Adventure Motorcycle

Hi All,

I'm getting a great bike in the worst way. The guy that got me into all this at like 10 years old passed on, and as no one in his family rides, the family wants me to keep the miles rolling.

I'm thrilled, and while I was a little intimidated by the size, it's only 20lbs heavier than my KLR, and the height is no issue as I'm a tall rider; I can flat foot just fine. Took it around the block and it was... transcendental. I had no idea that much power could be that nimble.

My question is what are some big maintenance items I should prioritize? I'm coming from the unkillable pig of a KLR. this is going to be a bit of an adjustment. Also, the bike was very well maintained but his health was bad for about a year. The ride I took around the block was great, but the front suspension seemed a little bumpy for pavement. It's got mixed use tires on it so it's possible it was just the tread on pavement, just being a little paranoid.

I also smelled some burning plastic when I fired it up, but am willing to bet it might have been some kind of weird dust in the exhaust; there was nothing dangling anywhere hot and it did go away.

So yeah, just looking for some general tips and icebergs to avoid. I do most of my own maintience but again that's on gen I and gen II KLRs

More down to earth wisdom from Adam Riemann.

Do not confuse the Pirelli Scorpion Rally Adventouring Tires with the STR or the Rally Race versions. The STR has been stock on several new bikes the past few years and is more street oriented. It gets some criticism for not having enough traction in the dirt but is very capable on road. The Race is closer to a full knobby. This tire, the Adventouring, is a cross between the two. IMO it is right on the mark for my needs. I ride a KTM 890 Adventure R Rally mostly off road with the occasional ripper canyon pavement section at full beans. I ride BDR's and other multi day trips with the unfortunate but necessary slabbing home portion. This is my number one go to tire for all conditions right now although it's still a bit of a compromise rather than a unicorn. The price is good, so it has that right off the bat. Overall off-road traction is excellent, but not quite knobby level. It performs great in rocky technical sections with sufficient grip. It rides straight and predictably in sand. It is stable and controlled in deep gravel. I have not had this tire wash out in a turn. On pavement this tire excels. It's not a street tire, but in curves it provides enough grip to be fun at high speeds without any of the bad behavior of most 50/50 tires. It does not wiggle in rain grooves or in cross wind. It is stable and confidence inspiring into triple digits and handles aggressive braking well. This year I have owned/ridden the Mitas E07, Dunlop Trailmax Raid, Michelin Anakee Wild and these. The Adventouring beats all these in one aspect or another and the is the best overall solution for me. If you buy online, it is worth noting the image on Revzilla is not representative of the actual tire and looks more like an STR.

What are your thoughts or concerns? Have you experienced this issue or is it overblown?

Some swear by it while others just turn it off every time. My experience with it is mixed. It was unobtrusive on my BMW R1200 GS and genuinely saved my butt on high speed pavement. The Tenere 700 ABS was fine on pavement but annoying to repeatedly turn off for off-road. On the KTM 890 I find it unpredictable and over reaching on pavement while the setting of front active and rear defeated for dirt works perfectly. So, maybe another 5 years and all manufacturers will have it nailed.

I have the chubby button v1.0 for my music and love it. Only thing is I'd love something to cue my phones voice command like in my car. The chubby button 2.0 does that (by letting you program a function), but 1.0 doesn't and it's still a perfectly bomb proof bit of hardware.

Does anyone have any recs on a real simple, weather proof, button I could ideally wrap onto my crossbar?

I used a Garmin navigator for years the same way I use my car's GPS or google maps. I input a destination and let the device sort out the route. But the Garmin Zumo XT has more capabilities that I learned to take advantage of. Most everyone knows you can download .gpx files for BDR or TET routes. The function I really love is the ability to sit in my tent and create the next day's route on dirt, turn by turn. Then I send it to my riding buddies so we all have it.

I put together a quick reference guide for the basic functions of the Garmin Zumo XT and XT2. There are more detailed instructions available on the Gamin website or on YouTube but these should get you started.

Routing to a location.
You can simply select a point on the Zumo screen, hit route to, go, and it will work like google maps selecting the route according to your preset preferences (avoid freeways etc).

Importing .gpx files.
On an Iphone, download the .gpx to the "files" folder. Select the file and choose the "send to" button. Select the Garmin Explore app. You can also text or email .gpx files between friends.

Track recorder
The track recorder is useful if you are following someone and want to ride the trail again later. Simply start the track recorder and it will run in the background. This will create a track file. Just remember to stop it at the end of the ride or the file created gets too big to save. Rename the file to something useful and you can add it to collections to keep your rides organized.

My favorite feature is the ability to plan the next day's ride on trails or dirt roads along a specific route, turn by turn. You can create this on your phone from your couch or in your tent and it will sync and appear on your Zumo when you start your bike in the morning. This is really awesome.

Planning a ride from your phone and syncing it to your Zumo.
To create a ride on your phone:

1. Download the Garmin Explore app and connect your phone via bluetooth to your Zumo.
2. Create a course along a path or road: start with plus symbol (new course), then add point by point along the road/trail you want to take.
3. Copy the course as Track (this will sync with Zumo)
4. Rename the track to something useful, delete the original course.
5. Optional - create a Collection, add Tracks to Collections for organization
6. The new Track or Collection will appear on the map and in your library once you start your Zumo if you have the Explore app running on your phone and the phone is synced.

Keep in mind not all Explore app features can be synced with a Zumo.

• Routes will sync with zumo.
• Tracks will sync.
• Collections will sync.
• Courses will NOT sync.

Bonus feature:
Where to > Categories > Gas stations.
The Garmin will give you the closest gas stations and if available display gas price. Pick one and it will route you to it.

Have a correction, tip or suggestion? Please add it to the comments!

What is your preferred version of adventure motorcycling?

My 890 will cook my legs to the point I sometimes look down to make sure they are not on fire. But put a frozen gas station burrito on the catalytic converter and it will stay frozen. Well actually just cold, but nonetheless not appealing. The day was saved by velvety roads after a bit of rain overnight.

Tires are the most subjective topic I know. From "dangerous at any speed" to "this is the only tire to buy", everyone has an opinion and usually a favorite. I used to run Heideneau K60's one pair after another. But their performance was always a compromise in one way or another. There are better options out there. I'm still experimenting, and suffering on the tire changer switching rubber from street to dirt depending on where I'm headed. Bike size, load, destination all play a huge part of which tire will be right for you. So at the risk of being down voted to oblivion, here is my experience. Please let me hear yours.

Performance evaluated on 2018 BMW R1200 GS Rallye, 2022 Yamaha Tenere 700, and 2024 KTM 890 Adventure R Rally.

Goal: decent off-road performance with acceptable bite in sand and rocks. Stable on road to 100 preferably. Wear to 4000 miles.

Heideneau K60 Scout Front good pavement handling. Some wobble occasionally in side wind. Stable to 125. Rear dirt traction poor, front not great either. Rear squares off quickly and affects handling but will last a long time. Front will feather after 4k miles but last to 6k. Be careful on wet pavement.

Dunlop Trailmax Mission Front slight wobble above 80 on pavement. Tire profile tends to keep the bike upright and doesn’t feel sporty or dive into turns. Washes out on dirt. Rear good on pavement ok on dirt.

Dunlop Trailmax Raid Front decent in dirt. Does not wander in sand and handles rocky terrain well. Aggressive pavement riding shows surprisingly good cornering. Considerable head shake above 80 on pavement.

Michelin Anakee wild Rear wears quickly. Front very poor on pavement. Weird behavior at turn in, requires extra effort to stay in turn. Severe wobbles above 75 with any uneven surface or wind.

Mitas E07 Front wants to push and go off track in sand. Very stable and predictable on pavement to over 100. Rear is acceptable on and off road. Average wear.

Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR Front doesn’t feel controlled turning in dirt. Can wash out. Acceptable in sand. Moderate traction for braking. Excellent on road, predictable and stable over 100. Rear is acceptable on and off road. Average wear.

Motoz Tractionator Rallz Front severe wobble above 80. Traction in dirt is good, pavement just ok once broken in. Rear great off-road. Can slip on pavement when cold or even hot when pushed hard.

Continental TKC 70/70 Rocks Front surprisingly good in sand. Doesn’t really have bit off-road but is acceptable. Great on pavement. Cannot find stock in 21” in 2024. Rocks rear is good enough off-road and very good on pavement.

I have no favorite tire currently, but I have ridden most of them. What is your favorite go to rubber for most conditions?

cross-posted from: https://fedia.io/m/[email protected]/t/967710

One of These New EV Motorcycle Concepts Are Coming Soon, Hopefully

Ola Electric aims to establish itself as a superpower in the EV motorcycle market. With four new concepts, at least one is slated for production in 2025.

I left that other social when it killed Apollo and 3rd party apps a year ago and I'm not going back. I have a passion for all things motorcycle, but especially off pavement travel. The people I have met in rural communities are incredibly helpful and welcoming. After unsuccessfully searching for an ADV moto community here I decided to start one. Please help grow this new place for Adventure riding discussion and information. Be kind and lets build a great community.

For some it's the pinnacle of adventure; the new GSA has been announced. The brutalist appearance is disruptive and polarizing. The list of electronic rider aids is extensive; automatic lowering suspension, automatic emergency braking, blind spot detection, headlight Pro, internally lighted luggage, and more. Is this the ultimate or just the latest example of feature creep? Let me know your thoughts. https://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/en/models/adventure/r1300gs-adventure.html

I am not associated with Motopumps in any way. But when I find a really good product I like to spread the word. For $13 this compact plug kit is a steal. On our season opener to Death Valley this year I handed them out to all my friends. If you don’t have tubes this is a really nice plug kit with great packaging. The sharp bits break down and are contained in a slick metal cylinder. The only downfall is that you must supply your own glue, but there’s space inside for a small tube. I’m also running the Motopumps locking GPS mount for my ZumoXT2 which I would recommend. They seem like a good company and I like to support them.

This guy hits the mark for me. He is down to earth and a great resource for riding tips. But my one luxury is staying in my kit; a camp chair.

It’s probably not a good idea to use it long term, but in an emergency it will certainly do. Sometimes you just have to use what you’ve got and be sure to carry the tools you need to make common repairs without relying on help.

We bent a rim on the Oregon BDR bad enough that it wouldn’t hold air last summer. There was next to nothing near us so we tried to straighten the rim. All we could find was a rock and a cow bone, which surprisingly held up to repeated smashing. So our method was - Step 1; support and hit the rim as hard as you can. Step 2; give up and install a tube. It was worth a shot, but no way that rim was going anywhere without a hydraulic press.

1500 miles of dirt, curvy tar, and camping every night. Just doesn’t get any better!