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Barstow to Vegas 2017 Planning Thread

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By the time that 2003 is street legal and good to go it will be another $500, bringing the cost up to around $3500. Pretty sure I would take a note out for the extra $2500, and get the bike that is 11 years newer, fuel injected, has some nice farkles, and countless fewer hours on all working parts. Plus it might just retain some amount of resell value a few years down the road. You only get what you pay for sometimes. Buying well used yesteryear bikes may not really be such a bargain in the overall.
 
wildernessrider said:
By the time that 2003 is street legal and good to go it will be another $500, bringing the cost up to around $3500. Pretty sure I would take a note out for the extra $2500, and get the bike that is 11 years newer, fuel injected, has some nice farkles, and countless fewer hours on all working parts. Plus it might just retain some amount of resell value a few years down the road. You only get what you pay for sometimes. Buying well used yesteryear bikes may not really be such a bargain in the overall.
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^^^^This is good advice^^^^

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Meriden said:
What are you riding this year Donny? Are you going to try to do it on the AT?
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Nope, not a chance! I have had a great time, every time on 450-500cc barely legal dirt bikes. I have no intentions of trying to change all of that. Doing the LAB2V is NOT the reason I bought my Africa Twin. Could I do it on it? Maybe, if I skipped all the hard ways. Would it be as down right fun as having a spirited dirt bike for the ride? Positively not! Remember this ride started out in the '60s as a dirt bike race. They didn't even have such a thing as Adventure Bikes back then. If you really want to run it the way it was made to be run, you will show up on a fairly capable dirt bike...with a license plate and a roll chart holder on it.
 
I am trying to get my ducks in a row for the ride. I want to start with prepping my 400XC-W. What are the necessary additions? I am assuming an extended range tank, upgraded or additional lighting, roll chart holder etc..
 
JcatDRZ said:
I am trying to get my ducks in a row for the ride. I want to start with prepping my 400XC-W. What are the necessary additions? I am assuming an extended range tank, upgraded or additional lighting, roll chart holder etc..
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You really dont need anything too crazy. Range= Fuel tank
Durability= Tires, Skidplate Handguards
Navigation= Rollchart+GPS
Lighting= cheap led light bar (30w is a lot of light)

A fuel tank in the 3.2 - 4 gal range should do fine. At most an extra 2l coke bottle of gas will keep you from pushing or bumming gas. Fuel stops are generally around the 90-100 mile mark.







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I am even wondering if the new Mojave bags I bought for the Husky are a liability. I rode Arkansas with them for the first time and they bounce around a lot when you are going over jumps. The Mojave desert is full of miles and miles of woops, so I am thinking the little clip that hooks under the rear fender is not the way to go.

Has anybody just drilled one or two holes through the saddle bags and rear fender and used a bolt instead? Figure that will never come lose, but the clips and Velcro may not last the entire ride.

There is a lot of support on a ride like this, lots of other riders (unless you lose the trail all together), lots of pit stops, riders that will sweep the course at night looking for the stragglers.

Spent many years desert racing out there and you really want to make sure your bike is 100% and keep it simple.
 
An aftermarket seat is a very nice addition as well. All day on a stock dirt bike saddle can be a little tough on the back side. Kubota Mike those Mojave bags are the ideal side bag for LAB2V. Soon as I get back in town to my bike. I will send a pic of how my WR is rigged up to hold the bags in place. Simple hardware fix will have you doing endless whoops with never a bit of movement from the Mojave bags.
 
wildernessrider said:
An aftermarket seat is a very nice addition as well. All day on a stock dirt bike saddle can be a little tough on the back side. Kubota Mike those Mojave bags are the ideal side bag for LAB2V. Soon as I get back in town to my bike. I will send a pic of how my WR is rigged up to hold the bags in place. Simple hardware fix will have you doing endless whoops with never a bit of movement from the Mojave bags.
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Looking forward to seeing your setup as well Donny..

I have a Renazco seat, skid plate etc and will soon be adding a bigger tank. All in all, I think I am good. I picked up some lightweight rim locks and a couple bottles of Ride On. Hopefully this will remedy my balancing and vibration issues. I am considering the Fasst bar inserts too..
 
I switched my Husky to Nuetech TUbliss v2 which really made the wheels out of balance, so I found these big stainless plates. Since I have installed the wheel weights along with some Ride On, the Husky is almost as smooth as the Twin!

https://www.ktmandhusky.com/product-page/wheel-weight-for-balancing

The other change that REALL made the Husky smother were some bar end weights made by Barkbuster. It is a whole new bike with these babies on!!!

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/barkbusters-external-handlebar-end-weights

Really want to see your tweaks for the Mojave bags too. They worked good otherwise. Hope the exhaust is too hot, I did install the extra heat shield.
 
kubotamiketx said:
Hope the exhaust is too hot, I did install the extra heat shield.
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One of the California based X guys uses a silicone pot pad under his heat shield to increase it's effectiveness. Worth a try if heat becomes a problem.


Riders don't need to carry much stuff on this trip. There is a sag wagon that will carry a gym bag's worth of stuff from Palmdale to Barstow and then to Las Vegas. The only things I would add to Matt and Donny's lists would be enough clothes, water and snack bars to wait out an overnight lost rider rescue. Nothing more than a couple of pounds. I'm planning on a bigger tank only to make mixing premix in the tank easier. I won't have to completely fill up.

Last thing that goes along with the miles of whoops, bike being 100% and keeping it simple, and that is loctite is your friend. In 2012 I had to withdraw because everything began to rattle loose.
 
I'm rethinking my XD4 helmet for this ride. On the one hand, having a face shield that I can lower over my goggles is a great feature, especially early in the morning when it is close to freezing. On the other the opening is slightly small and the helmet forces my goggles down on the bridge of my nose.

What are you guys considering?
 
Meriden said:
I'm rethinking my XD4 helmet for this ride. On the one hand, having a face shield that I can lower over my goggles is a great feature, especially early in the morning when it is close to freezing. On the other the opening is slightly small and the helmet forces my goggles down on the bridge of my nose.

What are you guys considering?
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My Fox V2 helmet, it's the only one I own... balaclava if it's cold and for the dust

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I've got a Renazco seat and the Tubliss set-up on my RXV550. When it's a good bike, it's a very good bike and really basically built for desert racing vs more hard core single track dirt bike terrain, so pretty good shape there. It has some basic storage strapped on between some smallish Wolfman day panniers and a Giant Loop small day bag harness. I've got a Bell dual sport helmet with built-in visor that I like. Is it typically a ride where you want goggles for venting?
 
Goggles seal out the dust, both from you eyeballs and the inner side of the lens. Visored helmets will get dust on the inside where it is harder to clean and make it hard to see.

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Gotcha. Makes sense and it sounds like there is plenty of dust on this little adventure ;)
 
Meriden said:
Yep, tons and tons of silt. Not wearing goggles is a recipe for quitting early. I'll check out the Fox. Hopefully I can find a place that fits them.
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Amazon has a pretty generous return policy and if you have PRIME, quick shipping. Buy 2 send 1 back (or both of the shape is bad for your noggin)

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I have some Oakley goggles that I really like


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Must admit I splurge a bit more than I should but the Oakley AirBrake MX are amazing !!!

http://www.oakley.com/en/shop-by-sp...46/?skuCode=57-979&categoryCode=m030201&size=

You can save money at the Oakley outlet sometimes or even Amazon.

These have the straps mounted to tabs that extend forward of the lens a bit so the goggles lay super nice on your face and don't tend to pull away from the outside edges because the straps ride on the helmet.
 
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