COBDR or Terradise?

Great pics through there! I'll get some of that next week on the TAT.

Awesome pictures Fab and a very nice report. We almost crossed paths, we crossed over Marshall Pass on July 25th heading south on the Continental Divide. Looking at your pics our ride was pretty tame, long but tame, I'll start a report and share some pics after I get home around the 7th or 8th of August. I did blow a fork seal riding down from Meadow Pass but other than that the Terra has been great and is near perfect for this type of riding.

Your post timing is perfect as it will tie in with my next pic nicely! This is XCrider and crew who just happen to have rode the TAT to here from Virginia to do the COBDR. They will also return on the TAT. After we rolled off Cinnimon Pass and into Lake City we met these guys and chatted for awhile, but not nearly as long as I would have liked. We were hungry and wanted to get settled into the cabin we reserved a couple days ago. From left to right; Warren, Richard, Richard's son Denis (XCrider), and Clarence. Their ride report: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=902218
In that report we are known as "the Husky guys".

Thanks! Would have been great to see another Terra out there. How is the Continental Divide trail? Ken thought is was a bit mellower and you verified that. Where did you start and are you completing the whole thing? How did you sort out the blown fork seal? Too curious here and can't wait for the report!.

We started at the Canadian border on July 19th and finished at Silver City, NM 11 days later. Skipped the last 60 miles to Antelope Wells, it is a paved section and it was just too damn hot. We made a 5 am run back north up to higher elevations and some what cooler temps. The blown/leaking seal was toward the end of the off-road part of the ride and I am limping back north toward Seattle. I called Bill at Bill's Motorcycle shop in Salem, OR and he has them and is going to replace them for me. The left fork was the leaker and it must be dry now as it leaves no puddles anymore. The "flashdrive" manual identifies the Terra suspension in the index but there is no info when I tried to open it. So I have no idea as to how much fluid to add. I did try to clean-out the seals but no luck with that. The front suspension is a bit harsh but not that bad on the pavement.

After we got some food and parted ways with XCrider and crew, we checked into our cabin by the river. We decided to stay in Lake City for a couple days. It's a great place to be. I fished the river next to the cabin, but had no luck. I was using the right fly, but I just couldn't snag them. Oddly this is the last time I would pull out the fly rod of the entire trip. My wife and my aunt Merry drove down to see us and stay in the cabin since it had plenty of room and lots of places to sleep. It is a very popular vacation spot and for good reason. We had a great time there. We also washed and maintained the bikes which included checking the fluids, lubeing the chains, checking for loose fasteners and cracks after we thoroughly abused them on the previous days. All was well and now we have piece of mind and know our bikes are solid.

Here are some pics of a very sweet little Colorado town with good food, coffee, atmosphere, and people.



Our cabin by the river!

The Tic Tock Diner both days for breakfast. Super good food and great atmosphere!

July 15th. We left Lake City and headed out on Section 3. Nothing technical in order for the day, so we thought! We got back on route and caught up with these guys from Monterrey, Mexico. They were also doing the COBDR but would end their ride in Gypsum and then return home. We rode with them for about 20 miniutes.


We rode over Hwy 50 and were on our way to Cumberland Pass. This is where it got technical....avoiding all the tourists! Ken avoided them all, but I managed to collide with one that pulled right out in front of me on a dirt bike. He was in front of me and pulled off to the left side of the road and started tot put his foot down. I started to pass him and he never looked back and darted right out in front of me to cross the road. I put the bike into a left skid and smacked him and laid the bike into a rocky ditch. I was thoroughly ticked off! I picked up my bike and looked for damage. Thanks to the crash bars there was none. We asked each other if we were alright and we were both good. I rode off at an accelerated pace. I think Woodschick would call it "riding in fury"(I think I read that in one of her reports). I just wanted to get the heck away from all those people. That pass was like a major highway...it was crazy! It was amazing that Ken kept up. He was on my tail the whole time, but let me know that I should calm down....he was right, I really needed to calm down...Thanks Ken!

The next pass was Cottonwood and we had a nice water crossing before we got there.


Nice barn shot with a little too much sun in the background.


We met up with a good friend of Ken's in Buena Vista. Meet Richard. He is 72 and can still twist the throttle of a WR250R very well!


We had coffee with Richard and he decided he is going to hook up with us in a couple days and ride with us to Leadville. At this point on the route we are an hour from my house. My bike has a substantial vibration and Ken is envious of my camp chair, so we decide to head to my house for the evening and take care of these things tomorrow.

The next morning I called around to see who could balance my wheels. Rocky Mountain Cycle Plaza in the Springs said they would make it happen. Off with the wheels.



They checked them both and found the rear way out and corrected it. REI was the next stop so that Ken could get a new camp chair. I only have one photo with the chair in it and I can't use it right now because it would ruin one of the surprises of the thread. I stole a pic from the web though. It is an REI Flex Lite chair. Super comfy and ideal for motorcycle travel.



We got home and I put the bike back together and installed my 16 tooth sprocket. The most technical stuff is behind us.... we thought, at this point and there will be a lot of pavement sections in the days to come. Ken packed up his new chair and my wife cooked us a feast as usual. This day is wrapped up and lots of good riding to come!

"We got home and I put the bike back together and installed my 16 tooth sprocket. The most technical stuff is behind us...."

I agree with your plan to put the 16 tooth sprocket on for the pavement sections. I put on a 15 tooth sprocket for the CD trail section which was the correct sprocket for dirt but was wishing I had brought along the 16 tooth for the ride home on pavement. The rpm's with the 15 tooth is around 4800 -5000 at 70 to 72 mph so the vibrations are a bit too much after 5 to 6 hours in the saddle. The 16 tooth sprocket does the higher speeds at 4400 - 4500 rpm's which is closer to the engines sweet spot and a lot smoother.

Keep itcomin' Fab!

We are in Butte MT tonite and 1.5 days from the Canidian border. Easy riding on the CDR and very GSable. Great weather too, so far. Plan to be back in Tucson on the 12th.

July 17th. Left my house and slabed it to back to Buena Vista to start section 4 and hook back up with Richard at the coffee shop. Richard lives in an adventure riders paradise and they come in from all over the world. If someone pulled up on a rugged bike, Richard would drop everything in mid conversation and go talk to them. Pretty funny actually. Still flirts with the girls too. Ken had to finish up some business with his new home purchase in Tuscon while he had Internet, so Richard and I hit the dirt. Ken would meet up with us later and loop around on the pavement to the base of Weston pass. Ken and I did this section a couple days before on the way to my house, so he didn't miss anything. This is the sand section and one of my favorites. We also had one short, but very deep water crossing. The pics don't do this area any justice. The views of the Collegiate Peaks are fantastic. This is where we came from.


This is where we are going. I like this pic a lot. It shows where the road continues way off in the distance.


Over and down into South Park.


Our rendezvous point with Ken.

Riding with Richard up Weston Pass.

At the top of Weston Pass we met a group of riders from Missouri who rented a house very near here for a week or so. They had a true adventure trip while they were here in Colorado. We spent a bit of time with these guys and talked about there trip and our bikes....my bike mostly. We were all having a great time until I had to go and spoil it. As I was checking out their bikes I noticed the counter shaft sprocket nut was missing on one of the bikes and pointed it out. Minor panic in sewed for the owner of the bike, JR. We raided my bike of electrical tape, tie wire, and zip ties to try and build up some sort of something to keep the sprocket on. I had some JB Quick weld, but JR didn't like the idea of using it on the threads and I understood. Our temp fix looked like it just might do the trick so we all headed down the pass together. We all said our goodbyes when we got to HWY 24. They took a left and headed to Buena Vista with Richard to find a nut, and we took a right and headed to Leadville. Here are a the pics of that episode.

In the last pic of the previous post, notice how JR (center) is really checking out the Terra. He has been looking for one every since he returned home but has had no luck. I am going to attach a pic below that has a lot to say. Mike (below left) was the one riding the DRZ that was missing the nut, but JR, the owner of that bike, insisted that he himself ride it down the mountain in case the sprocket decides to fly off. I took a small mental note of this and thought his actions were a little exaggerated. Well it turns out that Mike has early stages of Parkinson's and JR was just being a good best friend and keeping Mike off a crippled bike for good reason. He takes Mike on trips like this as often as possible while he still has good health. I asked if he had a good photo from the trip of him and Mike that I could add to this report.

This is a great photo.

Ken and I relaxed in Leadville and got a hotel for the night. The events earlier in the day must have gotten us a little paranoid because we went through our bikes again to make sure everything was alright. Ken thought his luggage racks had a little too much flex in them and we found a couple of loose bolts. We tightened them up and he still didn't think they felt right. Little did we know that this paranoia would bring us to a great Leadville character and a fantastic experience tomorrow.

Ditto here.

Questions are most welcome. If we get derailed, we will hoist it right back on track. No worries! I thought it would be difficult to come up with enough to provide a proper ride report. I find it is difficult to keep from adding too much.