Dirtbike Bros: Dunning Kruger does dirt

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builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

KTM's TPI.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1TVszsAXc8

# ¿ May 24, 2017 00:27

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 07:43

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

X post from the video thread.
Lyndon Poskitt is riding his Dakar rally bike in Erzberg. Here's the prologue.
https://youtu.be/pXOobp4TeuY

Live at 5:30 AM eastern tomorrow morning.
https://www.redbull.tv/live/AP-1QVQDZUF91W11/red-bull-hare-scramble

# ¿ Jun 17, 2017 13:34

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

shacked up with Brenda posted:

I got Steg Pegz the other day. They're cool and good, and let you ride without stressing your arms. My first time testing them on the MX track yesterday:

Do they rub funny at all or make it feel like you can't let the bike go in a crash if you're in something a little more gnarly?

# ¿ Jun 23, 2017 20:09

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

Interesting. I've been thinking about getting a pair and I'm glad to hear they're alright.

Deeters posted:

I'm glad a goon got a set of those since I was wondering how pegs like that work. When I went dirt riding last week, my arms and hands got tired extremely quick whenever I was standing and leaning back a lot. I assume that means I need to use my legs more.

You can also point your toes in a little. Sometimes that helps.

# ¿ Jun 24, 2017 00:55

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

EX250 Type R posted:

what is the consensus on forearm / elbow armor vs arm pump

Grip with your legs?

# ¿ Jun 24, 2017 04:20

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

EX250 Type R posted:

to some extent sure but more like things wrapped around the forearms making arm pump that much worse

Fair enough. I can't ride without elbow pads, it gives me the heebie-jeeebies.

I don't notice a difference between pressure suit and regular strap on elbow pads, fwiw. Anything really gnarly unless I'm focusing a lot on gripping with my legs I get some arm pump.

# ¿ Jun 24, 2017 13:56

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

shacked up with Brenda posted:

In case anyone wants to know what racing a NETRA hare scramble is like, watch about a minute of this video starting at the cued time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZauSTwBE48&t=508s

EDIT: This is why I do enduros now

Shoulda gone over the rocks to the left.

# ¿ Jun 25, 2017 12:10

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

Shelvocke posted:

Further exploring around rural Somerset; there's a a whole green highway unbeknownst to most of great trails and abandoned roads to explore.

The above trail is amazing! Nearly two miles all uphill of rocky, muddy, root covered byway. On my last run of it I got a little bit overconfident with the power and slid onto my arse. Completely unscathed but a root got under the hand guards and..

Had to hot shift all the way home and pray for green lights. Luckily the gear changes on the xr are very forgiving. Had the biggest smile on my face all day.

Still a great bike. And nice work wth the lever. Very impressive getting a root past those hand guards. :golfclap:

# ¿ Jun 30, 2017 13:13

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

Shelvocke posted:

Thanks. I may take to keeping a spare set of levers in my bike toolkit.

I always carry a spare clutch lever and a small vice grip (although someone just stole that), fwiw. Maybe it's overkill, but it's one of those things that makes me nervous and it's pretty light.

# ¿ Jun 30, 2017 16:49

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

shacked up with Brenda posted:

did 2 hours of riding on Saturday to prep for an upcoming race this weekend with a friend who does WNYOA, which i guess is more GNCC like racing than NETRA. I brought him to one of my super sekret practice tracks and he recorded this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGlhsH-rt_0

That looks like a really fun track. But... a sxf on it seems like it'd be pretty rough.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2017 12:56

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

shacked up with Brenda posted:

This doesn't necessarily apply to that rider, but I've found tons of dudes are going SX on KTM these days because
1) J-Day is taking over
2) A rejection of the XPLOR fork on newer offroad models

Everyone revalves their suspension anyway.

I've also found Yamaha has significantly improved their market share in JDay at least. NETRA is on its way.

Yeah, I'd think you'd still want to get the xcf at least (if not xcf-w) instead though just because you get a little more lugging and fewer flame outs.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2017 15:16

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

shacked up with Brenda posted:

Alright friends,

Yesterday when trying to be cool at motocross I pushed the front and flopped onto my upended handlebar-end. It poked through my jersey and ripped me from hip to nip.

Does anyone run those soft underjersey chest protectors? I've never liked the big plastic ones.

I have a leatt 3df. I'm thinking about switching to their 5.5 for more plastic and protection on the sides (trade-off: it's hotter). I don't know if it'd help with something like that where your bar end is sort of coming from the side but it'd help if it hit you square in the chest. Anyway, 3df is good. Can confirm it holds up well.

# ¿ Aug 17, 2017 15:31

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

shacked up with Brenda posted:

My buddy recorded some tests from the first day of the sprint enduro:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIOBxJ9PerE

How'd he end up finishing/how fast is that relative to everyone else?

# ¿ Aug 31, 2017 18:42

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

M42 posted:

My ttr is about 75% fixed and 75% of my dirt gear arrived, so I should be ready to hit some dirt soon. Anything I should know about riding OHV trails? Is it just unload and brap to your heart's content? My closed course riding has always been strictly regimented (trackdays), so being turned loose is a new thing to me.

Watch out for quads.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2017 15:40

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

shacked up with Brenda posted:

Serious response:

1. Ride with friends
2. Depending on the friends, it's sometimes fun to stop and section difficult stuff. Everyone gets off their bikes and supports another rider trying something stupid. People like different kinds of help, so before someone tries, ask them if they want you to grab their bike, or them, or what if poo poo hits the fan
3. All my trail riding is with racing buddies, so YMMV, but we ~*always*~ do drills before we ride. Full lock circles, Wheelie->Stoppie, Trying to ride a straight line with a locked from brake, figure 8s at speed, etc.

Watch out for quads was a serious response.

Bring a tow rope just in case.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2017 22:18

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

HenryJLittlefinger posted:

Piggybacking here. Is there an official (or unofficial) etiquette for dirt recreation areas? I want to check some out, but I'm slow, inexperienced, and will probably be riding alone.
Yield to the faster rider behind you, I assume? Who yields when you meet on a hill, the rider going uphill or down? Is there a standard direction of travel, or is it any direction you want unless posted?

Don�t be a jerk? Uphill has the right of way. Generally stay to the right, particularly on wide open trails. Don�t go blasting around blind corners or rises like shacked up with Brenda and the quads do. It�s nice to yield, but if they�re really faster as long as you�re not swerving al over they�ll zip right by you. I always pull over, turn off the bike and stand behind it for horses, but my experience with horse riders has been neutral at best.

I�ve never ridden with enough people where we can�t just all see each other but if you�re going with someone else the faster person should either bring up the rear or wait every so often and then go back and check if you�re not coming.

# ¿ Sep 22, 2017 13:13

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

shacked up with Brenda posted:

Thoughts?

http://enduro21.com/index.php/40-general/2692-product-polisport-s-clear-plastics

no

Also, as soon as they get scratched they're going to be awful.

# ¿ Oct 17, 2017 22:59

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

FAT CURES MUSCLES posted:

Ill ask here because my trip is going to be nearly all dirt. My girlfriend and I are planning on doing the Transamerica trail next summer. What would be a �good� dual sport for two up riding on the dirt trails going west (minimal to no camping) and mostly asphalt touring on the way back with more trail adventuring in the deserts. The motorcycle would mostly be used for commuting and some east coast canyon carving on the way back. Some of the super tough trails on the TAT we would probably skip as well.

I was looking at F800 GSA�s but I�m not too eager for the popular european reliability roulette, but I�ve heard BMW has been getting better??? Twin Africa has passed my mind as well. I currently have a FZ-09 that I adore but I�m fairly certain it wouldnt be as easy as pushing TKC-80s on it and going to town, as well I have a drz sm but I dont feel like it will be an enjoyable ride with two people and gear as much as I love the bike and as great as it is. Also no, she doesnt want to learn to ride (trust me I�ve tried to convince her to take the MSF.) If such a unicorn exists, please advise. Thanks.

How heavy are you combined? Could look at one of the total 650 singles from BMW. Or a DR650.

What�s your budget and how fast do you want to go and how good are you at riding on dirt? You can do the TAT on any dual sport from what I�ve read/seen if you�re decent on the dirt.

# ¿ Oct 30, 2017 00:18

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

FAT CURES MUSCLES posted:

Were both 300lbs so 330-50ish with full gear maybe? Budget tops about 15k and were planning on the 200miles a day route. Im pretty okay on dirt but I wont be winning any podiums anytime soon.

So really it�s just a question of how fast you want to go. Anything 650+ will do for you. I suppose it also matters how comfortable you want to be, because you really could do it on a dr650, but an Africa twin or ktm adventure bike (or, god forbid, a 1200gs) would probably be more comfortable for your girlfriend and a lot faster on he vast majority of it.

# ¿ Oct 30, 2017 02:26

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

shacked up with Brenda posted:

A little Dave action.

How do you feel about Dave beating you next year?

# ¿ Nov 7, 2017 13:53

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

shacked up with Brenda posted:

Hot new route sheet setup:

Just for transits, right?

# ¿ Nov 14, 2017 00:31

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

HenryJLittlefinger posted:

I have a confession:

I cannot distinguish between intake noise and exhaust noise. On my dirtbike, I have a SuperTrapp muffler, so perhaps it's drowning out the intake. But on my street bike and everything else I've ever ridden, I've never been able to listen and say "Oh, that's clearly intake noise."

What's it like?

Edit: or is most of the engine sound heard through the intake, since that's the only direct opening through which it can escape? Thereby making "intake sound" = "engine sound?"

Go ride one of yamaha�s backwards motor bikes.

# ¿ Nov 21, 2017 05:49

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

Slim Pickens posted:

I need to get out to an mx track again this winter. I'm almost done loving with the van so I might actually get a chance to leave my garage on the weekends again.

Are you making a motovan? Did you post about this already and I just missed it/forgot?

# ¿ Nov 27, 2017 20:28

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

Slim Pickens posted:

Not a motovan specifically, in fact I'm pretty sure I'd have to put the bike on a hitch carrier or trailer because it's an astro and not tall enough for a dirt bike. I can comfortably sleep in it, though, so it'll get used for several camping trips next year as well as my moto and hunting trips.

A picture of it from this past weekend. I finally got the subframe bolted back in place, just gotta hook everything back up and put in fluids, prime the oil pump etc.

Very nice. I have a hitch hauler that�s pretty decent if you need recommendations.

# ¿ Nov 28, 2017 01:12

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

clutchpuck posted:

How much trouble am I in with maintenance on a 2017 CRF250X? The R models in general seem to have pretty short rebuild intervals on that unicam motor. But the X is way milder, so maybe it lasts a little longer?

So much of maintenance is how you ride it. If you're riding like shacked up with brenda, then your maintenance intervals will be considerably shorter than if you're doing mild trail riding with your wife. I would guess you can extend them to at least double, if not more, if you're just trail riding and do regular oil changes.

# ¿ Dec 6, 2017 23:03

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

FWIW, I�d change oil every ten hours and piston once it starts burning oil or ~150, whichever came first. Those maintenance intervals are just silly - looks more like MX bike intervals.

# ¿ Dec 8, 2017 02:09

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

shacked up with Brenda posted:

Jimmy D better not let me down this year. So many 4th places last year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75GVDGQUu08

hope you enjoy being let down with musquin, roczen, anderson and tomac.

# ¿ Dec 8, 2017 22:42

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

shacked up with Brenda posted:

250s yo

damnit

hill? plessinger? maybe forkner?

# ¿ Dec 11, 2017 19:26

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

shacked up with Brenda posted:

Awww yeah it's happening this year:

Teams.
A Team class shall be offered at all enduros. The teams shall be made up of three riders: one A or
AA, one B, and one C rider. All team members must belong to the same bona fide club (that club must
meet all other Article IV requirements.) Individual riders are also eligible for awards and points in their
respective individual class. Ties will be settled by the best C rider score.

Do you know of enduros I can race with a beta 390 in CT/not more two hours drive from NYC?

# ¿ Jan 11, 2018 17:38

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

clutchpuck posted:

Finally got out on the CRF250X. That bike has real nice suspension and not too much power. I noticed a little heft while negotiating boulder fields. Lands jumps a lot more gracefully than my DT175.

A lot easier than our old bikes too. Usually we'd be out on the antique 175s for like an hour before we packed it up. We were on the CRFs for like 3 hours!

Did you go out to Tahuya? I was there over Christmas and that place is fantastic.

# ¿ Jan 24, 2018 02:01

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

Is your steering head/bearing overtightened?

# ¿ Jan 25, 2018 14:42

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

T-Square posted:

Can anybody give me some insight as to the direction of a rear ice tire? I bought a set of used studded ice tires and threw them on my CRF a couple of weekends ago, and went out on the lake last weekend. My friend and I both have our tires mounted per the directional arrow, but some guy told us we should flip the rears. I said gently caress doing that again and dropped it off at the shop I usually take poo poo that I don't feel like doing to, and the guy said it's fine the way it was. He mounts tons of ice tires all winter long, so I'm inclined to believe him. Do people generally mount rear ice tires backwards?

Besides the fact that it was almost 50F when I was on the ice causing it to be super slushy and wet, I had generally good traction and controlled slides, so I honestly have no idea. I'm going to leave it as is unless someone else besides some redneck on the lake says otherwise.

Aren't they just regular tires with giant spikes sticking straight out from the tire? Unless there's some pattern or orientation to the spikes that's different one way than the other I bet it doesn't matter at all.

# ¿ Jan 25, 2018 18:00

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

Shimrod posted:

Hey team! I "converted" my 690 SMC to "Enduro"

My first offroad bike (yeah, great choice right) aside from like 2 months scooting around on a Yamaha XT225 my Dad owns in a paddock every now and then.

I took it up the state forest today (and almost died, thanks QLD weather/me bitching out on riding down a hill) and had (mostly) a blast.

So, this is the route I took:
https://goo.gl/maps/fKXzSKrzARx

Most of it was fine as an amateur, I got about 1/3 of the way up going up one of the hills and it changed from stuff I was comfortable with to decent sized rocks everywhere which is something I'm not very comfortable heading downhill on, but there wasn't any room to turn around so I just kind of headed up, I kind of knew there was a loop around and basically I just hoped it got better further on. It did, mostly. I don't mind rocks (too much) if it's not too much of an incline, but I just don't have the confidence if it's "steep." Anyway, made it to the top fairly easily, going uphill isn't really a problem to me, downhill is my achilles heel.

Had something to eat and a drink at the top.

This is the path heading up, at the top isn't too bad, just below sight is where it goes a lot steeper.

The path going on wasn't too bad, it went uphill a bit then dropped into a valley with some (dry) creek crossings. Pretty much all stuff I was comfortable with.

Went up again, this time in sort of red clay stuff which was nice to ride in, although I imagine that isn't the case in the wet, then onto some sandy muddy tracks which was a first for me but was super easy to handle.

I (thankfully) missed my turn off to head back down and ended up taking a cross back which was a decent track, got to the bottom and say a massive (at least 1.5m wide) tree completely across the path, so, score, and apparently there's a muddy really steep drop that way as well according to a friend of mine who goes 4wding up there regularly.

Headed down the track to the "road" that heads back to paved roads.

That road was nice, until I got to the little Z shaped area, which was fairly steep, slate rock, which fairly large rocks strewn across it too. It was kind of split into three sections - 1st was downhill, then levelled off to the 2nd downhill, then it levelled off again and goes to section that is both steeper, and turns twice.

I went into the first part and tried out the rear brake to keep me slow, which just locked immediately. The second one I tried the front brake which worked far better but I was still going too fast for me to be comfortable, I was literally saying "poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo" over and over as I went down (these are only like 20 - 30m long each). The bike is still geared for the road at 15/42 so 1st gear didn't even slow me down enough to help, I was doing 20 - 25 downhill and was completely at the mercy of gravity. Totally poo poo myself. Bike was going fast enough to jump over the bumps and yeah, was just scary.

I pulled into the side area for the second landing and hopped off and had a look around, and decided that, no screw that, I'm not riding down the rest, and I can't go back (I could, but I'd just have to go down that part prior to my lunch break area which was super rocky and just as steep), so I decided to just walk the bike down. I know my skill limits, and going down that was beyond them.

This wasn't exactly the greatest idea ever, I was wearing full textile gear (haven't got my off-road gear properly yet) and it was about 38 degrees C today (100F) and even just walking the bike downhill 30m to the first corner left me super hot and drained. Sat down for a bit, threw my jacket in my backpack (R30), had some water, and walked it down to the second turn in the Z shaped section. This was about another 30m.

Had the brilliant idea of putting it in gear for this, and using the clutch as a brake, but it proved to be more annoying than helpful, so I changed that back. I also made the dumb decision to take the path to the higher side of the road (about a 1m variation from the downhill side to the uphill side) with my downhill from the bike, and head towards the driveway of the house that was near the end. This seemed like a solid plan, until I got closer and realised there was a fairly large dip between the wall of the road and wall of the driveway. Oh well. Thankfully looking downhill/down the road I could see that it got to terrain that I was comfortable with in about 15m from where I was, so I just walked the bike down there, almost dropped it twice going from the high side of the road to the low side, but saved it both times, although it was fairly clutch.

Sat down again, had some more water, put my jacket back on and rode down the road, about 1k later I found tarmac, thank god. Literally said "Oh, thank gently caress" when I saw the tarmac.

All in all, was pretty fun and even with the lovely stuff at the end, keen to get out again. Might avoid that track for a while though, keep to my comfort zone.

I definitely want to gear the 690 lower, I was going to just go 15/50, but I'm thinking more like 12/50 now for offroad riding, just to help slow it down for steeper downhill stuff. Dad said it doesn't matter how good you are, if the gearing isn't helping you slow down for that kind of terrain you're basically just a passenger. (A friend of mine 4wds up there and said that section is sketchy as in a 4wd as well, touching the brakes pretty much locks the front every time, even in the dry, so, woo).

More offroad appropriate gear is on the cards for when I get paid tomorrow, especially in this heat. I'm looking at:

Chest: https://www.mxstore.com.au/p/EVS-Comp-Adult-Pressure-Suit/7102611-c
Knee Guards: https://www.mxstore.com.au/p/Leatt-Black-3.0-EXT-Knee-Shin-Guards/L5016000400-c
Neck: https://www.mxstore.com.au/p/Protective-gear/Kids-Protective-Gear/Kids-Neck-Braces/Oneal-NX-2-Adult-Neck-Guard/0528203

I already have a back protector and some good boots, and my little bro gave me some MX pants while I was there today. That stuff look ok? I don't know offroad brands.

1. Watch all the cross training enduro videos on YouTube.
2. If you�re getting a neck brace, save up for a good one or uh one used from ADV rider. Atlas makes neck braces that are cheaper than leatt, but supposedly still good.
3. Don�t ride in textile or leather gear. If you�re going slow, pressure suit + jersey. Off-road gloves can be pretty thin too until you start going fast. I personally like the 100% airmatic, but any of the breathable off-road gloves will be good. It�s worth bringing a jersey and switching out IMO.
4. Camelback. Stay hydrated. Fill it with ice, then put water in.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2018 13:58

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

Coydog posted:

Yeah you can totally use the smooth throttle mode, unless you specifically overwrote that slot or something. When I had mine all tuned and stuff, I mapped some better throttle setups for 2 and 3, but left 1 alone so I could use it off road nicely.

Those tires sound fantastic. I wish we could get Goldentire in the US.

https://www.goldentyrewest.com/find-a-dealer

https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/742/72206/GoldenTyre-GT216AA-Enduro-Tire

# ¿ Feb 13, 2018 02:48

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

Gullous posted:

"The GPX Moto TSE250R is the first Chinese two-stroke enduro bike and �the most affordable and highest performance two-stroke in its class.�"

What class is that?

Old Yamaha 2ts made in china?

# ¿ Feb 24, 2018 06:47

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

M42 posted:

Yeah my rear end is definitely telling me I did that poo poo wrong, lmao. I have a hard time sitting far up front, not sure why, it was an issue at cornerspin too. The rear end end of the bike just feels completely unbalanced, uncontrollable, and weird if I do it. I'm sure it's the 5 years of street/track speaking.

Have you watched all the cross training enduro videos? That�s really the answer to all off road riding.

# ¿ Apr 24, 2018 02:59

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

shacked up with Brenda posted:

My buddy Tom (1295) benefited from a first turn pile-up on sunday. I was supposed to be in that pile-up but I ate poo poo on Wednesday being too cool. Maybe next weekend?

Throwback to last year when I asked you how you were looking forward to Tom beating you this year. :hellyeah:

# ¿ May 14, 2018 16:28

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

shacked up with Brenda posted:

what

Well, how was it?

# ¿ May 29, 2018 02:35

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

shacked up with Brenda posted:

Tom retells RD 1 of the enduro series:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENzXqwVBaZg

I like Tom. What's he riding?

# ¿ Jun 19, 2018 18:41

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 07:43

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

clutchpuck posted:

How long does it take to stop wetting yourself on steep declines? Downhill is my kryptonite.

Just practice locking up the rear and sliding down using the front brake to modulate speed.
I have no idea, I've always liked declines

# ¿ Aug 24, 2018 21:31

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Cycle Asylum > Dirtbike Bros: Dunning Kruger does dirt

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