Ultimately, the best ride on Remembrance Day would have been up to pay our respects at one of the many WW2 era crash sites around here, perhaps visiting the Lockheed Ventura on Mt. Bolduc would have been more appropo. But with the shorter days and our later start, we decided Green Mountain from Doumont Road would be a better plan ~130km round trip.
Click to Enlarge.
1. Doumont Road Tank Traps
2. Left on to 142 and pass Boomerang L.
3. Right at Cottle L.
4. Right and follow Hydro Lines
5. Left after bridge. Left at Hickup Trail
6. Right onto NEW Escalator Trail (Easy). Turn Right as you pop out of the Escalator onto Decosmos/Deadhorse Creek Main (a major logging road).
7. Right at 2nd Lake onto Nanaimo Lakes Road
8. Left onto Branch K (Major Junction)
9. Left onto Green Mountain access road
10. Left
11. Beginning of Green Mountain Meadows and the Marmot Reserve.
Click to enlarge
Elevation Track (m)
Google Earth "Flyover" of the Route (Full Screen to View Text)
It was a great ride, offering a little of everything: some logging roads, technical single track, hill climbs and burms at Green Mountain, not to mention snow. The total distance was approximately 127km from Superstore Gas bar to Green Mountain and back to the Black Bear Pub. I've got to say the rear Mountain Motoz at 10psi was awesome everywhere, particularly up some serious grades in the snow. I didn't air it down to the 4 psi I usually roll on as we were hitting some potentially rim denting speeds on crush, and didn't fancy a pinch flat. Can't wait for a set of Tubliss...
White Trails Near Green Mt. Ski Hill
Maybe the last picture of Andy with the trusty KLX250S. It's been an excellent ride for Andy, but the lack of torque and soft suspension are leaving him looking at Beta 300X Italian Princess. His money is down, and the beast should be here before too long. Can't wait to see it. Anyway, needless to say, we ended up at the Black Bear for a coupla delicious barley sandwiches. What a great way to finish a ride!
Checkout the short vid below for some trail condition samples...(Don't forget to change the settings to 1080P for the best resolution. - First shots with the Go Pro 4 Black. The quality looks much better...Pity about the music!)
Negligible wear on the Motoz Mountain Hybrid after 15 hours of riding mixed road and dirt
If you've been reading, then you know I mounted a MMH rear on the Berg over the summer. It's a hybrid trials/knobby for slower more technical riding. While it's taken a while to get brave enough to run it at the ridiculously low 5-8psi pressures it demands (and is designed for), I have been impressed with the tire. It's got a super-stiff carcass, and while the Pirelli front will often deform at lower pressures, the MMH rear resists impacts well. Off road, aired down, using a judicious throttle and butterflying the clutch, it offers ridiculous amounts of grip in all conditions. Wet, dry, rocky, sandy, stones, logs, roots and mud, it out-performs my previous experience with knobbies. The huge footprint demands your bike has torque to spare, and if it does, then starting from a stop on a steep incline, boulder, wet root or mud-hole it pulls. If it spins, you're using too much throttle, It is still taking me a while to lose the roost habit; this tire does not respond as well as a pure knobby in those circumstances. At speed it also confidence inspiring, but not as "drifty" as a knobby (which can be fun).
If you ride black-top, it gets even better. It's a DOT tire. I ride it to the dirt on the road at about 25psi, Its road manners are good, even aired down. It doesn't "blow chunks" like is reported on true trials tires mounted on dirt bikes no matter what the pressure on the road. After 15 hours it has lost perhaps half a mm of tread: it would be a good DS tire.
If you you enjoy endurocross or just technical trails, then this is the tire for you. I am considering going to the tubeliss system on the bike. The Pirelli Scorp on the front is a great tire, but it is being shown up by the MMH on the rear as the Scorp's carcass is not as robust and doesn't resist impacts as well at lower pressures. The next move may well be a Golden Tire 216 fatty for the front.
It is reported that Motoz are coming out with a lighter version of this tire. Right now I am happy with the present MMH, as I have had no punctures, and great wear, and I don't feel its weight on the bike at all. A lighter MMH may offer something else (I'm not sure what), but may not fair as well resisting pinch-flats at lower pressures or wear as well. We'll see...
The Aussie boys, as usual, have done an awesome review of the MMH tire too. So if you don't believe me, tune in below...
Finally, a blog entry! Our readership of six is probably down to three or four at this rate! Anyhow, it has been a long time since I made a blog entry due to a broken collar bone and long lasting back problems, but we're back with a vengeance to tell you about our recent 250km "Figure 8" ride from Doumont Rd to Youbou and back.
Here's the overview map of this ride:
The Figure 8 Tour...
1. Doumont Rd stop sign start (near the track where the logging roads begin)
2. Right turn onto Branch 142
3. Left turn onto 155 Main
4. Left turn onto 155 N
5. Crashed water bomber site
6. Left turn onto "Baker Street Connector"
7. Left turn to bridge, Nanaimo River Road and Branch M
8. Left turn onto Branch K
9. "Bridge-Out Workaround" and Shaw Main
10. Left on North Shore Road to Youbou
11. Great eats and coffee at Cassy's Coffee House
12. Right onto Nitinat River Road
13. North along the "Blacktop Highway"
14. Right turn up "The Pass" towards Fourth Lake
15. Along Nanaimo River Road to closed Second Lake Gate
16. Right on Branch C, past gold mine turnoff to "Hellavator" connector
17. "Hellavator" connector leads to "Escalator" connector (shock, horror... read all about it)
18. Right turn on power line trail
19. Right at Branch 142 back to "tank traps"
20. Beer and grub at Black Bear Pub..... AaaaaaHHH!!!
Paul has had this ride idea hatched for a few years now. He went out riding with Ryan, another riding partner of ours, some years back when they were kiboshed by an ugly "bridge out" section along one route to Youbou. Paul was on his larger 650 at the time and they decided to avoid a rooty uphill work-around and went off in search of an alternative route which was never found. The thought of this unfinished route to Youbou festered in the back of his tiny mind and created the twisted riding partner I know today! But now, likely under the advice of his psychoanalyst, we attempted the route once again in order to cure his rapidly declining mental health.
We started out at our common Doumont Rd. starting place and made our way through the tank traps to Branch 42 where we headed NW to 155 Main. A left turn onto 155N had us heading directly to a water bomber crash site commonly referred to as the "water bomber near Mt. Moriarty." (49°10'60.00"N 124°22'60.00"W) We found the site: All that remains are a few snapped off large trunks of trees and a circle of trees marked in blue loggers' code to keep them untouched. No wreckage was visible at all and it can only be assumed that the site was cleaned up when a nearby, (now disused), logging road was installed in the area.
A Old Logging Road Leads Towards the Water Bomber Crash Site
The Water Bomber Crash Location Along a Disused and Overgrown Logging Road
One of Several Trees in this Area Marked for Site Preservation
Onward we plodded to a section of trail which leads to the Moriarty Lake region, aptly named "Baker Steet." This is a fun section of trail with a few good challenges to keep any rider awake and on their toes. No wipe-outs through here this time around, but we both managed to get caught up for a minute or two in one particular muddy section.
We continued along branch G. and after taking a wrong left turn, (which you might want to look out for if you use our track), we corrected the route and connected with Nanaimo River Road and a left turn onto Branch K. This road takes you to the dastardly "bridge-out" location.
Paul was cleverly silent about the nature of this "bridge-out" and its work-around. I was aware that a work-around existed, but was never really filled in as to how gnarly this section really is. For some, I'm sure it's a simple matter of twisting wrists with careful clutching in order to gracefully dance their way up the 25° gradient. I'm not the most competent of riders to begin with, but my newly repaired collar bone had me thinking twice about going up through this patch at all. Paul convinced me that a good push behind my underpowered Kawi would be all that was needed to get through and he was right, although I dare say I wouldn't have tried this chunk of trail had I been alone. Poor bastard had to push like hell! :) We both agreed that going down this rooty slope would be moderately easy.
Paul Clears the River and Begins the Rooty Section
We were faced with a couple of small river crossings after this, one of which was quite boggy with plenty of nasty quadders logs. Thanks guys, you had me off my bike after glancing off of one of your poxy wood chunks! I had my left hand nicely trapped under my bars long enough for Paul to snap a pleasing "buddy down" shot. Go ahead and post that sucker Paul! You know you wanna!! (Oh, I have, Lemming Boy - it's on the vid!)
Wet Boggy Section's Quadder Crap Beckons Front Wheel
Looking up the Shaw Valley North. Very inviting: must explore that soon.
From here we continued along the Shaw Main towards North Shore Rd., which took us directly into Youbou. Halfway along the north shore of the lake, a massive Roosevelt Elk bull crossed right in front of us, herding his 4 largish cows across the road. It was a close one! (Shots on the vid). We gassed up at a Youbou gas station, (which sells regular, but only marked premium gas), and went on to Cassy's Coffee Shop which is a newly opened venue selling small meals and good coffee. Drop in there if you're in the area, they are very friendly and the food is good. Paul is convinced his heated jacket kept him warm on the return trip, but I know it was Cassy's chili working its magic.
Cassy's Coffee House
Fuelling Up Chilli Powered Heating System
After devouring Cassy's tasty nosh, we took off traveling west towards Nitinat River Rd. where a right turn leads you north up the "black top highway" which eventually takes you to Fourth Lake.
The pass leading up to Fourth Lake is superb fun! We both remembered this road being pretty chunky with quite a few boulders at one time. It's pretty smooth now and we charged up this excellent steep road at a good pace. The twisty road and higher side mountains really add to the overall beauty of this pass. From here we blasted down Nanaimo River Road hoping to catch the gate open. It was locked! I think we both knew it would be, but it was worth a try anyway.
It turns out that the locked gate was a real boon! We decided to return west along Nanaimo River Road and head up Branch C to the familiar "HeLLeVaToR" connector trail that joins our more local logging roads with the Mount DeCosmos area. We reached the Hellevator and searched briefly for a trail we have heard about that runs parallel to this trail but is much easier and faster to ride. After deciding it might not even really exist at all we started down the usual route only to find the elusive connector trail directly ahead of us. (A big thank you to "The Highway Men" who opened this new connecting trail up. It's fantastic). In "REAL Motorcycle Diaries" style it was quickly named "The Escalator" and down we went towards the main floor and ladies undergarments.
The Escalator Starts a Short Distance In
The Newly Visible Escalator Entrance. Bear left for the gentle escalator ride down; fork right for the Hellevator ride to hell.
After our float down the pillowy-soft escalator ride provided to us by The Highway Men, we followed our standard route out, taking a right-hand turn down through the power lines, zipped past Boomerang Lake and finally through the Tank Traps. Our final destination, oddly enough, was the Black Bear Pub where we once again administered muscle relaxing fluids (orally of course).
A certain blog master who shall remain unnamed, broke his clavicle out riding with me a few weeks ago. So he's sitting around like Admiral Lord Nelson with too much time on his (good) hand. So, as torture motivation to knit bones and heal quickly, I have compiled a shorty vid of last weekend's ride with the guy who got us into this dirt-bike lark several years ago. We'll call him "The Master". So if we have someone to blame for this addictive past-time and potentially lethal hobby, it's him...Thanks, Ryan :)
After riding a friend's trials bike last weekend, I took the Berg out for a slow and steady mud-pluggin' ride around the local trails at the end of Doumont Road, Nanaimo. I tested the lowered pegs (excellent!), the boots (excellent!) and the prototype cheap and easy DIY "whirlitzer cam"... It was fun putting it together and not quite as challenging to use as I thought, although it can be cumbersome, and a little destabilizing as it whirls around ya helmet!...Any way, here's the vid...
This fella, who goes by the monikerTropic o Canada has an interesting multi-year thread going on ADVRider of single day and multi-day rides on, predominantly southern Vancouver Island (although I notice he visits the north-end of the island too). I found it very interesting and inspiring, particularly because he rides whatever the season or weather and frequently solos. He touches everything from spelunking rides, curiosities and every-day maintenance on his DRZ400, It's going in the links section, as the thread is still active with his posts. Well worth a read on a rainy day.
He engineered his Rotopax to sit on the side of the bike. Eh, Andy? Eh??
For you quadders and brush-clearing enthusiasts, I just stumbled across a Canadian made folding saw reviewed on DSBC. It looks excellent! This is the time of year when things need cleaning out, and I always carry a little foldable hand saw, but nothing like this! 67USD.
Just a quick entry to say, after initially being underwhelmed by these boots, I'm liking the Formas more and more now. After several walks on rocky terrain (thanks, James), and some insoles (my feet are long but not wide), lowered pegs on the bike, these boots are working well.
I have been on two slow speed (very) single-track rooty technical rides with the TX Enduros and begun to get quite used to them. After initially disliking the clunky over protected feel, they are now conforming to my feet, becoming more flexible and giving me the feedback I need to change gear and brake more accurately. I had one off yesterday on black top, and had it not been for the boots and the excellent MSR knee guards, I would be in a cast with a likely fractured patella and twisted ankle. Admittedly it was a slow speed on-the-pegs lock to lock figure eight practice with no real speed involved, but my right knee and boot were the first to impact the road and become sandwiched by the bike. I'm wincing to think about what that would have been like if I had been wearing sweat pants and my hush puppies...
The boots are very comfortable now, the adjusters are extremely well thought out, super easy to use and make for very quick fitting and removal. No word on waterproof"ness" yet, but the soles are grippy and the buckles don't snag on leaves or debris. Needless to say, with the solid hiking boot sole, the steel toe, rear impact guards and hinge, I feel well protected.
The only downside is that because I wanted the enduro sole for hiking to those inaccessible fishing holes, the grips make it hard to slide the boot on the ground, and require a deliberate thought to lift the boot from the pegs rather than slide them off. But frankly that's like buying a Porsche and complaining about the lack of room...Not that I'll ever be in that position. I'm sure I'll get used to that too, over time.
Being my first bike boot ever, I don't feel I can give them a rating so far, but I will say they are growing on me in leaps and bounda and are well worth the money, especially when compared to similarly equipped - but far more expensive - boots from other well known companies like Gaerne, Sidi and the like.
One of the interesting things that all bike owners get to do is modify and customize their ride to suit themselves. I had a DR650 which I resprung, de-weighted and lowered the footpegs on (with the help of a friend who could weld). While re-springing the big Suzuki was amazing, lowering the pegs was the best and cheapest mod I did. It boosted my riding ability more than any other mod has ever done before or since. It transformed my confidence on slower more technical sections and, together with bar risers, made it much more comfortable to stand on the pegs. Of course lowering the centre of gravity didn't hurt either; in fact, it was amazing how much easier the big bike was to navigate through quite technical areas at walking speed.
The original steel pegs (ktm footpeg 590.03.041.250)
The Husaberg has much more ground clearance than the old DR, and being a very compact bike, it can be cramped in the cockpit for a 6 footer wanting to stand on the pegs for long periods of time and ride dual-sport. Not only that, but standing on the pegs gives the impression of being in helicopter. Not that the bike notices at all; it's my neurosis. So, after riding for a year, I decided, rather than buy some risers, a high bar, and re-thread all the cables and hydraulics, it would be simpler to buy some lower pegs.
.
But, on looking around there are only a few aftermarket products out there. They are slick, look nice, come in anodized blue or orange aluminum (depending on your cool-aid of choice), but they only offer a whopping 7mm of adjustment down by using a "collar". 7mm? That won't even defer the height gain from my new boots. For this you pay in $189 US before shipping, duty and taxes. Call it $250 CDN, or if you like $35 per mm.
Ouch.
So there was only one thing for it, a pegoplasty or peg-reduction if you like. The exact opposite of those pecker augmentation emails Andy keeps getting. [edit: Hey, don't knock it--those augmentation devices worked for me! ~Andy] First, I thought about making an extension bracket that would slot into the original bodywork and hang lower, but that would be very hard to stabilize as the peg is held with a large-bore clevis pin with only split-pin securing it. The pegs would waggle. Not the thing when slopping through mud or balancing on that log. Then I happened across a guy who has done the same thing on his KTM 990. Oh yeah, they use the same pegs as all the other KTM/Husa/Husky products out there - ktm footpeg 590.03.041.250. Actually it's stamped right on the peg. So I looked that up...$60 per peg. That was my insurance. I would cut the pegs themselves, get a plate welded in, and weld the peg back together. If I didn't like it, then I could always buy original (or aftermarket - $35 per mm...ouch) pegs again without having screwed up the bracket.
Despite what Andy's mum told him, that is what 1.5 inches looks like. When I got the pegs back, because of where I had directed them to cut, they had these serrations on the bracket. They would not be nice on my boots, so I ground them off.
Grinding the serrations off...Something I wouldn't have had to do if I had them cut the bracket off the peg, rather than the peg off the bracket...but what fun would that have been? Now I can look at these in the knowledge, that in some small way, I helped fabricate them...I could over time, even exaggerate and take all the credit...No, only the Welsh would stoop.
Then I sat on the bike, pondered, measured some more and fabricated some wooden "pegs" at approximately the what felt like the right height and measured. 1.5 inches lower would do it. My legs would be somewhat straighter, I would not feel like I was lurching over the bars when standing. Not only that, my centre of gravity would be lower.
Wish I could weld like that. Heck, I wish could weld!
But there are other, more serious considerations to worry about: the pegs must be no lower than the bash plate, the rear brake pedal must be able to be adjusted low enough, and the side stand must clear the port peg...I turns out that lowering the pegs by 1.5 inches is the absolute maximum that you can manage while meeting all of those criteria.
A 1.5 inch plate welded in place. Top serrations removed.
So after that long-winded ramble, here are the shots of the finished product. Thank you Nanaimo Sheet Metal - precision cut, plate inserted and, critically, welded back together at exactly the right angle (no not 90 degrees!). I furnished them with the link above and they did the rest. $100 for both. Money well spent? Only time will tell.
Grinding finished.
Above and below. Mounted on the bike.
Above and Below: brake pedal adjusted fully low with specified 5mm play.
I haven't ridden with it yet, but I am very pleased with the results so far. I'll mount my new rear (ouch that sounds awkward) and let you know how it goes... Maybe some more finagling with shifter and brake, but that can be fun too!
It's been a long time since I've been out. I usually take the time during the winter months to strip the bike down, check, service, research next year's tires (is there anything better out there for us dual sporters in the DOT domain?...yes...), purchase and checkout new equipment and watch some videos (bring yer bleach...). So with that in mind here's a mish-mash of dirtbike paraphernalia for you.
New Equipment:
I have purchased some much needed boots. After trolling all the on line reviews, vids and recommendations, it came down to Gaerne or Forma. I went with the Forma, after speaking with the guys at Atomic. I've never had a dedicated motorcycle boot before, let alone an off road enduro boot, something my riding partners chide me about. I ride in sheepskin booties with fleece lining. Soooft. Warrrrrm....Comfortable....Daaangerouus. Truthfully, on the plus side, they allow awesome control. I've never had a problem. There's absolutely no support, no protection and no waterproofness, but they are light and I can FEEL everything; consequently, the control is fabulous.
Not anymore. Now I've purchased some very highly recommended, double hinged, high-end enduro boots. The Forma Terrain. And I hate them. I'm told they are fabulous, flexible, comfortable, with top end details for a mid-range price. Am I'm sure that's all true. But they feel like flippin' ski boots. I cannot feel a damn thing. Where's the shifter? Why's the back tire screaming? Oh yeah, I've locked it up. Protection, it seems comes at a cost, and it's a trade off. I think I erred on the side of immortality versus control. Perhaps I should have gone for the Gaerne Balanced Oiled. Frankly, given a second chance, at this point, I'd drop some of the protection of the Forma for the more supple trials boot. The Forma's, to their credit, are not yet broken in, and I guess I'll give them a shot for while.
More successful were the MSR Reflex knee guards. I have an old pair of Fox knee protectors which saved my skin 18 months ago in my De Cosmos Caper Crash. However, they left me open to a second impact on my knee as they rotated as they ran down the side of Andy's bike...I spent a few months learning how to straighten my leg in physio after that. So I had been looking for a pair of knee braces or better protection. The MSR's are articulated and fit me really well, The webbing is comfortable and the protection is amazing. In short they are super comfortable, and frankly, I forget I am wearing them. Highly recommended!
Bergy Bits
It's been a little over a year since I got the Husaberg and I'm super impressed with it. The Suzuki is long forgotten. The reliability has been stellar, but even better is the performance, suspension and light weight. The bike is perfect, except for one thing...the access to those needy bits.. Getting to the valves requires removing the radiators and the fuel tank. To remove the tank, one must remove part of the subframe... You can see the Swede now, sitting with his spectacles while gazing at the CAD screen and reducing the space between components until the mass centralisation is perfect. Mechanics curse, but engineers marvel. Most of the year I marvel!
The valves are perfect and have not moved in 1500km. A new plug, chain and sprockets, and she'll be good to go, except for her rear tire, which is a Maxxis Desert IT. It's a POS in wet, rooty and or muddy conditions. It wears like steel and has the traction to match - like a puck on ice.
Tires.
On the front I have a Pirelli Scorpion XCMH which is about the pokiest DOT tire you can find. It is by far the best front DOT tire I have had for our conditions, certainly better than the D606. There are some other, newer, possibilities out there, including the Golden Tire GT series, but the early reviews are not promising with regards to wear and price per grip level. Local riders are not over impressed either, so I think I'll stick with the XMCH on the front for now.
On the rear, I've been dabbling with the idea of a Pirelli MT43 enduro trials tire. I like the idea of the awesome grip on technical trails with wet roots and rocks being easy pickings for this tire, but the cornering and its serious mud issues are a worry. The enduro-trials tire is taking off as riders discover new levels of grip in the technical trails with them. There are several new competitors for the Pirelli MT43. Enter the new Motoz Mountain Hybrid tire. If that doesn't work out (supply is limited), then I might stick a Pirelli Scorpion XMCH on the back to match the front for now.
**UPDATE: the Motoz Mountain Hybrid is hard to come by and only just available. Folks are just starting to review them as they leak slowly into North America (US only so far)... Here is a good review of the MMH being used in similar conditions to Van Isle (wetter, muddier). And here is an unflattering review of its wear characteristics when paired with a 500 in the hard rocky desert around Reno I believe...Perhaps not what it was designed for...?
It appears that Kenda are coming out with a hybrid called the Equilibrium to rival the MT43 and MMH...No reviews yet. I'll keep you posted.
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