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Can you supply us with a hypoxia anecdote?
And I am the believer in abs just because it's all I've ever known and has saved my bacon on at least 2 high speed stops down embankments. Now traction control, forget that stuff. Like you say who needs loss of power when climbing slopes. Learned my lesson once and almost lost it due to it.
That one stretch of Ophir is tough even running solo. Forget two up, and it's a pretty long walk, uphill, in THIN air!
Last Dollar and Owl Creek are nice for the big bikes. You could have cut a corner from US 50 to get down to Lake City via CR 25. It is another fun big bike road, but 149 from US 50 to Lake City is pretty sweet anyway.
I am impressed you got over Hagerman without issues. I've seen a bunch of vids of that pass where things didn't go as people planned.
You were really lucky with the weather. Even a little rain can make a BIG difference in the challenge of some of those passes!!
I see what your saying. Your experience far exceeds mine. I'm drawing from one experience in particular where the stop was one of those stepper than I bargained for creeks on off pavement coming back on the hill country ride. Feeling that if not for abs would have lost straight line control during high-speed descent into the creek 45 to 50.
www.medicalnewstoday.com
Hi all. This is my first post in many, many moons. I've been lurking a lot recently and I should probably visit the Introduction thread and re-intro myself...
My fiancée and me did the CO BDR two-up on a my 1290 Super Adventure last July. We took it easy and slow and didn't have any problems. We did, however, skip the Alpine Loop which is probably the most challenging part. The rocks on Ophir Pass were so loose I didn't want to risk it, especially with a pillion on board, so we turned around. We found that Last Dollar Road out of Telluride (close to the airport) is an easy dirt/gravel road alternative if you don't want to do the Alpine Loop. I've been on two wheels for over 30 years, but just started riding on the dirt a couple of years ago so I was somewhat skittish but gained confidence the longer the ride went on. Luckily, the weather was dry our entire trip so we did not have to deal with any mud or deep water crossings. We had an absolute blast and are planning on doing the UT BDR next---probably in 2020. Upcoming wedding and two-week Alaska honeymoon will burn all our vacation (and funds) this year. Lots of good tips already posted in this thread. I definitely turned my ABS and TC off whenever we left the pavement. On the 1290 you have to be stopped and it takes about 20-25 seconds to disable it from the thumbswitch. The ABS and TC modes default back to the "ON" setting every time the engine is turned off. I'll be buying and installing an ABS dongle prior to our next extended off-road trip to eliminate this nuisance. The other thing I would highly recommend is to follow the "Stay Right" concept like your life depended on it. Several times this saved me (us) from becoming a Jeep hood ornament!
I posted our Ride Report on Advrider. Here's the link if anyone is interested:
Two-Up Dirt - The Final Frontier...
When I purchased my 1290 Super Adventure in November ’16, I began dreaming of all the adventures that would soon follow. Unfortunately, most of the...advrider.com
EDIT: Correction---I didn't actually turn the ABS completely off. I switched it to "OFFROAD" mode which disables the ABS on the rear wheel but ABS still functions on the front wheel.
Yep those not in the know should be cautious. I lived at 9000 ft in Wyoming and never had a problem. Went to pike's peak last year and got noticeably light headed at first, but acclimated quickly. I'll definitely be monitoring my vitals more now that I'm noticing the signs more, but should be safe as long as I keep it mostly below the tree line.
Wow...
This one you'll want to look at in some detail beforehand. There are lots of parts where you'll have a great ride on just about any motorcycle with off-road manners. HOWEVER... there are several pretty good stretches through the desert where going around might be a really good idea. There's a days worth north of Moab that goes along the rims of high mesas. It's fun riding and has great views but if you break down you'll either hire a helicopter to retrieve your equipment or pack it out in pieces. Not overly technical but remarkably inaccessible on anything with more than two wheels or four feet. Then there's a day's worth through the desert just south of reaching the Wasatch range where you fight the deepest sand I've seen. The front tire is good for little more than balancing through this. It's a challenge on a loaded adventure bike and goes on from morning till evening. Quite physically demanding. It took my partner fifteen minutes to stand his bike back up in the sand. And, it's freaking HOT until you get back into some elevation. The stuff around Moab through the LaSalles and Red Rock area along the river is spectacular. The mountainous areas in the northwestern region are beautiful. It's a great adventure but it is nothing like the COBDR. We saw some motorcycle tracks where riders had been through but never saw one other bike from start to finish. You're on your own out there.
Not at least till age 34Sarah is already convinced she will have a bike of her own when she turns 16 and gets a license...
Whoa there Sparky!
I informed her that she will have to do a LOT more practice on a dirt bike and then we'd talk about it. Even then, she would only be riding with me for a good while before I would just turn her loose and let her go off on her own!
