Hi folks, I've been following the thread on the "trip to the tip" that Mike Kay and crew are on and it got me thinking about proper setup for an adventure of that type. I don't have any experience in traveling off road long distance on my 610 (or any thumper) and after reading Uptite/George's comments it just got me thinking. I usually have a "boyscout" mentality when it comes to maintenance/prep and have done a bunch of long weekend and overnight trips on my Husky. With the exception of 1 flat the bike has been absolutely flawless. But, I also realize that here we have many,many years of experience in different arenas of offroad racing/riding and was wondering if folks would be willing to share some sage experience and advice on how to prep a bike for a long offroad haul or race? I'd love to hear about the "little things" that can really bite you if not addressed. Could anyone possibly offer some type of basic list for a novice to follow in order to prep a bike for such a trip like Baja? Maybe like a setup 101? cheers, Mike P.S. Mods, please feel free to move this post to any forum that you think is more appropriate
Some zip tie the spokes where they cross and carry enough zip ties to keep the tire on the rim in case of a flat. Also safety wire the grips. These are little things I've seen at George's shop and on his bike.
Well, on this trip we broke 2 subframes in the same spot. You Cannot carry ANY weight (fuel) on the back of these bikes. I really like my Giant-loop coyote bag. But I am planning on taking off the subframe and welding gussets and re-enforcements all over it. We mostly got away with local fuel in out of the way places, but a bigger tank would be ideal for Baja. The other thing I did was insert the wires and the rear brake hose into a split piece of hose for added chafe protection. Chafe protect everything.
Bark busters, bash plate, exhaust guard and a rear disc guard are my first changes. next is extra heavy duty tubes. If you are looking at long days in the saddle then a review of your lighting is a consideration-the stock lighting is pretty token. Also consider a seat modification for long day rides.
