THIS IS OUR 2017 BETA 500RR-S & 125RR-S THREAD

[surfer-dude]

On 9/2/2017 at 7:53 AM, Old Plonker said:

Sorry both bikes are in the shop at the same time, but glad you don't have to pull the carb apart.

Never thought of it before, but I'm putting Sta-Bil on my shopping list right now.

Yeah, it's kind of a bummer. The dealer called me yesterday and told me that my ladies bike is done and that it's running good now. At least it wasn't something else, so both the service manager, and tim from beta were right about what it actually was. Thank you for sharing about the parts diagram I didn't even think about looking at it and going backwards off of that. I found the plug that covers the adjustment screw pretty easily, and I don't think it woulda been to big of a deal to if I woulda had to do it myself. But hey at least I didn't have to get any carb cleaner in my eye, it's happened before, and it's not exactly a good time. 

So after some discussion with my lady, we're just gonna use some stabil in the gas and hopefully ride em more often. This all sounds good to me.

On 9/2/2017 at 9:33 AM, Ben500RR-S said:

Probably just stuff clogging a jet(s) on the 125's carburetor.  It happens, whether it is from fueling up and from the sediment in either the fuel tank, or stuff from manufacturing . . . it just happens sometimes.  

I had to breakdown a couple of sets of carburetors on my nephews bikes, one had the pilot jet so clogged, I had to buy a set of carb cleaning needles, tried carb cleaner, soaking in carb cleaner, burning the jet with a lighter, till finally, I was able to poke whatever was stuck in the jet, out.  It was like a grain of sand and is all it takes.  

At least you are under warranty and they will give you back a running bike.  

Yeah stuff happens, thats for sure.

A few weeks ago I had to take apart 2 different xr50 carbs to make 1 good one. I went through that too, I used some old guitar strings to poke out all of the jets and orifices, and then I also had to put them back together mutiple times to make sure it ran properly. It was a little time consuming, but My kids bike is running pretty good now, however my xr50 is still in pieces. my gastank and petcock is clogged with varnish. and the engine wont even let the kickstart cycle down. So after I wrap up a few projects i'm gonna do an engine teardown on it, and see what I can do to get it running again. It would be nice to have my adult modified 50 running in addition to my little dudes. I really let those bikes sit for a long time(probably at least 7-8 years) maybe longer.

My 500 needs a thermocouple, for the fan. so we're waiting on parts from beta, and then all should be well. To be honest, I don't think that my fan ever worked properly. I think the fan switch was bad from day 1. I just wasn't accustomed to it. 

I also believe that my fuel injection system on my 500 had a bit of varnish in it as well, and that's what caused me to stall out on those steps. I asked the dealer about how to clean the FI system and he said its easy, just put some additive in the gas and go for a ride. I forgot what he told me to get but when I pick up our bikes I'll ask him again and let yous guys know. The service manager that is doing the warantee work told me that the fans not working is common as is the fuel level light not working properly. These are minor issues, that can be worked out pretty easily.

The customer service from Beta is top notch, and I'm happy with the service from mountain motorsports as well. They are both have very cool people working for them, and they are a pleasure to do business with. I'm happy with my choice of buying both mine and my wifeys Beta's through mountain motorsports. I'd probably make the same choice again versus all of the differnt alternatives.

Edited September 3, 2017 by surfer-dude

[surfer-dude]

While the bikes are in the shop I took some time and did a few videos. 

Heres a review:

and heres one about the different protective gear that I use:

 

 

[Ben500RR-S]

Sometime this winter, I'll have to take my bike in for the low fuel light.  Mine has also never worked.  

Do you know what the problem was with that?  

 

I use Startron in lieu of Sta-Bil as it is stabilizer as well as it does good things for the fuel system and the fuel.  I'm going to be sure to run it as it gets closer to winter up here and I can't ride the bike as much as I used to.  

[surfer-dude]

21 hours ago, Ben500RR-S said:

Sometime this winter, I'll have to take my bike in for the low fuel light.  Mine has also never worked.  

Do you know what the problem was with that?  

 

I use Startron in lieu of Sta-Bil as it is stabilizer as well as it does good things for the fuel system and the fuel.  I'm going to be sure to run it as it gets closer to winter up here and I can't ride the bike as much as I used to.  

The dealer told me that the low fuel light sender works properly, but that it's not getting any power to it. Then he made a comment about my light modifications, fan modifications, as well as the extra wiring I have for my blackout switch. So I told him no worries, I'll figure it out if you guys can't. So,I'm not exactly sure whats gonna happen there. But I can tell you and everybody else that it quit working before I messed with any electrical's on my bike.

It worked at first as I've noticed it come on 3 times.

1. it came on when I was cruising the streets, and so I saw where the fuel level was and so I cruised around another 20 minutes before I added gas.

2. I was out riding around the los padres national forest and it came on so I coasted down as much of the mountain as possible and made it back to the truck and added gas. no worries.

3. I was riding down the street and it came on and the bike ran out of gas about 20seconds later.

It has never came on again since. So I'm not sure what the issue is. I like the fact that the gastank is semitransparent and you can see the fuel level, so that might be the end of that one. I'm sure that I can figure it out though.

 

About the gas additive, I've never really messed with any of that stuff before so I don't know much about it. I'm gonna try the stabil like tim recomended but if theres something better, I'd like to know about it.

?

[surfer-dude]

So my bikes still in the shop:

I've used this time to paint my van, looks cool huh!!!and Ive also been working out with a personal trainer for the purpose of riding dirtbikes faster, longer, basically for racing D37 desert stuff. It consists mostly of endurance and balance training along with swimming laps and lots of stretching as well as all of the cardio machines at 24 hr fitness. These past couple weeks I've cut out all the heavy weights and try and keep everything at about 20-30 reps. And I've been working legs with bodyweight, proper form, and plyometrics, along with strange and new to me strengthening exercises that target my core. Once the pain and soreness (which I thought was a bit excessive) went away, I started to feel better especially in my lower back, I also now realize that I have been doing heavy squats wrong and so hopefully that is whats been causing all of the pain in my knees. I think that the weight training that I have been doing for the past many years wasn't optimal for our sport, so I went out and learned of new strength and endurance exercises that I can do when I cant ride my bike. So while the bikes been getting worked on, I've been working on myself. So new training regimen unless I'm riding or surfing excessively.  

And today I ran across the old MX homie that got me into practicing hillclimbs out at beaumont and jawbone way back when. He says he's got a couple year old yamaha yz450 that he told me is as blinged out as my old honda was, so we gotta see this. He taught me about how to run hills and other types of technical trail riding, and I guess i taught him how to fix his bike and make it blinged out, I dont know.... I'd like to think I taught him how to jump or something cool, but he was already way more technical and better than me, i just had more guts, Probably because i was used to charging big waves, by southern california standards. So yeah we gonna go run some trails should be fun. He also told me he hasn't rode in at least 6 months and only jeeping around, so yeah it's cool to reconnect with an old biker homie and make plans to go ride and even jeeping. especially with somebody that pushed me into becoming a better rider than I was before.

This is my JEEP:

Anyways, still waiting on my bike, just gonna hang out and jam some guitar or something until I get it back. oh yeah, I blew up my old fender prosonic so I got a new amp...

-PEACE-

Edited September 16, 2017 by surfer-dude

[surfer-dude]

So we got our bikes back on saturday and then we went riding sunday morning.

The 2017 Beta 125rr-s is the perfect nanny bike. I rode it all over the place with my two little boys and their xr50 and ktm65. I was able to cruise around with them at their speed and not have to worry about running them over. The little beta is the perfect bike for all you mothers that still want a real bike. It's also perfect for use as a camp/utility bike. Now that the carb got cleaned up it has plenty of power for the chasis layout. I took it out on a practice MX track and it was powering around pretty good, not like a full on MX450 or anything, but it did pretty good for what it is. I was able to go pretty fast on it, but I must admit that I felt the need to slow down so that I wouldnt break it. Then after hanging out and chasing around my older boy and his ktm 65 thru the hills and washes, "mama" wanted to go for a ride. So, I hopped on my bike and then we did about 35-40 miles thru the mountain roads and it was great. Me lady, Elizabeth was all smiles and her little bike gave her everything that she asked of it. She was able to experience some great views and even challenged herself a bit, not too much but just enough to say that she pushed herself. This bike is gonna be a really good bike for a long time to come. The 2017 Beta 125 rr-s was a good investment.

I was having an off day and I think my Valentina bike was mad at me for leaving her at the shop for all that time. So I dont have much to say about her other than she appears to running really good and I'm planning on going thru the suspension settings and gonna make sure a bunch of the key bolts are properly torqued.

My left knee was acting up a bit so I played it mellow and basically just relaxed and enjoyed some family time with our bikes. 

My older kid told me one of the best things I've ever heard "all I had was toys and comic books, but all I wanted to do was ride my bike" This POPS was smiling big time.

The xr 50 carb was acting up so I pulled out a little hammer and gave it a few taps and it started running good again. So I guess the gas at mobil isnt all that good, probably gonna look into some other gas stations or something along with that sta-bil stuff.

Also, My lady bought me my first motocross jersey that I actually enjoy wearing.

So yeah, life is good, again...

 

 

[Chaz955i]

15 hours ago, surfer-dude said:

So we got our bikes back on saturday and then we went riding sunday morning.

The 2017 Beta 125rr-s is the perfect nanny bike. I rode it all over the place with my two little boys and their xr50 and ktm65. I was able to cruise around with them at their speed and not have to worry about running them over. The little beta is the perfect bike for all you mothers that still want a real bike. It's also perfect for use as a camp/utility bike. Now that the carb got cleaned up it has plenty of power for the chasis layout. I took it out on a practice MX track and it was powering around pretty good, not like a full on MX450 or anything, but it did pretty good for what it is. I was able to go pretty fast on it, but I must admit that I felt the need to slow down so that I wouldnt break it. Then after hanging out and chasing around my older boy and his ktm 65 thru the hills and washes, "mama" wanted to go for a ride. So, I hopped on my bike and then we did about 35-40 miles thru the mountain roads and it was great. Me lady, Elizabeth was all smiles and her little bike gave her everything that she asked of it. She was able to experience some great views and even challenged herself a bit, not too much but just enough to say that she pushed herself. This bike is gonna be a really good bike for a long time to come. The 2017 Beta 125 rr-s was a good investment.

I was having an off day and I think my Valentina bike was mad at me for leaving her at the shop for all that time. So I dont have much to say about her other than she appears to running really good and I'm planning on going thru the suspension settings and gonna make sure a bunch of the key bolts are properly torqued.

My left knee was acting up a bit so I played it mellow and basically just relaxed and enjoyed some family time with our bikes. 

My older kid told me one of the best things I've ever heard "all I had was toys and comic books, but all I wanted to do was ride my bike" This POPS was smiling big time.

The xr 50 carb was acting up so I pulled out a little hammer and gave it a few taps and it started running good again. So I guess the gas at mobil isnt all that good, probably gonna look into some other gas stations or something along with that sta-bil stuff.

Also, My lady bought me my first motocross jersey that I actually enjoy wearing.

So yeah, life is good, again...

 

 

Awesome write ups. You and family seem to have a fantastic time together. Out of curiosity and keeping in mind the 125 is more of a play bike than anything serious do you think a full sized adult could enjoy one of these as a playbike that is occassionally used for light to medium duty trail work? I know it isn't very powerful but wondering if it is even capable of pulling up moderate hills etc. Any info appreciated and keep the positive vibe flowing. 

[surfer-dude]

6 hours ago, Chaz955i said:

Awesome write ups. You and family seem to have a fantastic time together. Out of curiosity and keeping in mind the 125 is more of a play bike than anything serious do you think a full sized adult could enjoy one of these as a playbike that is occassionally used for light to medium duty trail work? I know it isn't very powerful but wondering if it is even capable of pulling up moderate hills etc. Any info appreciated and keep the positive vibe flowing. 

Thanks mann, yeah I try to give my wife and kids as good of a life as I can. They mean a lot to me.

As for the beta 125; I truly believe that at 6'0" 228 pounds and me almost being a fullsize adult, I could and do have a great time running around easy to moderate trails on beta 125 rr-s. On the harder and more intermediate trails I'd probably have to slow down a bit due to lack of power, but I think a good time is still there. I have climbed a few hills on it, and it can do the easy stuff and the basic intermediate stuff but it's tuff to say what it can do when all I have to compare it to is my 500. It really is a play bike compared to the 500, but at nearly half the price and more like 1/20th of the maintenance it is truly a great bike. In my opinion, quite a bit better than anything else currently offered in it's price and power class that also carries a street legal license plate. It's actually good to have them both, as I plan on riding the little beta a bit more and save the 500 for the more agro stuff. I think the little beta is a perfect candidate for long wearing tires like the motoz desert ht's to go along with the easy maintenance schedule. Besides the carb issue the 2017 beta 125 rr-s is more of a add gas and go kind of bike than my 2017 beta500 rr-s. So it's really cool as long as you dont push it like you can the 500, in any kind of way.

I have now done the DB killer delete and also added the twinair filter so it should be breathing a bit better. this is the db killer.

The clutch lever is one of the weakest designed parts that Ive ever seen. And they are ridiculously expensive. I got 2 of em off of ebay for about 5 or 6 bucks tho...

I really need to find another option for the clutch. The problem is that beta incorporates a safety feature so that you have to pull in the clutch to start the bike, and also the choke sits on top of the clutch perch. The choke has 3 positions to further complicate things too. so an aftermarket perch and clutch lever isnt really an option, at least that I'm aware of.

I had an asv lever and perch on it for a little while with the safety feature bypassed but I still had to keep the choke on the stock perch as well. So for a while it had 2 perches on it, one just for the choke, and the other for the asv lever off of my old honda. 

but now it has it all back to factory stock and we also have a spare to keep the good times rollin'

 

 

[surfer-dude]

Tomorow I'm taking Valentina down to the farm for a little funnin in the sunnin. 

no family just me and my bike.

Hopefully it rains...

it's supposed to

 

[Ben500RR-S]

12 hours ago, surfer-dude said:

Thanks mann, yeah I try to give my wife and kids as good of a life as I can. They mean a lot to me.

As for the beta 125; I truly believe that at 6'0" 228 pounds and me almost being a fullsize adult, I could and do have a great time running around easy to moderate trails on beta 125 rr-s. On the harder and more intermediate trails I'd probably have to slow down a bit due to lack of power, but I think a good time is still there. I have climbed a few hills on it, and it can do the easy stuff and the basic intermediate stuff but it's tuff to say what it can do when all I have to compare it to is my 500. It really is a play bike compared to the 500, but at nearly half the price and more like 1/20th of the maintenance it is truly a great bike. In my opinion, quite a bit better than anything else currently offered in it's price and power class that also carries a street legal license plate. It's actually good to have them both, as I plan on riding the little beta a bit more and save the 500 for the more agro stuff. I think the little beta is a perfect candidate for long wearing tires like the motoz desert ht's to go along with the easy maintenance schedule. Besides the carb issue the 2017 beta 125 rr-s is more of a add gas and go kind of bike than my 2017 beta500 rr-s. So it's really cool as long as you dont push it like you can the 500, in any kind of way.

I have now done the DB killer delete and also added the twinair filter so it should be breathing a bit better. this is the db killer.

The clutch lever is one of the weakest designed parts that Ive ever seen. And they are ridiculously expensive. I got 2 of em off of ebay for about 5 or 6 bucks tho...

I really need to find another option for the clutch. The problem is that beta incorporates a safety feature so that you have to pull in the clutch to start the bike, and also the choke sits on top of the clutch perch. The choke has 3 positions to further complicate things too. so an aftermarket perch and clutch lever isnt really an option, at least that I'm aware of.

I had an asv lever and perch on it for a little while with the safety feature bypassed but I still had to keep the choke on the stock perch as well. So for a while it had 2 perches on it, one just for the choke, and the other for the asv lever off of my old honda. 

but now it has it all back to factory stock and we also have a spare to keep the good times rollin'

 

 

Interesting how the 125 has that safety, where the clutch needs to be in whereas the RR-S' we got, I can start in gear with NO clutch at all.  Well, if I have left the bike in gear, and press the go-button, the bike will lurch forward.  

[surfer-dude]

13 hours ago, Ben500RR-S said:

Interesting how the 125 has that safety, where the clutch needs to be in whereas the RR-S' we got, I can start in gear with NO clutch at all.  Well, if I have left the bike in gear, and press the go-button, the bike will lurch forward.  

Yeah, Once I'm riding and I need to restart it for whatever reason, I typically start the bike in gear. So it's not that big of a blunder. It just bugs when I first start the bike to let it warm up. Just about everything about the Beta 500 is nearly perfect.

Today I went and rode the farm, you know where joey mac sometimes rides and other youtubers too, and I gotta tell ya this place was lots o funn.

 

[Chaz955i]

On 9/21/2017 at 0:27 AM, surfer-dude said:

Thanks mann, yeah I try to give my wife and kids as good of a life as I can. They mean a lot to me.

As for the beta 125; I truly believe that at 6'0" 228 pounds and me almost being a fullsize adult, I could and do have a great time running around easy to moderate trails on beta 125 rr-s. On the harder and more intermediate trails I'd probably have to slow down a bit due to lack of power, but I think a good time is still there. I have climbed a few hills on it, and it can do the easy stuff and the basic intermediate stuff but it's tuff to say what it can do when all I have to compare it to is my 500. It really is a play bike compared to the 500, but at nearly half the price and more like 1/20th of the maintenance it is truly a great bike. In my opinion, quite a bit better than anything else currently offered in it's price and power class that also carries a street legal license plate. It's actually good to have them both, as I plan on riding the little beta a bit more and save the 500 for the more agro stuff. I think the little beta is a perfect candidate for long wearing tires like the motoz desert ht's to go along with the easy maintenance schedule. Besides the carb issue the 2017 beta 125 rr-s is more of a add gas and go kind of bike than my 2017 beta500 rr-s. So it's really cool as long as you dont push it like you can the 500, in any kind of way.

I have now done the DB killer delete and also added the twinair filter so it should be breathing a bit better. this is the db killer.

The clutch lever is one of the weakest designed parts that Ive ever seen. And they are ridiculously expensive. I got 2 of em off of ebay for about 5 or 6 bucks tho...

I really need to find another option for the clutch. The problem is that beta incorporates a safety feature so that you have to pull in the clutch to start the bike, and also the choke sits on top of the clutch perch. The choke has 3 positions to further complicate things too. so an aftermarket perch and clutch lever isnt really an option, at least that I'm aware of.

I had an asv lever and perch on it for a little while with the safety feature bypassed but I still had to keep the choke on the stock perch as well. So for a while it had 2 perches on it, one just for the choke, and the other for the asv lever off of my old honda. 

but now it has it all back to factory stock and we also have a spare to keep the good times rollin'

 

 

Thank you. Good stuff, as usual. 

[surfer-dude]

heres the latest ride video:

I had been watching the joey mac videos as well as a bunch of other youtube vids, so I figured I should go find this place and check it out for my self. So I guess that this is really more of an enduro check than anything else. I cruised around, and explored this new place and I even tackled some pretty tuff hills. I used up about 2 tanks of gas, and I had such a good time. I probably need about 3 batteries to catch all the action, but I only got one, so it is what it is. Also my tires are beyond done, but that didn't matter, I just rode. I didnt attempt everything I saw, and there was a bunch of breakneck stuff.  But I did ride up a downhill mtb trail with plenty of really tight switchbacks. On this trail I saw no other mx tracks but my own, lots of mtb tracks though. And I got a real world perspective of doing pivot turns.  

  Cruising around in the open area backcountry, I found a lot of crazy sick stuff to try, but I was so far back in there and by myself that I played it cool and just enjoyed the trip, and all the hillclimbs and solitude. Every once in a while I heard gunshots, and that made me a little nervous because you know how it could be, but everything was cool. I just kept it moving. I did stop a do a rock stack next to 4 other rockstacks way out back there, so I left my mark. I had no map and was pretty far back and there were just hills and canyons just about as far as you could see. So I just used the sun to circumnavigate the place and I finally made it back to the truck just as the sun was going onto the other side of the mountain. Then I split and had a carne burrrito and chicky taco at el ranchito in Elsinore, and drove home with hardly any traffic. 65 mph all the way back down the 91.

good times...

still haven't crashed or dropped her.

I hope you enjoy my video, I also go over a few modifications that I made to valentina.

It was my first time ever here, and I'm already wanting to go back, it was a lot of funn. I'm also thinking about doing a Beaumont check too.

 

Edited September 24, 2017 by surfer-dude

[surfer-dude]

Today I got the 125 up to 64 mph and it still had a bit left. I had to slow the little guy down because of a stoplight, but I think that would be a fast cruising speed for the little Beta. There was still a bit more left in the throttle and in the powerband. It's a solid little bike.

to date the mods are the Db killer delete, and the twinair air filter to help it breathe better.

[surfer-dude]

Tomorrow I'm gonna be picking up some new tires for my 2017 Beta 500 rr-s. I decided to go with a goldentyre fatty front, and an original 130 IRC m5b for the backend.

Heres the dilemma, I have only ever attempted to install my own rear tire once before, and I pinche flatted it. So should I buy some tire irons and the beadsaver thingy and have at it. or should I spend the 30 bucks (15 each) to have the bike shop install em?

Watchu think?

[mtdirtbag]

Have the shop do them for that price, but ask to watch - that way you can learn some of the tricks to properly mount them. I have always mounted my own tires but had to learn the hard way as far as proper technique. If you do mount them yourself get some good tire spoons, I prefer the ones from Motion Pro.

[surfer-dude]

51 minutes ago, mtdirtbag said:

Have the shop do them for that price, but ask to watch - that way you can learn some of the tricks to properly mount them. I have always mounted my own tires but had to learn the hard way as far as proper technique. If you do mount them yourself get some good tire spoons, I prefer the ones from Motion Pro.

  Ok, so thatsa whata ima gonna do eh...

[surfer-dude]

DAMNN!!! Valentina's got some meat on her!!!

well  they're on and I switched out the 15 tooth countersprocket for the 13 toother. I'm thinking I could use a little more of her awsome bottom end.

Might take a putt with the family tomorow, thinking el mirage.

Then on monday or tuesday, maybe both, gonna cruise out on a solo mission to the farm or maybe even beaumont. It's supposed to be raining too. 

Sounds like the perfect chance to check out how she rolls.

Next saturday and sunday I'm supposed to be going out to soggy dry lake.

 

While I was at chapperal I had a chance to check out the new ktm's, and as sweet as they are, I still think the Beta is a bit more sweeter.

The beta just feels more comfortable and balanced, the ktm just doesnt feel as good as the Beta.

So I'd still pick a Beta over a KTM.

 

Edited October 1, 2017 by surfer-dude

[surfer-dude]

OK so I tried the new tires out yesterday when I took my family out for some riding at hungry valley. When I went out for my ride by myself, I mostly just played in the washes, and ran the front sections trails at kind of a fast pace. I also switched to a 13 tooth from the 15 tooth counter sprocket, so I also had to get used to the gearing. 

Both of these tires are completely different than anything I've ever used. I've normally ran dunlop mx tires and the last ones were the stock michelins that I thought were decent for high speed stuff and everything else as well. These tires, to me felt more like tractor tires. As I'm still undecided about high speed performance, especially with the m5b.

I really like the fatty front. I blew some turns, but the way that it worked in the rocky stuff inspires confidence. At high speeds I hit a couple of rocks and nothing, it just absorbed em. Everything that I've been hearing about is absolutely true. The high speed wash stuff was great, but I did have to slide further up on the front of the bike to keep my lines when turning. So like anything else, some adjustments need to be made. I just got done lowering the front end from the first notch on the forks to the second notch. if it's twitchy I'll try about halfway between the 2 notches, then maybe I'll start messing with the sag, which is pretty dialed right now. I think I'm gonna be keeping the fatty because of how good it handles the rocks and other rough stuff, so I'll adjust until I find my favorite ssetup. I hit a couple of high speed jumps and I could feel and hear it thud on the ground when I landed, so maybe air pressure needs to get played with... I was running 13 psi. The slower 3rd gear stuff it worked really good in and so no complaints. And also the high speed stuff too. But turning at high speeds was a little sketchy, so hopefully dropping the front end will take away some rake from the frontside, and I can rail fast turns as good as I could before. But yeah I dabbed a bit more than usual, not too bad, I can make it work. I really like the tire and want to try it more, and in other terrains but I think it's a good all around tire.

 The M5b I also ran at 13 psi. I liked it in the washes, and the soft dirt, but as soon as i got into the more hard terrain, it felt sketchy. It did good in the rocks as long as I didn't spin it, but this is probably because I was not yet accustomed to the gearing change that I did. Going downhills in 3rd or 4th, and a couple times even in 5th felt like complete control, especially if I locked into a rut to rail the turns. I think that the soft compound and big knobs gave a little flex while coasting downhill in the higher gears, so a lot less braking than usual and higher speed was the result. I really liked the m5b for this reason. A couple of times at the top of a hillclimb when at a T-intersection to the main trail. I had to back up a little bit to change direction, and on a couple of really steep sections while backing up I could feel the tire sliding when going backwards, I think because of the directional tread design. The rear end also slid out on a couple different hard rock off camber hillclimbs. And at speed, in the more off camber hardpack with just a little bit of dirt laying on top I felt the need to slow down otherwise the backend would slide sideways. Like I said this things a tractor tire. The slow stuff tho, this tire ruled and really could power thru anything we came across including thru the scrubbrush, especially when creating our own lines through the soft stuff. We often went off and made our own trails going up and down the sides of the different washes. I tried channeling enduro cross train dude and tried taking the hardest lines that I could, not all the time but enough times to make note. I really liked how this tire performs at slow speeds, and also when going straight forward, it's the side to side stuff that I'm not so sure about, and theres is a definite deficiency when backing up in hairy situations. It's a great boon-dogging tire, and I think this tire has it's place, but I dont think that was yesterday. It's on the bike so I'll run it until next month at least but I think I want to try a 333 or a 232, maybe even a desert it, and the dude at inside line that did up the fatty front suggested a parker dt. Also this tire also seems to be smaller diameter than the old michelin that came on the beta. I wonder if the tire needs a break-in period, or maybe it's just the wrong tire for me. I mean it's a great tire, and I can see how it works in the soft, and slow stuff so maybe it's just me. But yeah I think the search for a rear tire is going to be continued.

My ride was cut short when a drunk oriental chick on a quad ran into me, and knocked us down. I got the wind knocked out of me, bruised my leftside ribs and intercostal muscles. It felt kinda like a charley horse to the ribs. I got contused, and ripped my knee pad and Valentina's footpeg got bent and now she also has a ripped grip. Thankfully there was no frame damage, or any other damge to her or me. But other than that we were ok. I'm gonna be changing up the body armour for some of that new CE stuff, to protect my back, probably do a neck gaurd while I'm at it too, and I've aleady ordered up the pastrana knee pads, and I think some new footpegs and rad guards are in Valentina's future. But the real kicker is that The oriental lady got up in my face and said "I'm soo sorry" so that I could smell her shit breath, as well as the alcohol, and then moments later her and her boyfriend or whatever were gone. I had'nt even picked up my bike yet. I coulda chased them down but what was the point of that. I dont think I'm gonna be going to the crowded places on weekends any more. 

I didnt have a chance to find any soft hills to mess around on, so I'm gonna try it out again later this week down at the farm, probably tomorow, and then hopefully  this weekend up in johnson valley for the joey mac meetup. If it rains tomorow I'm heading out for sure but if not I'll probably just stick around and clean up the garage. 

It hurts to basically breathe, laugh, or sneeze, and drive. Now my kids can hurt me at will, so haha good for them, but I'm not mad. I can still load and unload the bikes from the truck, and I still feel lucky. It was just a little hiccup to add to my journey.

I'm not so sure I can go for a surf because it hurts to do push ups, but I think I can ride my bike as long as i'm mellow about it. 

 

[surfer-dude]

heres a video of the worstest, most boring ride I ever been on. as an added bonus I had a collision with some drunk asian lady on a quad, but wouldn't you know it, I had turned off my camera on the best part of the ride when I went off into an arroyo with no tracks in it at all. This arroyo turned into a wash filled with brush that I had to zig zag around and finally thru to get out of. When I finally got out of the wash after much boondogging thru all the scrub-brush I did a small hillclimb and at the top is where I ran into the lady on the quad. It was fun until that point. after that I was nervous about running into quads and utvs at every blind corner so I ran pretty slow.

this is the worst video yet, but it's something, at least as video record as to not go to hungry valley on crowded weekends.