I had this Tuesday off. The trail gods were smiling down on me and thought it would be nice to provide me with some unseasonably cool weather. I.e. last week it was in the normal 100s. Yesterday was in the unheard of high 70s! I couldn't pass up the chance to go for a ride. I spent nearly a month off the bike and have been seriously wanting to do final tweaks after installing the new Race Tech springs, PCV, and Trials rear tire with an AT 81 up front. It's just been too hot to ride. I parked at the intersection of Foreshill Road and Finning Mill Road in Foresthill, CA. Off-loaded the bike there and took Finning Mill to trail 4 of the Foresthill OHV. Then proceeded to ride trails 2, 3, 3-1, 3-4 and back to 4 then back to the truck on Finning Mill. I had the entire OHV to myself. Not a single other bike. Just me and the squatches. Trail 2: Trail 2 is fun!... Shortly after where I took the above picture, I stopped to decide if I wanted to ride trail 5 alone. But then I saw a squatch, on the 2-5 connector and decided against it. Then for some high speed cruising on trail 3... I was certain I was surrounded by squatches when I took the above pic. But I only heard them, I didn't see any, so that doesn't count! After some "where the heck am I moments" I found the 3-4 and some of the good stuff guys go for...
Once back at the truck I got more practice loading the bike onto my new trailer hitch rack system. It's pretty convenient, I must say:
That looks like top riding country there Mate. Thanks for sharing. Your hitch and rig look great as well.
Yep. That MT-43 is an interesting tire. On the trails with lots of loam with hard pack underneath (like the trails 2 and 3 pictured above), it easily spins. But it's predictable. Coming out of turns it breaks free, but only drifts a little then grabs as the bike start to be more upright. On that trail 3-4 above, it was absolutely grippy. On rocks you can hear it gnawing in to get a grip. It's really sticky on rocks. I'm running it at 10 lbs. with a tube. It is so soft you don't feel any of the small bumps. Even at speed.
Your truck should have plenty of suspension to carry the bike like that I'd guess ... Does that device pivot to help with loading? -- Is this squatch? -- Pretty ambitious going riding on a one day vacation ... I always slept that day off
It's a great tire & I like the Dunlop 808 too..... With the Tubliss I run 5 psi in the 43 & 7 psi in the 808. Works well in Alabama woods on dirt, rock & logs
My truck is lifted a little. So the extra travel helps a little with that. And is also the reason I don't like loading it into the bed. The ramps I had were too steep because the bed was so high off the ground. Besides the truck -- and its 12 mpg -- may not be around for long. So this will transfer over to my next vehicle. As for pivoting, no. It's got a self-contained ramp. So I just start her up, put her in 1st and walk her up with the clutch slipping. I can easily walk beside her during this process, so there's none of those awkward moments like there are with a ramp used to load it into the truck bed.
I ran the 43 for a while and liked it. Gets good off road traction at 7 psi and it great on the street at like 15. I since switch to the Kenda 270 and think I like it better.
How did your forks feel after mods? I rode the same exact trails after re-valve/stiffer springs on mine recently and was amazed how much better it was on that type terrain. There are some really rocky sections on 3 where I could really notice the difference in the fork action. Also on the whooped sections where you could really open it up if it weren't for the man made jumps or water bars or whatever you call them every 50 yards or so. I did part of 5 (upper section) stayed away from the side of the cliff parts as I was solo, although I've done the entire loop solo before not in the dead of summer. I've never ever tried a trials tire but I'm becoming more and more convinced that maybe I should check it out. A lot of people who ride the same areas I do like them so what the heck. What's a good rear trials tire for rocky single-track ? Whenever my MZ finally wears out, I'll give it a shot. Oh,almost forgot..... what in the heck is a Squatch ? We should hook up, Cosmo.
Jerry, I definitely need to save up for a set of gold valves. I think I'm going to do them front and rear when I do -- and I'm still pondering sending it to ZTR for a revalve rather than doing the gold valves. It all comes down to cost. At this point with the front and rear being resprung, however, the bike is riding higher which was my goal for this go around. I put a 7mm spacer for preload up front and I put in more oil (level is at 98mm). The front still feels a little soft to me -- like I can blow through the travel pretty easy. However, I'm stilling bottoming, but not as often. That was my second goal. My next step is to play with clickers a little - after the spring install, I'm at the stock settings, which are surprisingly good with the proper springs for my weight. As for the Perelli MT-43 rear tire, it's pretty nice overall (and it's DOT) and really excels in certain areas. But I think I'm going to try the Kenda 270 like Kelly mentioned. I've always been a round profile tire kind'a guy. That 270 intrigues me because it's a lot like a trials tire, but with a round profile. And I know that a lot of the big dual-sport guys (KLR 650 and KTM 990) like the 270. As for squatch -- that's short for Sasquatch. They're more readily sighted on weekdays because the woods are quieter! ;-) http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/finding-bigfoot
