Ouray CO & Moab UT - 2004
In September of 2004 I trucked my dual-sported Honda XR650R from Illinois to ride jeep trails in the areas of Ouray, CO and Moab, UT. Since my 2003 trip had been foiled by injury, this was the first genuine test of the choices I had made to convert my XR for day touring. The basic machine and the modifications turned out to be just right. I had slight coolant loss on the higher-elevation trails. I've heard that Evans coolant can prevent this, so I'm going to try it. I had done Engineer Pass and Black Bear Road in 1996 on my BMW R100 GSPD and was anxious to do them again on the XR, as well as Imogene. Unfortunately, snow was blocking all three passes on this trip and I didn't get to do them. The photos below show what I left behind in Illinois, how I traveled out, and what the West looked like nearing Colorado Springs.
My solution for keeping personally cool worked well. On the top I wore a FirstGear MeshTex jacket, but with CE armor from Fieldsheer substituted for the elbow and shoulder foam. Underneith I wore UnderArmor moisture-wicking shirts from Cabellas. On the bottom I wore Fieldsheer Titanium Air armored mesh pants over cotton briefs. On my feet I wore Sidi MX moisture-wicking, lightweight socks. I'm also partial to BMW Savanah boots, which have goretex linings and are flexible but heavy enough for dual-sport use. As an added bonus, the flexibility panel in the front of the boots hold water after stream crossings, providing a cooling effect as it evaporates. Here are pics of the
top clothing and socks, the
pants, and the
boots. I recon you don't need to see the undershorts.
Daytrip Provisions were chosen with the idea that a mechanical breakdown could strand me in a remote area for at least overnight. That meant that besides tools, water and a some food, I had to take some survival and cold weather stuff. The Chase Harper "HideAway" bag fit my RACK-IT tail rack just about right, but I dispensed with the clunky bungees and zip-tied it to the rack. Rok Straps compressed the tailbag and gave easy access. The saddlebags are tank panniers from Aerostich. Between the two I could haul everything and at least 5 liters of water on the bike.
Here's the full packing list.
I'd like to thank Mr. Chuck Lee of Ridgway Motorsports at 1000 Clinton, Ridgway, CO (TEL: 970-626-5112) for rerouting my control cables on a moment's notice. My local shop had somehow routed them wrong and they were binding and causing problems. Chuck is an accomplished mechanic and engine porter, a road racer with national-level wins, and multiple winner of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Read about
Chuck's bio here under
Competitor Information, or visit the
Team Lee Racing website. Here's a pic of
Chuck Lee at his shop in Ridgway.
