Yesterday was a day to be remembered. It was my first official foray into the off road riding that I have read so much about, and on a motorcycle that has good off road capability for me.
Started off with a great breakfast at Mom's restaurant in Sooke. Met Ken and his wife, Robert and his wife for this. I was there a bit early, but it was a pleasant morning. Ken rode up on his road RE, looked at my Himalayan adn was reminded by his wife that he and I were to go riding today off road. He went back home after breakfast and swapped bikes, came back on his Himalayan.
His Himalayan has the YSS suspension upgrade and he feels it works well for his riding profile, good to know - makes me feel much better about doing the YSS suspension upgrade. He has aPower Commander installed and it too, is working well. He installed the Power Commander when he first got the bike and before it hit the road. There is a unit out by Powertronix - the FuelX. Used an ECU add on from Healtech for the V-Strom. Didn't notice a positive change, but it did overfuel the engine, removed it and it collects dust as I type.
His thoughts on an exhaust system upgrade was insightful as well. There is a company that has an exhaust pipe, no catalytic install and this could be matched to a different muffler cat free. Reminds me of the HD stage 1/2/3 and such. HDs are choked to meet EPA standards. Doing the stage mods, allows the engine to breath and work better. The same for the Himalayan.
Went up to the Jorden River Dam - commonly called the Diversion Dam:
Jordan River Dam - Wikipedia
Picture of Diversion Dam - water level is a bit low.
The road to the top of this dam system started off rather tame, I had thoughts that this was going to be an easy off road experience. It wasn't long before this mindset went poof, up in smoke. The road got much more narly, larger rocks, the type you would not want to meet on the road, potholes 8-10 inches deep, road crators, sometimes with water in and a few in a row. Tree branches 3-4 inch diameter on the road, washouts near the sides, and a good view of the drop to the bottom.
Knew that a good riding strategy was to be able to stand on the pegs and navigate the road and various obstacles. Not being used to this, I did get a what I thought a good grasp on this concept. Tried it several times and it worked, also pracaticed riding for short distances when the raod was more civilized. I found the OEM suspension worked much better when I stood on the pegs - more suspension travel.
Rode through puddles, over the branches, close to the edge, keeping the RPMs up. I did lay the bike on its side once. I was going up a short incline adn had to turn at the top. Had a brain fart and let off the throttle. he Himalayan is similar to my Gold Wing, sensed a reduction in throttle and power and took this to mean that it was time for a nap. Minor glitch and I know I am not the first person to do this.
My riding partner Ken, can out ride me off road as it should be, but also on the road. Have to step up my game. I followed mostly because he knew where he was going. It was good of him to have me along. Hope to ride wiht him more so I get to know the off the beaten track roads that chnage up one's riding area and make it more interesting.
I kept my focus on what I had read about ring standing up, throttle control, no death grip on the throttle, and my line through the various obstacles. I didn't do too bad if I don't say so myself. The trip in was slower for me, but the trip out back to the road was much faster. Ken mentioned that I was getting use to being on the road. His expertise was very evidient. Not only did he travel at a much faster pace, but every now and then he'd one arm steer the bike. Show off.
Riding behind Ken did emphasize the need for a better suspension. He seemed/appeared to be riding the road in a much more soft/subtle, absorbing mode becasue of his YSS suspension upgrade.
I have looked at handlebar risers, and different handlebars for riding standing up. Ken and I discussed this at breakfast and he has found no need for this modification, he's 6'4". In the short time I was riding standing up, I found this to be the same for me. I positioned myself so that I was slightly forward, bent my legs ever so slightly and pressed my knees into the fuel tank for support. My hands easily gripped the handlebars.
Have to look at tires, and tire tread profiles. Realistically, I will be mostly riding on road. This will be the deciding factor in what I choose for next years trip to Tuktoyaktuk.
When I returned home, realized that this first experience off road was a more tiring experience than I thought. Lots of concentrating and different riding requirements.
I was told on one of my motorcycle courses about a different motorcycle that the motorcycle will do the course, not sure about the rider. The same can be said about the Himalayan, the Himalayan will do the off road riding quite nicely, don't know about the rider. The Himalayan performed admirably, taking everything in stride. Thinking the Himalayan is a very good dual sport/adventure type motorcycle. It may not be a Dakar Rally motorcycle, but it is going to take me places that I would not have thought possible.
It was a good day of riding, learning, and reflection on what I might do to the Himalayan. Looking forward to many more off road rides.
