Transamerica Trail / Alpine loop - Gear and Tools ... What to carry?

[Aggieav8r]

Hey all, looking for some input from some of you "salty dogs" about how to best gear up for my first real adventure/dual sport ride. Particularly about what to carry on our NC's to prevent the "showstopper" malfunctions I might experience along our 8 day ride.

I'll be leaving from Grand Junction, CO and headed south thru Telluride, Ouray, Silverton, Creed, Wolf Creek and then hooking up with the Transamerica Trail to get back to Oklahoma. My bike is pretty much geared up for the ride with skid plates, fenders/huggers, Hepco crash bars, Barkbusters etc. 95% of our ride will be on dirt, and some challenging two track terrain (I'll be riding TKC 80's)

So what would YOU take? To prevent the ultimate breakdown. I'll compile the list and keep this updated for future reference - maybe even earn sticky status!

Bonus question - what kind of range can I expect to get on such terrain? Most of the riding I've done on dirt seems to be in 3rd ... 4th gear tops. And not much faster than 35/40 mph. You think I'll get 160 miles on a tank?

 

[mpgandfun]

I suggest keeping the tools on hand to do a chain adjustment/chain replacement. -Along with a spare chain.

Tools needed for chain adjustment or rear wheel removal in order to replace a chain:
(An easier alternative IMO, to putting an open ended chain on and try to get the master link snapped together
with the rear wheel still on the bike)

Ratchet with a 27mm socket (for rear axle nut)
14mm wrench (chain tension adjustment nut)
12mm wrench or 12mm socket w/ratchet (for the stop nut behind the chain adjustment nut)
A jack or some other method to support the bike if the rear wheel is removed.

A tire plug kit is a must have also. I've used mine twice in the roughly 3 months i've had it.
Also make sure you have a way to inflate a tire if needed. I have 3 ways to inflate a tire with me when i'm
on a long trip. The cheapest, is a quality bicycle tire pump. I have used one to completely inflate the rear
tire on the NC in about 15 minutes of pumping.

I felt the pump getting hot after several minutes of pumping, so I ran it under cold water to cool it off
to prevent damage to internal parts from heat buildup.

My tire plug kit came with parts to use CO2 cartridges to inflate a tire.

 

[mpgandfun]

Mmmm-k. So after just getting done with the task of putting a new chain on, I realized
you also need an 8mm socket and ratchet to remove the black plastic cover to expose
the drive sprocket. Makes routing the new chain around the drive sprocket much easier.

You'll also need a 10mm wrench to remove the shift linkage. Note that there's a small dot/indent
showing you where to line up the slight gap in the clamp that holds the shift linkage on the
grooved spindle coming out of the transmission.