@scott-h Scott, yeah, I think i will replace it, eventually. Since it isn't breaking so much, I feel a little less urgency, but I would like to design one that gives back about an inch of ground clearance on the bike side and looks just a little more elegant than the patched up abomination that I am still running.
Had some good conversations with Chuck on how to do that. There are some challenges involved with recovering ground clearance, so remains to be designed.
Well Friends,
Upon my return from the cold, wet PNW, my riding buddy suggested I get a little sun and warm wind by heading down the AZ BDR from about Winkleman to Mammoth, AZ. So we did!
Should have turned the Go Pro on for vid, but some how put it in the mode that captures a still every second or three.
We headed out past Florence on the Florence Kelvin Highway, headed south, then crossed a creek to catch the north end of that little section of trail, maybe 20 miles or so of deep sand, large rocks and way off camber tracks that had bottomless washes on the down hill side, overlooking 20 to 50 ft. drop offs. What could go wrong?
Actually not all that much, other than a few little technical issues...
Note the presence of two tail/brake lights on the hack fender, at the end of the "tough section."
Things started out pretty easy...
They quickly proceeded to get a little more interesting. The road had sections where the washes forced the rig over to the point where the hack wheel was about 2 feet higher than the bike wheels, with the rear tire of the bike just kissing the sandy edge of the drop off.
These were some rare instances where I actually deployed the electric tilt function all the way down on the hack side to give the bike a little lower probability of flipping the chair over the bike, then down the wash. No worries, though. I was pretty sure the barbed wire would stop it from sliding all the way down.
Of course, once in a while, the chair got to be on the low side, so it all balance out.
Had to remind Greg from time to time to "not pet the cholla" as you pass by them... they were very friendly.
Yeah, I got off and inspected this one, before approaching it with wild abandon!
I decided it was passable, if I would just hold my breath and not look down:
Silly boy... what was I worried about?
One of several little ponds of very stagnant water. One was a little wider and longer; I decided that momentum was your friend and got through, but Greg had a few complaints about the smell, next time we stopped.
c't'd
C't'd from above.
The "right" line frequently provided foliage inspection opportunities:
Someone was nice enough to dump a few rocks in this wash...
Shade good! It got up to about 80F (27 C.)
Shadows starting to stretch out a little:
This was a little steeper than the picture makes it look. Greg seemed to find some amusement in watching me slide around and find a line that worked.
At least the smelly water collected on the down hill side; more foliage inspection.
This line provided the opportunity to inspect another brand of cactus:
The occasional rut to help decide the line:
Found a little sand to play in, crossing a dry riverbed:
View out over the valley when we climbed out of the river bed was quite nice:
c't'd
c't'd
A few little hills remained, with plenty o' baby heads:
There really was no good line through this smelly little pond; 8mph might have been just a tad fast. At least the washing machine finally got the smell out of my jeans...
As we got closer to Mammoth, things widened out and smoothed out... yeah there was a little sliding around the corners.
Overall, a splendid little jaunt, not far from home.
Now those of you who were paying attention at the beginning might remember that there were two taillights on the hack fender. Unfortunately that was not the case at the gas station, a little later:
It would seem that one taillight assembly had abandoned ship when the bracket fatigued and broke after only 46,000 miles of very slow and cautious riding.
Now here is how I figured that out; not by a simple walk around the bike and look at it, nooo.
I turned the engine off accidentally with the kill switch, filled it with gas, restarted it, rode over to a parking spot, and then found that the ignition key would not turn the engine off. It would kill the lower LCD dash, but not bigger TFT display nor the accessories that were hooked to the CANBUS circuit. I finally disconnected the batteries to be able to turn off the engine and think about it.
Waited awhile, reconnected the batteries, and things mostly seemed to go back to normal.
Got home, and got to thinking about it some more, pulled the codes the next day from the ECM, and found a CANBUS communication error code. I am kind of hoping that the light being powered up, and disconnecting itself while riding, may have temporarily confused the CANBUS logic. Otherwise, if it is not fully resolved, there may be a new TCM or ECM in my future. (yuck!)
We will see how that all plays out, but over all, it was a very fun ride that I would definitely do again. Maybe south to north, next time, so the chair is on the low side more often than not!
You dirty girl!
There might still be another couple rides in this back tire... tread is for sissies!
Another great adventure in the books! 😎
Hold my keyboard and watch this! 🙃
I’ve done that section on my Ural, going south-to-north. I would definitely not want to do it north-to-south, because of that one crazy narrow, off-camber section on the edge of the cliff. The one with all that overgrowth banging you in the head as you ride along, that’s only barely wide enough to fit a rig through it and has a drop off on one side. You’re definitely brave to squeeze through there, in that direction. Looks like you had a blast.
@ckaseman Yep, it was a fine time. There were a couple of times I had a little concern about sliding off a cliff, but I figured it might flip over and slow it down a little, at least. 🤣
@ckaseman Yep, it was a fine time. There were a couple of times I had a little concern about sliding off a cliff, but I figured it might flip over and slow it down a little, at least. 🤣
'tis not a laughing matter. We fellow sidecarists would be concerned.... about Black Betty getting further damaged if it were to tumble down a cliff.
The sidecar pilot can be mended, but poor, poor Black Betty can only take so much more abuse
😯
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
Black Betty deserves an enveloping air bag! 😎
Hold my keyboard and watch this! 🙃
Well Friends, it got up to 80F(27C) in Skunk Hollow, so seemed like a good time to go explore out west of town, before it gets hot!
Greg joined me on his trusty desert pig (DR650), so we were both comfortable with some technical challenge trails.
I didn't shoot many pics, since I have documented some of this ride in the past.
Here is the topology of the area. Sandy desert with rocky trails up and through the little mountains.
We did manage to find the deepest sand that I have ridden on, to date. Things mostly went well, but I did need to deploy the winch a couple of times due to my inattention to details. i.e, don't slow down for the curves!
I had been out this way last weekend for a range day with some friends. Took the hack rig, and decided the riding was too much fun to not visit again, the following weekend with a like minded friend.
Several rocky hills were more of a challenge than either of us remembered them to be, last year, but we made it up them with no apparent damage to ourselves or our rigs.
Found a cool old pioneer era building out by the little private airport, great place to stop and hydrate.
Decided to air the rear tire down from 33psi to 22psi. Was helpful in the deep sand. Will change it out next weekend! Made almost 8,000 miles!
Not much for drama, but overall a very pleasant ride!
Dane, do you think you would have to winch out.....if you had actual TREAD and KNOBBIES left on that rear tire ???????
Going into the sandy desert with a slick tread-bare tire on the pusher wheel means....no traction.
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
Au contraire mon frere! No traction means quite the Attraction for rubberneckers!
Illegitemi non carborundum est!
@miles-ladue Well, my current hypothesis is that if I slow down on deep sand, (maybe 1 ft to 1.5 ft deep), the rig sinks, sits on the bottom bash plate and the rear wheel spins in the air, after scooping out any remaining sand underneath it. Some knobs might have helped in the not slowing down portion, but it seems like the hack wheel and front wheel drag down when the speed goes down, and rear tread doesn't do much good.
We will see. An E07 + Dakar is going on, with the bigger blocks, so should help with rock climbing, if nothing else. Gotta squeeze the last miles out of those old tires! It is nice having a brand new spare along, though, just in case a rock goes through at an in opportune time.
Airing down made more difference than I would have estimated. There were some slaloms that ended in 90 degree pairs of curves that if you hit them just right, felt like magic. You hooked the bike tires in a deep trench of sand and kept the hack wheel up against the berm on the outside and just sort of drifted around.
Was a pretty decent work out at only 80 F; I don't see repeating it when it heats up to 115F in a few months. Have to get the low desert riding in now, then move up in elevation as the summer progresses.
I do enjoy riding on a bald rear tire, though. I am under the impression that it forces me to improve my throttle control skills a little to keep things hooked up! 😎
Insane Dane, given the ride MODES you have on that '21 ATAS-DCT, have you considered a Paddle tire, Sport Mode, and max Traction Control .....and full throttle approaching the "sand traps" ???
Tighten up your steering dampener to Max ...and Hang On to the handlebars 😳
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
@miles-ladue The thought of a paddle tire is always intriguing, until I think about the paved ride out to the sand! 🤣
Funny, but I have to turn the traction control completely off for sand; if I leave it on even 1 notch, it kills the power and I sink. It works pretty good on rocks, though. 1 click and it just claws it's way over.
The steering damper pretty much lives at "max" during the off pavement adventures. Takes a lot of the work out of rocks.
Bike lives in S3 mode (max sport mode) at almost all times. Getting ready to drop the gearing again, with the next tire change. Picked up a 15 tooth front sprocket, "just to see" what it would be like. Already have the largest rear sprocket on that I could easily find. I suspect the bolt pattern is the same as many other Honda bikes, so will eventually see if I can find a 46/7 sprocket; currently running a 45.
