CSBK 2012 or Speed & Monkey Butt

Yep. Monkey butt. You try riding on that seat for 4,000km and see what you get.

It now boasts a 2.6 Gallon IMS tank, heated grips, a Slipstream Spitfire windshield and a power cord for charging mounted in the top case. Time to load this sucker up!

I did my prep the night before and hurriedly packed gear for six days on the bike, and ran out of room for it really quickly. I keep packing as if I'll run into extreme weather, and I have in the past, but on this trip it was only extreme heat, and you can only get so naked on a motorcycle before the hospital bills catch up with you, so once again I had too many gloves, neck warmers, sweatshirts etc. Added to that was a sleeping bag and an air mattress, along with three sets of shirts and socks as I figured I'd ride stinky every other day.

Day 1 - Borden - Carleton PE to Bethel ME

I can't start this trip without breakfast at Anna's Country Kitchen in Crapaud PE

Perched on the passenger seat is my 55l canoe bag from MEC.ca, my dry bag containing air mattress only (yes, it's big), my two piece rain gear in a stuff sack (brilliant way to carry it!) and king of the castle is my jacket shell, a wind and waterproof (only in the designers dreams) shell that zips off leaving the inner jacket of mesh for warm weather riding.

I bought this bike at 4,000 kilometres, so I've doubled the wear on my 2009 DR650E almost overnight. This is the start mileage for the trip.

As I've been this route more than once in the past, I neglected to take any pictures until I arrived at my dinner stop in Bethel Maine, the Smoking Good BBQ. Google them, you'll find a map and my review. It was AWESOME!!! Best Bbq I've ever had, and I will rave about their beef brisket, beans, coleslaw and cornbread forever, so it's best you look at the pictures below while I drool at the mere thought of stopping there next year on my way back to Onterrible.

 That extra bag on the table? Takeaway, but it didn't get very far as I stayed at the Rostay Inn literally next door. A clean nicely decorated room for $65 dollars a night that included a made to order breakfast. I had the raisin cinnamon french toast with sausage patty and a cuppa tea. Breakfast is free for motorcyclists. :)

I really should have gotten away sooner, but I slept well.

Day 2 - Bethel ME to Mosport, Port Clarington ON

Rouse's Point NY They had to keep the Canadians out, so this is what they came up with.

This was the longest wait I've ever had crossing in Ganonoque. I had turned off the bike and was pushing it by hand. I even had time to get some chain maintenance done.

The Hill Island Bridge with a lovely sunset to welcome me back into Canada.

Brewing up a hot cuppa at the race track early Saturday morning. Trouble was I had no tea, until Sarah and Carrie came to my rescue with tea and milk. :D

Dan is here with his hack that he built himself this past winter.

Number 985 piloted by Glen Cauley is here with his pit crew, Alice.

Darryl, Tammy and their two boys Matthew and Blake are over at Honda Red Riders getting some training.

I found Mathew and Blake but can't see Darryl out there anywhere?!

Perhaps its best as he would have slowed them down.

Blake calls it a day and heads in to collect his swag bag. Times a wasting!

Matthew is running the Endurance race today...

Matthew doesn't even want to stop.

Aliki!!!

Sarah!

The Hannah family show us how it's done.

Glenn was out there with his fellow amateur racers, and when we saw the red flag go out,  we crossed our fingers and prayed that it was somebody else that went down. No such luck and we were off to the paddock to comfort Alice and lend what aid we could to Cindy and David secure Glenn's belongings while they went to the hospital to be checked out, and later flown on to Sunnybrook.

Get well soon mate!

This tire was so hot when it went off the track that the leaf is dried and stuck to the tire.

The BMW Dakar with sideBar

One for the road before the side bar gets away?

Jodi Christie taking the top spot in the 600 class.

Sleepy!

Yep... It must be catching.

We're packing up waiting for the last race to finish... :(

They have a great vantage point for the race, but getting down while double fisted drinking may present a challenge.

Our gang on race day.

 

We're going to the Ganny tomorrow, wanna come?

The computer won't even attempt a backwards S so lets just have a chuckle, shall we?

Tammy makes the outside of their century farm house beautiful. I had to show my sister Wendy.

Day 5 - Mosport, Port Clarington ON to West Danville VT

Crocs get the job done, and they're comfy too!

The boys asked me to ask "my wife" if i can stay longer and go to the Ganny with them too next year. Rock On! I hope you guys had a blast!

I wonder where they were headed, we played leap frog a few times, and I left them in NYS looking at their map.

Fun times ahead!

The malted milk is excellent!

Does it look to you like I'm going to need some rain gear today?

The answer would be yes, and right on the twistiest part of the ride too. :(

But a beautiful payback for all that rain...

At least I brought gear with me. He was being hard core or ignorant. :P

Time to put that gear back on and ride hard and safe...

I took one picture of this, the other one is covered in rain drops and useless. It was a wonderful run in beautiful country along Vermont 17 up and over. I loved it.

He's not here this year, but it was wet and chilly. :(

Shortly after taking this picture, a KLR rider stopped in to ask if I had a place to stay the night, then offered me bratwurst, beer and a basement for the night. Thanks Glenn. You really made the trip and I've been sharing this story with my friends and family since I got back.

His blog covers his 2011 trip down to Tierra Del Fuego
Glenn's Travels South
Link: http://sabbaticalglenn.blogspot.com/
It's well worth a read, but then you know Dual Sport riders rock...

Day 6 - West Danville VT to Borden-Carleton PE

My favourite breakfast place in all of North America.

Does this mean today is Tuesday?!? Damn it!!!

Whatever that thing is on the ramp is BIG!!!

It empties the pulped wood out of an entire tractor trailer all at once.

Central Maine along Route 9 has a hidden beauty you don't often see from the roadside, so when you get a chance, stop and look around.

Clear skies ahead...

Rain coming up fast from behind... Time to get rolling!

Fog along the coast heading into St. John from St. Stephen.

Aw, this is what happens when you stop for gas. I geared up just before it hit, complete with Rainex on the visor.

I don't think I'll beat it this time, as that is the direction I want to head in.

And it's done.

And for my friends that I left back in Ontario, this is why I came back...

A special thanks to my very special friends who made this weekend such a great time. Next year will be even better!

Suzi was extremely happy to have me home again. I need a bike that can haul us both next time. Hmmm. NC700X?

CSBK 2012

Breakfast at the motorcycle races. :)

A year ago my friend Darlooney and I were researching cooking methods for motorcycle trips and she had found an alcohol stove made by an advrider called a "Stever Stove". I'm sure I've made a post about this before, but this was my first use of stove on a motorcycle camping trip. My research showed that alcohol stoves are horrible in below 0 centigrade temperatures and tough to use in high winds, but otherwise can't be beat for their light weight and volume.

I did two burns, one to heat up a boil in the bag meal of hash browns and bacon, and the other to make a cup of tea. It worked perfectly!

What didn't work out so well is the size of my rolled sleeping bag and air mattress. I need to research a much better rig that packs away super small and light for the bike.

Slipstream Spitfire

Today was my first ride with it and I noticed that the pressure on my chest was gone, although my AFX-39 dual sport helmet got louder as the air flow changed.

I was hoping for spoiled air at my eye level, but it's just above my chin bar which is working out well. If I squat down a touch I enter the "Cone of Silence", and and shoulder checks are easier to make as well now that more of the helmet is in spoiled air.

On the down side, with only two support for arms it bounces a bit on gravel to the point where I'll need to give more than a 1/4 inch clearance between the bottom edge of the screen and my front cowl or it will etch the cowl in a heartbeat.

Overall its a great choice and I'm fairly happy with it.

2009 Suzuki DR650E

I bought this bike this spring off of a friend as when he let me test ride it on my birthday last November, I fell in love with the power and handling as compared to my 2004 Kawasaki KLR 650.
It's lighter and has better braking, but needed some mods to match the KLR's touring ability:

• IMS 4.9 gallon tank
• Slipstream Spitfire windshield
• Kimpex heated grips
• Barkbusters
• Protaper handle-bars
• Pro Grip Gel Dual Sport Grips
• Motion Pro throttle tube
• Garmin 60Cx with a "Buzz Bomb Cradle" & related Ram mounting hardware
• Battery tender SAE plug and Heated Vest
• SAE power plug inside the Kappa top box (now my cell and G4 Scala can recharge in a nice and dry spot)
• PIAA-Super Plasma GT-X H4 Light Bulb Anti-vibration (I can see what I'm going to hit)

Those are a few of the mods I've made this year. Stay tuned for more. :) (I really would like to see Racetech, Elka and Scotts up there too. :)

Update 2012-08-21

 I got my windscreen in the mail today from Aviciouscycle.ca and had it mounted and dialed in about an hour. It's a Slipstream Spitfire that came highly recommended on ADVRider and via a colleague who rode with his wife ATW on DR650's. He had this to say: "I have the Spitfire and my wife has the Cee Baileys, I like mine better though."

I bought the clear one even though it came in a smoke as well, for I had a smoke tinted one on my KLR and it was brutal for vision in two instances:

• tucking in for aerodynamics on a bright day you would find yourself looking through three layers... sunglasses, tinted windscreen and a film of dead bugs making the road harder to see
• hill climbs while off roading made it harder to read the ground ahead.

It installed very easily, and with the application of some blue loctite may even remain with the bike for a couple of days. Best of all, I can whip it off with two thumb screws and leave it in the garage with the Kappa top box when I feel the need to get dirty on the Suzi. (Yeah, I dumped it already. Trailwings suck when you have decent power and a heavy wrist. Thank god for barkbusters!)

Slipstream Spitfire

My sponsor: Aviciouscycle.ca

He sent me two sets of stickers for free, well, almost free. I spent just under $800 over the past month with him, and was into the KLR for twice that amount over the past four years. Thanks Eric!

It's the perfect bike for PEI. Unstoppable.

Canoe Cove PEI

Once I get the Kenda 270's mounted that Eric shipped out to me earlier this month, I'll be able to get deeper onto the beach. (Up to my swingarm and front hub perhaps?)

Tomorrow I'll be packing up for a six day ride back to Ontario to hang out with the Turn 2 gang at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park for the Canadian Super Bike Championship doubleheader. My plan is to burn off the stock trailwings on the trip, then she'll never see smooth tires again unless I convert it to run Supermoto rims. Oh the possibilities!!!

Cheers for now!

Rotten

KLR 650 versus DR650:

The KLR is better on the highway out of the box, but the DR has a shorter wheelbase, turns in quicker and is much more nimble in the dirt and on the road.
The KLR has stock wind protection, the DR has none unless you count the front cowl which I don't.
The KLR stock suspension and OEM exhaust is shite for jumps. The DR suspension and exhaust doesn't win any awards, but I haven't set fire to my air box because I landed a jump (it happened on my KLR, I broke three OEM exhausts and rattled one ISD2 apart)
The KLR had to be over bored to a 685 to have any real oomph, whereas the DR puts a grin on your face bone stock. I may even mess with the sprockets as the top speed on PEI is 90kph, so I can use a slower second gear for offroad. Who wants to do 90kph at rev limiter? I'd rather be power wheeling through the rough stuff in second and whooping my head off.
Two up riding on the KLR is easier, on the DR I find my boys crushed up against the tank too often. Oh, seat to peg ration is more comfy on the KLR, but I can transition to standing better on the DR without the bar risers I had to install on the KLR.
I love my KLR and miss it when I hit the highway, but as soon as I hit any kind of loose surface, the DR wins hands down.
The DR650 has better front brakes than the KLR, and although the front end dives like a submarine, the two piston front caliper does the job in a third less time than the KLR. The levers feel a bit weightier too, but with new ProTaper bars, all the controls and mirrors are more prone to spinning around the bars.

One day I'll try KTM for comparison. Oh, my brother in laws BMW F800GS? Kills me on the highway, but his parts cost three times what mine do at the stealership, and he outweighs me by a hundred pounds. (and I can keep up to him).

The seat? It's hard, oh so hard, and I miss the Corbin I had on my KLR, but we'll see if I like four days in the saddle on the DR.  <-- Done. Agony. http://rottenxxxronnie.blogspot.ca/2012/08/csbk-2012-or-speed-monkey-butt.html

WAIT. OUT.

I found an advertisement on ADVRider Canadian Flea market for a used Suzuki Gel seat for $75 dollars before shipping, and Chris threw in a sheepskin for a round $100. It's sitting at my feet now, and I'll be upgrading that stocker before my next multiday ride. I can spend about four hours in the saddle before I need to move around. Five hours is okay, but sore.