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Putting the G back in G/S


roadscholar

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  • 2 weeks later...
Link posted on the MOA forum.

 

Pretty well done

 

Bud, guess Guns N' Roses "knocking on heaven's door" is the go to song for that area of the world. I used it in our Black Bear Vid too. :grin:

 

Bill, that just looks unreasonable! :eek::grin:

 

Pat

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Well this looks like fun...Not!

 

The last few minutes (16 min total) were actually hard to watch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty much like the "road" Mikko, Gary, and Russ made me traverse on my Kawasaki 650 Ninja during the UN. :lurk:

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

Powderface Trail - Kananaskis Country, Alberta. Thirty one kilometers through the Front Ranges/foothills of the Rockies. Closed for three years after the 2013 floods, just reopened May of this year. All new bridges/culverts. Widened to 1 1/2 lanes.

 

Great day - only saw a dozen vehicles the whole length. There was a grader working on 5 km of it today with pretty soft gravel and a big windrow I wouldn't have wanted to criss-cross using the GS with Anakee3 tires. Glad I chose the KLX.

 

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Compulsory disclaimer:

 

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Views:

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I'm also finding the gravel backroads to avoid the highway more and more ;)

 

Mike Cassidy

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Sweet, looks like dualsporting paradise!

 

 

I'm also finding the gravel backroads to avoid the highway more and more ;)

 

Mike Cassidy

 

Seems to be a trend. :thumbsup:

 

 

 

 

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Love the green DRZ! :thumbsup:

 

Pat

 

Afternoon Pat

 

That looks a bit more like a KLX than a DRZ.

 

 

Hi DR, yeah it's badged a KLX but it's actually a Suzuki DRZ. Back in 2003 (may have been a bit earlier) Suzuki & Kawasaki merged forces to fill gaps in their bike & ATV lineups. Didn't last but a few years before splitting up.

 

Just me trying to be witty. Fail! :grin:

 

http://motocrossactionmag.com/news/kawasaki-and-suzuki-to-share-platforms

 

Pat

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......... it's badged a KLX but it's actually a Suzuki DRZ. Back in 2003 (may have been a bit earlier) Suzuki & Kawasaki merged forces to fill gaps in their bike & ATV lineups. Didn't last but a few years before splitting up.

 

Just me trying to be witty. Fail! :grin:

 

http://motocrossactionmag.com/news/kawasaki-and-suzuki-to-share-platforms

 

Pat

 

It's OK Pat, I got it!

 

At least here in Canada they are available as 2003 & 2004 models. Easy to swap the body panels for the Suzuki ones if you want to change colours, and there are lots of aftermarket parts. I don't understand people doing big bore kits but I can understand the big fuel tanks and jet kits. The stock 10 liter tank is good for 220-250 km so the Rotopax 4l adds almost 100 km.

 

Mike Cassidy

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  • 1 month later...

An interesting article by Robert Smith on how the GS came about. It also mentions Hans-Gunther von der Marwitz which BMW hired away from Porsche and who redesigned their entire motorcycle line with the slash 5, 6, and 7's. Having a long background with air-cooled Porsches I've recognized the similarities (mentioned occasionally here which has mostly fallen on deaf ears) and now have a clearer understanding why.

 

Modern airhead history

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  • 1 month later...

We haven't seen a video in awhile, here's one featuring a KTM 990 and the new Africa Twin riding in sand. And who doesn't like sand.. :grin: Actually I am impressed the AT did as well as it did (I've ridden a 950 in sand which was long considered the standard bearer for big bikes).

 

Edited by roadscholar
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Good find!

 

I have been looking for a direct comparison and review of the 990 vs the AT.

They seem to sure many of the same dimensions and characteristics

 

 

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Yep, I've mentioned this before about the 950/990 and 800GS, they share the same wheelbase (62 in) as does the AT. The long wheelbase really seems to help in the soft stuff not to mention stability at higher speeds onroad. I'm guessing KTM figured it out from all those years Dakar racing, although Honda's won a few Baja's (9 times?) so they probably have sand down pretty good too : )

 

I like the AT but am just curious about the feel/ride, if it's as bland as some of the other Eastern bikes I've been on, need a good test ride. Just sitting on it, it fits me better than most of the others.

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  • 3 months later...
roadscholar

Not GS's but there was a time when we used to ride GS's on these trails, before we wised up : )

 

My buddy Dave and I got out for a ride in the forest today, temps and conditions were about as good as they get. Turn yer volume down..

 

Ocala Nat. Forest

 

 

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Spy shots 2018 F900GS

 

Thanks roadscholar

 

Definitely different-- Looks like they finally went to tubeless wheels, probably a completely different engine design as the chain & muffler are now on opposite sides than the old 800GS.

 

Still has the mud jamming wheel locking low fender.

 

I wonder if they finally moved the fuel tank back up front & added more capacity?

 

Not crazy about the more forward front exhaust down pipes as they look difficult to get a thick skid plate around.

 

Lets hope that cruise control is also offered as an option on the parallel twin GS. (needed badly)

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  • 3 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

MikeRC: That's a sweet looking picture.

 

Here's a shot from my GoPro heading up Old Mt. Lemmon Road from last Sunday. The road seemed steeper than this photo reveals.

 

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Can't be Colorado, no ROCKS :dopeslap: I was just up riding out of Portland and found some really gnarly rocky forest jeep roads. More than I wanted to do. I was on Slo-Red and as good as I have the suspension, I decided that if I got the chance to maybe go to CO one more time, it would not cut it. So, I bought the Husky.

 

Dave sure has a lot of colorful stickers on his bike :clap: Looks like fun :wave:

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It's getting harder to find trails that haven't become super rocky/gnarly around Colorado, the ones OHV's use get worse every year. So yeah it's pretty sweet when you find some they haven't discovered (yet). Those weren't real far from the CG, amazingly I hadn't ridden them until recently : )

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Thanks Mike, great riding all over the west but Colorado has the altitude and probably why it's so popular. LMK when/if you're going, could send you some routes. New Mexico has great riding too especially northern.

 

Colorado mtn high

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Just finishing 3 weeks in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa including over 1000km of unpaved roads on a rented F800GS with Renedian Adventures.

 

Twelve riders (including 5 women on their own bikes) and two guides (spoiled). The experience of a lifetime.

 

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Spreetshoogte Pass, Namibia

 

 

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Middelberg Pass, South Africa

 

 

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South Africa country road near Oudtshoorn

 

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Swartberg Mountains

 

Mike Cassidy

 

 

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"The experience of a lifetime" - It appears to be! Thanks for sharing - sure would like to see more of your pictures or a full trip report when you have time. :thumbsup:

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  • 2 months later...

Now that was a nicely done video! :thumbsup: Yup, the Black Bear steps are forever etched into my brain. And, the little 250 huffing & puffing on the steep grades seems very familiar also. :grin:

 

 

Pat

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That was, good find Pat. Nice music selection too, for a second I thought we were getting the 'Jaws' soundtrack. Glad we didn't have to deal with the traffic jam, probably since it was rainy our day. I went to Telluride once in the early 70's and was looking up at that wall and a guy told me there was a road over the top. Believe my response was No Frikken Way : )

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I just watched it again (it's 6* F :ohboy:) and at the 2:15 mark, he either got very lucky or has great depth perception. Looks like he just missed that heavy cable strung across the passage. :eek::money:

 

Pat

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  • 2 months later...

 

A short video from my 2015 visit to South Africa. A section of R332 in the Baviaanskloof Nature Preserve from Combrinks Pass down to the west gate.

 

The biggest challenge was those intermittent concrete tracks meant for 4x4 vehicles. They would be broken in places and the erosion around them caused quite a few interesting drops.

 

BMW 700 & 1200GS's. All with Anakee3 tires :D :D :D

 

"No rental BMWs were harmed in the making of this adventure"

 

 

Mike Cassidy

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  • 4 months later...
lawnchairboy

I conned Bob into joining me into some dirt finding at the UN last week. We basically went out of Custer, SD to the West on 16 and then shot straight north meandering along the WY/SD border regions with some paper maps, never been to the area. About three miles in, we had to do a field repair on a GSA which required electrical tape and an allen wrench. Bob can explain. After that, what a gorgeous day, saw a couple of big bucks, some cow elk, hawks, does, and a beautiful overlook (once I got us lost a few times). Bob has those pics. Cement ridge (I think) overlook is due west on the forest road from Savoy, SD, highly recommended. It is off to the west of the Spearfish canyon run.

 

 

A good day. I think we passed two vehicles in 120 miles of dirt, one of which was a rancher who stopped me to say "You aren't from around here are you?" He was a helpful sort as it turns out. Missed a couple of signs due to the fact that they were either shot up or turned facing away from the road which caused us to wander for about 45 minutes or so but no harm done.

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited by lawnchairboy
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