Adventure bikes

[Chuck]

I have just spent 3 months helping my pup, Austin, with his KLR from hell. What a complicated machine for such a simple job..

[Scud]

Here's a video of my adventure in Germany (with a jaunt over the French border) on the wee-GS. I found it a pleasant and reasonably competent machine. I did not expect it to perform like a bigger bike, so no need to compare. It also does not perform like a smaller dirt bike.

 

 

It's got only one annoying feature:

It only starts in neutral - there is no clutch switch. This was a problem for me on the first few days because I stalled it a few times (being used to bigger engines that don't need a lot of revs to get moving). It's no fun hunting for neutral when people are honking at you. But I got the feel of it after a few days and didn't stall it any more at the end of the trip.

 

Overall, a fun bike, but not one I'd like to own. However, I'm glad to see sub 400cc dual sports in the market that actually work on both street and dirt. It does very well on poor asphalt.

[docc]

Fabulous, Scud! Thanks!

 

How did you perform the navigation for a ride like that?

[Scud]

Navigation:  See a bakery, pull over, drink coffee, eat pastry, study map.

 

Seriously, that is literally what I did.

 

As for the map... I had the Garmin Earthmate app on my phone and had downloaded the maps of Germany and France. Nice thing about that app... it does not require a data connection. It can even use the GPS receiver to lay down a track when the phone is in "airplane" mode. I had the fully charged GPS as backup, but was able to navigate each day just with the phone. I had stuck some pins by key destinations and junctions that appeared to have interesting (aka twisty) roads. I just kept the phone in my pocket and stopped whenever I wanted to check the map.

 

Then there was a lot of luck... and navigating by the position of the sun... and just going down whatever road suited my fancy. I had only two "must-see destinations" The Fleckenstien Castle in France (Monday) and the German city of Heidelberg (Saturday). I went there and got the T-Shirt. University of Heidelberg, founded 1196... exactly 800 years before my first child.

[docc]

Navigation:  See a bakery, pull over, drink coffee, eat pastry, study map.

 

Seriously, that is literally what I did.

 

As for the map... I had the Garmin Earthmate app on my phone and had downloaded the maps of Germany and France. Nice thing about that app... it does not require a data connection. It can even use the GPS receiver to lay down a track when the phone is in "airplane" mode. I had the fully charged GPS as backup, but was able to navigate each day just with the phone. I had stuck some pins by key destinations and junctions that appeared to have interesting (aka twisty) roads. I just kept the phone in my pocket and stopped whenever I wanted to check the map.

 

Then there was a lot of luck... and navigating by the position of the sun... and just going down whatever road suited my fancy. I had only two "must-see destinations" The Fleckenstien Castle in France (Monday) and the German city of Heidelberg (Saturday). I went there and got the T-Shirt. University of Heidelberg, founded 1196... exactly 800 years before my first child.

Thanks! I am especially interested in how you incorporated the "off-road/non-road" sections in your navigation?

[Chuck]

Attaboy, Scud.. really nice.

[Scud]

The off-road stuff was purely exploratory; I'm not sure that I could have planned that. I went to three different forested areas. There are many logging roads and dirt roads that lead to campsites or hunting screens. It's a beautiful part of the world and I caught a lovely warm spring week between two rainy weeks. 

[docc]

What a rare and extraordinary experience. So appreciated, your producing and sharing that video compendium!

[footgoose]

Nice production Scud. Beats Rick Steves Europe any day. Good times!

[Scud]

More "adventuring" on the Husqvarna 701 Enduro in the Eastern Sierra Nevadas:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love this Hooskvarna. Everyone who I let ride it is amazed and wants to sell whatever they're currently riding. I got to ride it "in anger" in several places last weekend. I can ride it almost as hard as my Husky TE450, which is now for sale. The 701 has insane torque down low, and the top end is pretty damn fun too. It's about 95% of a full-on dirt bike for my riding style, and it is soooo much better on the road... and it handles two-up over rocky, moderately technical terrain with ease... I only fault it for being a tad heavy, but I can still pick it up by myself, so it's OK. (dropped once on a mud/snow downhill)

[Chuck]

Awesome. Thanks for the vicarious trip..

[czakky]

Looks like a blast! Trout always pick the best real estate.

 

I’ve got a collapsible spinning rig (for trout creeks) I throw in a backpack, that’s my version of dual-sport riding I guess...

[Scud]

Here's another Husky post...

 

I had some business near San Francisco and the timing was right to make it a family road trip. The 701 is light enough to take on a hitch carrier. This picture taken at Pinnacles National Park - the Eastern side, which is on the most excellent CA Route 25 (and I did ride quite a bit of that road). Pinnacles was protected in 1908, and is currently best-known as a reintroduction site for California Condors, which became extinct in the wild in the 1980s. We didn't see any Condors, but we did see a huge Golden Eagle.

 

 

While I was working in San Ramon, the family had the truck and I commuted on the bike. On my last day of work, they went ahead into San Francisco and I did the 45-mile, evening-traffic lane-split into the city on the bike (this bike is an incredible lane splitter, because it is so narrow and tall). Rewarded by another trip to Caffe Sport, a Sicilian restaurant in the North Beach district.

 

Next day, I got to ride over the Golden Gate bridge with one of my daughters, then with another for a ride around Panoramic Highway, which circles Muir Woods National Monument.

 

I did a couple little solo excursions on the bike, including the poorly paved, steep and narrow Bolinas Road that went through some redwood forest.

 

 

We spent quite a bit of time at Point Reyes National Seashore, which has great hikes and abundant wildlife.

 

 

As for the National Parks we visited, I think the highlight was Muir Woods National Monument (obviously no riding in there). It's basically impossible to take a satisfactory picture of the old-growth Redwood trees, which can be 2,000 years old and 350 feet tall. But here's one shot that will give you a sense of walking among them.

 

 

And on the bike... this was not really traditional "adventure bike" usage, but it sure added some convenience and fun to the trip. I think my daughters will always remember riding through the Redwoods (outside the park). Therefore it was an adventure.

[czakky]

NorcCal and SoCal life is good! Thanks for taking us along.

[Scud]

Spent the morning of my Thanksgiving holiday exploring the Big Sur coastline (central CA Hwy 1). It had rained the night before, rained a bit during my ride, and is raining again today. Some "adventure" pics for you: