rides in southeast new mexico?

[Gary LaRue]

Hey gang; I live in southeast New Mexico and I am starting to plan on where to do some off-road riding come spring time. From Lovington, where I live, it's only a couple of hours to the Sacramento mountains around Cloudcroft, and not a lot longer to the Guadalupe Mountains around Carlsbad Caverns. Since we're talking about rides in other areas, I was wondering if anyone has some suggestions for my area. Right now, I want to stay on easy to moderate rides, but I'll graduate to harder ones as I get my dirt skills back. Thanks all; Lash [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Ross Lindberg]

Over the last couple of weeks there have been quite a few posts about folks wanting to upgrade their KLR's foot pegs. While the Suzuki DR pegs are a popular option and many other riders use the IMS pegs, I found another alternative that I figured I would try and let you guys know how it worked out. As noted by many riders the stock KLR pegs suck when wet and border on being dangerous in the mud. I tried to make do with the stock pegs, but a change in riding boots coupled with a couple muddy rides convinced me that it was time to upgrade an important control surface on the bike. I ride with Thor Quadrant ATV style moto-cross boots purchased from our man Fred in Moab. While I love the comfort and protection these boots offer, I was having some trouble shifting, as I was unable to get my toe under the shift lever. I was especially having trouble with the 1-2 shift. One evening I noticed an ad in the back of a dirt bike magazine for a different idea in foot pegs. The product is called PowerPegz, www.powerpegz.com http://www.powerpegz.com/> and the basic principal is that the pegs will rotate with your body, allowing better feel and contact between your feet and the bike, as well as easier shifting, braking and less boot wear. I liked the idea, and while they seemed a bit pricey, I thought the idea was sound enough to warrant a test. I tried calling the company several times to have them answer some questions before I made a purchase, but was unable to reach anyone other than the receptionist. (Reminds me of another outfit I used to get parts for my KLR from.) Undaunted by their lack of interest in talking to me, I ordered a set and within a few days they were at my door for $140 with shipping. Like I said before, they are pricey but I still was excited to see how they worked. Opening the box I was at first struck by the size of the foot surface. The surface area has to be almost twice that of the stock pegs. They look extremely well made out of stainless steel. Installation was easy although I did have a little trouble figuring out how to put the springs in the mounting blocks. The PowerPegz come without instructions so there was a bit of head scratching going on as the pegs come with different springs and they look nothing like the stock springs. Still, a 5 minute job at most. Here is a snippet from the web site that tells a little more about their construction. SPECIFICATIONS: Powerpegz were developed using the latest technology in solid modeling with extensive finite element analysis and testing to ensure they meet stringent design requirements. The peg mount blocks are manufactured out of Wrought AISI Type 303 Stainless Steel using state of the art high speed CNC machining centers with the peg body investment cast from Wrought AISI Type 420C Heat Treated Stainless Steel. The shafts are precision manufactured from Wrought 303 Stainless Steel bar stock for durable performance. Internally, we use high quality bushings with fully synthetic waterproof grease for lubrication. The internal assembly is sealed using o-rings at both ends of the rotation shaft to prevent water intrusion. Stainless Steel wave washers and conical top lock nuts are used to maintain constant tension on peg body rotation. My pegs came pretty much as advertised with a couple of notable exceptions. First, I had some trouble with the pegs being tight and not always wanting to rotate. After disassembly I found that they had forgotten to grease the shafts. Also, instead of o-rings at each end I had Teflon washers for keeping the crud out. While some might complain that this will be just one more part to maintain, wait until you read the ride report. My initial impression when I mounted my bike was that I felt more connected to a motorcycle than I ever have. I went for a short drive to get used to them. For the first 3 miles it felt really weird having the pegs rotate with my feet. After 3 miles I decided that I would never go back to conventional foot pegs. The increased feeling of connection with the bike and the improved control function are hard for me to describe. I honestly feel like the bike is now a part of me, rather than me being a rider. I have a large ditch running through the middle of my yard and I drove back and forth though it, reveling in the connection I felt with the bike. In addition, the rear brake action has improved substantially, giving me full braking power from the rear brake as I can not depress the brake pedal fully. This made a marked improvement in shortening panic stop distances. I was still having some trouble shifting due to the left peg no wanting to rotate, but this was due to the lack of grease from the factory. Unfortunately I didn't discover this fact until I had put the bike away for the winter. I also added an IMS shifter which is a bit longer, so that should cure the shifting problems I was having. The verdict? PowerPegs are a must-have in my opinion. I would rank them right up there with the Progressive Fork springs that I installed last winter. Expensive, yes; but in this case I feel you get everything you paid for and then some. Ross Lindberg Fertile, MN [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]