| Author | Message | ||
     Sgtspook |
Well Ladies and Gents, I have had my Uly for about 10 months now and *finally started branching out into two-up riding and riding off road a little. I took the Uly and the girl to Joshua tree a few weeks ago which was pretty awesome. Then I managed to get a few days leave and decided to take the Uly to Mesa AZ (also from Oceanside). The trip out I took the Interstate--boooring...so on the way back I decided to take the road(s) less traveled. I took a little county road off I-10W to Salome AZ, refueled and headed north to Wendon AZ. I headed NW at Wendon, planning to take the little grey road my Rand McNally Atlas showed that branched off to the West to Parker AZ.  When I got to where I thought the road should be I saw a dirt road that headed off across the valley floor past an industrial plant and out of sight. I kept going on the pavement thinking that I hadnt reached my road yet. A few miles later I came to Alamo Lake State park and realized that I had overshot...so I headed back to the dirt road contemplating my lack of serious off road time on anything with only two wheels anytime in the recent past.  I was feeling good about the Uly's performance on the trip so far, on the balance of the load on board and on its recent fuel consumption (circa 44mpg) as I turned off on the long dirt line that stretched to the hills on the horizon. I stopped briefly to get a good long drink from the camelbak and take a wee bit of preload off the front and rear (had it a bit tight for the highway). I decided to give it a shot, I figured that by the time I reached the plant in the middle of the valley I would have a better feel for how the big Uly handled off road in this scenario.  So...five miles later I reached the natural gas plant...and kept going. The road was a mix of washboard clay hard-pack, 10" deep sand and golf-ball sized rocks. I had a few Holy S#%! moments already and wasnt sure if I could seriously tell anyone that the thought that "this might not be the best idea" hadnt't crossed my mind by now. But hey, I grew up riding BMX and MTB on roads like this so I pressed on. I was thinking as I picked my way through the sand and rocks of the washes that I would enjoy climbing the hills out of this valley and getting to some smoother and less sandy road. In the back of my mind was the memory that 'ol Uly didnt get super-great mileage last weekend at low speeds so I needed to try to keep around 35 to make it to Parker on the gas I had left. I could make about 30 something here and there, topping out around 37, as a worked my way across the flats and started into the cactus laden hills to the west...where the road did NOT get smoother. The path was a wee bit narrow here and the sand and washboard clay was replaced with larger than golf-ball sized rocks that gave the suspension a hell of a workout and looked eerily sharp. I worked the gearbox down into second and then gradually to first and started carefully climbing the first of three steep hills out of the valley. Coming around a corner I noticed that there appeared to be some human-sized things on the ledge way up there above me that looked to be wearing helmets. Adventure bikers perhaps? Dirtbikers? Who knows. I kept going.  Another minute or two and I slid to a stop at the top of the ridge surrounded by a formation of Polaris 4x4 fully independently suspended 400++ something-or-other ATV's. The look on their faces was priceless. "Boy how'd ja git that thingy up har?" an older gent asked me. To which I responded "Very carefully." Anyhow, looking at the hardware this group was riding on, I started to think that I had bit off even more than I thought (which was already more than I cared to chew). So, I broke with my own general tradition and asked "Can you get to Parker this way?" To their credit they didnt laugh, but I thought they might. The old guy told me that I could if I knew where to turn off the main road at... And precisely what friggen main road he was referring to I have no idea. So I asked if the road ahead was any better... and this time they DID laugh. "Nope sunny you jist came thru the best dern part of it." Interesting... So I am how many miles into this fuel tank? And where the heck am I? And why doesnt my GPS have a road here if the atlas does? And which turn off was that again? And how much daylight have I already consumed on this leg that hoped would be a quick and scenic route? So then I turned around because I dont know how much gas I had left, or how well the ol' Verizon cell would have worked out there (didnt think to check at that moment as I stared at two more valleys and ridges to go), and I didnt know how far I would make it before the poor hard cases just fell off due to the beating they were taking with there *more than 15lb content... In short I turned around because Im sure that I lacked the experience to feel comfortable doing it, although Im sure there is someone who has. The old guy told me I was smart as I turned around...and only I laughed...  So then I creeped back down the hills and started across the flats, still trying to keep focused on picking my way through the ruts and sand as safely as possible. And then it happened... Entering a wider wash with deep sand that had nearly given me a heart-attack on the way up; I set myself up in a wheel track that partially showed the depth of the silty sand at that location. I felt the bike rock a few times, the front tire plowing a nice furrow in the sand. Then she slowed abruptly, rolled hard left and came to rest on her left side. Wow.  She was still idling in first--I guess I know now that the tip-sensor recall was for me. I shut her off and stood up. I had to laugh. I knew she was OK, I mean I slid across a parking lot with her once and we both walked away from that with just a scratch so I was a little happy that this time she picked somewhere softer to land. I took a few quick shots with the 'ol cell phone camera (what do ya know, I did get service there) and saw the heard of ATV's making a beeline down the mountain at me. So I picked up the beast and fired her up and....realized...that she was like a foot down in the dust...and she looks really short like that.  I slipped the clutch and the Uly slowly pushed its way back atop the soft sand and we were underway again. A few more Oh-S#$%'s and we were back to the pavement again without anymore abrupt landings. A few miles later I was back in Weldon and then Salome again...Like three hours and 94 miles later. Suprisingly I got about 49 mpg on that leg--pretty good for averaging around 30 mph. I headed out of Salome for Parker on a different route (and interestingly enough, I got just shy of 66 mpg on that leg at around 63 mph average). The rest of the trip home was less dramatic but much easier. I rode into Oceanside pretty late having covered some 538 mostly desert miles in one day (whew). So...long story...esp since I didnt do Baja or anything cool like that... I did like 40 miles on a jeep trail. I would be interested in hearing about other short off-road jaunts that Uly owners have done and would recommend (especially in SoCal), what they bring with them and how they get ready for it. Thanks for reading my long tale. -AT | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
well done, thx for sharing.  FB | ||
| Reepicheep |
Cool story... I can almost hear the bike laughing in that sideways shot saying to you "yeah yeah, laugh it up fuzzball, now help me get up and lets get rolling again".. | ||
| Sgtspook |
Yeah, Im sure she was laughing cause she didnt miss a beat. Just for good measure I left all of the dust and dirt on the sides of the bike for a few days so she could scoff at the little Japanese machines in the parking lot at work. Evidently I should have gunned it to straighten her out...but I didnt think of that in the 0.2 seconds it took to come to a sliding stop.  | ||
| Court |
Great story ! | ||
| Wile_ecoyote |
I think you proved that Buell already HAS a dirtbike. Good for you, great story. | ||
| Sleez |
very cool, thanks. | ||
| Sgtspook |
Thank you all for the support. Has anyone put serious dirt tires on this thing yet? Are they even made for our wheels? I bought that book--Adventure Motorcycling Handbook and Im starting to get an itch to try this off-road thing again... |
