Thinking about a big trip on the TR

[msmith345]

A little background:
I lost 4 days of vacation last year, rolled over the max of 5 days. Had a lot going on and just couldn't use it. So, I'm determined not to let that happen again. 6 months without a day off just isn't good. Looking at my racing calendar, I'm able to find 2 spots where I have a 2 weekend stretch between races. One is June 28th - July 13th, the other is August 23rd - September 7th. Both are good for what I have in mind. The second is a few days after my 30th birthday, so that kinda has some appeal to it.

I've been looking through ride reports on adv rider the last two days, but I really dislike the organization of those forums for anything outside of the ride reports, so you guys get to throw your input in here.

One ride that looks particularly appealing is the CDR. So, I think I'm going to at least try to incorporate a good chunk of that into my trip. That comes into play as that's mostly gravel and dirt roads. So, the stock Strada setup will need to be changed up a bit. There could be the possibility of incorporating some of the OK portion of the TAT on the return.

Some other recommendations I've had were Hyder, AK and to run the Appalachians, hitting the dragon and whatnot. AK would be killer, but if I do that I want to go all out and spend at least 3 weeks on the trip and explored the area, rather than going up there, hitting the closest spot, turning around and coming back.

So, the goal here is a 16 day solo camping adventure trip. Where I can shut the phone off, clear my mind and maybe find some sanity out on the road and in nature.

Bike setup:
This is the part that ties it into this forum, so Coffee doesn't kick me off.

CDR is something like 1800 miles of gravel and dirt roads. So, at minimum I'll want some TKC80s or K60s on the Strada wheels. I figure if a boxer GS can run it, then a Strada on cast wheels should be fine. I would consider sourcing up some Dakar wheels and Terra-fying for this trip, but not sure. I'll be buying a house before the trip, so that might not be an option.

Protection - Being 95% street, 5% gravel. I don't currently have a skid plate, hand guards radiator guard or crash bars. I'll probably be looking into each of these the minimize the pounding from the rocks.

Luggage - I've got the BRmoto setup already with Wolfman Monarch Pass bags, and a cheap dry duffle. I'll probably drop my Seahorse top case before this trip. I ran a 1200 mile 3 day trip last year before I had the top rack, and I think my setup there was good, the top rack should improve it. I'm thinking about maybe going a bit more minimal and opting for a bivy sack to mix things up a bit, make tear down/set up quicker, and to drop the load a bit.

A rotopax seems to be a necessity, my dad just picked one up for a white rim trail trip he did on his TE250 in September, so I should be good to use that.

I was thinking, since I'd be looking at 4k-5k miles in 2 weeks, that starting with a new chain and sprockets, fresh oil and filters, new brake pads, and all that would be a good idea. With an extra oil and air filter and more brake pads packed for a change mid trip. I'll likely have 8-9k miles on the bike by the time I left for the trip. Possibly change out wheel bearings as well.

Anything else bike wise I should be considering? Would any of you highly recommend a spoked setup for this trip?

How about location/destination wise? I'll be starting and ending in Kansas City. I have family in Albuquerque and Phoenix, so a stop in either one would guarantee a spot to do maintenance and to get a hot shower. I've never done a motorcycle trip of this length, and it looks like the options are about limitless. On the 3-4 day trips, I'm always restrained on what I could get to, ride, and still have time for the return, so that restriction being lifted is a bit overwhelming.

 

[FabOneUp]

Super sweet! I would recommend either of your tire choices, crash bars, and the skid plate as a minimum on a solo trip. All alone with a cracked radiator or engine case would really suck out in the middle of nowhere. I would make these priority over the spoked/Terra wheel set which I think would be great, but not necessary. Take the rotopak just to ease your mind and help with a stress free trip.

You have a shop available in Divide Colorado to do whatever maintenance you need. From what I have heard, the CDR is pretty mellow and sounds like a good choice for a solo run, but I don't think you have time to do it all and enjoy it. Plan your maintenance day and probably another one or two miscellaneous days off the bike to extend your stay in some great town or camp spot. Take lots of photos, you will regret it later if you don't.

4 to 5k seems excessive. I would think somewhere around 3 to 3.5k would be more likely if you actually want to take in the trip….that figure is including the highway miles you will be pounding out. But I am also 15 years older than you and may have an entirely different idea of a good trip. Just my two cents. Looking forward to hearing other opinions.

 

[drzcharlie]

I agree with FabOneUp, 4-5K is too much for one trip. I am riding the Heart of the West trail this coming September with friends. It's about 2200 miles and we are camping thus cooking on the road/campground. We will have four layover days during the trip for maintenance, rest, relaxation and site seeing. We are camping the entire time (with provisions for a motel during harsh weather). This is a planned 14 day trip, travelling about 160 miles +/- a day. We also will be reasonable and flexible about staying another day in exceptional areas.

When camping a jetboil or a couple of alcohol stoves along with a collapsible grill are essentials if you plan to eat well. We try to stop and shop near the end of the day and pick up something for cooking and put it together for pot luck (beer is essential too!).

Pack light. Pack light is a Mantra that is hard earned. You are riding to sightsee, nobody cares what you wear. Riding gear, one change of lightweight cloths consisting of zip off pants, one nice pull over shirt, a couple of pairs of riding socks, maybe some Teva type sandals for showering and site seeing and anything you pack should be quick drying for washing in camp and drying before the next morning. Medication should be brought along. If you are riding where it will be cold bring wicking long johns.

If you roll and pack your clothes inside one gallon zip locks it makes packing easy and indentification of the items very easy as well.

Your described bike maintenance and armor should be fine for the CDR. Many have done it on big bikes. If you are going alone take a SPOT locator or use Life 360* on your phone. Both will let loved ones know where you are located in real time and it will give the SARS team a place to pick up the body.

The whole key to a successful multi-day trip is to be and remain flexible. Don't push to hard on a solo trip. You have no back up. You can't do everything, nor should you try. I also concur with FabOneUp about taking lots of pictures.

 

[msmith345]

I did some rough routes and schedules to check the feasibility of it. The full CDR would work out to roughly 5500 miles driveway to driveway. I've got almost serious miles just in getting to the endpoints from my house. To get to the southern point would be around a couple days at 500+ miles. The northern 3 days at 500+. Definitely not ideal. But leaving 11 days, that would make the rest of it fairly tight paced.

If I split that down to a northern and southern chunk, using Pinedale, WY as a break point (which would suck to get that close to Yellowstone and not see it). Then I'd be looking at a 4000 mile trip on the northern branch, and 3800 miles on the southern branch. The majority of the miles still being in commuting from home to the end points. That northern loop with extended time in the area would make a pretty good trip though. Possibly extending it down to Evanstown, WY and following the Pony Express route back as it makes the return not just a get back home thing. That might be a winner right there. Then run south from there in the future. It'll at least give me a good basis for what to expect on an extended trip.



Stove wise, I've been using a MSR whisperlite for a while and am pretty decent with controlling the heat and cooking quite a bit with it. Wished I'd have had one all those years I was in scouts, but it sure makes a heck of a dinner when I'm tenting it up before a race. Rice sides with canned chicken or tuna make a nice easy to pack meal. Couscous works well also. Oatmeal is also super quick and makes a good breakfast. Cowboy coffee in a nalgene.

For a grill, I've really been throwing around the idea of using a cooling rack as a grill over coals. Folds flat, and would pack easily with some bungees. It'd open up a lot of potential. Steak and corn on the cob, foil dinner, grilled pizza if I felt fancy. I haven't tried it out yet, but it's on my list of things to test on a weekend trip this spring. I think it's going to work out pretty well, and since I had an ex leave a bunch of them at my house, they're free to try.

The SPOT locator is definitely getting added to the list. While I might find out from Facebook that my family is out of town for two weeks, they tend to get edgy if they can't contact me at random for a few days. Funny how that works, isn't it? And the the benefit of not wasting SARS time looking for me if I'm bear food is pretty nice to know.

 

[RidingDonkeys]

I would recommend against the K60 Scout for your front tire. I've got it, and it works great on gravel and pavement. However, in the really loose stuff, sand and mud, it washes out pretty quickly. I plan on keeping the K60 rear and putting on a TKC front when I wear this tire out.

As for Terra-fying your Strada, you might already know that I'm a big fan. I did it thinking that I was going to switch wheels back and forth, and boy was I wrong. I absolutely loved the spoke setup, and sold off my cast wheels a few months ago. It may not be necessary to make the conversion, but cracking a wheel out in the middle of nowhere is a legitimate risk. Putting your bike under a full load increases the chance. That was a risk I wasn't willing to take. Do you own analysis and see if you are comfortable with it. I recommend reading some COBDR ride reports over on ADV Rider so you can get a better idea of what you might be facing.

 

[msmith345]

I would recommend against the K60 Scout for your front tire. I've got it, and it works great on gravel and pavement. However, in the really loose stuff, sand and mud, it washes out pretty quickly. I plan on keeping the K60 rear and putting on a TKC front when I wear this tire out.

As for Terra-fying your Strada, you might already know that I'm a big fan. I did it thinking that I was going to switch wheels back and forth, and boy was I wrong. I absolutely loved the spoke setup, and sold off my cast wheels a few months ago. It may not be necessary to make the conversion, but cracking a wheel out in the middle of nowhere is a legitimate risk. Putting your bike under a full load increases the chance. That was a risk I wasn't willing to take. Do you own analysis and see if you are comfortable with it. I recommend reading some COBDR ride reports over on ADV Rider so you can get a better idea of what you might be facing.

Yep, I've been reading those and plan on continuing reading through reports. Lots of good info in those, but it's not always obvious and sometimes you've got to just read every post and every comment along the way to really get the useful tidbits. I haven't seen anything yet that is too much of a concern as far as cast vs spoked or really in risk factor either. Most of the issues seem to be more rider related than terrain related. And flat tires, lots of flat tires. Tubeless tires on the cast rims are a bit more appealing for that as plugging a tire is way quicker than breaking the bead to fix/replace the tube.

Thanks for the heads up on the front tire. For the rear, do you also recommend the K60 over the TKC? The K60 looks to be a smoother rolling tire with enough bite for most situations.

 

[RidingDonkeys]

Thanks for the heads up on the front tire. For the rear, do you also recommend the K60 over the TKC? The K60 looks to be a smoother rolling tire with enough bite for most situations.

I love the K60 on the rear. It works great in just about anything in back. It is the front where it leaves a bit it be desired. I have a lot of loose sand in my area, and the K60 is definitely NOT the front tire for loose sand. I've seen several other people make mention of that too, and I ignored it when I went with the tires. I found out the hard way that they were right. I'll wear mine out, then swap to a TKC up front. There are probably several other combos that work well, but that is the one I will go with.

Cast wheels will give you a big advantage over spoke when the flat tires happen. Breaking the bead on my rear wheel takes enormous feats of strength and buckets of curse words. It was the tire/wheel combo that finally forced me to buy a bead breaker.

 

[Highfive]

I rode the CDR on my Terra this past September. Well....a lot of it anyway. Gone 13 days and 4,500 miles worth round trip from Tulsa. Rode due west & intercepted trail near Taos then headed north to the Canadian border crossing. Then, slabbed it home, passing thru Glacier Park on the return. Great trip....I'd highly recommend it, Msmith.

I ran the K60rear/TKC80front combo and it worked terrific. New sprockets & chain, yes. Fresh oil & filter yes.....but I went the distance without an oil change (no problem). I did use a piece of flat Uni-filter foam as a pre-filter in the airbox. Took an extra one (pre-oiled) in a ziploc bag, and swapped that out about halfway. Worked great and I didn't have to mess with the OEM filter....it stayed fairly clean.

Didn't have any flats, didn't need to do any serious maintenance. The bike ran super good even thru 6 days of rain & mud. You can do it. Go for it!

Don't over plan it. Stay flexible. Amazing what you'll discover out there exploring this way.

Who cares how far you get....just GET! And tell us about it later.

HF

P.s. My favorite parts were the mountains of New Mexico and the section between Butte, MT & the Canadian border. So, splitting your trip into two halves could be a grand idea.....allowing you to slow down and explore these two particular areas much more thoroughly.

 

[drzcharlie]

Good advice H5.