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Mike Lafferty Video

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I made it about 2 minutes in and started to get vertigo. That is one brave person on those trails.
 
Crazy! When he turns it around front tire is on the edge! Wow....who picked that track?
 
Almost fell out of my chair a few times... :eek2:
 
That looks like a Blast. Mike was a multi-time National Champion that still works for KTM. He was an Animal back in the day!
He entered the Rattlesnake GNCC race on a 1090 and started on row 51. He placed 19th in the Pro class. He changed up the suspension and added the can. MX rims with MX tires and bibs. Here is a pic of him and his bike.
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Wow that is some cray stuff, part of me says I want to do it and the other part of me says, ya on a Honda 450L. I still can’t believe he got that thing turned around!!


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synthlegend said:
I'm not sure I would even walk that track......
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There are numerous places like that in Colorado and Utah. Where possible, you hug the inside line against the wall and hope like crazy you don't hit something that sends you toward the edge. Most of all, DON'T LOOK AT THE EDGE!

Riding through that really rough stuff is a LOT easier if you have good suspension and trust it. But, it is also real easy to have a loose rock throw you offline. There are places on California Pass and Ophir Pass that have those huge chunks of rock. It can get pretty sketchy even where there isn't a life threatening ledge. I definitely would not be doing it on a big bike, but I'd probably be willing to try it on my 530 EXC if I wasn't loaded down with luggage.
 
I'm thinking about how much my bike moves when on large rocks. You ever ride the forest roads in SHNF and go across those "rock bridges"? I guess the covered washout/drains with big white round rocks, some over a few inches in diameter. Sometimes when I go across those at speed the Strom hops all the way across. Of course it doesn't have a long travel suspension. I usually find it kinda fun, but there's no ledge on either side.
 
Tourmeister said:
There are numerous places like that in Colorado and Utah. Where possible, you hug the inside line against the wall and hope like crazy you don't hit something that sends you toward the edge. Most of all, DON'T LOOK AT THE EDGE!

Riding through that really rough stuff is a LOT easier if you have good suspension and trust it. But, it is also real easy to have a loose rock throw you offline. There are places on California Pass and Ophir Pass that have those huge chunks of rock. It can get pretty sketchy even where there isn't a life threatening ledge. I definitely would not be doing it on a big bike, but I'd probably be willing to try it on my 530 EXC if I wasn't loaded down with luggage.
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I’ve ridden both California and Ophir on my 1200GSA with loaded hard case bags and it is doable for sure, but sketchy. Momentum is key to getting smoothly through but takes confidence in bike and ability. I rode a guy’s 690 up much of Ophir after he pretty much burned out his clutch. His confidence was low on the baby heads and he would not let the clutch out and keep momentum. At the sharp left turn to the summit the clutch would go no further so we got a Jeep tow to the top. His ride was over and had to get a tow back to his home in Denver. Sorry for the ramble. Lafferty makes it look easy and as we all know the GoPro footage looks easy compared to actual.


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The 30 second mark gives me K-Trail flashbacks, but at least the K-Trail had some trees to stop you from immediately falling to your death.
 
That is Schofield Pass near Crested Butte. Not even close to the same category as the other comparatively easy passes mentioned.
 
Johnf3 said:
That is Schofield Pass near Crested Butte. Not even close to the same category as the other comparatively easy passes mentioned.
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How wide is that exactly (average,) the camera makes it look impossibly narrow. I'm hoping it's wider than it looks. I might pass out just thinking about it.🤣🤣
 
About as wide as a jeep in many places...
 
synthlegend said:
How wide is that exactly (average,) the camera makes it look impossibly narrow. I'm hoping it's wider than it looks. I might pass out just thinking about it.🤣🤣
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Wide enough for a Jeep one way. Back in the 70's a 4 wheel drive Suburban went off the trail near Devil's Punch Bowl (same area as video) with 8 people inside. Including kids. Worst off road wreck in Colorado history I believe. Several others have gone off the side there, including motorcycles.
 
Johnf3 said:
That is Schofield Pass near Crested Butte. Not even close to the same category as the other comparatively easy passes mentioned.
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Certainly wasn't saying they were in the same category, was just talking about chunky rocks and good suspension. The parts on Ophir and California are short and pretty straight forward compared to Schofield (which I have NOT ridden on any bike... yet... :-P ).
 
Tourmeister said:
Certainly wasn't saying they were in the same category, was just talking about chunky rocks and good suspension. The parts on Ophir and California are short and pretty straight forward compared to Schofield (which I have NOT ridden on any bike... yet... :-P ).
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I wasn't calling you out. :-P The exposure is what makes Schofield different. Enough to make you queasy. However, even the easy passes like Ophir change due to erosion, etc. and of course if it is wet or dry. Some years the relatively easy passes can be much more difficult. With the historical high snowpack levels this year, I would imagine once all the high passes open they may be quite different than years previous. I only like to head to Colorado after Labor Day because of how crowded it has gotten, plus you get to see the Aspens turn. Maybe by then everything will be open.
 
Johnf3 said:
I wasn't calling you out. :-P The exposure is what makes Schofield different. Enough to make you queasy. However, even the easy passes like Ophir change due to erosion, etc. and of course if it is wet or dry. Some years the relatively easy passes can be much more difficult. With the historical high snowpack levels this year, I would imagine once all the high passes open they may be quite different than years previous. I only like to head to Colorado after Labor Day because of how crowded it has gotten, plus you get to see the Aspens turn. Maybe by then everything will be open.
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The bike you’re on, how much gear you’re carrying and conditions make a big difference. Corkscrew/Hurricane pass area was tough on the GS loaded down with heavy rain off and on. Suspension really needs to be set for the load and conditions before leaving. Sometimes you learn the hard way. I struggled with the boxer style engine. Always felt like I was an inch from destroying a cylinder.


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derekdemere said:
The bike you’re on, how much gear you’re carrying and conditions make a big difference. Corkscrew/Hurricane pass area was tough on the GS loaded down with heavy rain off and on. Suspension really needs to be set for the load and conditions before leaving. Sometimes you learn the hard way. I struggled with the boxer style engine. Always felt like I was an inch from destroying a cylinder.


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I wouldn't want to ride a GS period. :lol2: Just joking. At least you didn't make a wrong turn from Hurricane and go down Poughkeepsie. That would have been interesting on a loaded GS in the rain.
 
That last section of Engineer between Animas Forks and US 550 near Ouray has gotten pretty nasty. We did it last summer and even on my 530 EXC I was having to work in some spots just because it has become so rough and chewed up, especially from where it meets Poughkeepsie on down. No way I would want to attempt that on a GS. The same was true for the steps on Black Bear, much rougher than I remember from a previous trip.

I was talking with the couple that ran our hotel and they mentioned the problem they are having with Jeeps and ATV/SxS not staying on the roads and cutting new paths everywhere. It causes even more erosion and wear. Once we headed up Black Bear it became real obvious what they were talking about. When I first rode it back in 2010, there was pretty much one path to the top. This time there were paths going all over the place!

Also, heavy rains and snow melt run off REALLY make the passes rough. The water washes away the little stuff leaving behind the chunky nasty stuff, often very loose. If any maintenance is done, it is either loads of more loose chunky stuff dumped on bad spots or sometimes they actually use some kind of grinder to "groom" the surface to take down the big rocks protruding from the ground. Those protruding rocks might make for a bumpy ride, but they are also good traction because they don't move :-P

I agree about going late in the season. Mostly because once school starts the crowds drop off a lot. Also, hotel rates tend to drop off after Labor Day. That can make a significant difference on the cost of a trip if you are doing hotels instead of camping.

As for the trees...
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I'd have to agree there as well :thumb:
 
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