AF Canyon singletrack day/weekend.

[Greg]

Here's some pics from the ride, honestly I don't think I got any good pics of the best/gnarliest parts of the trail... I was either too busy enjoying the ride or handing on for dear life. It was quite challenging, we rode parts of the Ridge Trail that I've never done before... some of the switchbacks were insane, the trail would drop 20' of elevation, within about 20' of trail. It was great fun, I kind of want to get back up there again... before snow fall!!


Early in the morning... it was a brisk ride down the canyon, into the shade! I loved feeling that chill, Fall was in the air!

We were looking down into Deer Creek and Tibble Fork at the same time... and Kurt gets a call and conducts business.

Mary Ellen Gulch in the left 1/3rd of this picture.

Looking down on Forest Lake.

 

[Greg]

The trail gets NASTY at the top, we were both off the bikes, walking them around the switchbacks.

Hopefully Kurt will add his pics too!

 

[pELYgroso]

so, was it just Kurt and Greg? Thanks for the report! I want to get up there plenty this fall! I love it when the leaves are changing!

 

[Caleb]

So how'd you like the 250R? Looks like fun.

 

[Greg]

so, was it just Kurt and Greg? Thanks for the report! I want to get up there plenty this fall! I love it when the leaves are changing!

Yeah, Kurt and I. It would have been fun to have more guys out there, but with the 2 of us, we were able to maintain a good pace and keep moving. It was a great ride!

 

[Greg]

So how'd you like the 250R? Looks like fun.

It's a good bike, needs some minor tweaks to work better, but it handled the AFC trails quite well.

I was riding without a skidplate and hand guards, so I was trying to be very careful. The stock gearing was OK 90% of the time, but I really needed better gearing for the tough sections. Getting stopped on the loose hills, then starting back up again was a huge chore. Part of that was the factory tires, Bridgstone TrailWings... aka, DeathWings. They're pretty sketchy when the going gets rough, they were all over the place in the loose stuff. Some knobbies should fix that.

I was real happy with the bike, considering I had no idea how it would handle the technical trail riding. I'll be posting my impressions of the bike soon enough.

 

[YOUKNOW]

That trail looked awesome. Are any of your bikes fuel injected? How do you adjust for that with the altitude?

 

[Greg]

That trail looked awesome. Are any of your bikes fuel injected? How do you adjust for that with the altitude?

Kurts KTM is carbed, I know he did mention that it was a little different at that elevation, but barely noticeable.

My WR250R is EFI and it did well... it's my first fuel injected bike and it's different. The funniest thing was when I dropped it and it just kept running until I picked it back up.

Neither of us had any problems with elevation, but we didn't get up super-high. We stayed below the timber line, but not by much. Carbs will work OK within a decent range of elevation, usually you'll start loosing power before you have any real carb issues.

 

[Caleb]

That trail looked awesome. Are any of your bikes fuel injected? How do you adjust for that with the altitude?

As Greg mentioned, the carbed bikes will run in quite a range of elevation. When Greg and I did our Moab - Fruita - Moab run, on the first day we went from below 4000' in Moab to well above 10,000' (actually 10,681') in the La Sals and we were both carbed without any issues. Of course the FI bikes won't have any issues at all.

 

[Rot Box]

Great pics I'll try to make the next one as I now have a bike the shouldn't (hopefully...) fall to pieces on every trail

 

[YOUKNOW]

Makes me wish I didn't sell my bike! I used to ride a lot when I lived in socal, but no more. Keep the trips coming!

 

[Corban_White]

It was great fun, I kind of want to get back up there again... before snow fall!!

Let us know! If it isn't on a Sunday I would love to be there!

 

[Goose]

looks like you guys had an awesome ride!!!
I love that view from on top (mill peak)
you can look down & see forest lake & across, up into MEG (awesome!!!)
I spend alot of time in that area bow hunting, (although it can be tough riding with my bow on my back)
did you guys make it up towards brighton & alta?

 

[anderson750]

That trail looked awesome. Are any of your bikes fuel injected? How do you adjust for that with the altitude?

JD Jetting kit is the solution to any bike jetting issues

 

[plaidfro]

I love this pic... people dont realize how freakin spooky this traverse is as it cambers off the trail and the rock ledges on the right can bump and push you off the trail which basically drops straight down to forest lake... I would hate to have to extract my bike from that spot.

 

[Greg]

I love this pic... people dont realize how freakin spooky this traverse is as it cambers off the trail and the rock ledges on the right can bump and push you off the trail which basically drops straight down to forest lake... I would hate to have to extract my bike from that spot.

Yeah, that spot is super sketchy, even then, the pics don't do it ANY justice. Crazy thing is that I've ridden a DR650 over it before! Don't ask me what I was thinking... that ride kicked my ass, way too much bike for up there.

When we rode back this way during this ride, I went past this spot without stopping or dabbing. Glad I didn't pile it up!

 

[Coreshot]

So Greg, is Catherine's bike a ttr250, or a wr250? You state both in the thread.

 

[Greg]

So Greg, is Catherine's bike a ttr250, or a wr250? You state both in the thread.

Well, when this thread started we didn't have the WR250R, just the TTR. I picked up the WR in Utah on Friday, worked out at 5 Mile Pass for NPLD on Saturday, then went out on this ride riding the following Sunday. Now, we no longer have either...

The TTR was sold to help pay for the WR, which was too heavy for Catherine and not enough performance for me. We sold the WR and bought a V-Strom that we could ride together on big road rides. Confusing, I know.

 

[Coreshot]

Ahhh....gotcha. I failed to include the "Greg Factor" as I was reading, thus not expecting several machine swaps in one thread....

So the WR was heavier than the TTR?

 

[Greg]

Ahhh....gotcha. I failed to include the "Greg Factor" as I was reading, thus not expecting several machine swaps in one thread....

So the WR was heavier than the TTR?

Yeah, since we had the TTR, there's been a handful of other bikes.

The WR250R was a great multi-purpose tool, but it was tall, heavy and lacked bottom end. It's a true dual sport, not a 'dirt bike' by any means.

It handled the AF Canyon singletrack without too much trouble, but after riding the Sovereign Trail I was pretty turned off with the WR250R. The suspension was great, but ever with deep gearing the lack of power and heavy weight really made the bike a handful in real technical riding... even more so for a crappy rider like myself.

It was too tall and heavy for Catherine, who's still a beginner rider, and she ended up wrecking a handful of times on her last ride... she wasn't too excited to ride the WRR after that, so we sold it and moved on.