Tuesday, July 26, 2011

MotoBum's KLR650 Upgrades for Arctic Ocean ADV Expedition - Part 1

ADVstunt1 got a few additions over the past few days. In addition to the recently installed adjustable fuel screw and second shim under the carburetor needle, fresh engine oil and filter was in order. With only 2500 miles since the last oil change, I can't figure why the old oil was so black and smelly. The bike runs much smoother now with new oil -- like a dream.

Oil in the sight glass is brown instead of black-hole black.

















Since we'll be camping almost exclusively while in Alaska, the Yukon, and British Columbia, charging the cell phone won't be an option at night in a plush hotel. The solution is this SW-MOTECH cigarette lighter socket and bracket. All I need now is an actual cigarette lighter.

12-volt cigarette lighter looks cool while pulling wheelies.

















And for a choice in riding position, these highway pegs have been installed on the SW-MOTECH engine guard / crash bars (they do crash amazing well). The highway pegs give me a slight chopper feel while ADV Commuting™ on the local Seattle Interstates. I'm still debating on whether to bring a leather biker jacket on our upcoming epic trip for the full highwayman effect.

Highway pegs fold up automatically for ultra-high-speed runs.

















In the next few days, I'll whip on, with lots of threadlocker, a PackRat pannier rack, dual 35L Caribou cases, a fresh set of IRC GP-1 dual sport tires, a SW-MOTECH centerstand, a Wolfman Explorer Lite tank bag, and a Laminar Lip for the windscreen.

Monday, July 18, 2011

TDC Number 1 on Google

Who ranks first on a Google search for "The Dirty Crew?" Us. That's right.

The Dirty Crew is number one.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

DirtWise Academy with Shane Watts

The Dirty Crew was fortunate enough to attend the DirtWise Academy in order to increase our dirt riding skills. We got more than that. It was a great time! Our class was in Tulalip, WA on July 2-3, 2011.
From left to right: Superstar Wendy, E-rock,
Swamp Monster, Wattsy, Ghostface KLR,
MotoBum, Last Minute Ryan

















What did we do? What did we learn? Well... we focused on dirt bike riding fundamentals. Each drill had us working on the same skills, just in different ways. Body position, balance, and use of the controls each deserve their own skills manuals and we could spend a lifetime mastering them. We tested ourselves by applying learns learned doing drag races, riding ruts, pulling wheelies and stoppies, doing log grinds, riding over obstacles, selecting good lines, and having good form for excellent dirt bike control. We learned to become one with motorcycles.

There are so many nuances to riding well that, when combined, make it all really difficult to get right. Especially when years have been spent getting it all wrong. We have much to unlearn. Basically, we got schooled and loved every second of it. It was craaaaaaazy.

DirtWise Dirt

DirtWise TDC Feet

The Dirty Crew is DirtWise (and looks the part)

Saturday, July 2, 2011

En Route

ADVstunt1 + MotoBum will spend the next two days riding dirt bikes with all of The Dirty Crew at this weekend's DirtWise Academy. This photo was shot in Last Minute Ryan's back yard. He's running at the last minute. It's time to ride!