So who are the Adv riders here?

I rode black bear on a pig DR650 not jetted for that elevation. Me and the stranger I was with had it to ourselves that day. We parked the bikes at the steps and leaned them against the rock wall and just looked around for a while up there.

I saw a video yesterday online where the county road crew took a dozer down it and about slid his ass off at the steps and right at the corner. That guy had to be crazy to even attempt that in a Metal tracked dozer. He put the front blade down more than once trying to stabilize that thing during the decent.

I really had no issues with it when I did it on the DR650 other than the jetting was jacked up and I couldn’t get my left foot down any so had to ride the rear brake and balance myself down it. I would attempt it on my T7 but not on my DCT Africa Twin.

 

Love this place. I was camped in Silverton week and a half ago. Rode Imogene for the first time in 5 years and that trail has really deteriorated. Made the ride over Cinnamon and Engineer with a stop at the deli in Lake City. Fun, scenic, simple ride. During the '18 West Fest I was in a group of 3 that rode 8 passes in one day. Last weekend I was in Salida and rode some single track up Monarch until I was worn out. Hard to beat Colorado.

 

Did you hear about the guy in the brand new jeep that went over the edge at the steps last year? He wasn't hurt. The jeep sat next to the trail for quite awhile. I heard that he got too close to the wall on the right and his tires climbed up until he rolled over.

 

We went down it last year. I was on my 950 with a new Rekluse, so basically in neutral the whole time. Of course it was raining and starting to hail on us and we were stuck between two groups of jeeps so had to go slowly to give them time to get out of the way.

 

shit wasn’t hard anyway coulda done it on a zuma

 

You young guys crack me up!

 

Im headed there this weekend. Cant wait to check it out.

 

I'm ready to start traveling as soon as the borders open up.

 

Wow, great shot!

 

I don't like Black Bear Pass. I've done it multiple times: XR650R; 990R; unloaded; fully loaded with camping gear. The steps are nothing special - just a PITA. The 30 yards of the pass which is narrow and on the edge of nothingness triggers whatever acrophobia I have and I have to work hard to overcome it and navigate what is in reality a simple chute. But, that's just me. The view is astounding, but the riding is nothing special - there is much better in the vicinity. I've boiled my rear brake fluid getting down to the steps by riding at a "brisk pace" with friends. That resulted in a timely break while I poured water from my camelbak on the rear caliper and waited for fluid pressure and pedal to return. I guess if you're there and you have to say you've done Black Bear, then by all means, go and see it for yourself. Me? Been there, done that, didn't enjoy it, I never became more comfortable with it, and I don't need to do it again.

Cheers,

Dave

 

That reminds me I need to order some SRF for the back of the 790, it boiled Saturday on trail 82 up around Tellico...

 

I sure agree with your comments. The view once down off the steps at that pull out left turn before you cross that creek is spectacular, but so is the view all the way down the switchbacks. Totally agree there is much better riding elsewhere like Corkscrew, Imogene, Ophir and the Alpine Loop. I've done BBP enough. Also I got a tip from a local about some riding before you even get to Silverton from the Durango side that I never thought of and want to try before the year is out. There's also single track out of Silverton to the south east I've not done. When it's 100 in T or C it's sure nice to be close to Colorado. But that's the summer there's always lots of traveling in Mexico in the winter.

 

Got my Dubya USA wheelset, featuring cerakote OEM hubset (nothing aftermarket available), Nachi-Japan bearings, Excel Takasago rims, and SS spokes and nipples.

My ‘15 Tiger 800XCx has always had the common frontend hop, from 33-39mph. Three different sets of tires, two different suspension setups, and varying tire pressures never affected it. I setup the rear as tubeless, using 3M marine sealant, as it worked well on the OEM rear rim. Trying Michelin Anakee 3’s (made in Thailand ), this time.

I have the swingarm out of the bike, going through the pivots. I need to check valves, do the head bearings, brake fluid, oil and filter, among other stuff. Looking forward to getting it back on the road.

 

My 16 Tiger XC never hopped with me or the 2nd owner.

My 17 Africa Twin did hop with the junk stock showa suspension, ohlins replaced the front and rear and no hop.

My 21 Tenere 700 has zero hop completely stock same size wheels and tires as I once ran on my AT.

 

On my spin balancer, I noticed the original front hub wasn’t concentric to the bearing bores. In talking with Dubya, they theorized it might create just enough difference in spoke length to cause tension issues and a hop. I found a 1st Gen front hub on eBay and it’s a much nicer casting and machining than my original. On my balancer, it has minimal runout, so I’m hopeful.

On the frontend, my spring rate went from .45 to .80, with appropriately stiffer valve stack. I’ve had Deathwings, Motoz Tractionators, and Avon TrailRiders. Lastly, I’ve tried tire pressures from 25-40psi. Out of all those, something should’ve had an effect on the hop.

 

Bought a DR650 and took it to CO with some friends last week. Amazing riding. I have wanted to do that for awhile. (I'd post a pic if I didn't have to go through so many steps to do that on here).
We did Cinnamon, California, and Hurricane Pass. And some other smaller ones. We attempted Hayden Pass from the W side and turned around before someone died (or a bike died). That one is tough, at least on a mostly stock DR650. It was a great trip.

 

On our way from Lake City to Cinnamon Pass we had pulled over to take in the view and a guy on a Scrambler came around the corner. We waved and he proceeded to try and hang the back end out a little, except he ended up losing the front and went down. He jumped up pretty quick and we went to help him pick the bike up and make sure everything was okay. He was fine and wanted to jump on and continue but we slowed him long enough to look things over for a second. He had busted the footpeg off and bent the shifter. He didn't seem deterred. Hopefully he made it to the end okay.

 

Finally got an image I could load.

 

Are those the 25L Back Country bags? How do you like them?

 

The bags actually belong to a friend of mine so I'm not sure what size they are. 25L sounds about right. He loaned them to me for the trip. They worked great. The dry bags that go inside get a little stiff when they are cold and it would be nice if they had a bleed valve to let the air out of them, but those are my only complaints about them. I didn't think I would like soft bags but they were easy to install and use. The dry bag on top is Tusk and also worked great. I put my tent, sleeping bag and mat in there. It easily attaches and detaches from the rack with the straps that come with it. It has a bleed valve which makes compressing it easy.