176 miles for dirt, gravel, and sand.......50 miles of asphalt

[showkey]

Riding in the UP of Michigan............176 miles of snowmobile, jeep and ATV trails with dirt, gravel and some deep sand.

All is good except the deep sand.......the wide front road tire and deep sand are not a great combination. new tires are in my future after I use more of the stock tire. Think maybe a more narrow front would help in the front end wash out....(with a more dirt tread of course). Do not have enough faith in the NC or my self to lean back and gas it in the loose stuff.....especially with road tires.

Used the skip plate a few times and bottomed the suspension a few more and fought my way out of some deep ruts with the marginal road tires.....did I mention I need tires

176 miles and used 2.3 gallons of gas........76.5 MPG. Avg speed was maybe 40 MPH.






Tomorrow....... 2 up rode riding....................no more sand

 

[SnickterP]

Pretty awesome! I had my nc offroad last week and was pleasantly surprised with how it handled it. But I too ran into the same trouble in the sand. Tkc 80's perhaps?

 

[Jarvis]

Nice GPS set-up !!!!

 

[showkey]

Pretty awesome! I had my nc offroad last week and was pleasantly surprised with how it handled it. But I too ran into the same trouble in the sand. Tkc 80's perhaps?

TKC or maybe Avon Distanzia.............I know they are only available in super moto style in our size but other than a soft quick wear compound they might be a good compromise in the on road handling.
I have used Distanzia and Gripsters in the same terrain and they offered a good compromise. TKC have a good following here.

Got into wet grass and a little mud yesterday.........stock tire was not up for the event (obviously)

 

[showkey]

Update today.........180 miles two up, two lane narrow twisty asphalt all good again except when the asphalt gets rough passenger gets unhappy...........suspension quickly gets overwhelmed with two up.

Passenger also tolerates the seat for quick around town rides.........180 miles was too much for her seat and the bike seat. No upgrade passenger seat in the future passenger and the NC is not a common use for me.

Two up for longer distances bike felt cramped and comfort suffered..........dropped her back at camp and headed out for more gravel.

180 miles...........72.6 MPG avg speed about 50-55 MPH

 

[dduelin]

Very nice Showkey.

I rode my NC about 50 miles on gravel roads in WV & VA last weekend including a steep climb up to the top of North Fork Mountain near Seneca Rocks. ( I didn't know it when I headed to Seneca Rocks but ADV Rider had a BYOB event there last weekend and about 100 ADV Riders showed up for it. I moved my camping location two miles away as I was looking forward to a quiet weekend ). It has been really fun to keep going when the pavement ends as long as the road is relatively hard and not soft or sandy. I ride pavement 99.9% of the time so I have no plans to run a 90/10 or 80/20 tire in place of the Pilot Road 3s on there now. On one of the little crooked paved roads a fellow rider on street knobbies lost the front end and bounced his GS off a guard rail. Would it have happened on street rubber? Who knows but I have a lot more to lose on pavement.

 

[johnakay]

I think I'd be a bit wary riding through your neck of the woods what with bears/wolves etc.
do you carry a gun for measure?

 

[dduelin]

I was more wary of banjo music to be honest. Once I heard what sounded like a pig squealing and it gave me chills.

 

[ocm3]

I was more wary of banjo music to be honest. Once I heard what sounded like a pig squealing and it gave me chills.

Wolves, banjos and bears - Oh my!

Actually I'll take the wildlife (four legged and otherwise) any day of the week to be able to live, and ride, in an area where the idea of heavy traffic is four cars (actually pickups) and where I can stop at a store, leave my helmet on my bars and gear on my seat, and actually expect it - and my bike -to still be there when I get back.

Seen the other side and now I live here

Greetings from the UP.

Chuck

 

[OneGun]

Wolves, banjos and bears - Oh my!

Actually I'll take the wildlife (four legged and otherwise) any day of the week to be able to live, and ride, in an area where the idea of heavy traffic is four cars (actually pickups) and where I can stop at a store, leave my helmet on my bars and gear on my seat, and actually expect it - and my bike -to still be there when I get back.

Seen the other side and now I live here

Greetings from the UP.

Chuck

Hey Chuck whereabouts in the UP are you from. I grew up in L'Anse, but now I'm a troll.