rims and wheels

[ocpianoman]

One of my goals since getting back into motorcycling has been to do some fire-roading like I used to do on an XT500 when I lived in Silverado Cyn in the 80s and would ride to Lake Elsinore and back the hard way, up and over Santiago Peak in the Cleveland Nat'l Forest (CA not OH). Hence the purchase of the KLR650 last April but circumstances, not the least of which was the demise of one of the KLR's exhaust valves, kept me from getting it done until today. Almost ran out of year! Since the fires prompted the closure of the unpaved portion of Silverado Cyn. Rd. I was somewhat at a loss as to where I could go to do some of that kind of riding. I wasn't all that interested in riding around in the OHV park in Azusa Cyn. with all the kids on their quads. Then I remembered Lytle Creek near Glen Helen and Devore just west of I-15. I had discovered the road two years ago on my GS450 and had turned back when the pavement ended about 5 miles north of Animal Crackers, the restaurant in the town of Lytle Creek. I remember wishing at the time that I still had my XT500 so I could follow the road further. So that was where I aimed the KLR today and was well pleased to find the road continuing unpaved at least another 10 miles or so up the creek bed which gave me ample opportunity to slide and bounce over the gravel and boulders at 20mph. The going was rough enough that 25mph would have been too fast in places, at least for me anyway, and some of the corners were blind enough that traveling any faster would have posed a safety hazard to others. There were Jeeps and trucks and families up there so it's obviously no secret and not that much of a challenge to serious off-roaders. I even saw a guy riding two-up with his wife on the back of his DL650 V-Strom, which is not known for its off-road prowess, but it's better on dirt and gravel than a Harley! He had a skid plate on an otherwise stock looking bike. The public was eventually turned back by a gate closing the road but not before it had climbed enough to be only about 200 ft. below the snow line. Heading back I saw a fork heading off toward the east and followed that road, which began to climb steeply and get narrow enough that cars could no longer pass each other without one stopping and getting off the road, which was impossible at points with steep drop-offs to deal with. Traffic was much sparser up there! I eventually came around the side of the mountain and was able to look down at what I'm pretty sure is the I-15 south of the junction with the 138. This should link to a Google map of the general vicinity. Might have to copy and paste the whole link. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=devore+ca&ie=UTF8&ll=34.289417,-117.497921&spn=0.061553,0.150375&z=13&om=1 Since I was running out of daylight and it was cooling off fast I turned back before I ran out of road. There's always another day. I had also come 130 miles since filling up and didn't want to chance running out of gas up there. Turned out I had plenty. Made it home without using reserve and with 180 miles showing on the trip meter. The KLR seems to be getting consistently good mileage. The first tank returned 53+ mpg. The bike's done about 300 miles since its resurrection last Sunday and it hasn't missed a beat. Sounds about as sexy as a lawnmower engine but just keeps on shoving me down the road with gusto. There is not a huge selection of bikes that will do what the KLR did today, which is run down the freeway at 75mph, head out into the boonies and handle gravel and boulders in a creek bed, then climb a steep dirt fire road, then back down the creek bed and back out onto the freeway for a 50 mile run home. I used muscles that haven't been used in quite a while and managed to stay relatively safe the whole time, which was important as I didn't tell anyone where I was headed today. It wasn't like I was miles from nowhere with no-one else around but the danger of going off the edge and not being noticed by anyone is still very real. Guys who do this a lot get GPS phones and check in with the ranger stations. I will have to learn the ropes a little better before heading for Baja or Alaska! I did wear elbow, knee and shin armor, good gloves and riding boots and, I did accomplish what I set out to do with my 12 days off, which was get the KLR back on the road and get a little dirt under its wheels. I have a couple of pics to share but can't attach them or the message will be rejected by the two lists I post to. Time to get a Photobucket acct. The map may not show the details well, but it appears that the road that was gated off eventually winds west and south back to Baldy Village. and the other road I followed for a while connects to Swarthout Cyn Rd., Lone Pine Canyon Rd. and eventually to Wrightwood. Nice to know if the I-15 gets blocked and you happen to have a Jeep or a two-wheeled Jeep like the KLR. ian

[thomas cole]

Does anyone know of alternate wheels (rims) that fit the KLR (mine is a A20)? You know from another bike. I'm having a real hard time getting a second set for off-road purposes. I don't require tires, I just don't want to spend a ton of cash or buy brand new. I always get beat out on E-Bay. As long as they are straight and problem free I'll buy. I know the answer will come from this group you've always come through for me. Thanks in advance... Tom A20,Lime Ricky --------------------------------- All new Yahoo! Mail - --------------------------------- Get a sneak peak at messages with a handy reading pane. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]