TAT-2016 Post-2

TAT-16 Post 2 – 14 Aug 2015

Things are moving fast now with a few key developments:

As stated in Post-1, Terry and I both bought new bikes last week for the ride. Steve is about to buy a used KLR650 from another friend, John, who now wants to hook up with us on the AR to CO leg (more about John later). Ed, who now wants to be referred to as Woodrow, is getting a new CRF250L this coming Saturday. So in summary:

Mike – CRF250L

Terry – KLR650

Steve – KLR650

Woodrow – CRF250L

John – He has a 250 but not sure of model

Everyone is getting excited and we have started the in-depth planning for the trip. I ordered a complete set of maps and roll charts from the TAT home page this week. There are 91 different items in the order for around $378. This is the bible for TAT route planning and has the coordinates for every twist and turn from Tenn to Oregon. I don’t think I even have room on my bike for all these maps so good thing we are splitting up the ride into sections.

John – All of us know John from working with him several years ago on our program. He is now a pilot for an airline not to be named to save his anonymity. John is a long time bike rider and has already ridden the TAT from Atlanta to AR. He doesn’t want to see the same mud again so won’t join the group till we head east to CO. John is selling his KLR650 to Steve and will use a 250 something he just purchased. I’ve spent a good amount of time traveling with John on business trips and have lots of drinking stories I could tell on him.

As you can tell there is a division in the group on what size bike to use; i.e. 650 vs 250. John actually stated he is using a 250 after almost killing himself riding the KLR650 in sand in the Big Bend, TX area. Just like I stated in Post-1. I’m still thinking the 250 will be the perfect bike when the riding gets tough.

I’ve started adding farkle (after market add ons) to the CRF250L (see picture). I had to have a rack on the back to carry my bag(s) and to attach my extra 1 gal Rotopax fuel tank. I also ordered several Ram Mounts for my GPS and SPOT satellite locator so they can be attached to the handlebars.  These are probably the only additions I will make until after the Tenn-AR leg. Farkle is so much cheaper for the smaller bikes and not as much is needed to make it TAT ready.

I also put gas in the bike for the first time. At 107.5 miles on the odometer the fuel gage (yes it has a gage) started flashing low. I was pretty disappointed when it needed fuel after only 107.5 miles. I need 200-mile range minimum (preferably more) to do some of the TAT sections. The CRF250L has a 2 gal fuel tank and I filled it up with 1.494 gals. Evidently there is a .5 gal reserve once the gage starts flashing.

If you do the math that comes to about 72 mpg!!!! I was not riding the bike easy during this time so I was very pleased with this result. That is also exactly what the bike brochure says is the mpg for the bike. With the 1 gal rotopax and 2 gal in the tank I have 216-mile range. I will probably carry more gas out West using a strap on 2 gal tank just to be safe but for now I’m covered. The back-up plan for those with 250’s is to steal gas from the KLR650s since they have 6.1 gal tanks. We just have to make sure to carry a siphon hose and something shinny to distract the KLR riders while we drain their tanks. They won’t even know because the KLR doesn’t have a fuel gage.

Woodrow – A little more info on this guy. Woodrow has never ridden a motorcycle of any kind! I’m busy this coming week but a week from now, after he has brought his new bike home in his truck bed, several of us are taking him out to teach him how to ride. We will start simple in a parking lot then progress to dirt roads, etc. He also plans on taking a motorcycle safety course, which uses small 250 road bikes for instruction. We have several months to get him up to speed for the TAT launch next spring. I will have my GoPro camera at the ready during this instruction and again on the TAT to document his progress and embarrassing moments.

All for now.