wtb: rear caliper for my a13

[Jeff Saline]

Listers, Thought I'd share a brief update on RevMaatin's Great Divide Ride. He called me a few minutes ago about a technical issue. He and one other rider are in Rawlins, Wyoming departing shortly toward CO. The trip started at the northern border with 5 riders. The group split on the 2nd day. It sounds like one rider wanted to really move along and was in Grants, NM a day or two ago. Injuries so far are one fractured ankle and the rider is with Martin. One other guy got hurt and has returned home under his own power. Martin has squished one ankle but it wasn't bad enough for medical assistance. Martin did suggest that the hard luggage in tough terrain is what caused the fractured ankle. Rock and a hard place you know. : ) He's glad he's using Ortlieb Dry Saddlebags. Mechanical issues include: -melted headlight socket -blown clutch, replaced after parts were over nighted to a shop. -fork seals leaking on Martin's bike. I'll order new seals on Monday and we'll replace them at my shop when he's almost home. The trail has been interesting to say the least. They detoured Lava Mountain and ended up taking a trail that is worse than Lava. I think that's where he said they ended up camping on the only level spot for 1/2 mile and he suggested it was more survival than camping. : ) A couple of other riders saw their tracks a day later and couldn't believe they'd rode through that trail. In the Great Divide Basin (middle of WY) the had to travel through gumbo after a bit of moisture. They did at least one section that once they went down they couldn't return. I think that's where the clutch blew. A cowboy helped them for about 4 hours getting the bike out and to a shop. I think they also got stuck out in the basin overnight. For me that would be a plus as it's very interesting country. He said they are planning on finishing the ride this season. : ) I know Martin well enough to know for him this is an adventure and not adversity. And that's because of his attitude. Best, Jeff Saline ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT ____________________________________________________________ Click here to double your salary by becoming a medical transcriber. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/Ioyw6i3nFN9YQ7a6HjfuXujTBM910WQVlZHobDGjpBQAKBndgWFRDu/

[Tengai Mark Van Horn]

Nice report (all injuries aside); looks like a great adventure. Wish I was there. Mark At 9:46 AM -0600 9/14/08, Jeff Saline wrote:

>Listers, > >Thought I'd share a brief update on RevMaatin's Great Divide Ride. He >called me a few minutes ago about a technical issue. > >He and one other rider are in Rawlins, Wyoming departing shortly toward >CO. > >The trip started at the northern border with 5 riders. The group split >on the 2nd day. It sounds like one rider wanted to really move along and >was in Grants, NM a day or two ago. > >Injuries so far are one fractured ankle and the rider is with Martin. >One other guy got hurt and has returned home under his own power. Martin >has squished one ankle but it wasn't bad enough for medical assistance. >Martin did suggest that the hard luggage in tough terrain is what caused >the fractured ankle. Rock and a hard place you know. : ) He's glad >he's using Ortlieb Dry Saddlebags. > >Mechanical issues include: > >-melted headlight socket >-blown clutch, replaced after parts were over nighted to a shop. >-fork seals leaking on Martin's bike. I'll order new seals on Monday and >we'll replace them at my shop when he's almost home. > >The trail has been interesting to say the least. They detoured Lava >Mountain and ended up taking a trail that is worse than Lava. I think >that's where he said they ended up camping on the only level spot for 1/2 >mile and he suggested it was more survival than camping. : ) A couple >of other riders saw their tracks a day later and couldn't believe they'd >rode through that trail. In the Great Divide Basin (middle of WY) the >had to travel through gumbo after a bit of moisture. They did at least >one section that once they went down they couldn't return. I think >that's where the clutch blew. A cowboy helped them for about 4 hours >getting the bike out and to a shop. I think they also got stuck out in >the basin overnight. For me that would be a plus as it's very >interesting country. > >He said they are planning on finishing the ride this season. : ) > >I know Martin well enough to know for him this is an adventure and not >adversity. And that's because of his attitude.

[boulder_adv_rider]

Thanks for sharing, Jeff. Glad everyone is otherwise is "ok." It sounds like a interesting adventure. Any problems near Boulder, CO...let me know. As for the fractured ankle/hard bags...I'm not a big fan of the hard luggage. Even my soft luggage when loaded can work an ankle. Still my soft luggage will give vs. the aluminum boxes I just bought don't. Aluminum boxes are good if you're a commuter and/or worry about theft. I'm mostly off-road and working in the shadows, so doubt I'll keep mine.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Jeff Saline wrote: > > Listers, > > Thought I'd share a brief update on RevMaatin's Great Divide Ride. He > called me a few minutes ago about a technical issue. > > He and one other rider are in Rawlins, Wyoming departing shortly toward > CO. > > The trip started at the northern border with 5 riders. The group split > on the 2nd day. It sounds like one rider wanted to really move along and > was in Grants, NM a day or two ago. > > Injuries so far are one fractured ankle and the rider is with Martin. > One other guy got hurt and has returned home under his own power. Martin > has squished one ankle but it wasn't bad enough for medical assistance. > Martin did suggest that the hard luggage in tough terrain is what caused > the fractured ankle. Rock and a hard place you know. : ) He's glad > he's using Ortlieb Dry Saddlebags. > > Mechanical issues include: > > -melted headlight socket > -blown clutch, replaced after parts were over nighted to a shop. > -fork seals leaking on Martin's bike. I'll order new seals on Monday and > we'll replace them at my shop when he's almost home. > > The trail has been interesting to say the least. They detoured Lava > Mountain and ended up taking a trail that is worse than Lava. I think > that's where he said they ended up camping on the only level spot for 1/2 > mile and he suggested it was more survival than camping. : ) A couple > of other riders saw their tracks a day later and couldn't believe they'd > rode through that trail. In the Great Divide Basin (middle of WY) the > had to travel through gumbo after a bit of moisture. They did at least > one section that once they went down they couldn't return. I think > that's where the clutch blew. A cowboy helped them for about 4 hours > getting the bike out and to a shop. I think they also got stuck out in > the basin overnight. For me that would be a plus as it's very > interesting country. > > He said they are planning on finishing the ride this season. : ) > > I know Martin well enough to know for him this is an adventure and not > adversity. And that's because of his attitude. > > Best, > > Jeff Saline > ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal > Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org > The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota > 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT > ____________________________________________________________ > Click here to double your salary by becoming a medical transcriber. > http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/Ioyw6i3nFN9YQ7a6HjfuXujTBM 910WQVlZHobDGjpBQAKBndgWFRDu/ >

[Horton Oliphant]

Tell Martin I hope his ankle is better and to enjoy the rest of the ride. Alan Jeff Saline wrote:

> One other guy got hurt and has returned home under his own power. Martin > has squished one ankle but it wasn't bad enough for medical assistance.

[revmaaatin]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "boulder_adv_rider" wrote:

> > Thanks for sharing, Jeff. Glad everyone is otherwise is "ok." It > sounds like a interesting adventure. Any problems near Boulder, > CO...let me know. > > As for the fractured ankle/hard bags...I'm not a big fan of the

hard

> luggage. Even my soft luggage when loaded can work an ankle.

Still

> my soft luggage will give vs. the aluminum boxes I just bought > don't. Aluminum boxes are good if you're a commuter and/or worry > about theft. I'm mostly off-road and working in the shadows, so > doubt I'll keep mine. >

Brian, I must admit, I had some fascination with AL hard bags until I saw them in action, and now I doubt I would walk across the street for a set if they were free. Jeff Saline and I had had some conversations about them and concluded that if the bike fell on you, you could be badly hurt by them. As a sidebar comment, it is amazing how one item in your 'pack-out' can make or break the events. A set of Al metal bags added a full 6 days to the trip; two for medical, two for Kawi maint, and two at the end of my trip to fix the damage done while riding with someone with metal bags. The hard bags were on John S.'s bike (I have Ortliebs) and they were, as feared, absolutely brutal to the rider if when you fell down, and your leg was trapped under the bag. John first fell down in a huge, muddy puddle in central MT, no problem. Later that same day, as we proceeded down a trail near Lava MT (Helena, MT) and the hard bag pinned him underneath the bike against a rock. He described his foot as being turned 180 degrees the wrong direction while trapped under the hard bag while attempting to pass down jeep trail strewn with baby-head boulders. After his second hard spill, and one for me on my bike, in between his two falls. After John's second fall, I began to ride his bike down the Mt, as well as my own; It was doubly exciting for me to ride the same brutal stretch twice. Soon we elected to spend the night on the trail as there was increasing darkness and increasing rain, and increasing pain. This little jaunt/incursion with the metal panniers would cost us some 42 hours of medical processing and evaluation before being released to 'keep the leg elevated, etc." Days later, while attempting to cross the Great Basin of Central WY, we left Atlantic City with firm ground, unknowing that the prairie thunderstorms had dumped rain on the minimally graveled prairie trail further down our projected path. In the low spots, it was dicey, and finally, nearly impassable as we continued further into the Great Basin. The bike's loaded up the front wheel, binding the fork brace to the wheel with sticky, gumbo mud--making the bike impossible to steer--and down it went with John, once again under the bike. I had traversed this section of mud (almost) when I went down, only to look back and discover that John was down as well. a 100 yd jaunt back to him to get the bike off of him. Without help, he was not getting out from under the bike. HINT: not a good place to be riding solo. We had continued down this 'road' because we could see that someone on two different bikes Mr D606 and Mr K270 did not seem to be having much trouble. At least their tracks indicated progress. After picking up John's bike, I cleaned the front tire, and attempted to ride John's bike the rest of the way through the mess. His bike did not have MX foot pegs, and with all the mud on the boots, nearly impossible to stand on the pegs. I managed to get up some forward speed, the front tire loaded up again, and down I went--trapped under the left AL pannier--just as John had been trapped two time before. I lay face down in the mud while my foot no longer formed a 90degree angle but was a straight line from my knee to the tip of my toe. I thought I had been electrocuted as the nerves in my ankle shot pain to the top of my head. With all the force I could muster I wrenched at the handle bar and pulled my foot free. John, some 50 yards away was completely helpless to do anything--except watch in disbelief. Well, we got through that mess, falling down several more times, lifting the bikes and pushing forward; but now there are two injured riders and it is starting to get dark--but, finally, we get back into some graveled parts and continued on until we found some signage that did not make sense, and followed the signage instead of the compass. It turned out that the road was the S. link of a N. bound road that was offset by three miles of E/W road. Our bad day, was about to get worse. We followed this road ~1.5 miles and it turned into the mother of all quagmires and we decided to abort. Except the mud vetoed our logic-- filling the bikes with gumbo that was 4" deep inside the wheel, packing the spokes full of mud, because it could no longer find any space between the wheel and the fenders or swing arms. John's clutch then 'blew-up' just as I escaped to high ground, just barely--knowing that my clutch was now not the same as it had been the hour before. In the dark, we set up camp, ate some noodles and hunkered down for the night--knowing that ALEVE was our friend. About that time, the wind began to blow--which is a good thing--as it dries out the mud. The wind blew all night, giving us some hope of escape if we could get some of the mud off of my bike. It was a night of fit less sleep on huge lumps of sage and muscle cramps that would make the mummy come back to life. Just after dawn, I pulled out my tire repair kit and found the tire patch stitch-er and the tire irons to be the best tools for removing the mud. I, and John must have worked for over an hour to get the mud off the bike before it dried and got to hard to remove. Even with a blown clutch, we would still have to push it some to get it loaded! We ate some more Ramen noodles and formulated a plan. I was able to accurately determine our exact position with GPS, and locate our selves (through deduction) our approximate position +/- 1/4 mile using the GDR strip map. We had seen one vehicle pass some 1.5 mile away earlier in the morning, but not coming our direction, so we had some hope that we would be able to get help--sometime in the next 24 hours if we could get back to the main road. We sat down for a few moments and formulated an escape plan: I wrote John S's name, the current lat/long, time of day on my arm with a sharpie so that if I were hurt and incapicitated while trying to ride out, some one would find the message on my arm. It seems almost comical now that we should go to such extremes, but we were really hurting and had not seen anything other than tire tracks--save one vehicle in the distance--for nearly 24 hours. One dead bike, two injured riders, one partial bike, yeah, it was looking a little extreme. We split up the food, divided the water (each had a full two qts of water) and worked on a final solution. John had a Personal locator's device that would summon the cavalry, but not yet--the following day at noon if we did not get it figured out, or self extract. Now, put it into action: We decided John would walk to the next intersection and wait for help; I would ride out based on the road conditions we experienced the night before. Remember that wind that blew all night long, yes, Mr. Wind was our friend, and there was only one dicey gumbo spot all the way to the top of the hill. I rode back, got John and ferried him to the intersection at the top of the hill, and left him there. The rest of the road was going to be very soft, and a hand-full, as it turned out. I only had one/two throat choking moment as the road tried to take the bike away from me...but I gave it throttle and the KLR gave me a break. Some 23 miles more, I got to the black top, in time to see an oil driller going in the direction I had just come, "Tell my friend John I made it to the road alive." I must have been a sight, black ballistic nylon riding suit, mostly brown with gumbo. It was hard for me to believe that these trucks were driving those gravel roads as soft as they were. The trailer was nothing but tires and more tires. He hardly left a footprint. This same trucker would later pick John up some 3 hours later and bring him to the hi way. I went N, a mile, found a cowboy--the mayor, county commissioner, fire chief and bar-tender of Sweet Water Junction, WY who would be willing to rescue John and his bike--if I could be patient--as he was in the middle of a major tire change on a stock trailer. When he discovered where we were at, he said, "No wrecker would come out there under those conditions--and he was/appeared reluctant to try, but would come and take a look, maybe. If he had time. "Would $3 a mile be enough?" OK! That would be about right. He told me of the shop to call, I placed an order for a KLR clutch, etc that would be overnighted to the Riverton, WY Kawi dealer. They said they would install it on a Saturday and get us back on the road. Things were looking up. The wind continued to blow, and the retrieval was only partially dicey! but doable, with a 4x4 pickup, and we did it. We got John's KLR loaded and out of there--for some 60+ loaded miles to Riverton, WY. Hard to believe what 20-25 mph winds for some 18 hours would do to a gooey road. John, at this point, realized that if he ever escaped this nonsense, he was jettisoning his hard bags--which we did in Riverton, substituting them for some $8 gym bags that worked just fine. After having your leg trapped under those AL panniers, it makes you a believer that you don't want that to happen again. It happened to John twice, and me once. After our Kawi sponsered repair, we continued our GDR from Riverton to Rawlings, WY, via the highway, re-entering the GDR south of Rawlings on the gravel roads. We elected to skip any of the water crossings, and circumnavigated the 6 miles of jeep trails NW of Steamboat Springs Lake. We still had fun, and soaked our ankles at night with ice. After that last fall down series John and I experienced in the Great Basin, we counted the days that we did NOT fall down, and did not fall down again until after I completed the entire ride--dropping my bike in a rest area S of Albuquerque, NM during the egress home. Fortunately for me, two nice men helped me pick up the bike without having to strip off the gear. That was the long way around to say again, I would not walk across the street to get a free set of AL panniers. They are a leg/ankle breaker just waiting to happen. As a sidebar comment, the leading, lower edge of John's boxes were 'square' and I have seen some that had a tapered, trapezoidal shape that might be better. But for sure, those square-edged boxes are a death trap--at least in our experience. John said he would not trust them for use as hard bags for his local San Diego, commuter bike anymore. OF course, YMMV. But for two of us, we are convinced--NO THANKS if ever offered metal panniers. revmaaatin.

[boulder_adv_rider]

Rev - Absolutely epic! I can only imagine the gumbo. You guys are insane. I can't imagine dealing with a fork brace, too. I avoid gumbo at all costs especially solo and the sticky clay death- crap found in places like Moab and Alaska. In Alaska, it clogged my radiator really bad. I finally drove into a river, layed it down and scrubbed it partially submerged with a grunge brush. It was bad stuff not easily remove with a brush either. The road was an extraordinary mess due to construction and heavy rains. One thing I've found useful to carry is a long peice of 3/32" or 1/8" I.D. tubing. Take a swig of anything (or even better us an IV bag or hydro-bag like abCamel Bak) and spray the hose like a high pressure blaster. This can aid in removing gumbo clogging anything. Of course it doesn't last long. I'm pretty much done with the AL panniers I only test-used them once. I didn't have any problems during a test run either. Specifically, I bought them for extra security for a trip down to South America. But after trying them, I decided to go with Caribou cases (Pelicans) if I decide to go 'hard.' Locking and securing the AL boxes is a joke. With pliers it's a 2-sec job. Then add in the crash durability and leg crush capability, it's not for me. My soft bags fully loaded (say 40 lbs per side) have tweaked me a few times already. These give. So I can't imagine AL. Lastly, a big bennie is I can sew (stitch repair) the robust soft panniers. I carry Cordura swaths, needle and thread (great for medical stitches, too). I'm don't carrying a TIG welder, so once the AL get trashed they might not even mount let alone hold anything. Also the soft bags have all kinds of compartments which I really like. I've put 40k travel miles through hell and these soft bags are still with me. Although after this last 4k+ mile 9-day gumball, they could use some love. -Brian

[Jud Jones]

This thread is worthless without pictures. ;-{>

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "revmaaatin" wrote: > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "boulder_adv_rider" > wrote: > > > > Thanks for sharing, Jeff. Glad everyone is otherwise is "ok." It > > sounds like a interesting adventure. Any problems near Boulder, > > CO...let me know. > > > > As for the fractured ankle/hard bags...I'm not a big fan of the > hard > > luggage. Even my soft luggage when loaded can work an ankle. > Still > > my soft luggage will give vs. the aluminum boxes I just bought > > don't. Aluminum boxes are good if you're a commuter and/or worry > > about theft. I'm mostly off-road and working in the shadows, so > > doubt I'll keep mine. > > > Brian, > I must admit, I had some fascination with AL hard bags until I saw > them in action, and now I doubt I would walk across the street for a > set if they were free. Jeff Saline and I had had some conversations > about them and concluded that if the bike fell on you, you could be > badly hurt by them. > > As a sidebar comment, it is amazing how one item in your 'pack-out' > can make or break the events. A set of Al metal bags added a full 6 > days to the trip; two for medical, two for Kawi maint, and two at the > end of my trip to fix the damage done while riding with someone with > metal bags. > > The hard bags were on John S.'s bike (I have Ortliebs) and they were, > as feared, absolutely brutal to the rider if when you fell down, and > your leg was trapped under the bag. John first fell down in a huge, > muddy puddle in central MT, no problem. Later that same day, as we > proceeded down a trail near Lava MT (Helena, MT) and the hard bag > pinned him underneath the bike against a rock. He described his > foot as being turned 180 degrees the wrong direction while trapped > under the hard bag while attempting to pass down jeep trail strewn > with baby-head boulders. After his second hard spill, and one for me > on my bike, in between his two falls. After John's second fall, I > began to ride his bike down the Mt, as well as my own; It was doubly > exciting for me to ride the same brutal stretch twice. Soon we > elected to spend the night on the trail as there was increasing > darkness and increasing rain, and increasing pain. > > This little jaunt/incursion with the metal panniers would cost us > some 42 hours of medical processing and evaluation before being > released to 'keep the leg elevated, etc." > > Days later, while attempting to cross the Great Basin of Central WY, > we left Atlantic City with firm ground, unknowing that the prairie > thunderstorms had dumped rain on the minimally graveled prairie trail > further down our projected path. In the low spots, it was dicey, and > finally, nearly impassable as we continued further into the Great > Basin. The bike's loaded up the front wheel, binding the fork brace > to the wheel with sticky, gumbo mud--making the bike impossible to > steer--and down it went with John, once again under the bike. I had > traversed this section of mud (almost) when I went down, only to look > back and discover that John was down as well. a 100 yd jaunt back to > him to get the bike off of him. Without help, he was not getting out > from under the bike. HINT: not a good place to be riding solo. > > We had continued down this 'road' because we could see that someone > on two different bikes Mr D606 and Mr K270 did not seem to be having > much trouble. At least their tracks indicated progress. > > After picking up John's bike, I cleaned the front tire, and attempted > to ride John's bike the rest of the way through the mess. His bike > did not have MX foot pegs, and with all the mud on the boots, nearly > impossible to stand on the pegs. I managed to get up some forward > speed, the front tire loaded up again, and down I went--trapped under > the left AL pannier--just as John had been trapped two time before. > I lay face down in the mud while my foot no longer formed a 90degree > angle but was a straight line from my knee to the tip of my toe. I > thought I had been electrocuted as the nerves in my ankle shot pain > to the top of my head. With all the force I could muster I wrenched > at the handle bar and pulled my foot free. John, some 50 yards away > was completely helpless to do anything--except watch in disbelief. > > Well, we got through that mess, falling down several more times, > lifting the bikes and pushing forward; but now there are two injured > riders and it is starting to get dark--but, finally, we get back into > some graveled parts and continued on until we found some signage that > did not make sense, and followed the signage instead of the compass. > It turned out that the road was the S. link of a N. bound road that > was offset by three miles of E/W road. Our bad day, was about to get > worse. > > We followed this road ~1.5 miles and it turned into the mother of all > quagmires and we decided to abort. Except the mud vetoed our logic-- > filling the bikes with gumbo that was 4" deep inside the wheel, > packing the spokes full of mud, because it could no longer find any > space between the wheel and the fenders or swing arms. John's clutch > then 'blew-up' just as I escaped to high ground, just barely--knowing > that my clutch was now not the same as it had been the hour before. > > In the dark, we set up camp, ate some noodles and hunkered down for > the night--knowing that ALEVE was our friend. About that time, the > wind began to blow--which is a good thing--as it dries out the mud. > The wind blew all night, giving us some hope of escape if we could > get some of the mud off of my bike. > > It was a night of fit less sleep on huge lumps of sage and muscle > cramps that would make the mummy come back to life. > > Just after dawn, I pulled out my tire repair kit and found the tire > patch stitch-er and the tire irons to be the best tools for removing > the mud. I, and John must have worked for over an hour to get the > mud off the bike before it dried and got to hard to remove. Even > with a blown clutch, we would still have to push it some to get it > loaded! > > We ate some more Ramen noodles and formulated a plan. I was able to > accurately determine our exact position with GPS, and locate our > selves (through deduction) our approximate position +/- 1/4 mile > using the GDR strip map. We had seen one vehicle pass some 1.5 mile > away earlier in the morning, but not coming our direction, so we had > some hope that we would be able to get help--sometime in the next 24 > hours if we could get back to the main road. > > We sat down for a few moments and formulated an escape plan: > > I wrote John S's name, the current lat/long, time of day on my arm > with a sharpie so that if I were hurt and incapicitated while trying > to ride out, some one would find the message on my arm. It seems > almost comical now that we should go to such extremes, but we were > really hurting and had not seen anything other than tire tracks--save > one vehicle in the distance--for nearly 24 hours. One dead bike, two > injured riders, one partial bike, yeah, it was looking a little > extreme. > > We split up the food, divided the water (each had a full two qts of > water) and worked on a final solution. John had a Personal locator's > device that would summon the cavalry, but not yet--the following day > at noon if we did not get it figured out, or self extract. > > Now, put it into action: > > We decided John would walk to the next intersection and wait for > help; I would ride out based on the road conditions we experienced > the night before. Remember that wind that blew all night long, yes, > Mr. Wind was our friend, and there was only one dicey gumbo spot all > the way to the top of the hill. I rode back, got John and ferried > him to the intersection at the top of the hill, and left him there. > The rest of the road was going to be very soft, and a hand-full, as > it turned out. I only had one/two throat choking moment as the road > tried to take the bike away from me...but I gave it throttle and the > KLR gave me a break. > > Some 23 miles more, I got to the black top, in time to see an oil > driller going in the direction I had just come, "Tell my friend John > I made it to the road alive." I must have been a sight, black > ballistic nylon riding suit, mostly brown with gumbo. It was hard > for me to believe that these trucks were driving those gravel roads > as soft as they were. The trailer was nothing but tires and more > tires. He hardly left a footprint. This same trucker would later > pick John up some 3 hours later and bring him to the hi way. > > I went N, a mile, found a cowboy--the mayor, county commissioner, > fire chief and bar-tender of Sweet Water Junction, WY who would be > willing to rescue John and his bike--if I could be patient--as he was > in the middle of a major tire change on a stock trailer. When he > discovered where we were at, he said, "No wrecker would come out > there under those conditions--and he was/appeared reluctant to try, > but would come and take a look, maybe. If he had time. > "Would $3 a mile be enough?" > OK! That would be about right. > He told me of the shop to call, I placed an order for a KLR clutch, > etc that would be overnighted to the Riverton, WY Kawi dealer. They > said they would install it on a Saturday and get us back on the > road. > > Things were looking up. > > The wind continued to blow, and the retrieval was only partially > dicey! but doable, with a 4x4 pickup, and we did it. We got John's > KLR loaded and out of there--for some 60+ loaded miles to Riverton, > WY. Hard to believe what 20-25 mph winds for some 18 hours would do > to a gooey road. > > John, at this point, realized that if he ever escaped this nonsense, > he was jettisoning his hard bags--which we did in Riverton, > substituting them for some $8 gym bags that worked just fine. After > having your leg trapped under those AL panniers, it makes you a > believer that you don't want that to happen again. It happened to > John twice, and me once. > > After our Kawi sponsered repair, we continued our GDR from Riverton > to Rawlings, WY, via the highway, re-entering the GDR south of > Rawlings on the gravel roads. We elected to skip any of the water > crossings, and circumnavigated the 6 miles of jeep trails NW of > Steamboat Springs Lake. We still had fun, and soaked our ankles at > night with ice. > > After that last fall down series John and I experienced in the Great > Basin, we counted the days that we did NOT fall down, and did not > fall down again until after I completed the entire ride--dropping my > bike in a rest area S of Albuquerque, NM during the egress home. > Fortunately for me, two nice men helped me pick up the bike without > having to strip off the gear. > > That was the long way around to say again, I would not walk across > the street to get a free set of AL panniers. They are a leg/ankle > breaker just waiting to happen. > > As a sidebar comment, the leading, lower edge of John's boxes > were 'square' and I have seen some that had a tapered, trapezoidal > shape that might be better. But for sure, those square-edged boxes > are a death trap--at least in our experience. John said he would not > trust them for use as hard bags for his local San Diego, commuter > bike anymore. > > OF course, YMMV. But for two of us, we are convinced--NO THANKS if > ever offered metal panniers. > > revmaaatin. >

[Tim Gornall]

What is the GDR? It sounds awsome...

[Jeff Saline]

On Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:40:08 -0700 (PDT) Tim Gornall writes:

> What is the GDR? It sounds awsome...

<><><><><><><><><> <><><><><><><><><> Tim, The GDR is the Great Divide Ride. It's from Canada to Mexico near and on top of the continental divide. It's about 2,500 smiles long and if you can stay on the route it's about 75% or better dirt, gravel or less than 5% single track. This route was developed for mountain bikers but many dual sport riders have used most of the route with success. There are a couple of areas that are off limits to motorized vehicles or just too tough for a touring loaded KLR. You can learn more by checking out the Adventure Cycling Association at: www.adventurecycling.org and by reading Cycling the Great Divide by Michael McCoy. Maps are available from the Adventure Cycling Association and I've heard you can also get gps routes but I personally haven't seen them. If this north south route interests you, you may also find the Trans America Trail, an east west route of interest. I think Martin Earl is on a yahoo group for the GDR. He's out riding again on an overnight trip but might share that site with you when he returns. Best, Jeff Saline ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT ____________________________________________________________ Fashion Design Education - Click Here! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/Ioyw6i3oIaxui5sItWo2vc192jUUBSlnl1juNWxB7HcIMG2o3Jl0gM/

[Tumu Rock]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "agh19" wrote:

> > If anyone has a serviceable rear caliper, I could use it. Willing to > pay reasonable amount. > > Thanks in advance. >

Still need one? Just catching up on some listmail... Tumu aka da Vermonster