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Just recently finished the CABDR with these two inmates. Flipit and Tom Gomez We are now SAND experts! HA

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danbryant

danbryant

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Joined
Oct 22, 2008
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Location
Cedar Hill
First Name
Dan
Last Name
Bryant
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Playing in the sandbox is a lot more fun on lighter bikes than it is on a heavy ADV. Even the 790/890 is a handful in sand!
 
yep the 890 went down often. the 501 and 690 did a fine job. I only fell once on my 690 and it was in a wash where the sand was about 2 ft deep and i was almost at a stop and just fell over. nice and soft! lol as long as I kept my speed up on the 690 the sand wasn't that terrible although not my favorite surface
 
That's about how I've felt with regards to sand on my DR650. It's a handful on the Africa Twin. I really need to get out on some and practice now that I've dialed the suspension in correctly.
 
I would say there were more than 100 times I was thanking GOD I was not on my Africa Twin for this trip - although the liaison back to the truck in Yuma was pretty brutal on the 501.
 
I bet that 890 was interesting. How about a ride report and some pics?
 
Let's see here.

1. Convince wife I need one of them there big adventure bikes for the dirt? Maybe.
2. Pull money out to buy one of them there big adventure bikes? maybe.
3. Get my dirt skills back? Maybe.
4. Have time to do something like that? Maybe.
5. Pay over $7.00 a gallon??!! No way!
 
I know, I'll have to ride through Kalifornia some day on a trip but I'm not looking forward to it! One and done like running a marathon. Check it off the list and move on!
 
I’m the guy who was on the 890. That f’n sand is no joke! I live in Corpus/Port Aransas and have ridden the national seashore a number of times unloaded. Never an issue for me. Add gear and it becomes an issue big time. The sand on the CA BDR is like a mix of pea gravel and sand. It robs your momentum instantly. The drops came from either side camber sand or misplaced dabs with nothing under foot. The longest section was about 8 miles with a really tough section for about 3-4 miles. Of the 5 BDR rides I’ve done this one was the hardest. To be honest it was my least favorite. The terrain is all desert, all the time. Not a tree, stream, lake or river anywhere. If you like greenery look elsewhere. It’s like riding in Big Bend without the Rio Grande. Don’t get me wrong the scenery is great. There is a section through a Joshua tree forest that was amazing. Probably the best scenery on the whole trip. If your going to do the CA BDR take a small bike. Your riding buddies and your back will thank you.
 
Since I had a lot of other stuff on my bucket list I can just skip that one then!!! Thanks for the tip. I always heard about how beautiful Moab was and then went there and was like this is all desert. I'll pass!
 
I thought Death Valley was pretty cool. We spent a couple of days there. Could have spent more, but my bike started puking coolant and frying batteries. Maybe the thing to do is skip sections 1-3 and hop on in Shoshone. Maybe stage out of Pahrump, NV.
 
Flipit said:
I would say there were more than 100 times I was thanking GOD I was not on my Africa Twin for this trip - although the liaison back to the truck in Yuma was pretty brutal on the 501.
Click to expand...

This is why my dream bike is a rally bike. Maybe one of these years I'll build myself one.
 
Glad you tackled the CA BDR :rider:! Fun ride, great scenery, and hard work...especially so-called Indian Springs "road", which looked a lot like a sandy creek bed to me.

Moan about gas prices, but drive a truck to the starting point in Yuma?? Little bikes get better gas mileage, but RR's indicate they require trucks and trailers to haul them around.

Four of us did the CA BDR on fully-loaded 1200GS's, after riding them there from Texas. It was not easy, but reward usually follows effort. Would I do it again? No, of course not :giveup:!
 
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