Ride "maggie wash" with #33

When does a ride go from ‘exploring’ to an Adventure?

For me it is when my low fuel light comes on while riding my 500 XCW with an oversize tank. The light came on at 152 miles and I was still about 20 miles from gas!

I backed off the throttle a bit and took the most direct route to where I could find gas. I have never liked pushing in the sand much.  When I pulled into the station and filled my tank the pump showed it took 3.5 gals. That’s odd, the manufacturer says it is a 3.4 gal tank. Maybe I need a bigger tank!

#33

‘Success is a journey, not a destination’

Typical Trail Ride With #33

Reconning with Recon!

I recently had a visit from my riding and shooting buddy, Recon Don. So after our initial run out to the shooting range to blow a few things up, well just paper and metal gong targets, we prepped our bikes for a day of riding and exploring or Reconning as I like to call it when Recon goes.

We covered a pretty fair amount of ground and in one section I had Recon looking for the trail which wasn’t very well established after a year or so of weather and non-use. That is how Recon became a movie star as I followed and recorded his navigational skills on my Liquid Image goggles. The goggles give a very good picture quality and the ability to narrate while riding is a bonus. Recon kept it on two wheels the whole way and kept me entertained!

#33

To follow #33 and Recon on the way up the trail use this link.

https://youtu.be/KaqodSiVwaE

Geezer Rehab #33 Style!

 #33 takes his buddy on a geezer trail ride as part of his rehab program and this is how he treats people he likes.

“Recon” recently met up with #33 for a day of desert trail riding in the Nevada desert near Laughlin.  We explored an area most riders would only describe as ‘Disneyland on a motorcycle’.  The terrain included sand, rocks, steep climbs and descents, rock outcroppings, negotiating rock waterfalls that were obviously dry and a few ridges on single-track that required we get our feet off the pegs to clear ledges.

We made about half of our intended ride and were in some very steep terrain when Recon’s bike began to stall and stumble intermittently. I looked around and figured there was no way in hell we were going to tow or push his bike out of there if it died. It was too steep to ride double and I was not sure if I would find him today if I had to come back later with help, I thought we should get our butts out of there. I kind of like Recon and my list of able bodied riding buddies seems to grow shorter by the day, So we cut the ride short and headed for flatter terrain then made a bee line for our truck. 

We spent the next couple of hours removing and cleaning the carb on Recon’s WR 450 and finished just in time for him to take off for the Las Vegas airport to meet a flight. This was not all bad because it means there is a bunch of stuff we never had time to see and explore. That only leaves one solution to that little problem, we have to go back!

I can’t wait for part 2 when I get to go back to Recon with Recon!

#33

“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it”

600 Miles of Tire Torture

Shinko Cheater

  This is the follow up on the Shinko 505 Cheater tire I promised the MX43 readers. I reached what I call the worn out stage of this tire. It is probably well beyond the point most of you would run a tire since it is nearly bald and is beginning to tear knobs off.

I do this on most tires for two reasons, first is purely economics. If I changed a rear tire as soon as they fell into the ‘worn’ category I would be changing rear tires literally weekly! I do that on the motocross track tires.  Off Road I generally ride in areas that have the worst ground that is very hard packed and extremely rocky.

The second reason is I find out very quickly how well a tire works while it is in decent condition, but I want to know how well it works or doesn’t work when it is stretched to its limits. Does it become total garbage or does it fall apart, literally, by chunking and tearing knobs off. Do I start getting flats, etc.

I now have right at 600 miles on the ‘Cheater’ tire and it is what I would call worn out! But it still has a little knobby down the middle and the edge knobs are just starting to tear at the base. I am impressed! It performed very well until this point. It was not until my last couple of rides that I didn’t make it up a couple of hills and had to try a second time. Before it got to this point I never failed to get up any hill whether loose or hardpack.

I ran regular heavy duty tubes with about 15 psi to ward off flats and was never on the side of the trail making flat repairs. This always makes me happy!

So as an Off Road tire I would buy another one, so now maybe it is time to get one for the MX track and see what it can do.

For price, traction and longevity I give it 2 thumbs up!

#33

‘Laughter is to Life what shock absorbers are to a car. It won’t take the potholes out of the road, but it sure makes the ride smoother’

The Shinko 505...Cheater Tire?

SHINKO 505 CHEATER TIRE

  I have been seeing ads and people endorsing this tire for some time now. Since I have become a Pirelli MT 43 convert for off road riding, I couldn’t help but wonder just how good is this “Cheater” tire.

So I went out and purchased one just to test for the MX43.com readers. After all we wouldn’t want you to spend your hard earned cash on some hyped up junker now would we!

The tire is a SHINKO 505 and is actually labeled “Cheater” on the side wall.  It is sized as a 110/100-18.

I have had it on the back of my KTM 500 xcw for about a week now and it is right at the 400-mile mark. Most knobbies are pretty well used up in this type of rocky terrain. I am pleasantly surprised at how well it is wearing and most of all not chunking or having sidewalls starting to tear off. That has been my issue with most of the knobby tires I have run in very rocky terrain. The brand does not seem to matter, by 300 to 400 miles on most brands the tire is well worn and the sidewalls are beginning to tear off!  This ‘Cheater” tire is doing above average in the durability category. The tire is wearing down of course but at a decent rate with No torn knobs yet. Outstanding.  My crystal ball is predicting this tire is going to go 500 to 600 miles in the rocks. I may get another Cheater and run it only in real dirt just to see what it can do. My guess is that it would make 700 to 800 miles without too much problem.

The grip/traction is on par with the more expensive tires I have tried in this same rocky terrain, so there is really no reason to spend more money on other brands.

I will continue to push the Cheater tire until it no longer provides adequate traction or just wears out completely. I will let you know how many miles I could squeak out of it.

For now, it is my new favorite ‘knobby’ tire at a mail order retail price of $62!  But I am still a Pirelli MT43 rear tire guy for off road, considering traction, price ($71) and mileage of approximately 1700 miles per tire.

#33

‘Have more than thou showest, Speak less than thou knowest’