft highest elevation, 1 broken chain, and over 22,000 KM's on my trusty XR650R. Memories that will never be forgotten and an experience that changed the way I think about life.

My other ride reports can be found in my signature. Thanks for looking.

[Shibby!]

[Shibby!]

[Shibby!]

[Shibby!]

2.5 weeks, camped every night except the first two, 6180 KM's, 1 set of Desert IT's, only one day of not riding (broken chain). Riding from NM to Alberta without a license plate! Good times.

[Buell78753]

Very awesome! Beautiful pictures. I have the CDT on my list of must-do rides hopefully soon.
Im in process of building my XRR up for DS riding. And curious on some items:
- How did sub frame hold up (is it stock alloy one?)
- How many miles between oil changes?
- Any bike or gear tips for doing such a mega adventure?


Thanks for posting up and sharing the ride!

[BuRPsa]

Originally Posted by Shibby!

Shibby, a-we-so-me country you've seen!! Magnificent scenery, I must say.
But what is the above, surely it has a name? Would like to read up on it...

[Shibby!]

Originally Posted by BuRPsa

Shibby, a-we-so-me country you've seen!! Magnificent scenery, I must say.
But what is the above, surely it has a name? Would like to read up on it...

That's MesaVerde Park / Ruins near where the NM, CO, and UT border intersect. We skirted off the CDT to take this park in, and Moab WRT. Last fall I did a lot of other trails in Moab, but this time was a whirl wind trip and I wanted to do the WRT since we didn't get it done last time. IMO, one of the best Moab has to offer. Not very technical, but the views are like nothing else. Stunning scenery around every corner.

[flossandfly]

Thanks for sharing.

[Shibby!]

Originally Posted by Buell78753

Very awesome! Beautiful pictures. I have the CDT on my list of must-do rides hopefully soon.
Im in process of building my XRR up for DS riding. And curious on some items:
- How did sub frame hold up (is it stock alloy one?)
- How many miles between oil changes?
- Any bike or gear tips for doing such a mega adventure?


Thanks for posting up and sharing the ride!

Buell,

My subframe is a full steel replacement. Made by a ADVrider who has a company called GlobeTrotting. Just goggle Globe trotting motorcycle frames and it would probably come up.

The second XRR on the trip, my buddies, has a stock subframe. It held up fine but he was carrying a lot less weight then me. I had the tools, first aid kit, spares, food, night caps, etc

There's argument as to how often you have to change the oil on the XRR, but little to no people actually getting their oil tested to confirm these acquisitions. To me, the oil isn't that much cost considering it only takes 1.6 or 1.8 liters. In Mexico it was around 5-7$/liter. Once on this trip we put 15$/liter because they had no listed price on the them. Then scored some ultra cheap castrol syn for 5.85 promotion. In either event, for as long as I owned the bike I have been changing my oil at 2000km (1200 miles) and changing the filter every SECOND oil change (4000km).

Ironically my bike was burning some oil during my latin america trip, however on this trip it was pretty much keeping the same level. I have a feeling my crankcase vent tube might have been slightly pinched causing a bit of pressure/burning. It appears to be good again.

Tips for trips? Pack as light as you possibly can. Most people pack WAY too much stuff. Stuff they never use but have to deal with it every single day because they either have to pack it, it's in the way, or deal with the extra weight and size. The bigger the bike, the more they end up packing. Hence my confusion on why people want oversized GS's with tons of crap on them. With a bike that size it limits you from doing the trails that are really fun and adventurous. They are also so complicated you are stuck finding specifically trained BMW/KTM mechanics to do the work on them.

So, keep it simple, and pack as light as possible. Spend time finding light and small tools, if you are buying sleeping bags review weight and packed size, same with tents and sleeping mattresses. Forget the camp cook gear. Food is everywhere in the states and latin america. If there is no food, granola bars can hold you over till you find something.

[RideDualSport.com]

Originally Posted by Shibby!

Buell,
Pack as light as you possibly can. Most people pack WAY too much stuff. Stuff they never use but have to deal with it every single day because they either have to pack it, it's in the way, or deal with the extra weight and size. The bigger the bike, the more they end up packing.

Excellent advice indeed! My KLR is such a pack-mule, that I have to work hard at the temptation to load it up! For solo riding I use a small duffel bag and dry sack, no saddlebags.
Congratulations on the Adventure of a life-time! We wanted to do some of the Great Divide last year but changed our plans due to wild fires in New Mexico.
Its great to see an XR650R can handle an extended high mileage journey, carrying all the comforts needed!
The XR650R has great appeal to me compared to a KTM, mainly because of reliability, simplicity and legendary Baja racing performance. I understand the XR650R does not use titanium valves, which is also appealing from a wear point of view.
What was the longest distance traveled between fuel stops with that large tank?
Thanks for the awesome photos, very inspirational!

[Shibby!]

Originally Posted by RideDualSport.com

What was the longest distance traveled between fuel stops with that large tank?
Thanks for the awesome photos, very inspirational!

I have done 400km (250miles), but I think in a pinch I could go much further. On this trip the WY section north of Rawlins was 385km's I think, and I still had over 2 gallons in my tank. The Acerbis tank is rated at 6.3 gal.

Please keep in mind this is with the TM-40 carb, which got me from 36-38MPG to over 50MPG. My buddy who is using my other tank (4.3 gal) was getting lower on fuel by the time we filled up, and already put in an additional 2.5 gallons which you can see were strapped to our bikes for this one time long fuel stretch. So in comparison his stock carbed bike used nearly 7 gallons, and I used around 4.

It is true the XRR uses steel valves, however I still think the valves are the weak point. Not sure how weak compared to other thumpers, but from people who rebuild them often mention the valves are razor sharp and were due for replacement. I'm not sure if the LC4 shares this issue, but surely the MX bikes would.

[Cannonshot]

Nice ride. Great pix!

[Shibby!]

Originally Posted by Cannonshot

Nice ride. Great pix!

Thanks Cannonshot.

That means a lot.

[XSoCal]

Great ride report, and thanks for posting the shots. And now I'm really glad I wound up getting the XRR! If you get a chance, a few questions.

- which windscreens are you and your buddy using; trying to decide on one/build one now.
- which chain broke? Looks like it was an O ring, and not a master link failure...
- what gearing do you use? I just put on 15/43...great on the highway, and haven't really had a problem slow, although picking up the front is a bit hard. With mixed riding I get 400km from the Acerbis tank and the stock PE carb.

Thanks!