Adventure riding short rides and BS thread

[SFMCjohn]

If the headlight went brighter with increasing RPM I would be concerned of an alternator or regulator problem, which may strand you in the middle of nowhere.

This is normal lighting before fuel injection.
The battery would help at idle because the alternator isn't spun up enough @ 600 rpm
With FI, the alternator has to be providing full stable voltage @ a high idle @ 1200 rpm

thanks for the insight guys ... we'll see, I guess.

did a ride on this bike a couple weeks ago, and didn't have any battery charging issues, I don't think.

what i've found so far was definitely a loose ground on the battery.

pretty sure the pre-Gen KLR has an exciter-coil ignition system, and as long as that is functioning to generate a spark, the usual alternator/regulator/dead/boiled battery problems won't strand you like on a streetbike, because the KLR will run without the battery.

the last time my pre-Gen wouldn't start after turning it off for gas in Stonyford, I discovered that the bolt for the battery ground had actually fallen out miles back somewhere and the ground terminal was flapping around in the breeze.

I have a parts bike, so I'll poke around and bring a spare regulator. I may already have one in the saddle bags ... know I carry a spare black box/CDI unit.

I'm sure I've misstated something ... my understanding of motorcycle charging/ignition/lighting systems is dismal ...

 

[Eric B]

John, is the charging voltage good, when it’s running?
That can give a clue as to general charging system health.

 

[SFMCjohn]

John, is the charging voltage good, when it’s running?
That can give a clue as to general charging system health.

I'll see if I can find my multi-meter tonight, and check the KLR's charging voltage ...

remind me about the led-style voltmeter you recently installed on your KLX?

think I want to put one on my 1973 Triumph, the e-bay one I have on there now does not work too well, and is mounted under the seat, so it's hard to see.

 

[SFMCjohn]

here's some n00bie stuff to think about ...

one cool thing about a low milage one-night camping trip, is it gives me a chance to do some things on an ADV ride that I don't usually do.

like trying to eat something other than gorp and gas station cookies on my rides:

bringing a big frying pan, and will try not to burn everything. we'll see how that goes. going to try to bake some canned dough with the lid on the frying pan working like a dutch oven.

imagine I'll be forgetting all sorts of items I don't usually need, like plates, spices, utensils, etc.

we'll also see how a fire goes. may not be a cool thing to do, or even allowed, and if it's windy or otherwise scary, I'll just survive like I usually do, on instant jet-boil coffee/hot chocolate. don't want to be reading about myself as "that guy" who started a wild fire with his out of control and illegal campfire ...

Cincinnatus motivated me to find my fishing poles, which I have not seen in years:

because it's just one night, think I should have room for the reels in my clothing bag.

will bring the early '80s four piece Orvis fiberglass pack-rod, which converts between spinning and fly casting.

the rod on the left, in the black case, is a Hardy seven-piece graphite #2 fly-rod, also early-'80s vintage ... a real flexible buggy whip for small streams in England or back East, but probably not too good for big windy rivers in the West.

trying to see if I can buy a one day or week long (cheaper) fishing liscence. because I have not been fishing recently, don't think I've ever purchased a fishing license in CA ...

thinking my trick will be to see if Cincinnatus can find or catch anything. if he does, I'll jump up and try to find out whether I've brought a rig like he's using, and if so, set it up and see what I can do ... I'm lazy that way.

guess I'll also see what I can find out on google about the fishing in Cache Creek ... certainly always seems to be a lot of water. We may decide just to swim in it (which I have done).

anyway, maybe we'll have some pics of fish ...

 

[Eric B]

Good stuff John. Looking forward to stories.
Voltage monitor - http://www.sparkbright.co.uk/sparkright-eclipse-battery-voltage-monitor.php

 

[Cabrito]

Damn John... I'm bringing my adjustafork but probably just bringing a sausage.. I better go to the store..



I was going to bring my collapsible fishing rod, but I lent it out so it's not here..

 

[SFMCjohn]

Damn John... I'm bringing my adjustafork but probably just bringing a sausage.. I better go to the store..

I was going to bring my collapsible fishing rod, but I lent it out so it's not here..

oooh, adjustafork ...

clearly I didn't buy enough veggies ...

fishing thing may be interesting in Cache Creek, but maybe better up around where you like to ride by Henness Pass?
need to find some lake up in the Sierras where I can ride a dual-sport bike and fish for golden trout ...

 

[SFMCjohn]

Good stuff John. Looking forward to stories.
Voltage monitor - http://www.sparkbright.co.uk/sparkright-eclipse-battery-voltage-monitor.php

cool, thanks Eric ... seem to recall you were pretty happy with it.

 

[Cabrito]

This weekend was ADV AF

SFMCjohn, BananaChunks, and Cincinnatus let me tag along on my 1090, and I'm glad I did..

I'll throw up some pics, but I know SFMCjohn took a bunch. Hopefully everyone else did too.

We met a bunch of other BARFers in Fairfield but mostly it was just us four on the camping. 1962siia rode with us all the way to Buck Island and even did the Knoxville loop twice looking for Cincinnatus's DirtNapper moto jack. 1962siia is ADV AF and besides being a killer dude, he's also a killer rider on his KTM 950 ADV (sorry, no pics from me) I didn't take any pics on the ride to the island.

This is the Buck Island Campground.








We scored the primo spot though

John

 

[1962siia]

That is a killer spot you guys picked! Super fun to ride with you guys! Need to get out more on the 950! Looking forward to more pics!

Did anyone find the jack?

 

[Cabrito]

I'll put a few more pics from day two. I'm hoping john has the Money Shots of the cast iron cook off they had..

Rolling out of camp





It can take the power of four men to pick up the GS..


We're riding up from way down there.


Then Tim came down with Craig.




Cinncinatus charging the hill




Bchunks


John looking good!





This again..


Then this






Mostly though it was this

 

[SFMCjohn]

wonderful pics, Cabrito! arty

see if these pics work, this am:

turned out that campfires were OK in developed BLM campgrounds. Cabrito, bananachunks and Cincinnatus, enjoying coffee Sunday morning, next to Cache Creek ...

when we were planning this overnight, Cincinnatus encouraged me to get outside my comfort zone, and make an effort to do more to feed myself besides boiling water ... he brought his skillet, too, and a beautifully marinated strip-steak ... those are Cabrito’s hot-links, and a pre-baked sweet potato in Cincinnatus’s pan ...

tried my hand at using my frying pan as a Dutch oven ... managed not to burn our Trader Joe’s cinnamon buns Sunday morning.

 

[1962siia]

WOAH man I missed some good food!!!

Good job you guys! Cinncinatus is a champ for not giving up and making it down and up that road on the fully loaded GS!

Well I think I have my answer about the dunlop trailmax mission vs the motoz tractionator adventure/pirelli scorpion rally combo. If I was going for longevity then maybe the dunlop but for offroad traction I'm sticking with my current set up. I'll accept road noise and shorter life to have the big bike do its thing properly in the dirt. It felt stable and planted except when I didn't want it to be!

MORE PICS PLEASE!

 

[SFMCjohn]

WOAH man I missed some good food!!!

Good job you guys! Cinncinatus is a champ for not giving up and making it down and up that road on the fully loaded GS!

Well I think I have my answer about the dunlop trailmax mission vs the motoz tractionator adventure/pirelli scorpion rally combo. If I was going for longevity then maybe the dunlop but for offroad traction I'm sticking with my current set up. I'll accept road noise and shorter life to have the big bike do its thing properly in the dirt. It felt stable and planted except when I didn't want it to be!

+1, Cincinnatus and Titus58 were both ADV AF ... I’d still be down at Buck Island if I had been riding the GS-A or the V-Strom ...

tempted to try the Trailmax, but probably lots of wisdom in the idea of sticking with DOT knobbies for me ... old ADV joke is “tires don’t make me a better rider, they make me a more successful rider ...”

wonderful to see you and your cool KTM ADV 950 on Saturday, 1962siia!

 

[1962siia]

“tires don’t make me a better rider, they make me a more successful rider ...”

Very true! Always good to see you too John! Thanks for showing me the way to Buck Island. I see more ADV exploration in this area in my near future. I really had a blast on this ride.

 

[Tom G]

I'm wondering if TKC80 or Heidenau tires would help the GS to stay upright. Although I use Pilot Road 5 and stay strictly on pavement.

 

[SFMCjohn]

I'm wondering if TKC80 or Heidenau tires would help the GS to stay upright. Although I use Pilot Road 5 and stay strictly on pavement.

for me, it's a question of running out of proper technique in hairpins that are steep, narrow and loose/rocky/rutted.

I get scared, roll off, lose momentum and fall over ... it's like clockwork.

so, in other words, it really does not matter what tire I'm on at that point, because the issue for me is mostly loss of confidence, loss of momentum and loss of balance, not really loss of traction. idk.

as an example of technique being more important than tire choice on Sunday, Titus58 basically did the same descent and climb on a big, heavy streetbike with street tires ...

 

[SFMCjohn]

Some of my pics from our outlaw/unofficial combination camping/riding BARF Adventure Riding subforum ADV/DS ride Lake Berryessa/Knoxville OHV/Rayhouse Rd. sojurn this past weekend:

masked up and social distanced at the Mercury Cafe in Lower Haight at 9:30 am. pre-Gen KLR, Honda CB500X and KTM 1090 ...

We were a total of eight riders at the Starbucks near Suisun Valley Road at 10am ... that's wheel_muse, who joined us on his sweet Honda NC750X DCT, in the center of the picture. We had two brothers join us on their late model Honda 250 dual-sport bikes, who had seen our recent posts and wanted to go check out Buck Island before returning home on Saturday night.

This Second Sunday camp/ride combo was kind of fun, because people could mix and match parts of the weekend with their schedules or riding style ... 1962siia also was a surprise addition on his mighty, blue, KTM 950 ...

Cincinnatus, leading the charge up Buck Ridge on his mighty BMW GS-A.

the gang at the top of Buck Ridge ... bananachunks, Cincinnatus, Cabrito and 1962siia ... arty

Cabrito and the mighty KTM 1090 in action ...

1962siia in action on his mighty KTM 950, in the correct model color.

the mad plunge down to Cache Creek ...

picking up the GS-A … turns out Mr Cincinnatus is riding with a broken leg at this point, a true iron-man!

Buck Island, which is really sort of in an oxbow bend of Cache Creek. We camped under the trees in the left corner of the photo ... Buck Island is actually the oxbow insert with the dirt roads on it, outside of the pic a bit, and on the near side of the river.

We were super-stoked to have the place to ourselves, despite being a Saturday night on a long Columbus Day weekend ... super lucky.

bananachunks and Cabrito enjoying the campsite next to Cache Creek.

Cincinnatus, looking for the trout with his cool, telescoping fly-rod.

looking for some small mouth bass, but not finding any, with my old fiberglass Orvis pack-rod and spinning reel ...

took a dip in Cache Creek on Saturday evening to wash away the fire road dust ...

Cincinnatus encouraged us to live better by doing more than simply boiling water to feed ourselves, like I usually do. "Life is too short not to eat well," he said, and he is in the right of it.

Cincinnatus also brought his skillet and and expertly marinated NY strip steak, Cabrito had hot links, and I had a simple NY strip, only seasoned with salt and pepper. We ate like kings, compared to my usual gas-station fare. I tried using the lid on my frying pan as a dutch oven and took a stab at crescent rolls on Saturday night.

we met up with our BARF Second Sunday Dual-Sport Ride participant and Oakland Motorcycle Club Member, Craig on Sunday morning, riding his mighty KTM 1090.

We ended our ADV adventure at the Zero Ton Causeway and Hwy 16 on Sunday afternoon, having interacted at some point with a total of ten BARFers ... thirteen BARFers, if you count Cary and Kalle (and Schnitzel!) who came to see us off at the Mercury Cafe on Saturday morning ... arty

super fun, and can't wait 'til next time ...

 

[1962siia]

Nice pics! Thanks man!

 

[matty]

Great photos, both yours and Cabrito's and report! I especially like this one, it has some je ne sais quoi

Cincinnatus, leading the charge up Buck Ridge on his mighty BMW GS-A.