OHV Motorcycle Riding In California

[Ulma Doctor]

I'm gonna start a video ride log of different places i'll be riding.
all the videos will be less than 15 minutes in length


Warning: the videos may not contain much talking, and may not be of interest to all....
but if you are interested, follow me down this rabbit hole!

the bike is a pristine 2002 Kawasaki KLX300R

more videos to come!

 

[cathead]

Exploring the wild has always caught my interest. Northern Minnesota is pretty sparsely populated so there
are lots of trails and old logging roads to explore. Several years ago I bought a Suzuki TS185 on Craig's List
for $100 and went through it enough so it runs and drives OK, no title though. It's been a lot of fun. I'm considering
finding another one that I could license on the road and also run on trails. A four stroke bike a little bigger and roadable
would be ideal for me so keep looking around. It's getting too cold up here to ride it now so you will have to pick up the
slack Mike. I will be watching along on your videos. Thanks Mike!

 

[middle.road]

After reading this, why is my left foot suddenly aching and muttering 'Oh Hell NO...'

But my mind is saying 'Oh Hell YEAH!'

 

[middle.road]

Wait a minute... I navigated away from this post and then thought,

You can still 'off-road' in Cali?


Back in the '80s I would do the fire trails in my earlier CJ-5 north of LA in the Angeles Nat'l Forest.

 

[DavidR8]

It’s a similar situation here in BC, or at least on the island.
There precious few spots to ride off road. It’s one of the reasons that I’m shying away from buying a trials bike.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pontiac428]

California has some really great State OHV parks. I grew up confined to them. That's a big part of why I moved to Nevada not long after high school. Land all around, and you can use every bit of it. Off road heaven! And no trees to wrap yourself around.

 

[middle.road]

Made it about 1/4 of the way through the video last night in bed.
Started to get motion sickness.

Some of those trees and stumps alongside the trail made me flinch. *GULP*

 

[woodtickgreg]

When I was a boy in the early 70s I grew up riding in the deserts of California. I have done some off road riding here in Michigan, we have a great trail system here, but my bike was stolen and I haven't ridden in years. Now I'm 60 years old, reflexes aren't quite what they used to be but I still miss trail riding. Been thinking of picking up a Yamaha tw200 so I can trail ride again but at a slower more relaxed pace. Its low to the ground, has big fat tires, legal to ride on road, has a huge aftermarket parts following, and it's only about $5k brand new. It's a slow low powered bike but it is extremely manageable to ride and cheap to maintain. It would be a toy! I ride a BMW as much as I can back and forth to work etc, but it would be fun to dabble with a little trail riding again.

 

[cathead]

My new project is a 45 year old dual sport! It's been sitting for many years so I will be busy
for a while working out the bugs. I expect it to be roadworthy by the time the snow is gone.

 

[cathead]

The first obstacle was the fuel tank which had about a quart of awful smelling
old gas and plenty of rust. I dumped out the gas and added 4 small ball bearings and
shook it for quite a while. Out came the water, the bearings and a lot of rust. Then
it was a muriatic acid rinse and more shaking and out came more rusty juice.
I did a rinse with water and finally a rinse with sodium bicarbonate and one more
plain water rinse. The carb was stuck but was lucky there as a few taps on the slide
mechanism and it broke loose. After that it was a lot of disassembly and cleaning
of the machine in general. It runs good now but there is too much snow to take it for
a ride yet. Parts are hard to find not to mention expensive so I made a baggage rack
out of some 4130 pipe and a piece of diamond plate I had laying around. It will be
perfect for hauling some groceries from town or a sleeping bag and camping equipment.
I didn't make any provision for hooking on bungee cords but may bore several one inch
holes in the plate for hookage if needed. All that is left to do on the bike is change the fork oil
and change the motor oil but waiting for a time when the engine is well warmed up. One more
thing is the condition of the chain. The sprockets look great but the chain may need replacement.
It has a continuous chain with no link! I cleaned it up but will likely replace it with an O-ring
chain once I get to riding it. To remove the chain without severing it, it looks like one would have
to remove the swing arm so leaving it as it is for the time being.