| Author | Message | ||
     Werewulf |
im riding to gatlinburg from florida on thursday...ive done the trip many times, but this one will be a bit different.. ive never ridden the gravel forestry roads before on a bike.. i used to live near deals gap, but i was a harley rider in those days and stayed on the pavement.. i rode my R1200R to gatlinburg 2 weeks ago and it was a good ride and the bike is a charm.. the beemer has abs and an oil cooler in harms way, that may not do well on gravel... the 08 uly has the xb9 gear and ive never ridden it 500 miles in 97 degree heat at continuous 80 mph... when the bike was new, the fan would only come on when i shut off the bike.(even with the xb9 gear installed).. just recently, the fan has started to come on at highway speed... its time to flip a coin! i dread the leg roast from the uly on the hot south georgia asphalt.. the beemers motor heat is nil... i would really like to test the gravel roads on the uly, but i dread the hot ride up and back.. | ||
| Etennuly |
Double mesh riding pants fix that highway heat for me. Only notice the heat if sitting still too long. Jeans will have me toasted. The Uly with that gear would be a lot of fun on those roads. I did some last year with my stock geared Uly. You either go fast or slip the clutch. I choose go fast. If you do some water crossings drill drain holes in your rear hub. Mine ate the bearings a few weeks after deep water. I didn't have drain holes. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
No question. Uly. Do the run from Cades Cove to Deal's Gap. More fun than an adult should be allowed to have. | ||
| Ulynut |
C'mon | ||
| Thetable |
Stick a knee out and ride the Uly. | ||
| Werewulf |
i was told that there is a gravel forest road from cades cove to deals gap... anyone know where i pick it up? ive always used the foothills pkwy.. (Message edited by werewulf on June 15, 2009) | ||
| Barker |
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/468578.html?1245113620 | ||
| Barker |
"If you do some water crossings drill drain holes in your rear hub. Mine ate the bearings a few weeks after deep water. I didn't have drain holes." where are your holes. pix? | ||
| Xbimmer |
Treadmarks' pic:  I put one in my wheel a few weeks ago when I changed out my bearings. My bike hadn't seen direct water in months but there was still moisture in there and the left bearing inside face of the race was rusty (side stand pooling?). | ||
| Growl |
I wear leather chaps... totally obliviates the heat issue | ||
| Etennuly |
Barker, I don't have pictures of my holes. I used one hole, tapped it for a grease fitting and filled it up with marine grease the way I used to do the hubs on my three-wheelers. I did drill three holes in Gotj's hub. They are 1/8", in the spokes, about 3/8" closer to the center than the picture above shows. I also staggered them in and out so they would not be on the same plane. Sorry I don't have any pictures of that. | ||
| Werewulf |
any deep water on that road? | ||
| Methed |
Etennuly, the filled hub is a killer idea IMO. Did you ever post any pics? +1 on leather chaps. Also, see thread: HTFU! Wwulf, go gravel--you can always slab it back. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
any deep water on that road? "Deep" is a state of mind. A few inches deep, yep. "Deep"? Not really. I will say that you will be giggling inside your helmet. At 80MPH. The sucky part is that the road is one way. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Would you really want to miss this on Deal's Gap with the Uly? http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-596415812 2122120035&ei=XAE3SuWrGYO0rgKx5e2kCQ&q=deal%27s+ga p+ulysses&hl=en | ||
| Etennuly |
No, but I will as soon as I get some. For a preview, just imagine a grease fitting in one of the spoke hollow areas in the hub. Damn thing took four caulking gun tubes of marine grease. Cool thing is now I just give it a little pump or two whenever I think about it. I did not take the inner seals out, I feel that was a mistake. But the grease can still work itself into the bearings and fresh grease is always available if the bearings ever get hot. In my day, when I raced my 200X, the biggest maintenance problems were chains and destroying rear wheel bearings with that three foot long 'live' axle and super knobby tires. After I did the grease fitting(even with the inner seals in) I would grease it right after a ride, that almost always pushed ounces of water out. I never had to replace those bearings again. | ||
| Florida_lime |
I ran Tathum Gap (Trail of Tears) on my first trip from Florida to Robbinsville. http://tailofthedragon.com/other_dual_tathum.html It's like a dirt Deal's Gap. I WAS a little more comfortable 2 weeks ago when I ran my KTM 950SE over, but it isn't too bad if you are not trying to make up time !  Also: http://tailofthedragon.com/Parsons/index.html | ||
| Werewulf |
there is a newer forest road that goes from andrews to snowbird... you pick it up, off of beaver dam road, if my memory serves me right... it goes for miles along the ridge overlooking the road to murphy.. | ||
| Florida_lime |
I have gone down Little Snowbird for MILES after it turns to dirt and rock, and there is supposed to be a way into Andrews or Murphy, but I haven't found it YET.  I'll look into Beaver Dam Rd. | ||
| Florida_lime |
Google maps show Allman Creek Rd. (1378) out of Andrews connecting with Little Snowbird Road. Maybe I'll try going from that direction when I'm up there for the 4th of July weekend. Beaver Dam Road doesn't look like it would lead towards the Snowbird area, but maybe it hasn't been updated yet. | ||
| Werewulf |
that forestry road was visible from my old house... ive been gone from there for six years... if i go back this week, ill write directions.. its a great road and runs along the mountain tops... it scares me that i forget stuff like this.. | ||
| Werewulf |
ok, enough of the senior moments... its beaver creek rd... you can take it from andrews to snowbird... outstanding views... | ||
| Florida_lime |
Beaver Creek only shows up on the satellite views for a large portion, but it appears to dump into Allman Creek Road near where it dumps into Little Snowbird. Thanks Dave, I'll check it out next month ! | ||
| Werewulf |
you can follow beaver creek rd and it will go from paved to gravel... it looks like you are cutting thru someones yard, but its all us forestry road.. | ||
| Ronmold |
Back to the grease, Is there any way to put some kind of filler, maybe PVC pipe of various sizes to take up space in the hub so it wouldn't require so much grease? I like the grease fitting idea. | ||
| Etennuly |
Probably could fill it with plastic marbles or something. I thought about foam insulation, but it seems that grease melts the stuff over time. |
