front road tire and rear dirt tire ?

[hijklr]

I'm about to ride the white rim for the first time. What should I expect and prepare for? Kevin A17

[John Biccum]

I just came back from a trip to Moab that included the White Rim Trail. It is not too tough for a KLR...lots of sections are marked as double black diamonds on the Moab maps but remember that these maps are designed for the mountain bicyclist. A double black diamond climb on a mountain bicycle is no big deal on the KLR even with stock gearing. Murphy's Hogback is a steep climb and there is another climb shortly after that (when riding clockwise) that is even steeper. But even with stock gearing I could make it up without slipping the clutch. I probably weigh 280 or so in my motorcross gear so you should have no trouble. Ride it clockwise so as to see less people. Ride it counterclockwise and you will see a lot more people as they will mostly be riding clockwise. Bring lots of water. I had a 2 liter Camelback plus a 6 liter MSR dromedary bag, I had a couple of liters to share, no more. I had worn out D606s but two of the people with us had Duro Medians and Bridestone Trailwing 41/42s and they made it. There were some sandy section in the bottoms of the canyons that were "interesting" but no real trouble is you are paying attention.. Check in with Fred at Arrowhead when you get there for a font of local knowledge. The only time we got in way over our heads was when we were riding one trail that he specificly told us to AVOID. Kane Creek Road became Kane Creek Trail which became Kane Creek. The KLRs make lousy boats so we had to turn around...then we ran into some motorcross bikes that were returning the way we just came since the trail was too tough! Had we listed to Fred we would have missed this "adventure".

----- Original Message ----- From: "hijklr" To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Sunday, May 30, 2004 12:00 Subject: [DSN_klr650] nklr-white rim trail > I'm about to ride the white rim for the first time. > What should I expect and prepare for? > Kevin > A17 > > > > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at www.dualsportnews.com. List FAQ > courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com . > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > >

[Bud Pacotti]

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "hijklr" wrote:

> I'm about to ride the white rim for the first time. > What should I expect and prepare for? > Kevin > A17

Kevin, I rode it last year on a very hot day (100 degree +). It is a great ride. I am an average rider of my KLR 650, and only had two areas that gave me a little concern. The first was the mile or so of river bottom area on the north end. I didn't have sand experience previously, but only fell once in it. The other area is Murphy's Hogback more or less 1/2 way. Its a little steep and rocky, especially at the summit and south side. I was advised to come in from the north end to do the White Rim and travel counter-clockwise. I think that was a good recommendation. It took me and my partner 8 hours to do, but we stopped for a sack lunch and took a lot of pictures. Others could do it in 5 hours. Be sure and take lots of water!!! and a camera. See you in Moab this week. -Bud

[Fred Hink]

The White Rim trail is in the best condition I think I have ever seen it. I just rode it last Tuesday for a bachelor party for Peter Dahlheimer. The Park Service has done some maintenance on the "hard parts" and have smoothed any ledges and rutted spots. We have had a very cool spring and if the temperatures continue, the heat shouldn't be a problem. At 2pm it is now 63 degrees. I would expect lows to be in the 50s and highs to be 85 to 95 in the afternoon. It is supposed to be clear here this next week. As usual I would recommend getting an early start, take and drink lots of water, being prepared for any occurrence on the trail. The Lasals still have lots of snow on them so the passes will be not rideable. Keep an eye on the local weather at: http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/weather.html Ride safe to ride another day. Fred http://www.arrowheadmotorsports.com http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/cmc.html

----- Original Message ----- From: "John Biccum" To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com>; "hijklr" Sent: Sunday, May 30, 2004 1:48 PM Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] nklr-white rim trail > I just came back from a trip to Moab that included the White Rim Trail. It > is not too tough for a KLR...lots of sections are marked as double black > diamonds on the Moab maps but remember that these maps are designed for the > mountain bicyclist. A double black diamond climb on a mountain bicycle is > no big deal on the KLR even with stock gearing. > > Murphy's Hogback is a steep climb and there is another climb shortly after > that (when riding clockwise) that is even steeper. > > But even with stock gearing I could make it up without slipping the clutch. > I probably weigh 280 or so in my motorcross gear so you should have no > trouble. > > Ride it clockwise so as to see less people. Ride it counterclockwise and > you will see a lot more people as they will mostly be riding clockwise. > > Bring lots of water. I had a 2 liter Camelback plus a 6 liter MSR dromedary > bag, I had a couple of liters to share, no more. > > I had worn out D606s but two of the people with us had Duro Medians and > Bridestone Trailwing 41/42s and they made it. There were some sandy section > in the bottoms of the canyons that were "interesting" but no real trouble is > you are paying attention.. > > Check in with Fred at Arrowhead when you get there for a font of local > knowledge. The only time we got in way over our heads was when we were > riding one trail that he specificly told us to AVOID. Kane Creek Road > became Kane Creek Trail which became Kane Creek. The KLRs make lousy boats > so we had to turn around...then we ran into some motorcross bikes that were > returning the way we just came since the trail was too tough! Had we listed > to Fred we would have missed this "adventure". > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "hijklr" > To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Sunday, May 30, 2004 12:00 > Subject: [DSN_klr650] nklr-white rim trail > > > > I'm about to ride the white rim for the first time. > > What should I expect and prepare for? > > Kevin > > A17

[bigfatgreenbike]

tony@... wrote:

>I guess I'll have to see how bad the GP110s are on the dirt, they are >great in the twisties. > >

As long as it's sort of dry, they're great in hard or intermediate terrain. They don't clean well so wet sand or mud turns them into slicks. They'll probably suprise you, better in the dirt than they look. Airing down as far as you dare will improve the soft terrain manners up to a point. I have a set hanging on the wall in my garage, probably 3000mi left in the front and 1500mi left in the rear (street, the rear is too worn to be good offroad). Since I got a spare set of rims, I decided to run tires down to the wear limit on one set and keep a set of fresh knobbies on the other for offroading. Might put the GP110s back on, as soon as I thoroughly kill the D606 front and K760 rear on the bike right now. -- Devon Brooklyn, NY A15-Z '01 KLR650 '81 SR500 cafe racer "The truth's not too popular these days....." Arnold Schwarzenneger, in The Running Man