SUN 3/11 Lake Barryessa/Knoxville/Rayhouse Rd.

[rodr]

One thing to keep in mind is that this latest storm dumped about 2" of rain in that area and the roads are likely a "bit" muddy. They might dry out in time for next week's ride, but they won't be dry by this Sunday.

If you don't think your skills are up to dry dirt roads, forget about muddy dirt roads.

OK, guess I'll wait. Thanks.

 

[luckett]

A high-fiber Vegan diet keeps bowel movements quite regular... so we'll take each contingency as it comes: longsuffering builds character. Can't confirm status of Reiff Rd. or the Berryessa water crossings until we eyeball the gate or buy real-time Satellite imagery.

ridepjride posted this on ADVrider on Feb 4, 2012. Looks like his bike got on Reiff Rd.

Contingency plan? Just go back the same way we came... through Knoxville OHV/Lake Berryessa... no worries... just exploring.

Congratulations on your regular bowel movements.

That same guy posted that the gate is closed.

"Took Rayhouse / Reiff Road westbound from Hwy 16 yesterday. There is a concrete barrier (k-rail) just east of the reservoir and another on the way up the last hill. Easy to get around them, but the first one surprised me. The gate at the west end is closed again. "

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17639030&postcount=110


So if the gate is closed, there is not going to be an attempt to go around the gate?

 

[luckett]

and also I don't care what anyone says, the Wee is not a dual sport bike.

I dare you to go post that over on advrider That will bring all the zealots out!

 

[seavoyage]

Congratulations on your regular bowel movements.

That same guy posted that the gate is closed.

"Took Rayhouse / Reiff Road westbound from Hwy 16 yesterday. There is a concrete barrier (k-rail) just east of the reservoir and another on the way up the last hill. Easy to get around them, but the first one surprised me. The gate at the west end is closed again. "

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17639030&postcount=110


So if the gate is closed, there is not going to be an attempt to go around the gate?

The backup plan if Rayhouse / Reiff Road is blocked is explore Knoxville OHV. There are a number of detours off upper camp and the Jeep Trails. Should be dried out my next weekend. Option B is we go up to Lower Lake and down CA-16 and go through the East entrance (Cache Creek Regional Park).

 

[seavoyage]

Should crash better anyway, now that I have crash bars.

I did consider Doc's class. But he's pretty far away -- two round trips would be almost 300 miles of slab -- and also I don't care what anyone says, the Wee is not a dual sport bike. So for now I'd rather get some easy off-road experience in other ways.

The Knoxville OHV Jeep Trail (Maps) is noob friendly. 2 weekends ago a fearless rider on a Triumph Boneville led us from Lower Camp to Upper Camp. We also had a Versys in the group. Now you can't have a Kawi trump your Suz, can you? Trust your bike, you're Wee should do just fine.

I wouldn't do it alone. One of the guys in our group came upon a mountain lion last year. Besides, riding with others gives you spare hands to get you out of just about anything... even if someone else has to ride your bike

 

[SLOspeed]

I don't have GPS on the KLR. Or a tank bag for that matter. I'll have to follow along with someone that knows the route.

 

[seavoyage]

I don't have GPS on the KLR. Or a tank bag for that matter. I'll have to follow along with someone that knows the route.

No worries. Google the route map just to familarize yourself. Best you show up at the meetup location and we'll make sure you're paired with a group familiar with the route and has GPS.

See you next Sunday. It'll be fun!

 

[rodr]

If you go over the dirt parts with Google satellite view that will give you a really good look at where the turns and non-turns are.

 

[DukeD]

If I can shake this damg cold/flu by then I am IN.
Would a WR450F in supermoto trim be a poor choice to take on this route or should I leave in dirt trim?

 

[Lunch Box]

I dare you to go post that over on advrider That will bring all the zealots out!

The wee is definitely not a dual sport bike, but I managed to successfully negotiate a bunch of fun stuff at Clear Creek yesterday. Not sure how I managed to get through some of those spots, but I managed (mostly luck). That said, the bash plate more than paid for itself yesterday.

 

[seavoyage]

If I can shake this damg cold/flu by then I am IN.
Would a WR450F in supermoto trim be a poor choice to take on this route or should I leave in dirt trim?

Defer to Bonerov on his thoughts as he prefers his Wee-Strom shod with Deathwings over KTM Super Duke for these rides. I think it's more about the bash plate... than the tires.

You should be fine on the Motard but dual sport tires would be more enjoyable on the fireroads.

 

[Lunch Box]

The WR450F will do fine, even with street tires, but dirt trim would be MUCH better. At least it's a light little bike.

 

[rodr]

Bad idea to do this without a bash plate?

 

[Lunch Box]

Bad idea to do this without a bash plate?

Having just taken my wee strom to Clear Creek, I would strongly recommend getting a bash plate. I used mine a surprising number of times on Sunday, and it would REALLY suck to get stuck out in the middle of nowhere due to a rock bashing your pipes/case/oil filter.

 

[DukeD]

The WR450F will do fine, even with street tires, but dirt trim would be MUCH better. At least it's a light little bike.

Great, thanks for the advice, I have rain tires mounted on the sumo wheels which might be a happy medium for dirt roads and street sections. What percentage of the route would you estimate to be street/dirt?

 

[Lunch Box]

Great, thanks for the advice, I have rain tires mounted on the sumo wheels which might be a happy medium for dirt roads and street sections. What percentage of the route would you estimate to be street/dirt?

I don't know the route at all, but I would wager that there will be a decent amount of street. Rain tires on a supermoto are a very good compromise. Sure, you will struggle a bit in mud/sand, but your grip on hard packed dirt and asphalt will be quite good.

Wish I could join you guys for this ride. Ugh....

 

[seavoyage]

Great, thanks for the advice, I have rain tires mounted on the sumo wheels which might be a happy medium for dirt roads and street sections. What percentage of the route would you estimate to be street/dirt?

When we did old school (Pre-74) fireroading, suspension was about 7" front/4" rear, and we ran Dunlop K70 tyres. We also used to run rain tyres or use tyre groovers to cut our old slicks with grooves for dirt track... Take a look at the thread patterns on a dirt track "C class" tyre You should be just fine as most of the dirt is hard pack "groove" with a bit of gravel. Knobbies only become valuable in cushion = deep sand or mud... both we try to avoid on uberbeasts.

Keep in mind proper rain tyres will overheat and blister if ridden hard on the pavement... but the fact that you have a set, you allready know that.

A bash plate or even the cheezy plastic OEM skid plates or header protectors simply protect your pipes and cases from rocks thrown up by your front wheel. On this route we've never cased our bash plates on a log or rock... nothing that severe. It is a fireroad.

Estimate a 150 mile ride with 12 miles on Knoxville Jeep trail, and 20 miles on Rd-40 so about 20% dirt, but the Northend of Lake Berryessa is about 30 miles of paved single lane road with water crossings, ruts and some gravel/dirt over asphalt. Quasi-dirt... awesome for uberbeasts.

Dunlop K70​

Maxxis DTR-1​

Dunlop K-180​

 

[luckett]

Great, thanks for the advice, I have rain tires mounted on the sumo wheels which might be a happy medium for dirt roads and street sections. What percentage of the route would you estimate to be street/dirt?

Don't worry about your tires. 100% street tires are fine for these roads.

Bad idea to do this without a bash plate?

You should be fine without one. Just don't try anything stupid.

 

[rodr]

OK I'm in if the creek don't rise.

Here's Berryessa Knoxville Road from a couple of months ago, if anyone wants to see what it's like. Kinda long so you might want to skip around a bit. I got splashed a bit at 19:25.

[youtube]XK-WlD6ypRY[/youtube]

 

[Excite-Bike]

Gonna try and make it and grab a couple others too.