| Author | Message | ||
     Paralegalpete |
Well I got my new outdoorsman top and side cases installed by the dealer on Wed and headed up to Sudbury to meet my brother. The plan was to explore some fire and logging roads. I was able to fit a weekend of stuff plus rain gear and what not all inside the bags.  I told the gps to take me on as many side roads as possible on the way up.  I eventually ended up on hwy #69  After a full day on the road, I met up with my brother and went out to get a little taste of dirt prior to the next days big ride.   The next day we did some serious off road snowmobile trails. I don't think the Uly was designed for this but it handled it almost with no problems. My brother was on a KLR650 and is a much better rider. I have virtualy no off road experiance I spent the whole day in first and second gear on a lot of steep and rocky terrain. The Uly was like a tractor.    This section beat me (twice) It was fist sized stones about 10"deep. It just grabbed the front wheel and took me down. My right foot got twisted and caught under the bike. I think I have a broken bone.   A little further up the road we came to a section where the road was completly flooded out from a beaver dam. My brother went ahead and scouted it out. I decided not to go further and we went back to an alternate route. I dumped the Uly a second time on the very same spot on the way back.  I'm very pleased with this bike. It cruised all day fully loaded at speed and then did a great job in the bush. I think a better rider would have avoided dumping it. (Message edited by paralegalpete on August 30, 2009) | ||
| Ulynut |
Practice, practice, practice. Looks like a lot of fun. Going through water always freaks me out. I try to go around. By the way, what a bike is designed for and what it can do are two different things. | ||
| Jphish |
Pete - hope your ankle is relatively unscathed. Loose / deep gravel / cobble is difficult on any bike. Don't get discouraged. Your skills will improve with practice. I have a KLR with the advantage of lower gearing & knobbies - but find the Uly with Distanzias or MT60's reasonably off pavement capable, you do need to get used to the weight. Air down to about 28# and it gets even better. Any of us that ride dirt/gravel with any regularity accept that an occassional tipover is part of the adventure. The good news is: the frequency is inversely proportional to the miles you ride. Hang in there. j | ||
| Skinstains |
Uly's ruell ! So are you gonna tell us what the heck a KM is ? Do they bite ? How big are they ? Do they travel in packs ? Can they fly ? can they swim ? Last but not least...did you see or hit one ? (Message edited by skinstains on August 30, 2009) | ||
| Kimberley |
Keep on it! Hope your ankle is OK. BTW.....check your drive belt and pulley for damage. I went a relatively short distance and caught a rock, put a nice hole in the belt, and damaged the pulley as well. Under warranty though! | ||
| Paralegalpete |
Thanks for the replys folks KM is Kilometres (I live in Canada) I dumped it on the right side the first time and on the way back on the left side. No damage to the bike. I'm sure glad I removed the side cases prior to the off road bits. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
""No damage to the bike. I'm sure glad I removed the side cases prior to the off road bits."" Part of the reason for panniers off-road is to help protect your legs and ankles when you lay it down. . | ||
| Paralegalpete |
Johnboy777, thats a good point that I hadn't considered. I guess the tradeoff is broken damaged body verses broken damaged side cases. I don't think that the plastic side cases would be able to sustain much without serious damage. I guess I could fashion some dummy cases made of rubber.  | ||
| Jphish |
Johnboy is absolutely 'correcto' - It's a question of what 'parts' you prefer to sacrifice...yours or the Uly's? My bags have saved my legs more than once. It's remarkable how much abuse they can take. May not be 'serviceable' after - but 1 trip to hospital (at least in US - perhaps not true in Canada)is way more $ than a side case. Not to mention being laid up. Look at bags as side bumpers. j | ||
| Johnboy777 |
""I guess I could fashion some dummy cases made of rubber."" Hey Paralegalpete, Another relatively cheap option, that might work well, since you already have the mounts would be Ammo Cans or Pelican top loaders. Some one here has the ammo cans and look pretty cool mounted. LINK--Pelican 1430 $67 http://www.all-pelican-cases-4-less.com/detail_pel ican_1430.html Hope the foot/ankle is OK. John. . (Message edited by johnboy777 on August 31, 2009) | ||
| Johnboy777 |
Ammo cans--LINK: http://www.colemans.com/ammocan.htm . | ||
| Hmartin |
Quick 2 cents: I thought there might be enough cross tread on my rear Roadsmart to take a quick detour off the road completely and onto the trail, but judging my experience just this last Saturday, I'd say not - climbing a steep 30' hill (about a 45% grade), lots of cobbles, 1st gear, standing up, slid into an erosion rut, lost forward momentum (*@&%$! - would have used more clutch but the Uly's geared so tall, I was worried it would hook up and flip me backwards), stopped cold 3/4 the way up, no traction to get moving again, had to back all the way down the rut back to the bottom of the hill, front wheel locked the whole way, dumped it on its left side on the way down, picked it up on the incline, still running while holding in the clutch and front brake (that was hard!), turned the Uly around at the bottom and ambled back to the pavement with the proverbial tail between the legs. MT60's don't (officially) fit the Uly, so I haven't tried one, but I doubt any of the cross-treaded tires that are made to fit the Uly (D616, Sync, Roadsmart, Distanza) would've been enough to push that heavy beast up that slippery hill. Moral of the story, I guess, is don't treat your Uly like a dirt bike. I didn't buy it intending it to be one, but old habits die hard, I guess. Anyone know how to get tree branch scrapes off the frame rails and plastics? | ||
| Jphish |
Neither MT60's or Distanzias come in 180 - only 160 - but they do hook up fine to the rims. The MT's will provide adequate grip (unless it's real muddy) for most off pavement adventures. The Avons do reasonably well in dry conditions as well. Nope the Uly ain't no dirt bike - but tires DO make a BIG difference - for those of us that insist on testing it's limits. | ||
| Tootal |
Once a dirt rider, always a dirt rider. Your brain tells you that it possible!! You ought to see where I've taken an electra glide!! The Uly will surprise you where it will go. I recommend the XB9 primary if your going to play off the pavement. Getting over 3000 rpm at high altitude helps a lot too. The Uly doesn't like going slow in the rough stuff so wick it up and it will fly over the rocks.  | ||
| Paralegalpete |
The problem is that the road always starts out reasonably well, and then gets a little rougher but you keep going, then it gets a little rougher yet but because it's gone so well you still keep going, (not to mention that turning around means not completing the loop.) Finally you reach the limits of the bike and your skills and drop it. All part of the fun though. Thanks for the feedback. | ||
| Jphish |
Yep - I hear you on that Pete. I've also had the trail just plain 'run out' - just like your aforementioned 'road reductionism' scenario. I've crashed/dropped/flopped the KLR so many times the dents have covered up all the scratches. When I got back from Baja last year my wife met me in the driveway and her first words were: "My god - is that the same bike you left with ?!" It was not a proud moment... but was a memorable one. She has never uttered another syllable on the subject - now I just get the 'look' when discussing future off road 'adventures'. But really - tires (more than size) do matter. I wish the Tourances or Shinko's came in 17" - I hate having to always switch tires from PR2s to Distanzias or MTs for a few days of off pavement. Maybe I need another set of rims? |
