1190s - Fabulous Day in Moab

My son turned 21 recently, so for his spring break, we decided to take a cross country ride on a pair of KTM 1190s. The trip covered about 1,900 miles with stops in Taos, Durango, Moab, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and Las Vegas (shipping the bikes home).

We had a blast on all of the stops, but the stop in Moab was incredible. We have been riding dirt bikes in CO every summer for the past decade, but we had never been to Moab. Wasn't sure what to expect, but we were blown away with what we saw and rode. We spent two nights in Moab so we could spend an entire day riding in the dirt. We ended up covering 175 miles in three sections.

First, we rode Chicken Corners which leaves from downtown Moab along the south/east side of the Colorado River. The route is a 50 mile out and back jeep trial. Plenty of sand and little bit of rock. The sand was very fine, so when it covered smooth rock, it could get slick for the +500lb bikes. In a few places, the sand was deep + fine requiring a light touch as the bike floated under our feet. While views were stunning everywhere, Chicken Corners dead ends at a giant cliff. Since it was morning, the ledge was covered in shade making the perfect place to sit and enjoy some water and jerky.


Second, we decided to grab a quick bite to plan our next step. We selected a big loop heading out Potash Road to Shaffer Switchback along the north/west side of the Colorado River. We then took a return to town over Gemini Bridges. We were not expecting too much, but both of us felt that loop was the highlight of our entire trip. It was long (approx 100 miles) scenic and just a total blast with a wide variety of riding terrain.

Third, it was about 4:00 when we reached the highway North of Moab. We were hot and tired and we were not sure if we should call it a day to grab a beer. However, Arches National Park was on the way to town, so we decided to at least take a look. The main park road runs about 25 miles and at the half way point we pulled into an overlook spot. As we were about to turn around to leave the park, my son asked if there was anything off road to ride. Pulling out the map, we saw a dirt road running the length of the park parallel to the main road. So, we were able to ride a fantastic sand and rocky route out of the park. The was one of the more technical of the trails we rode. We were having so much fun blasting our way that we didn't stop for any pictures in this section.

We finished the day w beer, BBQ and live music in town. Both of us agree that the day in Moab was our favorite day ever riding motorcycles. I was blown away with our small sample of Moab, and I will be scheduling a longer trip next winter w lighter bikes to explore more fully.

The final ride of the trip was taking our bikes the entire length of the Strip in Las Vegas. My son thought that was the coolest thing ever and I have to admit that even my old a** thought it was pretty cool.

Very nice!
Headed to Moab wit the little bikes in April.

That is so awesome that you get to do that with your son!

Moab, and the area all around it is just incredible. However, you can quickly find yourself in tight spots on big bikes! Unless you are expert riders, I would not recommend doing something like the White Rim Trail Rd. Most of it would not be too bad, but the NW corner has some silt beds that can eat bikes. They were exciting even on my 530 EXC. There are also some spots with decent ledges that might be a real challenge. It is a spectacular ride though.

We also did Lockhart Basin from South to North (include Chicken Corners). We were on the small bikes for that though. If you head South from Moab, right where the road starts to get away from the river and the river runs West, it starts to get more challenging. There are sections of deep sand, then there is a nasty wash, and it just gets rough.

If you head South on 191 to Blanding, there is a superb big bike friendly route on dirt roads that comes out over on 95 near Hite Marina where 95 crosses the Colorado River. I would want either TKC 80's or an aggressive big block DS tire though. I think I had the Heidenau K60's on my 1200 GS when we did it a few years ago.

Our ride report is here if you want to see what the other stuff is like.

Out of all the places I've been, Moab is my favorite. We rode too ... mt. bikes. Awesome trip both of you can always share memories


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Awesome. Moab has been on my list for quite a while.

Thanks for posting

Look up the utah bdr route around the la sal mountains. It is simply a hoot on bigger bikes.

Great, now somewhere else I want to go that's far and difficult to get to.

Looks like an great trip. And very cool to see you sharing it with you son. Saw a lot of that in Big Bend this weekend.

StrokedNBored said:

Very nice!
Headed to Moab wit the little bikes in April.

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Heading to Moab in April with a group of 8 "little bikes" as well. The Moab is a special place.

Wow... welcome out of lurk mode Scott

Be safe and have a blast in Moab!

Nice! Thanks for sharing! Mmmmm Moab...

Scott417 said:

Heading to Moab in April with a group of 8 "little bikes" as well. The Moab is a special place.

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We head out tonight after work! 8 of us going.



Sorry for the thread hijack [emoji16]

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Man I'm jealous. Curious, what size is that trailer?

gixxerjasen said:

Man I'm jealous. Curious, what size is that trailer?

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Not 100% sure it's my buddy's, but I think it's a 6x12 with a point nose.

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Looks like the bikes are secured at the foot pegs. Is the anchor system bolted to the floor?

Tourmeister said:

Looks like the bikes are secured at the foot pegs. Is the anchor system bolted to the floor?

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Yessir. The anchor is an upside down "T" that's bolted into the floor. There are pins that make the leg heights adjustable and then a "C" shaped clamp that the pegs go between. Then just drop a tire iron or piece of round stock through the "C" shaped clamp and through the pegs to hold them.

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Headed to Moab in am too

Dang... now you guys have me jonesing to go to Moab...