Nato posted a whole bunch of images from the 2008 edition of Loop the Lake. It was supposed to be a larger group, but the weather paired the group down to a hearty few: Darth, Obi-Ben, Esteban Frito, Moto, and Stanton (sorry Stanton, we need to think up a good road name). Below are a few of my favorites.
This section of dirt was hairball greasy. A few spills were had. Photo: Darth.
Obi-Ben, and the venerable KLR along the Golden Spike. Photo: Darth.
Stanton on the big bike, cruising along the railroad bed. Photo: Darth.
Darth and Esteban, heading out of Wendover. Photo: Darth.
Honestly, I can’t remember where this was. But it was cool. Photo: Darth
There always seems to be a “band photo”, for the next album. Photo: Darth.
The absolute “money” shot of the whole trip. Photo: Darth.
If you want to see all of Darth Nater’s photos, view the latest batch at Motodelicious.
It’s official, the date is set. Loop the Lake, first weekend in October. Travel light, because we’ll be spending the night in Wendover. No camping on this trip. Who’s in? Darth is in. Moto is in. Stanton with the big new bike. Maybe Bart on the big orange bike. Maybe the Brothers Simons? Do we hear any other takers? A-Train? T-Bird? Below is a classic Steve Fry “way suuuuuure pal” moment, after squirting about in the muck on the baja KLR, Loop The Lake 2006.
Way sure, pal. That’s what I’m talking ’bout pal. Photo by Nathan Rafferty.
Darth Nater sent this pic in from a recent stealth mission down to the Torrey, Utah area. A true road warrior, Darth had his Tahoe loaded with two-wheeled implements of recreation. Road bicycle in the back, KTM 450 EXCR on the back of the Versahaul. Location of this shot was described as Hall’s Crossing.
Darth Nater on another solo mission. Hall’s Crossing, Utah.
The folks at Summit Honda in Park City, Utah have this 2001 KTM LC4 that was taken in on trade. It has 1500 clean miles, and the thing looks like maybe it was ridden through a puddle once. This would be a good starter bike for someone looking to get into adventure dualsport riding, and the price is right, somewhere around bluebook value of $3600. Check it out.
This bike is ready to for someone looking to get into dualsport riding. Fields?
Just a quick post after a weekend dualsport trip to Southern Utah. Although there were a few spills, we all made it back safe and sound. Stay tuned for more photos from Darth and a more detailed description of the route that took us into the Bookcliffs, a night of camping in Dragon Canyon, some high-speed dirt road riding across state borders into Colorado, then finally, redemption in the form of bacon cheeseburgers at Ray’s Tavern in Green River, Utah.
The road through Dragon Canyon claimed another rearview mirror.
It took three of us to get Darth’s land speeder upright. Then we turned around.
Packing up in the morning after camping in Dragon Canyon.
Obi-Ben hoisting up the Reposado while the others set up camp.
I finally got around to having a new Dunlop D908 Rally Raid rear tire installed on my KTM 640 Adventure. I took my rear wheel off and had the folks at Summit Honda in Park City do the honors of installing it, well worth the service charge to have someone else do this. Even with a tire stand, these things are torture to change by hand. The new D908 RR was replacing a worn-out Dunlop 908 enduro that served me well during the Trans-America Trail trip, but was toast after 2,000 miles. The center knobbies were flattened and squared-off, probably from all the pavement on my return trip. The D908 RR is big, fat, and nasty, and I was itching to get it in the dirt. After a day of mixed pavement, loose gravel, some sand, a few minor stream crossings, and lots of dry and rocky mountain riding, I can say that I am optimistic I have found the perfect rear tire for this bike. I hope it will last a lot longer than the previous Dunlop, and it should, as it really was designed for the bigger 950/990 KTM adventure bikes. Now the challenge will be to find the perfect front tire. Rumor has it the matching front has a super aggressive tread pattern that is not too road friendly. The D606 currently on my front is due to be replaced soon, so I’ll give it a shot and see how well it matches. For KTM 640 Adventure riders out there: don’t waste your time with anything else.
The Dunlop D908 Rally Raid on a KTM 640 Adventure.
Massive center knobs hook up really well in loose stuff.
There’s still some patches of snow in July in the Uinta Mountains.
Although my KTM 640 Adventure hasn’t seen much dirt since the Trans-America Trail ride, it has proven to be a good commuter over the past few weeks. With the price of Premium Unleaded hovering around $4.50 per gallon in Park City plus the nice summer weather we have been enjoying, I have been riding the bike to work two or three times a week. It would be better if there were some dirt roads to get me to and from the work place, but all things considered, it adds a little fun to the work week. I just bought a new Dunlop 908 Rally Raid (RR) to replace my worn out rear. The previous Dunlop 908 Enduro tire didn’t last long, only about 2,000 miles. I’ll probably wait until the next dirt adventure to install it, so stay tuned for a full evaluation after I get some miles on it. It appears to be quite a bit beefier than the old 908, and Bartman has had good luck with one on his 950 Adventure, a bigger and heavier bike.
An affiliate adventure posse from Oregon, led by Rob McCready, sent in some photos and commentary about a recent outing in Oregon. Rob had looked me up, after hearing about our recent Trans-America Trail ride into Oregon, wondering if we had crossed the Discovery Route and ran into any snow. Turns out, Rob used to work with my friend Gary Huck at Summit, and Gary put us in touch, being familiar with itsallaboutthebike.com. Rob and company were taking the Discovery Route #4, from Prineville to Seneca, Oregon, all on dirt. And mud. And snow, as you can see below. Rob was riding a silver KTM 950 Adventure, his buddies on various BMW GS models: Scott Norton on the red GS, Pete Day on the black Adventure, and Dave Combe on the black GS. Click the photos below and they will link you to these and some more recently uploaded images of this adventure in our Flickr gallery, along with colorful commentary from Rob.
Photo by Rob McCready
Photo by Rob McCready
Photo by Rob McCready
After returning from the Trans-America Trail trip, I had very little desire to touch the KTM let alone ride it. It was a reliable steed that saw me through some good times and some trouble, so it was nothing personal. Part of it was that last day from Burns, Oregon to Park City, Utah all on the pavement. Seemed like my wrists and hands were still buzzing after a week. Also, the bike needed some maintenance. My Dunlop D606 front tire and D908 rear were totally hammered, both from the aggressive and sometimes rocky off-road riding, as well as the road riding. My rear sprocket is worn to the point of replacing, and I decided to have the dealer do the 2nd big service, because it involved a bunch of things over my head, like checking and adjusting the valves. The head KTM mechanic at the Edge Motorsports, Victor, seems like a really good dude, passionate and knowledgeable, and most importantly, certified by KTM. They did forget to rebuild my clutch master cylinder, which is one of the main reasons I brought it in, but that wasn’t Victor’s fault. The service guy who wrote my ticket must have spaced it. That’s about it for the boring maintenance report. While I was picking up my bike, I just had to check out the new KTM 690 Super Enduro and ponder how it would have performed out there on the Trans-America route. No windscreen might have been tough to handle, but with enough room on the tail for some soft bags, this thing looks like it would have devoured the dirt.
3/4 view of the new 2008 KTM 690 Super Enduro. Big, bad, dirtbike. I like.
Clearly, Darth and Obi-Ben have pulled their weight by uploading some of their photos to our Flickr Photostream. And clearly, I should have gone all the way to the coast, based on what I missed out on. After viewing all 500 or so photos, I missed a lot of action on the trip after Crater Lake. And some fine dining. Posh lodges. Bad haircuts. Getting bikes stuck in the sand.
Great Basin National Park, Day 2, Trans-America Trail. Photo by Ben Rafferty.