Read the article from Popular Mechanics.
UPDATE! Visit the Ducati site for full details here.
Giantloop Saddlebag on my Dual Sport
Over the weekend I cruised out to Giantloop Headquarters to have their saddle bag installed on my 2008 Husqvarna TE 610. It’s really not a saddle bag – it’s more. It’s a tail bag + saddlebag in one compact design – keeping your bike thin, but allowing you to carry everything you need for an extended weekend adventure or the daily commute to town. It’s designed to spread the contents of the bag evenly without placing unnecessary weight toward the back of your machine. I could have used it on my trip to Tulelake and back for sure.
The bag fit perfectly! The only downside are the holes left over in the tail plastic from the rack I had installed – which is now in a box in my garage. The bag was positioned a little further back than they would have liked – but not too much. It needed to be to allow the saddle to come off quickly on the trail if neccesary. The bag is fastened very securely to the side plastic panels and the tail plastic. The supplied heat shield is a must for this bike and works perfectly to prevent the bag from coming into contact with the exhaust. The black Ballistic Cordura looks pretty cool with this bike and would no doubt be a cool addition to any Husqvarna SuperMoto as well.
Ducati Multistrada Pearl White
Ducati announces Pearl White color for the new Multistrada & Hypermotard – Sweet!
Bendo to Tulelake and back
Cool trip! From my benddualsport.com post:
Sweet weekend on the 610!
No mechanical problemos at all! And as a bonus, the morning of the ride the 610 instrument panel decided to work again! Sweet! Now I could tell how fast I was going. Handy.
It was my 1st ride that distance and back and my 1st solo trip to boot – so I brought a gas tank that I never used – um, I’ll never do that again – that tank was a pain in the ass on the way back – and at one point I had to stop cause it was hanging off the side – oops. (Yes I now acknowledge that was a dumbass move – carrying a tank? wtf?)
On the way to Tulelake I stuck to the east side of 97 taking the FS roads after LaPine, stopping on occasion to check the map – a good combination of dirt/street. No diggers, but at one point I slid off the trail – couldn’t make a downhill turn at about 40 – oops.
Some nice scenery – but the trails were a bit dry and super dusty – looking in the rearview mirror there was nothing but rootster dust. After about 5.5 hours hunger and fatigue set in, so I stopped at this kick ass Mexican hut in Merrill – Tacos a la Mexicana! (Once I download the pix from my phone I’ll post the location on el mapo – It was sooo tasty!) At the end of the day my friggin ars hurt. 6.5 hours on this bike will do that. ;^)
A good ride overall – but wished there was more trail than blacktop.
Here’s the trip from Bendo to Tulelake with pix and GPS stats:http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=47354.
The way back was grueling – 8.5 hours, aye caramba. It was mostly my fault for stopping so many frakin’ times and getting turned around. The blacktop was grueling and I longed for dirt – funny my ars didn’t seem to hurt when on the dirt/cinder/gravel trails.
Leaving Tulelake, I immediately hopped on the gravel through some massive powerlines – a couple of gated areas, but no big deal. Up and down some rocky terrain (where the extra tank decided to almost fall off) then through some mellow cinder roads. Stopped at a couple of gas stations – Bonanza – cool peeps, and one in Sprague River – cool old timer there. There was this dude there filling up his pick-up telling me all about the trails in that area (he had a CR) – and how he had a Husky chainsaw, lol. Cool dude though.
I popped on Lone Pine (missed that turn the 1st time) and headed toward Klamath Marsh.
Filled up in Chemult and headed into the Deschutes – fun ride on double track! This is the only part of the entire trip where I started seeing other peep on the trail – from this point on I would ride by the occasional truck/car/quad/ or thumper (no BMWs ;^)).
Had to cut my trip short and head through LaPine and cruise to the casa because the sun was setting fast, my rear tire had nothing left – I was slipping all over the trail, and I was getting tired – It had been about 7.5 hours.
Fun trip both ways check out my route back here with some pix of the ride, including one of Slippy, my rear tire: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=47796.
Passing through LaPine
On the way back from Tulelake I took a different way back – this time crossing over 97 at Chemult to hit a couple of the many trails in and around the Deschutes Forest – It was a race against the sun but I saw an opportunity for a cool shot.
Upper Klamath Lake
Fun ride yesterday to Tulelake. Cool to see the lake from this perspective.
To Tulelake on my 610 & GPS fun
Going to visit our friends who kind-of live in Tulelake. Half their property is in California the other half in Oregon – Big ranch with cows, sheep, chickens, etc. Fun to visit, kick up the feet on their porch and stare at wide open space that just goes on for miles and miles. This weekend is the Tulelake Fair! Woo Hoo! We went hmm – about 3 years ago and it was a blast – Ferris Wheel, haunted houses, slides, , shooting galleries, corn dogs, bbq, livestock, and disgruntled carnies. Good times.
This year I’ll be cruising down on my Dual Sport, taking as many dirt/gravel roads as possible to see the more obscure areas of this beautiful state, should be fun. With a spare tube, snacks, extra gas can, and other essentials, I should be in good shape. Luck favors the prepared.
I’ll have my GPS and will be making tracks and marking waypoints for future visits. If your into bringing along your GPS on outings and want to do something with all that data check out GPS Visualizer. I discovered it recently and it’s pretty cool. Once your there, you can take that data and send it to another site like Everytrail. You can make maps that detail your outing. Cool.
1st ride on my Husqvarna TE 610
Cruised out w/ ad HOC last night on my 1st ride on the dirt w/ my new bike. It’s been years since I’ve been on a Dual Sport, but it was time to try something different now that my Ducati is gone (long story).
Why switch to a Husqvarna? I demo-d this bike last week and was instantly hooked. For me, this was/is the bike for Bend. I could ride to work (either my single speed or now my 610) AND I could ride the trails! So I bought one. :^)
The peeps at Bend Euro Moto dialed me out with everything I needed that I didn’t already have. Kathy Jo and David – Thanks! (Those guys are friends, and clients as well). :^)
I picked up my 610 at Bend Euro Moto on Tuesday afternoon and couldn’t wait to take it out.
So my 1st ride was awesome! Totally sketchy at some points, but for the most part a really good time, and can’t wait to get out again!
Even though it was a short one, it was plenty for me. Riding on dirt is way different than street, so there’s going to be a learning curve for sure.
We cruised out to Triangle Hill to catch the sun set behind the Cascades, it was an awesome moment. There’s more pix on my Flickr page of the mini adventure.