KLR 650 down

[alanmcorcoran]

In regards to other inquiries - yes, it's been christened, but not perhaps as you might have expected. Last Saturday I set out to do the entire length of Maple Springs Road to the Main Divide out through Ortega Highway in Cleveland National Forest. My fellow So Cal'ers can vouch that this is A Serious Dirt Road Ride. There are sandy sections, rocky sections, sandy/rocky sections and lot of some pretty hairy shit. That's why it's surprising that my lay down had nothing to do with any of that.
As I approached the trail, going pretty slowly, a young man in a pickup truck, parked on the left side of the road in the "wrong direction" (facing away from me) suddenly "shot" (lurched? launched?) across the narrow (still paved) path and right into me. Fortunately, I was going slow and avoided a serious collision (although he scared the crap out of me.) It was so fast, so deliberate and so violent that my initial thought was "This mother f*cker is trying to kill me!" (At the time it was the only logical explanation my lizard brain could come up with.) So naturally, my fight/flight instinct kicked in, I had an adrenaline rush, and, well, I won't go into the other thoughts that occurred to me. Bike went down and got scratched up a bit. Nothing serious, but it only had a little more than 200 miles on it! I debated not filing a claim. The guy was very sorry, he admitted he didn't see me, helped me pick my bike up and gave me all of his insurance info, etc. I think he was a little freaked too, cause we both realized, one second made the difference between me having an andrenaline rush and being totally dead. I did file a claim and I didn't want to talk about the accident too much as I am leery of insurance claims and insurance companies and, I guess part of me is concerned he might change his story and I'll have an aggravation I don't really need. I should have took pictures, and done some other stuff, but i did not have the presence of mind to do much other than to get his policy and address.

Because I was so shook up, and had that post adrenaline sickness you get, I thought about turning tail and going home,but I told myself, adventure is what you wanted and this is all part of it, so get your ass up that effing mountain already! I had many butt puckering moments on the 20-25 miles of mountain trail, but I am happy to report - I stayed upright throughout. Most of the pictures I posted were post accident, so the bike, as you can see, is still relatively purty-looking.
http://s3.postimage.org/Amn2i.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/21tinyj2c/)

[Moedad]

Whoa, when I said dirt/dual sport bikes get dropped/crashed, I meant dropped/crashed, not run down by somebody in a truck. That's crazy! I'm glad to hear that you're okay and you went on with and completed your ride, even with the adrenaline dump. Good for you!

[Water Warrior 2]

Whoa, that could have been so bad in so many ways. Glad to hear nothing was too messed up but your body chemistry. Now that you have the first scratch and off out of the way things will certainly get to be more fun with a healthy does of caution. Have you thought about crash bars for protection if/when the bike goes down again ? Plastic is really expensive to replace.

[dentheman]

I'm glad to hear you're OK.

[alanmcorcoran]

Whoa, when I said dirt/dual sport bikes get dropped/crashed, I meant dropped/crashed, not run down by somebody in a truck. That's crazy! I'm glad to hear that you're okay and you went on with and completed your ride, even with the adrenaline dump. Good for you!

Yeah, it was a very disconcerting introduction to dual sport riding. Kind of put a big damper on the beginning of the day, but I'm glad I pressed on. It was near perfect weather (especially considering it was early October) and I felt a lot more confident after the ride about taking the bike on an overnight down a dirt road. Cleveland National Forest is kind of a weird place - a big chunk of forest surrounded by the densest population. The mountain peaks are covered in microwave towers and, there's a really weird "out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-but-not-really" vibe to the place.

After I survived the backwoods mountain trail, I came out just a little west of The Lookout and rode Ortega (this is 20 miles of Serious [and often Deadly] Twisty stuff.) It took ne a while to get used to going sixty after so many miles of 5-20 mph on the rocks and sand.

Although I was not real happy to scratch up the KLR (and, it'll probably be fixed up by the insurance company) I was more disappointed to learn I couldn't pick up the (much lighter than the Strat) bike. I gotta figure out how to do it if I'm going to go on any solo adventures.

[dhgeyer]

Wow! I'm glad to hear that it wasn't more serious.

If it's any consolation, you don't get any points among off road riders for having a pristine bike. More often the reverse, really.

I do hope you figure out a solution to your problem. I don't know about where you are, but around here I've been a lot of places where I could wait days for help, and those places don't tend to have any cell phone service. That's one of the main reasons I got rid of the Concours. There's no way I could get that thing off the ground.

[alanmcorcoran]

That is a concern. I'm thinking about getting one of those "Spot" things but I haven't really looked into the details. Couldn't pick up the Concours with "the technique" eh?

[dentheman]

Please enlighten me on the 'spot' thing.

[3-D Video]

Please enlighten me on the 'spot' thing.
It tells the zombies where you're at:
www.findmespot.com/ (http://www.findmespot.com/)

[dentheman]

Please enlighten me on the 'spot' thing.
It tells the zombies where you're at:
http://www.findmespot.com/
Thanks! I take it a zombie is the non-motorcycle part of the population that you are trying to get away from on your motorcycle. Like your boss, certain relatives, etc?

ADDED- In my continiuos effort to increase my knowledge, I did a search of >motorcycle zombie< and found the zombies are much more insidious than I originally thought when I came across this, which explains it all: http://www.lostinasupermarket.com/2010/ ... ie-hordes/ (http://www.lostinasupermarket.com/2010/the-ultimate-motorcycle-for-outrunning-impending-zombie-hordes/)

[3-D Video]

I take it a zombie is the non-motorcycle part of the population that you are trying to get away from on your motorcycle. Like your boss, certain relatives, etc?
I think Alan started using the expression, more as a survivalists' description for those between you and where ever you're trying to get to… mostly out of town. But, "like your boss, certain relatives, etc." makes a lot of sense to me! :)

[3-D Video]

I did a search of >motorcycle zombie< and found the zombies are much more insidious than I originally thought when I came across this, which explains it all: http://www.lostinasupermarket.com/2010/ ... ie-hordes/ (http://www.lostinasupermarket.com/2010/the-ultimate-motorcycle-for-outrunning-impending-zombie-hordes/)
These people have never met my relatives... Be afraid. Be very afraid!

[dhgeyer]

Couldn't pick up the Concours with "the technique" eh?

Nope. Of course the Concours weighed around 700 pounds as outfitted, with way too much of the weight high up on the bike. The 7 gallon tank didn't help. But the engine was a vertical quad with the cylinders fairly high also. One of the worst bikes to try to pick up, if not the worst.
The Beemer wouldn't be a problem, and being lighter with a much lower center of gravity it's far less likely to go over to begin with.

[Sarris]

The GeeZer is the easy one. At 850 +/- lbs., it's my Harley that's the nut dropper. I'll call AAA.

:lol: :crackup

[alanmcorcoran]

I think Alan started using the expression, more as a survivalists' description for those between you and where ever you're trying to get to… mostly out of town.

That's pretty accurate, but it should be noted that ever since I saw Resident Evil 3, I have sort of based my life on the movie. The movie came out in '07 - I spent some time that year at firing ranges and an outdoor range learning about 9mm, 45's and shotguns. (It should be noted that Milla uses a pair of Para Ordnance LDA .45 automatics in the movie as well as a Mossberg Compact Cruiser pump action 12 gauge. Sadly, the Compact Cruiser is not generally available to the public [but other similar shotguns are.]) In '08 I got my motorcycle permit and, shortly thereafter, the GZ and my license. The movie is set in the Mojave desert and Milla rides a BMW K 1200 R. I have decided to hold off on the Beemer until I get some dirt miles under my belt on my "practice" zombie bike (The KLR) (much cheaper.) I have personally reconnoitered a good deal of the California desert, solo, including: Joshua Tree National Monument (several times), Death Valley and all of the various Gateways to Mojave. I intend to take the KLR to Mojave itself for a full workout. (One big zombie/desert plus - the KLR has a 6.1 gallon gas tank.)

The action on the movie progresses to Las Vegas, and I think ultimately ends up in Alaska. There are some destinations around Vegas I intend to explore (but, unless there is an actual outbreak, not the city itself, although you can shoot machine guns there...[just sayin']) and I would like to eventually do an Alaska trip. I've driven from Anchorage to Fairbanks - a pretty serious haul over some sketchy roads - but it was a while ago and I've never covered the distance from the lower 48 to to the "upper one."

PS. I know the movie sucks.

[Water Warrior 2]

Alan, you can stay on asphalt all the way to Fairbanks from home if you want. The Strat would be a great way to go. The KLR might be more tiring overall but would allow some side trips of the adventurous kind. Either bike is more than capable of doing the trip. Given lots of time and $ we would ride up to Alaska at the drop of a hat.

[alanmcorcoran]

Yeah, for that trip I agree. Zombie/T-Virus/post apocalypse prep aside, on my List of Places I Hope to Ride to Before I Can't is the California Lost Coast. That's pretty far from me too, but not half as far as Alaska. For that trip I do intend to take the KLR as I understand to do it right requires some off-pavement riding. Maybe next summer. Too bad these things don't have a "Fly" mode.

[Water Warrior 2]

Too bad these things don't have a "Fly" mode.
Most bikes have Fly Mode but the Landing Mode is a bit iffy.
Have you thought of a smaller toy hauler and the KLR ? Just a thought of mine.

[alanmcorcoran]

I've thought about it. Might try it again sometime, but although it solves the problem of the long stretches of hauling ass down the superslab just to get to the good stuff, the trip really ends up revolving around the toy hauler and was less of an adventure than my solo bike trips. I think they have their place though. I know if I did more trips with my wife along I'd consider it, but I actually like to get away from everything and everyone mostly. I kind of like Busy's minimalist hauler. Maybe an Astro Van is in in my future.

I could also go Goldwing. Also might upgrade my seat on the Strat. So many ways to waste time and money. It's really pretty obscene.

[Water Warrior 2]

Also might upgrade my seat on the Strat. So many ways to wast time and money. It's really pretty obscene.
Super obscene is more like it. I stopped keeping an eye on the Vstrom upgrades a long time ago. Too frightening to add up. I too have been considering a seat upgrade but the cost is waaaay up there. And of course the cross border shipping blah blah and more of the same. Russell Day Long seats are highly recommended but they also need your seat to work with. They are located in CA. so you might want to check them out. There is also a drive in service for those who make arrangements beforehand. Now if I could just afford a road trip and a seat.......

[BusyWeb]

Mr. Alan..
Thanks that you're O.K.
Happy and safe riding !!!