Dirt roads on the Connie?

[apeman]

What have been the experiences of Connie riders on dirt/gravel roads for extended periods of time?  I would love to do a trip between Soda Springs, CA and Foresthill, CA on the west side of the Sierras, and similar trips, but I am afraid the Connie might be too heavy for extended dirt road travel.  Anyone have any input?

 

[greg.m784]

I did 28 miles of loose powder traveling on my connie, two up.  Off of Hwy 88.  Panther Creek Road.  It sucked. the bike was filthy.  It felt stable and i never had an oh-$hit moment.

 

[mcgyver74]

My C-10 was always a handful in the dirt,  I probably did several hundred miles over the course of 10 years on loose gravel and dirt..  It can be done but takes a firm confident rider.

Not something I would reccomend tho....

 

[rev ryder]

I've done a fair amount of dirt, caliche, and gravel roads... even some damp and packed sand and it can be done, but it has never been a comfortable thing.  Last week I dumped the turbo on a dirt road that turned to mud on me suddenly.  I knew better than to try a dirt road on a rainy day, but only needed to go a couple of miles on it... however, that didn't pan out pretty.  If it's just dirt and not deep and loose, you're probably OK, but Connie is a pavement kinda girl.

In this case, the front tire atually locked up due to mud packing to the fender and forks.  As you can see in the tracks, the rear was doing fine until it lost contact withthe ground. LOL

 

[oldsawfiler]

At least mud is soft hey Rev.
Years ago in New Mexico adobie even 4 wheeel drives would fill the front fendrs and stall out from mud.  Found that if you could keep the speed over thirty they would keep clear, but tought to do in corners.

 

[rev ryder]

At least mud is soft hey Rev.
Years ago in New Mexico adobie even 4 wheeel drives would fill the front fendrs and stall out from mud.  Found that if you could keep the speed over thirty they would keep clear, but tought to do in corners.

Soft, yes.  And good for my complexion.  :72:

 

[apeman]

Thanks for the input guys.  I am thinking I will not try this on my Connie, and will use some other bike.  Maybe I NEED to get a dual purpose adventure touring bike! 

 

[smithr]

Just to add my two cents.

dry, flat hard gravel roads are fine.

Mud, rub board or soft stuff are real bad.

Doing a few miles on good gravel is very doable.  Doing more then 10 ft of the other stuff always seems to mess my day up.

 

[SteveJ]

Think XR650, KLR, Husky, KTM, depending on your budget. My KLR does put a smile on my face.

DIL has an '09 KLX250. Nice, squared away bike. Big forks, big spokes, modern suspension, smooth up to about 8k rpm(not that bad higher up), light, fun in the toolies. It will do 70+ on the freeway, but not it's forte'. Quite happy at 60/65, though.

 

[Paulie]

IMO it'd be doable but depends on how far & how ruff the trail is. Last yr I did a scenic day route from Reno to Windsor & gotta say that the paved roads round thar are really really fab!

 

[2linby]

I avoid dirt and or gravel roads with a passion.

 

[danodemotoman]

  Bob,
I recall you survived 13 miles of gravel taking a detour on the Volcano Ride, what year?
You were not pleased with the rider you followed!
Not lost, have fuel

I avoid dirt and or gravel roads with a passion.

 

[2linby]

  Bob,
I recall you survived 13 miles of gravel taking a detour on the Volcano Ride, what year?
You were not pleased with the rider you followed!
Not lost, have fuel

I avoid dirt and or gravel roads with a passion.

Dan, you know I'd follow you any............Where!  :-\  :-[  Yeah that was fun................ :truce:

 

[motovetro]

I prefer the Avons.

 

[danodemotoman]

  Bob,
Thnx for the vote of confidence tho recall that was Mike Doyle you followed on the FR 23 wrong leg?
Ha, I did it the other direction years before on the C10 wondering how long the dirt stretch was, longer then.... 16 miles. 



Dan, you know I'd follow you any............Where!  :-\  :-[  Yeah that was fun................ :truce:
[/quote]

 

[DamDan]

Well, I am thinking that it is now too late to ride in on Soda Springs Rd on anything cept a "sled" (snowmobile for those unknowing) but here is my take on offroading with the Connie. Been there and done that but don't highly recommend it. To start with, I haven't dropped mine in the dirt but there areway too many pieces on a Connie that are not forgiving to drops. I would especially not recommend mud. Both traction and clearances for mud build up are not there. Most all of my dirt and gravel experiance have just been on roads that dictated riding to get to a particular destination (dams, usually) or such a short cut that it made it worth the risk.

If you want an adventure, try "Yankee Jims Rd" in to Foresthill from the freeway. It's only about 6-8 miles of non-pavement, along with a like amount of pavement mostly on the Foresthill end, but do it on a weekday. It's pretty narrow in a few spots and the less traffic the better. Cool bridge across the American, too. Hell Hole Dam was on the "Dam Tour" this year and in a years time, I've ridden down there from Portland three times and had lots of adventure finding ways in and out of that dam!! Including snow over Memorial Day weekend.

DamDan

 

[slybonesjesse]

So your not going to send them to Tiber?

 

[DamDan]

Tiber! Boy, as many years as it has been, it is still very vivid as to the crappy "Montana State Highway" that road was. Then, we compounded it by going out a different way that was just as bad but longer!!!!!!  That's one dam that I never did and never will repeat! Once was more than enough. LOL

DamDan

 

[2linby]

This might be funny to some, but on a Connie it would be sure death.

Sumpstar Jenzino​

 

[bmcush]

Nice video, that area could use a bridge.  Never trust a water hazard that you cant see the bottom.  I'm thinking his "buddies" set him up :motonoises:

 

[connie_rider]

Hard packed Gravel Roads are not all that bad. Not a favorite but doable....
We did several over the years and did fine.
Including riding to the top of Pikes Peak when it was mostly Gravel on the top half......

Dirt bike experience is a plus though!

Ride safe, Ted

 

[danodemotoman]

A dirt biker for decades that was for sure, very funny! BTDT

This might be funny to some, but on a Connie it would be sure death.

Sumpstar Jenzino​

 

[jpolito]

about a year ago riding in Osteen Florida area decided to go exploring...after a hard rain. OK bad so far. Went down back road for change of scene couple of miles in the dirt/mud road got little worse. A local in a pickup truck with his dog stopped me and asked where i was going, and I asked about the remainder of the road all he said was turn around you'll never make it. Figuring this was not a good adventure on the Connie I spent about 10 minutes turning around on the road and headed back to familiar territory.

 

[Highett]

I went for a day trip the other day and deliberately left the seal road to have a look at a heritage area between Bucketty and St Albans in the Wollombi area.

35 Kms of gravel road, not bad for gravel, some corrugations, (got it all) up hill, down hill, twisties and straights, great scenery, a few four wheel drives came through, lots of dust from them (they don't slow for you),  I would never have gone in there had I not fitted the Radiator Guard and Fender Extender.

Took it easy on the corners and the sections where the road sloped of to the side, Speed varied as the road allowed between say 10/15 on the hair pins, 25/40 on the bends and 40/70 on the straights.

The C14 Handled it well, better than I thought it would, even the corrugations, and you do get them on gravel no matter how well it is maintained.

I would not go near mud or soft sand.

Photos:

Cheers