Trans Continental Ride, new bike

[ArmyJerry]

Just picked up a 17 KTM 690 enduro, plan to ride the trans continental ride next year, Just finished the Continental divide this year on my 1290 super adventure, 2300 off road miles from New Mexico/Mexico border to Montana Canada border, then 5 k more miles. The Super Adventure is a 550 pound dry weight bike, picking it up in a rock garden is hard. Got this to be more manageable. You guys are welcome to join on the next ride if you want to see our great country.

http://www.gpskevinadventurerides.co...-america-trail

http://www.gpskevinadventurerides.co...otorcycle-ride

New Bike0263396

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Nice....

Want to do the Trans-Labrador in the fall of 2018?

Cheers,

Sirhr

 

[ArmyJerry]

that ll be a great ride in the fall.

 

[Maggot]

AJ, I quit riding years back for reasons of personal survival (Im to fucking crazy to have all that power in my right hand), but isnt that thing a bit light for long distance rides.

Id join ya but if I remember you dont allow Benz's on the trip.

 

[ArmyJerry]

I just did that Divide ride with two Ktm 450's tagging along so not too light.
I carry minimal gear, , air mattress, sleeping bag, tarp, underwear and socks, water and basic tools, can almost fit everything in my back pack and tail bag. sleep on ground when you get tired, shower every 3 days at creek or camp ground, So its actually a slightly larger bike than the 450 and not as big and heavy to lift up. I'll make an exception for you mags get a bike and do the last epic trip of your life. YOLO

 

[Guest]

OMG That is awesome. Great bike great plan. I am fully envious and wish I could ride along. If you get near DC hit me up and I will ride out to meet you for steak.

 

[oneshot86]

i am stupified green with envy, wish i could go, i will in the future

 

[sirhrmechanic]

And you can carry a lot of gear on a bike... that doesn't weigh a lot. Here's my Dakar, at the Arctic Circle.

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All in, my gear, tools, consumables and tent weighs in at about 60 lbs. Add to that some food, in case, which is about 5 lbs for some MRE-type dehydrated meals and the usual fresh bacon, cheese, bottle-of-wine and the like. And clothes... pictured are some technical gear (on the back strapped on) and wearing Barbour sweater (the warmest thing ever) and electric vest and my Rothco Jacket... and Moto-cross Boots.... Plus stuff in a soft bag. My whole loadout is under 100 lbs. So less than a passenger (Well, except really cute, petite, late-teens Swedish Bikini Team member passenger... but they never seem to materialize.) So a loadout on the bike is less than, say, an Alice Pack load...

So a good KTM or Dakar bike is anything but overloaded with a rider and all the gear you care to carry.

On this trip, BTW, I rode part of it with a couple from the UK that was on an Armstrong MT350 Single.... and went on to Russia and back to EU via Ukraine. I left them at Kirkenes, which is the coolest town on the planet. Kind of like Dodge City of Dodge City was full of Eskimos, Crazy Norwegians and Russian Gold Miners. Oh and... "No Navy in Murmansk. Murmansk for fishing. No Navy." Best line of the trip. Anyhow... they rode from the UK to Moscow, via Nordkapp and Kirkenes... back to the UK. On a 350 Single Cylinder ex-Brit Army bike. So I was travelling in utter luxury... But they made it!

Never try and out-drink a Russian border-guard... in a Norwegian Bar. In Dodge City... like places.

Cheers,

Sirhr

P.S. The Whale Steak with Raspberry Confit was just excellent....

 

[Guest]

Damn you guys live big !! Big visions, big victories

 

[ArmyJerry]

Dam Sirh, you are not even frikken dirty, are you sure you aint a dainty Englishman or something? Nice set up, I take my hard bags off for extreme stuff, always afraid the bag catches my leg and snaps it in Grizzly country. I am gonna keep this 690 light and compact and only use soft bags Mosko Moto. PPB, Mags One Shot, YOLO, if you think you would be slightly interested in this type of activity get into it, I think PPB has a bike already, you can outfit it and run the Trans America with us. Mags sell your high dollar property in yankee land and move back to the south and get a bike man. One shot go to your dealer and get a bike. you only need a used dual sport, a sleeping bag and a tarp, cas cart and bottled water, you will have the adventure of your life.Tell the wifes you are going to get milk and cigs, and we will meet you at the closest gas station she wont miss ya as much as you think as long as the pay check keeps appearing in the account.

 

[oneshot86]

you mother fucker, i had a friend like you

 

[thejeep]

Nothing's as cool as a big single with a rather open exhaust. Good choice. How long you going to take?

 

[Clearlight]

[No message]

 

[Clearlight]

You deplorables made me dig this photo out . Taken in Leh , Ladakh in the
80's . Bike is a Yezdi 250 2 stroke ( Jawa copy ) . Up til now there were only
a handful of folks who have seen this pic .

A ' holiday ' led to me getting a job doing recon from the Chinese border in the east ,
to the Pakistan border in the west and beyond , and getting involved in Operation
Vijay when those rascally Pakis invaded India again . Damn you guys , I'm jonesing
for the Himalayas now ....

EDIT : ran this bike on all manner of goat tracks up in the hills ( after I ditched the pillion ),
a lot of carby removal and rejetting / needle dropping to get this thing to run at 18000 feet ...

 

[ArmyJerry]

Dam, that must have been a frikken blast in the 80's

 

[Clearlight]

Sure was Army , would do it all again in a heartbeat ! I hear ya about having
a light bike ; I disassembled the bike above a few times to traverse obstacles .
Your new ride is a weapon , I'm jealous ! The Kato 500 EXE is very popular
over here in Aus for dirt , its won many desert races over here , great bikes .

 

[Guest]

Army,I am riding a DRZ 400 with a seat stiff as a 2x4-common for Suzukis. I I could ride an hour at a time with 30 minutes off. That big plush recliner that you are riding would bring me to tears.
Post lots of pics so we can be there in spirit.