took the DRZ400SM on a dual sport ride

[mickeydee]

well this last weekend anethema and i went on a 350km dual sport ride and it was an awsome ride for sure.i took my sm and had no problems.i didn't even drop it and there was some nasty trail which i could of easily done some damage to it but i keeped on two wheels the whole day.all together it took me 11 hours to complete but i would of been faster if i had a gps like anethema.i had to follow someone who new where they where going and i also stayed to help others fix there flat tires.got some pics so enjoy.the first one is in the morning before the ride started heres one at the last fuel stop before thenext town the bikes in the ride mostly consited of ktm's and drz's and klr's.the next stop was breakfast at the chute lake lodge after that it was smooth sailing on the old kettle vally railway and got some nice pics of okanagan lake from the east side looking west and another pic of my 05sm and a 05 s and a pic of some klr's and up near a place called brenda mines our fearless organizer gets a flat with the clubs president man those ktm adventures 950 can holt a lot of stuff we got as high as 1500 meters.we went underneath the coquahalla connector hwy through this tunnel(the rd we were on is called bear creek main) here a pic of my very dusty sm here we all are at the finish where i got an ice cold one and a couple of burgers and to fially sit on a comfy seat this is the route we tookoh ya one other thing these pics would not off been possible without Anethema,my batteries ran out and he lent some more to me to take the pics.thanks for the batteries Anethema.

[DRZDUal]

Holy crap great pics.... the lake scene has got to be the Biggest Pic Ever(size wise) but other then that looked like you guys had a great time

[drzrobbcanuck]

that looks like a blast. Would love to be there. and you ride sleds all winter on the same trails? That would be heaven for me.

[paco291]

Finally someone who took it off road w/ sm rims. ?

[mickeydee]

Finally someone who took it off road w/ sm rims.

the preident of the club couldn't believe his eyes when we were side by side jumping the ditches down a decomissioned forest service rd and he was on a ktm450exc ?

[gleaves]

What tires are you running on the SM?

[mickeydee]

What tires are you running on the SM?

i'm running an avon av49(120/70/17) on the front and a bridgestone trail wing(150/70/17)on the rear.

[another drz guy]

Wow thats looks like so much fun. Great pics.

[bajabound400]

Awesome pictures. That looks like incredible country.

congrats on making the ride with no foul-ups, that's quite the endurance run.

I bet you were bushed the next day

[bumtarder]

Very cool

[paco291]

How's the road handling compared to stock? I'm thinking about your tire setup for my SM.

[mickeydee]

How's the road handling compared to stock? I'm thinking about your tire setup for my SM.

road handling is just as good as stock unless your really pushing it.i have felt the rear start to lose traction on a fast corner only once but its night and day difference in the dirt. ?

[paco291]

Thanks boss! ?

[CsHoSi]

wow, nice ride, thanks for sharing. That pan-o-ram pic is definitely a keeper!

I might try those tires before buying MX wheels.

[BUBONICON]

Looks like fun Mike! I wanted to come up pretty bad (so did my buddy and his KLR) but we couldn't make it work. Good news i got a shitty old datsun to throw my bike in so next time i'm game!

P.S. i didn't know you got the acrebis front end it looks good! I did make a ride report of sorts on the Avon's, the short of it was front end was a bit less agile at slow speeds (felt a little heavy just after switch), low speed launch in dirt was greatly improved and feels more planted, and they are great in the twisties at speed (just as good as dunlops)

Cheers,

Chris

[mickeydee]

ya, just switched to the sm fender and what a difference at high speed(no more wobble at 100mph)there will be another one next year for sure but next time i'll have a ims 3.2 gal tank and a gps.i was pretty sore after mostly from carring 1 gal gas in my back pack and about 10 lbs of tools around my waist and standing up for most of the trip

[anathema]

Was a fantastic ride. Nothing specifically challenging, but some spots were tough in a way. One was like 30 km of downhill and the road was very rocky and rutted, with short steep water ditches, very jarring impacts. Was exausted by the end.

There was one spot that was fantastic (well more than one) was a road following a power line. Was like a rollercoaster, steep ups then downs..fun times.

9.5 hours total riding time...was happy when i emptied the jerry into the tank, was messing with my suspension ?

The breakfast at chute lake lodge was delicious, I would recommend anyone passing thru stop for a quick bite!

[mickeydee]

just fixed one of the pics of the overpass,and thanx again Anethema for the batteries for my camera,wouldn't of been able to do the report without ya