rtwPaul

In a week, we leave the US to ride south on our two DR650’s, we have just ridden across the US and Canada on what we like to call a test ride, of 20,000 miles. Now there is a little service work to do and a few items to change due to failure, fix some areas that failed, make other areas better and some just leave alone.

The bikes are now ready to continue onwards and southwards, we travel s.l.o.w.l.y. to take in countries for a long time when and where possible, we are in the mindset of 3-6 months per country as we’ll ride south and then back north trying to complete a loop of South America

Cuba is also on the horizon again, this time offroad when and where possible and Central America (maybe) on the way north – so as rough calculation we are talking years until we speak English as a first language again…stayed tuned

Next post will be tools and packing, this post is final prep of the bikes

We have got emails asking for more details, so here you go. This is the first time owning a DR650 so the ‘test ride’ was good and offered an insight into how capable this bike really is.

If you read the original build thread a massive amount of work was done to the bikes to get them ready, its long and very detailed – here

The lists – and I will break them down into more detail as too why if it’s unclear

Basic service was completed on –

• oil change
• clean filter
• grease neck bearings
• grease swingarm bearings
• grease shock pivot
• check and set the valves
• new brake pads

Everything else

• vacuum flush brakes and change the fluid
• recover seats
• rebuild carbs
• air filters and socks
• chain guard
• cush drive rubbers
• sprockets and spares
• chain swap
• weld rear rack to add structure
• side stand foot
• headlights swap
• turn signal swap
• make fairing
• tool tube swap
• weld exhaust
• tank rubbers
• foot peg spring
• license plate security screws
• weld on side stand foot
• valve cover bolt
• heated jacket
• make windshield
• make front tank mount

The basic service stuff is simply that – basic, something we all do; but as we will ride from Arizona straight into Mexico it is just a good feeling to have all new consumables in place. Some weren’t necessary but why ride with brake pads that have maybe 2-3,000 miles left on them and then have the hassle of finding replacements? I know now I’m good for another 20,000 miles or more – make sense?

Everything else

• bleed the brakes and change the fluid

brake fluid is a consumable and easily forgotten, it breaks down from heat and moisture. All summer long we were in the ria or in the mountains braking hard, a few dollars for fresh fluid is a no brainer…when was the last time you changed yours?

• recover seats

I had a Seat Concepts and Egle has a Sargent, mine was looking a little worse for wear and she simply didn’t like her’s at all, very uncomfortable for long days in the saddle. New seats are both from Seat Concepts, the commuter. it fits our riding style and is good and comfortable

• rebuild carbs

In Newfoundland, we had major carb issues! The float is held in place by two O rings that I had replaced 10,000 miles before. The had dried out, shrunk and become brittle, this allowed the float to move when riding causing an overly rich mixture because the gas constantly flowed.

So as we are now at 20,000 miles into this ride it seemed obvious to check 10 + 10, get my thinking? They were good so all I can figure is I got a bad batch of O rings (I now have spares as well). The simple test here is to check as you put the float in place on the carb body it ‘clicks’ into place, then make sure your float height is correct and replace the float bowl.

An added way to check everything is good when on the road is add a small length of clear tubing to the float drain. This is a visual aid – if you crack the float bowl drain screw the level in the tube is held against the carb body should be around 1-2mm above the line where the float bowl attaches to the body. This will save time on the road if you have a carb issue. this way you can check float height at a glance and if you have a stuck float.

• air filters
• filter socks/ skins

new filters and socks, again to leave with fresh consumables, fresh filter oil, and a clean sock to make a filter cleaning in remote locations a breeze, we also carry extra socks. Remove side cover take off a dirty sock, put a clean sock on – ride!

• chain guard

The stock chain guard is weak and flimsy so a little repair was needed, redneck engineering – siding and rivets!

• cush drive rubbers

As the bikes were used with 20,000+ miles on them when we got the who knows if the cush drive rubbers were original or not. They lasted until about 38,000 miles then they needed to be replaced but replacements couldn’t be found where we were (at least one month wait) so, I did the quick fix – for those of you that aren’t familiar, a 1×1 inch square of inner tube put in next to the stock rubber adds a little width and takes away that jerking feeling that bad rubbers will give you. New ones installed so good again for around 40,000 miles, maybe enough to ride to Ushuaia?

• sprockets and spares
• chain swap

These two are obviously together, I have changed from the 525 to the 520 after a snapped chain in Vermont and a bike shop not knowing what a 525 was! Central and South America has a limited supply of 525 chains so planning ahead is required or use a 520 and change slightly more often but have more availability. We carry spare front and rears bolted to the bike so all we’ll need to find is a chain for the next swap…should be good for 30-50,000 miles

• weld rear rack to add structure

the racks we got had a failure after about 12,000 miles from the rough riding on the Translab Highway at high speed. At the time a simple welding fix was done but to add some structure I have added an additional brace between the top and side racks and made so it’s removable when needed.

I have a friend who is in the process of designing a completely new styled rack that will be much better and structurally stronger but not heavier than whats available right now, but sadly it won’t be completed until next year

• side stand foot

I simply forgot to add a side stand foot on Egles bike, so just making up for my CRS issues, larger washer and also extended her side stand as her suspension has been reworked and the bike is now a little taller

• Suspension work, Cogent Dynamics did a service on both shocks and increased the spring rate on Egles as it was a little soft. Their shock is perfect for RTW riding they use common components that can be serviced almost anywhere @michnus

• headlights swap

We rode 20,000 miles with an $8 LED headlight that DID NOT fail, in all actuality it was a great help riding offroad because it was simply more visible than stock especially in dusty conditions and if it had failed a replacement was a few days shipping away.

Now we are leaving the US getting a replacement is not so easy so I have refitted the stock lens but used a $15 LED instead of an H4, we’ll run these until they fail and then when needed H4’s are easy to obtain as we ride south

• make fairing

$10 trash can, 3-minute you-tube vid and now we have a windshield

• turn signal swap

the turn signals were on the stock fairing so they needed to be moved, the glue holding them tore them apart so I replaced with a screw-in unit instead mounted onto the Barkbusters, these big Safari tanks limit what will work – mounted just outside the crash zone…hopefully

• tool tube swap

I simply got tired of 3D Tetris every time I need a tool from the tool tube, I had reduced the length to about 20″ from 24″…I went back to a 24″ for sanities sake

• weld exhaust

On Egle’s bike, the rear mount had failed, so a quick fix was done

• tank rubbers

somehow, somewhere I had lost one rubber mount from under her tank when I took it off, replacements were ordered and glued in place. ***note to self, check both sides of frame to see they are both there before mounting the tank

• foot peg spring

One had snapped, this was a first for me, 2-minute fix/ replacement

• license plate security screws

Last year when I was in Mexico chatting with the police they were telling me in some cities there is a policy in place to remove the license plate from the vehicle and confiscate it until ‘the fine’ is paid. If the plate cannot be removed an officer may or may not be waiting for you by your vehicle when you return. Also, theft of none local plates in – enter a countries name – is a thing in some Latin countries like collecting trophies, this is a royal PITA if it happens…solution security torx – done

• valve cover bolt

on my bike the intake/ right bolt always felt like it was about to pull the threads out, I guess because this bike has been touched by so many prior to my ownership, so the few times I had taken off the valve cover I just babied the bolt back in – it just failed! Dam, remove head, drill, and tap, buy a new gasket, reset the timing chain etc…

NOPE – the bolt is a 6mm x 1.0 – there is a rarely used 7mm x 1.0 bolt, very lightly and carefully drill the hole out and retap, because the threads are the same pitch, not much material is harmed so the tap makes easy work of it…fixed. It leaves one problem, the head of the bolt is an 11mm wrench, I don’t carry one and really don’t want to for one bolt…grid down the head to fit a 10mm instead

• heated jacket

Egle is cold a lot, so her bike now has a connection fitted so she can use her new Firstgear heated jacket

• make front tank mount

The stock original front tank mount was an aluminum piece, Safari does it to save weight obviously and they tell you if it breaks just order a new one, tough to do in Bolivia! I went to my buddies waterjet and made new stainless ones instead!

new gearWhen everything is starting to seems too familiar we decided to go and see a few people before we leave the US. We are reviewing all our gear and i’ll do a separate post on it but needless to say it involved a few familiar companies and maybe not familiar locations.

We headed out to Idaho to see Klim, left with some ‘new gear’

then it was across the state to see Lendon in his brand new Seat Concepts building, did you know SC makes about 2000 seats a month!!! No wonder they needed to expand to ID

Then to the smallest building of all, this one where a luggage empire is growing at an alarming rate, Mosko Moto

We are glad to call the companies and owners friends but its interesting how they all seem to have a similar story, small beginnings from a small workshop or a little garage to a worldwide name…so from Egle and I a big thank you doing what you do and keeping us safe, dry, comfortable and able to carry what we need with ease.

There must be some magic in the air between the 40th and 45th parallels of the northwest, it is surprising how many companies are in that area.

Then it was a very quick trip to the left coast for Egle to meet an associate editor and her husband for a short time in the Portland area, where we missed the DGR by about an hour so i only got scraps

at least the bike in the wall art seems right!

We have a bunch of stuff to do in AZ before we start speaking Spanish so it was a very quick ride south, taking in a few familiar sights, VoG and what referred to as ‘the ditch’ by helicopter pilots from Vegas

Since the refusal from Guinness, our route has been a little random, to say the least. I’m trying to make the most of our time and show Egle some of the best parts of the country I can but also avoiding fires, rain and cold…the last one I failed on this week, you’ll see!

Before leaving Moab a ride thru Arches is a must, so…

riding back thru the park we passed Graham Francis, we’d been talking via the internet for years since we both were riding an XT660Z, now we both have XT1200’s, he was in the US for a couple of months touring around, small world! He came over and stayed with us for the night

We got an invite from D-Train for Egle to do some training with W38M in their intermediate/ advanced off-road course and I offered my services to shoot the proceedings, so instead of ever westward we turned back east and headed for Ouray…via a little dirt of course

John Brown

Lands End Road

Grand Mesa area

Our route took us over Hagerman Pass where the hydraulics had failed on this equipment right in a perfect spot!

ATV’s and side by sides have really exposed the rocks a lot on this pass, the climb was interesting having to read the line way ahead so not to get caught out, but on the eastern side, it was a lot smoother…

somewhere near Buena Vista we grabbed a camping spot a few miles from 1951

Up we go again

Afternoon storms are a big thing in the fall in Colorado

That night we stayed in Lake City, the previous night a bear was wandering down the main street with two cubs, some genius in an RV from Texas who was cooking came out to take a photo but left their door open, where did the bear go…straight inside with the two cubs, the Texans had to change plans and eat out for the rest of their stay! I laughed at this but karma will kick in…

During the night there was torrential rain which made us wonder what was happening at the top of Engineer, you guessed it snow!

in some places 12-18″ deep

A little lower down at the start of Mineral, no snow but wet, and if you’ve gone up or down that section you know the amount of steps and sheer drops, it’s a hard slog so add mud and the concentration level is very high

The next morning we meet up with W38M where they were teaching guys to make big GS’s handle like dirt bikes…kind of

After a day or power slides, loose shale training, drifting etc the following day it was a chance to go into the real world and see if they were listening and had found new skills?

We arrived at the meetup point a little late because we had a BEAR attack Egle’s bike trying to get half a cucumber we’d forgotten in the bottom of the Mosko’s, all our other food was secure hundreds of yards away but just that ‘one’ thing. Black Bears are predominantly vegetarians if you didn’t know

The bear came into the camp caught a scent and pushed Egle’s bike over from the right down on the kickstand side and then stood on the bike and was attempting to tear into the luggage.

Now, this where you have to use your imagination – It’s around midnight/ 1 am, for the last few hours the guys who’d put his tent ‘near’ us was sawing logs (snoring very loudly for non-Americans) we both couldn’t sleep so we put in earplugs. We DID NOT hear the bike fall over, we DID NOT hear the bear trying to tear into the luggage.

‘The snoring man’ HE DID, the bike landed about 5 feet from his tent, he stuck his head out to see what was going on, couldn’t see a thing (it’s dark remember) grabs a flash light shines it in the direction of the noise – and a bears face is FIVE FEET away!!!

The way he described the experience is this – “when I shone the light it went right in the bear’s eyes, we stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, the black bear I guess about 5 feet long about 300-400lbs, was standing on the bike and trying to rip the luggage apart with its teeth and claws. I froze, then shouted out a bears trying to eat that Mosko, and then it just casually walked away. I’m from the east coast I have never seen a bear in real life, never thought I’d see one this close….FUCK this place I’m moving to a log cabin or a hotel room for the rest of my time in Colorado!”

I posted this on FB but not in this detail and there were the obvious stupid comments (its FB) but one guy said he had his hard aluminum panniers ripped open by a bear! You know you see other companies show their bags being thrown out of a truck window and the like, or down some stairs…Well Pete @Sideoff don’t bother with ANY of that we have put Mosko to the ultimate test in the wild and Mosko Moto passed with flying colors…we ate the cucumber for lunch 

The damage, outer bag is done but inner shows teeth and claw marks but no real penetration

We left town and climbed Corkscrew from the Ouray side then Hurricane and California, if you’ve ridden those from that direction you know what these guys on these big GS’s were feeling like when they reached the top, a few dropped and dented bikes, bruised egos and serious forearm pump but they all made it…one guy had been riding 4 weeks, total, EVER!

He’s in the middle with a huge smile on his face, well done Chris

what goes up must come down…

After all, that climbing life was getting easy until Dusty took the guys on a very unassuming trail, here 37.912305, -107.696426 that has a climb of maybe 20 feet but steep and in the rain, it took its toll and Mosko bags were getting tested to their limits (again) @Sideoff

For those of you who may be wondering, as there seemed a little concern for her where we would be riding Egle completed the course in its entirety and was one of the only riders not to drop their bike in training or in the real world, she can ride, she can really ride…so if you are a guy who uses the phrase “ride like a girl”, in this case, it means you are one hell of a rider….Dusty, agreed?

For us, project completed, photos taken, interviews done we headed back to Moab to resume our journey down my favorite ‘view’ Ophir

We will resume the dirt and TAT from here

what do you do in Moab?

1. – go ride
2. – get hot
3. – drink a lot of water
4. – take loads of photos

let’s have a look at #4, not much to say in this post, just fun to watch Egle’s reaction as we rode around the red rocks, down Shafer, over muscleman, back thru potash and looking for climbers by the Colorado…

pano…click it

an uncropped pano to click made up of 31 shots

Charley Boorman influenced her to do this…not me!

They’re up there somewhere…