| Author | Message | ||
     Xcephasx |
Hi guys, I was wondering what your experiences were with the uly in terms of "how far you can take it" -deep gravel, sand, mud, snow etc. I have had great success on any number of county/gravel & dirt roads: I have never been in the water or the mud on my bike, and don't think i would ever want to try. Where I am weak, is in deep, loose, gravel: (notice the 10' plow line up to where the i dumped it) I can work my way through even baseball sized rocks with ease, but it's the deep loose stuff, where every time i plow into the ground and dump my bike. I try to "throttle through it" but it just gets reaal squirrley and i get scared.  anyone have experience with this stuff? also, has anyone installed an emergency petcock on their fuel overflow? nothing like trying to lever 500lbs with 150lbs while fuel is squirting all over the place like a slashed jugular. i'm thinking a steering damper might help? (Message edited by xcephasx on September 12, 2008) | ||
| Xcephasx |
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| Bienhoabob |
Wish I could help out, but I'm in the same boat. Two and a half crashes. One broken collar bone. All in deep sand/loose gravel. I might have panicked and hit the front brake on one of the crashes after trying to power out of the situation. I'll be watching this thread. | ||
| Red_chili |
Butt back, standing of course, gripping the 'tank' with your knees, steering with your feet as much as the handlebars, using some countersteering leverage in conjunction with footpeg and knee pressure, and on an accelerating throttle (but not TOO much, it is a 1203 for pities sake). It still won't be stable but you will get through it. Brakes are EVIL in such situations!! So is slamming the throttle shut!! (Message edited by Red_Chili on September 12, 2008) | ||
| Stevem123 |
I work at a sawmill on the coast of CA where during the rainy season we get LOTS of rain. The log-deck during that time is about 6-8 inches deep of mud/redwood bark/general muddy slush. I crossed it once shortly after I bought the bike just for the hell of it. Started slow but was experiencing the dreaded bulldoser-fallover so I gassed it pretty hard and all of a sudden the front end just eased up on top of the stuff and I plowed through it like a boat up on the plane! I had a major rooster-tail going on and a wake of mud at least three feet high shooting off either side of the front wheel. I kept it up until I got to the harder stuff where I could back off and settle down. A guy offloading logs from a big truck gave me the thumbs up as I went by and I never dropped it. Great fun!!! BC Steve | ||
| Adamd |
Dirt: take it from an ex amateur xcross racer, you'll hit the limit of the uly in the deep stuff real fast. Go jump on a smaller dirtbike with a 18r/21f tires and see the difference. Even ask someone with a DR350 or an XR or something .... Actually I hate to say it, but I think a harley Sportster would be better offroad in some areas.. long wheel base, 21 inch front.. Should cut through sand no problem LOL Actually I remember years ago I was zipping along off road on a kdx and met up with a guy on an old honda 450 nighthawk? Anyways, he used it for offroad only and he was pretty fast on it! Street/racetrack: I'm not super fast on the track, I have an amatuer racing license, been to a few schools and I can get around.. I feel I havn't hit the limit of the uly in this area. So I think, although it's been beat to death the ULY is prob a 80/20 street /dirt bike. | ||
| Desert_bird |
"Butt back, standing of course, gripping the 'tank' with your knees, steering with your feet as much as the handlebars, using some countersteering leverage in conjunction with footpeg and knee pressure," . . . . that's what my last girlfriend kept telling me. But alas she still got away!  | ||
| Darthane |
...gas is only like 6-7lbs a gallon...so it's more like 30lbs of fuel.  | ||
| Krassh |
150lbs refernece I believe was how much the OP weighs. | ||
| Ulynut |
The only bikes I've ridden in the dirt were street bikes. Some pretty nasty stuff too.(bikes and terrain) I can't imagine going through deep gravel or sand standing on the pegs. That scares the crap out of me. I always sit as far back as I can and dangle my legs, probably look like a fairy, but I can get through no problem.  Would love a 21 in. tire for those situations though. | ||
| Xcephasx |
it's funny, on "long way around", (ewan mcgregor)their camera man's bike broke and they bought him a little Chinese crate bike and it out preformed their GS's shamefully. There is another guy who has gone around the world (through the gobi desert) on an R1. seems like it may have a bit to do with the muscle/weight ratio of the rider to the bike. as previously stated, i am a skinny guy, and i feel like i'm wrestling an ape sometimes when i take the uly off road. any 200+ fellas have an easier time contoling the beast? | ||
| Ulynut |
My bike feels really light until I have to try and back it up. Most of the time I have to get off and push it backwards. I'm about 6'3", and 210 lbs. | ||
| Seanp |
I just bought this:  Because of this:  | ||
| Johnboy777 |
When I first got my Uly, I jumped on a muddy path to have at it - I have had several dirt bikes over the years and kinda thought I'd be okay--wrong--the bike never went down, but I thought I had broken my leg, trying to keep it upright in that slop. God it was ugly, unnerving and kinda fun, to be honest...my Uly is now the sport-touring variety. I love the bike, its so well balanced, it feels, at times, like a much lighter bike. Maybe it was my lack of skill, though. . | ||
| Atoms |
Speaking of lack of skill, I dumped for the first time at the Very Boring Rally II trying to do a rather steep U-turn uphill in very deep and damp grass. Like an idiot I saw a trail of beaten down grass from someone else riding up that hill so I figured that it must be passable. Of course that rally was crawling with all sorts of little trials bikes so that trail could have been made by anything. Anyway, there is no better place to dump your 500 lbs bike (downhill!) than when surrounded by dozens of super helpful fellow riders. Nor any place more embarrassing. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Rocks, mud, pea gravel, sand, bring it on. But the skinny single track, catching air and low ground clearance from roots will slow me down. Picked up a cheap dirt bike that I am going to use as my dedicated brush basher.  | ||
| Krassh |
I bought this -  To replace this -  and this -  And then bought this so I would have a Buell again.  | ||
| Road_kill |
I occasionally ride the 1 to 4 inch deep sugar sand roads of north Florida/south Georgia. I have dirt/sand bike experience from my days in Arizona - but I had bikes built for it. I am still trying to find the best approach with the Uly. I too appreciate all suggestions to improve my skills off-road Ulying. I think the riding position and steering suggestions mention above are the key to success. I would add that I do not try to muscle the front end around - it just wears me out. Let the bike wander a bit if it must. I usually try to steer with the footpegs more than the handlebars. I also adjust the suspension setup to "calm the bike down" on sand. I increase front preload one turn, reduce rear preload two turns (to increase trail), and reduce damping a bit. I also run 25psi front and 28psi rear. After a few scary moments (but no spills yet), I have adopted the philosophy GO SLOW when I can. I need to be able to smoothly and slowly accelerate if the sand gets deep. Oh yeah, IMHO the D616's are better in sand than the Scorps. They are not good - just better. The Scorps are definitely my favorites (so far) for the pavement. I know there are better off road bikes. But I can think of no funner bike to get there on. With practice, I hope to get my Uly off-road skills to the point where I replace the scared to death look on my face  with the usual Uly permagrin | ||
| Bertotti |
I would love three or four degrees more rake and at least a 17 inch front wheel. I was hoping there would be a Uly variant brought out like this, but alas nothing yet. If only I could weld aluminum with any sort of structural confidence. Whats a new frame cost?  Big edit because I typed wrong, I ment a 19 inch front wheel. Thanks for pointing it out M2nc! (Message edited by bertotti on September 13, 2008) | ||
| M2nc |
It has a 17" front tire. I have ridden my Uly in a sand pit, it does push like a freight train. The most fun and scared on the Uly off roading was when I decided to one up a leather matching sport bike rider that was trying to catch me on pavement. I knew the next road to the left was a dirt road, so I slowed and turned on to the road. The sport bike came to the edge of the pavement and stopped. Triumphant I sped away at about 50mph. All was good until I rode about a mile down the road and the hard pack turned into deep sand. When I hit the deep spot I slid back on the seat and whacked the throttle to maintain speed because the bike was boggin down in the sand. It wiggled and wobbled under me but kept pointing straight slowing to about 35mph as I got to the other end of the deep loose stuff. After a few rides on truer DS, DR-Z400 and XT-225 with super knobbies and 21" front tires I found that in deep mud, they too push like freight trains. The main difference to me between a truer DS and the Uly is weight. On the DR-Z400 I hit a mud hole with ice over it. Breaking through the ice the front end tucked under the bike and if I were on the Uly, I would have gone down. Not so on the Suzuki because I kicked the bike straight, gassed it and kept going. Just the fact that the bike was lighter is what made the difference. Looking at Ewan McGregor drop his R1200GS Adventure down multiple times in the Long Way Around and now the Long Way Down in the same loose stuff we are talking about lends backing to my statement that a 21" knobbie on the front of the Uly would only make a marginal improvement. Figure out how to loose 200# off the Uly (no smart remarks about throwing me off the bike) would do more for its off road worthiness than a front tire in my book. | ||
| Karlsbad |
Krassh good choice on the 950 Super Enduro awesome bike, Jury is still out on the 1125 Though,I thought my Uly had crappy fuel injection, the 1125 I rode flat out sucked. Canceled my order and took my deposit back in a heartbeat. Where is the HD fuel injection when you need it. Oh and yes I do understand the difference between a sportbike and a cruiser, but come on Eric and company get some help from HD here your boys fueling systems suck. And I do love my Uly but curse the fuel delivery system at low RPM, and off idol. Karlsbad | ||
| Bertotti |
M2nc interesting thoughts. I will have to ponder those observations a bit but it seems like a worthy note. | ||
| Jammin_joules |
fear no journey (1,200 mile tour 7-11Sept) fear no cold (32 deg) fear no sunrise (left hotel at 6:30am) fear no elevation (11,500 and climbing) fear no gravel fear no boulders fear no streams On the trail from St Elmo to Tincup, ghost towns on Mt Princeton, Colorado  | ||
| Jammin_joules |
From Silverton to Ouray via Engineer Pass on the Alpine Loop  | ||
| Khelton |
Jammin_joules - you have my respect for riding the Uly on Engineer. I just got back from there on Friday. Last year did Imogene and Ophir on the Uly and found the gearing and low end fuel delivery unacceptable, This year took the XR. The Uly on the twisty roads from Denver to Leadville, Buena Vista, Salida, Blue Mesa ,Ouray, etc was unbeatable. I still don't recommend the Uly on the "roads" over the Colorado passes, you have my respect. | ||
| Xcephasx |
Joules- are those ammo crates, or what kind of pannier set up do you have? |
