TAT-2016 Post 15 – Wednesday 23 Dec 2015

Hand is getting stronger and even been riding the CRF on easy rides including a little mud. Time is flying by and everyone is trying to get geared up for the Mar 2016 launch. That being said we’ve had our first desertion from the heavy bike KLR group; Steve.

This past weekend Steve went riding at Ott Park with another work friend named M&M. M&M used Dales KTM 530 and Steve was on his KLR 650. Ott Park is on the shore of the AR River so gets pretty wet with any rain which had happen recently. Steve had a very bad day from what he told the rest of the TAT team; Lots of water and mud. Steve evidently got the KLR buried down to the axle on several occasions and it took both him and M&M to get the bike out. Of course Woodrow and I gave him lots of grief about hauling that heavy bike on the TAT but then we forgot about it.

Well today Steve took the day off so I expected I would not see him until after Christmas holidays. On my way home after work I get a call from Steve asking if I could do him a favor. I asked what did he need and he said he needed a ride to Searcy to pick up his car. This was unusual so I asked more questions like why and what was he doing in Searcy. He finally came clean and admitted he had just bought another dual-sport bike (Yamaha WR250R) and was riding it home but needed a ride back to Searcy to get his car. I couldn’t believe my ears. He was deserting the heavy bike KLR team and jumping to the light 250 team. While on the ride to Searcy he said the Ott Park mud experience convinced him that using a heavy bike for this trip was not a good idea. He had been watching for sale adds and had found this 2009 WR250R which already had all the gear he needed for the TAT ride.

As soon as I got a couple of pics of his new ride I had to send them to the other team members and they were both blown away, especially Terry the only remaining KLR pilot. Pics are below.

As for the CRF, I continue to make modifications. Today I installed Zeta Armor Hand Guards that I received from SoloRacer. Installation went quickly and they fit the CRF perfectly.

I also received a plug and play circuit that corrects the speedometer error; SpeedoDRD. After changing the gear ratio with the new 13 tooth front sprocket, my speedometer was now 5 to 6 mph off. This circuit is tunable with any change in gearing or tire size to compensate for indication errors. Before I install the circuit I need to baseline the speedometer error against my GPS by riding 50-60 miles. This will have to wait a few weeks.

That’s all for now, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. See you next year.

Post 14 video

TAT-2016 Post 14 – Tuesday 8 Dec 2015

Cast removed two weeks ago and I’ve been doing rehab exercises every day. Hand is still weak but getting stronger. This past Saturday I rode my mountain bike for 13 miles (on paved trails) then road the CRF for 35 miles (4 miles on dirt and a little mud). My left hand started getting sore working the clutch so had to cut the ride short. I rode another 9 miles on the mountain bike on Sunday. Good to get back on the trail and road.

This CRF ride was the first time I got to try out my new mirrors and seat. The mirrors are great and rock steady. Because they stick out more than the stock mirrors I can see behind on both sides for the first time plus they can be folded out of the way while in the brush. The seat is so sweet! I can definitely tell the difference from the brick hard stock seat. Looking forward to my next long ride.

The big news this post is that I eliminated my ugly tail light/rear fender extension/ license plate holder. I replaced it with an LED unit from DRC Hard Ware that I purchased from CRF’s Only. It made the bike’s rear fender look so much more streamlined while increasing my visibility to all those Cagers. The single LED light also replaces the rear turn lights with a neat scrolling light. I’ve included pictures of all the garbage I took off the bike and the final LED light installation. I’ve also posted a GoPro video for the first time of the lights operation.

Finally, I want to take this opportunity to repeat something I stated in my very first Post. I recently got a comment from someone that has been reading my posts that I’m too wordy. You are absolutely correct. I write these posts to document an adventure in my life for my kids, family and close friends. It appears to be of interest to some others since I’ve gotten almost 170,000 views and climbing steadily.  My response to being too wordy is please stop reading my posts and go do an adventure for yourself. I read many other blogs and get a lot of pointers and trip ideas from those other adventure riders. Sad to say that this adventure is just starting so I expect to be too wordy a lot in the future.

That’s all for now. Hope to ride again this weekend.