TAT-2016 Post-5 09-06-15

TAT-2016 Post 5 – 6 Sep 2015

Still adding equipment to the bike getting it TAT ready. This week I’ve installed:

30mm Risers (see picture) – This mod raises the handlebars to make riding while standing on the foot pegs a bit easier. For the non-dirt bike folks, the rider stands while riding through difficult terrain because this significantly lowers the overall center of gravity (CG) of bike and rider. A lower CG lets the bike move around while the rider remains in the optimum position. This doesn’t sound logical, I know, but it works even though the riders body is now higher, the CG impact is at the foot pegs; magic. I had to bend over to far with the stock arrangement but with the risers it’s perfect.

Skid-Plate (see picture) – It’s interesting how many rocks and logs are encountered while riding through the woods and streams. The Skid-Plate protects the engine and several critical components such as the oil pan and water pump. The stock plate is plastic and worthless. The new one is heavy aluminum plate and provides much more coverage.

Radiator Grill (see picture) – This is my first dirt bike that is water-cooled rather than air-cooled. Water-cooled has lots of advantages except that it puts a delicate component right behind the front wheel where rocks, etc. can be thrown into the radiator and punching a hole. A leaking radiator can quickly disable the bike a long way from help. I added a heavy aluminum grill in front of the radiator for much better protection.

With all this new gear installed it was time to take the bike to ride some trails. Steve, Terry and I decided to ride (Woodrow unable to go and probably a good thing as it turns out). We decided to ride West of Little Rock about 30 miles into the Ouachita National Forest. Lots of logging roads through this area and we expected to get some gravel road and maybe river crossing practice. After passing Paron, AR we headed North on highway 9 until we found a road heading West into the forest. The gravel road we selected was well used and we were making good progress climbing/descending through the  hills and valleys; until we came to a locked gate. We found no signs on or near the gate plus there was an obvious path around the gate so we decided to continue on the dirt road; big mistake. The road continued to climb and no major issues for a while. We started realizing this road had not been used in a while and was grown up almost across the road in places. Both Steve and I had GPS on our bike and they indicated better roads ahead. The end result was we kept going, the road kept getting worse and we finally reached, what I first considered, a complete blockage.

We had come down a long stretch of twisting, bad road until we came to a rocky stretch then a rocky stream crossing. The water wasn’t deep but the rocks were slippery and then we had to immediately climb up a rutted road for a short stretch where the road was blocked by several large fallen trees. To make it even worse, the road and trees were in a deep cut that had been washed out by lots of moving water.  The road climbed steeply past the trees through a very rocky stretch for about 40 feet until it resembled a normal road again.

We all shed out riding jackets and helmets to scout for a possible detour around this mess. No luck, both sides were too rocky or steep. It was hot and the humidity was so high we all were sweating like racehorses. Both Steve and my glasses fogged over so bad we had to take them off to see. Steve’s glasses were broken during this incident; how we don’t know but they were found broken in the middle of the road.

We first considered turning around and riding the long road back to the gate. None of us were keen to ride through some of the stuff on that road again (see picture of me and my bike on the ground during one section). 

We decided to hike past the tree blockage to the top of the hill to see what was there. About 100 yards up the rocky road was another gate and then a beautiful gravel road. We went back to the trees and decided we would try to move what we could then manhandle the bikes up this section. Several of the trees were too big to move but we cleared a path but it would require a couple of tight turns and taking the bikes over several smaller logs. For some reason Steve and Terry felt the lighter bike should go first; mine. I’ve named this section the Devil’s Cut due to the deep washed out section of road with the jumble of trees making any progress hell.

There was no way to ride through the jumble of trees, rocks, rutted rocky road, etc. I agreed to go first but said Steve and Terry needed to help hold the bike up and push while I walked beside the bike operating the throttle and clutch. With my lighter bike (300 lbs) we were able to push, pull, lift and tug the bike past the trees and up the rocky stretch of road. We had to take breaks several times due to the heat and humidity plus the exertion required. I was not looking forward to doing the same thing for the 2 heavier KLR650’s.

With lots of sweat and sore muscles we got all the bikes past Devil’s Cut. Once we got to the gate we had to squeeze our bikes through a narrow gap in the gate but we finally were back on a decent gravel road.

Summary – We rode exactly 100 miles, mostly paved 2-lane and good gravel roads. We rode maybe 5 miles on some terrible road and trails. The 5 miles by far took the most out of us. I left the house at 6:30 a.m. and returned at noon. We all agreed that the conditions on the 5 miles was good practice but not something we would expect to encounter on the TAT (we could be wrong). I’ve included several pictures, mostly at Devil’s Cut. I’ve also included a map of the section around Devil’s Cut.

BTW – We all agreed we should have stopped at the first gate. Especially when we saw a sign on the second gate stating no motorized vehicles allowed.