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PigTrail
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Hi all and welcome to my humble ride report. As you may guess from the title I've seen the light and just enjoyed my first long-distance adventure ride. What follows are a few pictures and learnings from my journey.
Departing Houston on Thursday June 12th I rode day 2 of the East-Tex ride in reverse from Moscow to it's northern most point where I again returned to the blacktop. From here I ventured through Texarkana until reaching Fort Smith, AR where I headed east on the TAT. Four days later I joined my dad and a few friends in Columbia, TN. Being on Honda cruisers and a gold-wing, they didn't share my affinity for the dirt, so we turned west to explore the best black-top riding that Arkansas has to offer. This report will follow the first few days of this trip on the TAT. And as you likely noted I stopped in Columbia,TN and did not complete the eastern-most section. Next time.
Here's the lovely lady on day 1.
It's an '06 KLR 650 with a fresh set of Dunlop D606's. If you're considering these tires for the trail read on. I found that the tank-bag and Ortlieb thin dry saddle-bags coupled with a camel-back were more than enough storage for my 10 day jaunt. The saddle bags were mounted on ebay racks and the camelback stayed nicely strapped to the rear which kept my back a little cooler.
The bike handled pretty well with this load, but performs much nicer in the buff. This shot is southwest of Harrison, AR.
Day 1
First stop after a little more than 80 miles was the Exxon just north of Livingston. I think this is the location where many of you may have met on a cold day for the East-Tex ride. I looked around for some dents in the pavement where somebody dropped an xr400, but the blacktop wasn't talkin'. I found that I generally rode 80-100 miles before stopping for fuel although I likely could have skipped some of the fill-ups with the KLR's large tank. 8$ was my usual amount to pre-pay when it was required.
Turned east off 59 I began Day 2 of the East Tex ride. What a treat this was! Thanks again to those who mapped this out. Much more pleasant with temps in the 80's and sunny skies though.
Some of these roads look like they're frequented by more than a few two-wheeled texans. Watch out for horses!
Bridges like this were pretty common along the route. Must have crossed 4 or 5 of them.
Moving farther North the underlying sandy roads gave way to east Texas red clay. Thank goodness for wide tire tracks and nice weather!
Somewhere around Center texas I blew out a main fuse. It didn't burn through, just wouldn't pass current anymore. Luckily I had several spares that made for a quick fix.
Upon arriving in Texarkana for the evening I identified the other casualty of the day. It seems that my shift lever was beginning to feel a little sloppy. A cousin of gumby might be a better description. I pulled it off to find that it had actually ripped (look closely). I think a few drops in the SHNF last month led to this. Bending stock KLR shift levers back into place is not a good idea.
Luckily I was aware of this achilles heal and packed a spare. A quick swing of the 10mm wrench and I was shifting smoothly again. Off to dinner and a good nights rest before day 2. The AR TAT awaits!
Departing Houston on Thursday June 12th I rode day 2 of the East-Tex ride in reverse from Moscow to it's northern most point where I again returned to the blacktop. From here I ventured through Texarkana until reaching Fort Smith, AR where I headed east on the TAT. Four days later I joined my dad and a few friends in Columbia, TN. Being on Honda cruisers and a gold-wing, they didn't share my affinity for the dirt, so we turned west to explore the best black-top riding that Arkansas has to offer. This report will follow the first few days of this trip on the TAT. And as you likely noted I stopped in Columbia,TN and did not complete the eastern-most section. Next time.
Here's the lovely lady on day 1.
It's an '06 KLR 650 with a fresh set of Dunlop D606's. If you're considering these tires for the trail read on. I found that the tank-bag and Ortlieb thin dry saddle-bags coupled with a camel-back were more than enough storage for my 10 day jaunt. The saddle bags were mounted on ebay racks and the camelback stayed nicely strapped to the rear which kept my back a little cooler.
The bike handled pretty well with this load, but performs much nicer in the buff. This shot is southwest of Harrison, AR.
Day 1
First stop after a little more than 80 miles was the Exxon just north of Livingston. I think this is the location where many of you may have met on a cold day for the East-Tex ride. I looked around for some dents in the pavement where somebody dropped an xr400, but the blacktop wasn't talkin'. I found that I generally rode 80-100 miles before stopping for fuel although I likely could have skipped some of the fill-ups with the KLR's large tank. 8$ was my usual amount to pre-pay when it was required.
Turned east off 59 I began Day 2 of the East Tex ride. What a treat this was! Thanks again to those who mapped this out. Much more pleasant with temps in the 80's and sunny skies though.
Some of these roads look like they're frequented by more than a few two-wheeled texans. Watch out for horses!
Bridges like this were pretty common along the route. Must have crossed 4 or 5 of them.
Moving farther North the underlying sandy roads gave way to east Texas red clay. Thank goodness for wide tire tracks and nice weather!
Somewhere around Center texas I blew out a main fuse. It didn't burn through, just wouldn't pass current anymore. Luckily I had several spares that made for a quick fix.
Upon arriving in Texarkana for the evening I identified the other casualty of the day. It seems that my shift lever was beginning to feel a little sloppy. A cousin of gumby might be a better description. I pulled it off to find that it had actually ripped (look closely). I think a few drops in the SHNF last month led to this. Bending stock KLR shift levers back into place is not a good idea.
Luckily I was aware of this achilles heal and packed a spare. A quick swing of the 10mm wrench and I was shifting smoothly again. Off to dinner and a good nights rest before day 2. The AR TAT awaits!
