Worth every minute of the coming mud struggle bus.

Sierras south of Downieville

Early season riding is hard. Campgrounds are closed. Forest service gates are closed. Downed trees are everywhere. This is about 2 miles from pavement on the other side of that locked gate. We came 60 miles from the other direction. Rode around in the dark looking for a way out until 10:00 then decided to just set up camp here and figure it out in the morning. Sometimes you just have to know when to stop for the night and look at the problem with fresh eyes. The campsite was actually great, but the real dissapointment was no dinner.

2025 Tenere 700. A very well mannered bike. Easy to ride and fun in the dirt. Five stars.

Another epic adventure with Matt Spears

Nothing compares to the tranquility of camping alone next to a sierra stream.

Great news from KTM for those of us with the LC8c motor!

cross-posted from: https://fedia.io/m/[email protected]/t/1337674

Used bikes and other powersports equipment can be awesome, but you need to take a few minutes and check things over before you trust your life to your new ride.

Just a preference thing I guess, but I'm curious where people fall. On my gen1 KLR I had stock foot pegs, and I liked them because they were narrower, and sort of "locked in" to the arch on my boot when I was standing.

My Gen2 KLR and now my KTM both have wider pegs, I know thats better for tarmac, and they seem to have plenty of bite, but I never quite got used to it.

Anyone else feel similar? Just looking for some input before I "downgrade"

cross-posted from: https://fedia.io/m/[email protected]/t/1239744

The Can-Am Origin electric dual-sport motorcycle holds so much promise. But it has one drawback that limits the possible adventures.

What do y'all use for mapping/researching routes? Looking into some stuff in NORTHERN Canada. Trip wouldn't be until next summer.

Hi All,

I'm getting a great bike in the worst way. The guy that got me into all this at like 10 years old passed on, and as no one in his family rides, the family wants me to keep the miles rolling.

I'm thrilled, and while I was a little intimidated by the size, it's only 20lbs heavier than my KLR, and the height is no issue as I'm a tall rider; I can flat foot just fine. Took it around the block and it was... transcendental. I had no idea that much power could be that nimble.

My question is what are some big maintenance items I should prioritize? I'm coming from the unkillable pig of a KLR. this is going to be a bit of an adjustment. Also, the bike was very well maintained but his health was bad for about a year. The ride I took around the block was great, but the front suspension seemed a little bumpy for pavement. It's got mixed use tires on it so it's possible it was just the tread on pavement, just being a little paranoid.

I also smelled some burning plastic when I fired it up, but am willing to bet it might have been some kind of weird dust in the exhaust; there was nothing dangling anywhere hot and it did go away.

So yeah, just looking for some general tips and icebergs to avoid. I do most of my own maintience but again that's on gen I and gen II KLRs

More down to earth wisdom from Adam Riemann.

Do not confuse the Pirelli Scorpion Rally Adventouring Tires with the STR or the Rally Race versions. The STR has been stock on several new bikes the past few years and is more street oriented. It gets some criticism for not having enough traction in the dirt but is very capable on road. The Race is closer to a full knobby. This tire, the Adventouring, is a cross between the two. IMO it is right on the mark for my needs. I ride a KTM 890 Adventure R Rally mostly off road with the occasional ripper canyon pavement section at full beans. I ride BDR's and other multi day trips with the unfortunate but necessary slabbing home portion. This is my number one go to tire for all conditions right now although it's still a bit of a compromise rather than a unicorn. The price is good, so it has that right off the bat. Overall off-road traction is excellent, but not quite knobby level. It performs great in rocky technical sections with sufficient grip. It rides straight and predictably in sand. It is stable and controlled in deep gravel. I have not had this tire wash out in a turn. On pavement this tire excels. It's not a street tire, but in curves it provides enough grip to be fun at high speeds without any of the bad behavior of most 50/50 tires. It does not wiggle in rain grooves or in cross wind. It is stable and confidence inspiring into triple digits and handles aggressive braking well. This year I have owned/ridden the Mitas E07, Dunlop Trailmax Raid, Michelin Anakee Wild and these. The Adventouring beats all these in one aspect or another and the is the best overall solution for me. If you buy online, it is worth noting the image on Revzilla is not representative of the actual tire and looks more like an STR.

What are your thoughts or concerns? Have you experienced this issue or is it overblown?

Some swear by it while others just turn it off every time. My experience with it is mixed. It was unobtrusive on my BMW R1200 GS and genuinely saved my butt on high speed pavement. The Tenere 700 ABS was fine on pavement but annoying to repeatedly turn off for off-road. On the KTM 890 I find it unpredictable and over reaching on pavement while the setting of front active and rear defeated for dirt works perfectly. So, maybe another 5 years and all manufacturers will have it nailed.

I have the chubby button v1.0 for my music and love it. Only thing is I'd love something to cue my phones voice command like in my car. The chubby button 2.0 does that (by letting you program a function), but 1.0 doesn't and it's still a perfectly bomb proof bit of hardware.

Does anyone have any recs on a real simple, weather proof, button I could ideally wrap onto my crossbar?

I used a Garmin navigator for years the same way I use my car's GPS or google maps. I input a destination and let the device sort out the route. But the Garmin Zumo XT has more capabilities that I learned to take advantage of. Most everyone knows you can download .gpx files for BDR or TET routes. The function I really love is the ability to sit in my tent and create the next day's route on dirt, turn by turn. Then I send it to my riding buddies so we all have it.

I put together a quick reference guide for the basic functions of the Garmin Zumo XT and XT2. There are more detailed instructions available on the Gamin website or on YouTube but these should get you started.

Routing to a location.
You can simply select a point on the Zumo screen, hit route to, go, and it will work like google maps selecting the route according to your preset preferences (avoid freeways etc).

Importing .gpx files.
On an Iphone, download the .gpx to the "files" folder. Select the file and choose the "send to" button. Select the Garmin Explore app. You can also text or email .gpx files between friends.

Track recorder
The track recorder is useful if you are following someone and want to ride the trail again later. Simply start the track recorder and it will run in the background. This will create a track file. Just remember to stop it at the end of the ride or the file created gets too big to save. Rename the file to something useful and you can add it to collections to keep your rides organized.

My favorite feature is the ability to plan the next day's ride on trails or dirt roads along a specific route, turn by turn. You can create this on your phone from your couch or in your tent and it will sync and appear on your Zumo when you start your bike in the morning. This is really awesome.

Planning a ride from your phone and syncing it to your Zumo.
To create a ride on your phone:

1. Download the Garmin Explore app and connect your phone via bluetooth to your Zumo.
2. Create a course along a path or road: start with plus symbol (new course), then add point by point along the road/trail you want to take.
3. Copy the course as Track (this will sync with Zumo)
4. Rename the track to something useful, delete the original course.
5. Optional - create a Collection, add Tracks to Collections for organization
6. The new Track or Collection will appear on the map and in your library once you start your Zumo if you have the Explore app running on your phone and the phone is synced.

Keep in mind not all Explore app features can be synced with a Zumo.

• Routes will sync with zumo.
• Tracks will sync.
• Collections will sync.
• Courses will NOT sync.

Bonus feature:
Where to > Categories > Gas stations.
The Garmin will give you the closest gas stations and if available display gas price. Pick one and it will route you to it.

Have a correction, tip or suggestion? Please add it to the comments!