Come on now We just saw an awesome report and a ton of pictures from your last ride, and a lot of other rides including a trip to Baja!!! It seems your bike is doing fine. What gives????? Some guys would do this same trip on some humungus BMW, we all know you can handle it with ease. And I'm alot cooler than my little brother !!!
No lie there. You are the guy that I aspire to be when I grow up. From the tip of Baja to the Canadian border There is no one cooler than my big brother. Hey isn't that what big brothers are supposed to be though, someone to look up to.
Even though the suspension is set up for 200+ lb. rider it is fairly compliant so unless you are hitting the washboard and whoops real fast you should be able to deal with that. The only thing that might be a draw back is the height but if you're used to dealing with a tall bike that might not be an issue.
I'd like to do a ride like this but I'm torn on which bike to buy. Any suggestions without hi-jacking this topic would be helpful to me. Maybe you guys can help me make up my mind while we are on this subject. I've been wanting to purchase a new 2010 TE250. Would a bike like this make a trip like this? or my next option would be either a new 09 TE 310 or TE450. I see no need to purchase a 2010 TE310 when a good deal is to be had on 09's. As for the TE450's the only real gain I can see is the KYB front forks and maybe, hopefully better FI mapping + the other little stuff. thanks Doug Heli@helibuf.com for off topic answers.
Plenty of guys will be on 250's or have been on them for these rides. George rides a 250 normally for this. In the future you can always build them into a 310 via the Athena kit.
Alright alright alright...calm down, buddy! Yeah, you saw reports of me riding on funky roads and some rocks...big deal. And yeah, we were doing 150-200 miles per day, but we weren't bombing on a lot of that stuff. I wasn't holding up 20 other riders on it, you know? The wheels and tires work great for what I've been doing with it, but if I was riding to the tip, I'd prefer something with longer suspension and wheels/tires that can slice through sand. Ever ridden deep sand on 17's with knobbies? I'm sure there are a few folks here that can attest to the hilarity that ensues But, hey...thanks for the vote of confidence WoodsChick
Yeah I hear ya... I was just busting your..........oooops......... I mean funnin around a little...... But seriously, I thought your big tires would be great in the sand, no????? I followed you through some for a bit and I was having all the trouble, I believe you, but I thought the big tires would float right on through?????
Uh, I don't think a +300lb bike is going to float through anything, much less Baja-style silt and sand Not with me on it, anyway... Again, I can do it if I have to, but I'd like to be on something more gnarly-riffic. I'd love to ride my KTM, but, well...you know how that goes, what with it being a Husky ride and all. Buying a new Husky isn't a solution, because my next Husky will probably be a 2-stroke WoodsChick
Ive had a few PM's about the ride. Requesting info about bike set up. Logistics. SO real fast here are some things to think about: 1) Guys are coming from back east, the south, and mid-west. I suggest ya all check in and ask if others would like to chat about logistics. I will leave that up to y'all. 2) Bikes will be Huskys. All sizes. Bikes must be able to do 80 miles or more. Heavy duty tubes with new tires at 17lbs of air. (heavy duty tires, Moto Z is my personal favorite--contact 'Ride' he carries them) No need for racks/panniers-we will have chase trucks. Gear up-run a 15 or even 16 tooth front sprocket. Get em from Afam or whoever. Carry 1-2 litres of water in a Camelback. Plus matches, powerbar, space blanket, etc. Everyone bring a spare airfilter, oiled, in a large zip lock bag with your name on it. We will change and then wash and oil them with No Toil. We will have radios--consider getting a VHF radio. More on that later. Well there some stuff to start working on ! Oh yeah. Air fares home from Cabo oin the 5th are a LOT cheaper than flying home on the 3rd...
This is killing me slowly. My family prefers I ring in the new year with them. Been waiting for this Baja ride for quite some time and now it has come. Away from the fam during Holidays is a no go.
Welcome to Cafe Husky. If you really want to go just send the family to Cabo via plane and meet them there at the end of the ride. That would have been my plan if my idiot bother-in-law hadn't bocthed up everyones life for the next several months.
Flight booked! on the 3rd back to Sacramento, 450 smackers...most flights were $600+ Figured I better get back and get to work to pay for the trip. Bike is almost ready, the body is not, time to hit the gym... I have not been to Baja in freaking 15+ years, can't wait. Cheers Scott in Sacramento 07 TE510
That's a deep philosophical question about speed, but after some consideration my reply would be... "Doesn't everyone?" I don't know the route at all so just guesswork, but I assumed it was coz you're expecting to run a lot at high speed and it's kinder on the engine (and rider!) to keep the revs down. Same reason I went up 1 tooth on my TE450 front sprocket, as I have to ride on the road a chunk every time to get to the dirt here. Or maybe it's just because in sand the rear will be spinning up all the time no matter what speed you ride at... Though for all I know it could just be that the plan is to cruise everywhere at 120mph with the tires smoking and your hair on fire...
IF you don't gear it to the moon for Baja stay home because the motor won't make it. Also couldn't carry enough gas to make it to next possible gas. At times will be 100 miles from nothing other than some Sea Eagles,vultures, snakes.lizards just Baja wilderness. Many sections are so long if you can't do 70+ will take well into the dark to get there remember 100 miles from nowhere. When you get to nowhere it's just an abandoned shack then off to the next one. This is the real deal. It's all about Survival and just making it. Not that it's overly hard just loooong and seemingly endless sections. 510's 15/46,47,48. 15/48 is a little low for the 450's but kinda ok race gearing is 15/44,45,46. 250/310 14,15/48, 15/50 for TC's. Remember the bigger the counter sprocket the less flex the chain will have and will last longer also steel rear sprockets last longer. Don't agree with Mike on the NO-Toil for baja yes it's easy but no workey, I think it's junk Twin air, Spectro filter oil is best. NO K-N filters... If have a Recluse or slipper clutch have couple spare clutch kits with you 1 on bike 1 in gear bag. One of the first rules in Baja with a 4 stroke is to never use the clutch.... Min requirement for your ass is at least a Guts soft foam kit on your seat. Carbed bikes must have my carb vent filter, the other filters don't have enough filtration for the silt beds. Should bring 4 qt's oil 1 filter for a change in Loreto. Loud bikes are OK in Baja when everyone is waiting for the catch up's can hear them comming, lets the locals on the road know something is comming as there hasn't been anyone on the road for a month,same with cattle won't startel them as they have heard something comming for a while. If anyone interested have 3 rentals TE-250's, Fully preped geared,powered-up armoured,lighted,tanked,seated. $3500.00 Let me know as they will have to be broken -in first. Possibly have 2 extra chase trucks/trailer going down. Later George
Thanks George for the detailed break down of the sprockets. The taller the better. Its counter-intuitive, but taller gearing actually works better in sand (tire spins slower, digs down slower)-but we wont have too much thick sand. Very little actually. But yeah-our buddy from the UK and George said it all very well. Family issues? ME TOO! So the wife and kids are flying to Cabo a few days ahead of us. Just an idea for ya. Oil filters-my take on No Toil is that the system is easy to clean. OK-if you dont want No Toil, thats ok, but you gotta clean it in gasoline! 80 miles fuel range. Just to clarify. Chains/sprockets/sprocket bolts. This is very often the killer for 1000 mile baja trips. Make sure they are new/like new. Make sure you have the bolts on tight. Consider bringing an extra bolt and nut. I do. Radios- its 7 days of riding in some relatively remote land. Radios are a VERy good idea. PM me if you want to buy a complete radio set up. That is push to talk/ microphone/cables/ battery charger/ VHF programable 5watt radio. If enough interest i will ask around for a group discount. You will buy from them, its not thru me. Ive got enough going on! Probably thru Baja Cycles, Baja Designs, PCI, or on the internet. Google those for pics and more info. Its not cheap when all is said and done, and not required for the ride, but its a really nice and safe option. Plus its fun to ask the guy behind ya if he/she just hit the donkey. (j/k) Gear in the truck: Bring what ya need. try to keep it down, but i know it will be full and thats cool. Its a long ride. Your gear bags are welcome. Sleeping bags are a good idea too, just in case. We will have spare wheels, basic parts, tools, etc. DO you crash a lot? Consider some extra bike armour. And maybe bolt a spare clutch and brake lever, shifter too for that matter, on your bike. Oct 1 i am gonna post a 'who's actually going' thread and we will see after all is said and done who exactly is going, and from where. Right now i only have 8 confirmed riders, and a fence that is sagging a bit. Room for a few more?
I found this gearing calculator, and by playing with the tire size and inputing the gear ratios from each gear from the manual, was able to see what rpm's/mph would be had from certain sprocket choices. I played with the numbers until I got it to read 48 mph @ 7200 rpm w/ 13/50 sprockets, which is pretty close to actual speed/rpm on a TE250/310. e.g. 13/50 = 48 mph @ 7200 rpm 13/50 = 6 mph @ 2400 rpm 1st gear. 15/48 = 57 mph @ 7200 15/48 = 51 mph @ 6400 15/48 = 8 mph @ 2400 1st gear 16/48 = 61 mph @ 7200 16/48 = 55 mph @ 6400 16/48 = 48 mph @ 5600 16/48 = 8 mph @ 2400 1st gear I was surprised that the 16/48 still would allow 8 mph @ 2400. Going to 16/47 finally bumped it to 9 mph in 1st gear, a full 33% more 1st gear speed than stock. These numbers are for a TE250/310, so big bikes would likely have much less rpm than those listed here. To calculate your own bike, go here. Fill in the blanks by clicking one of the default bikes, such as the yamaha 250, then input your ratios. http://www.bikerenews.com/Stories_Archives/GearRpmSpeedCalculator.htm
