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Squirrel was dancing in the middle of the road- he or she chose poorly. Good ride. Plenty of areas to explore. Thanks Bryan for the invite.

SWL and I rode yesterday. Sandman, sorry we missed you! Next time? We left early, so honestly, not bad at all. And, it really was a pretty hot, sticky day. I only noticed when we stopped. But, before living in FL, I lived in Vegas for a few years, so I guess I'm just used to the heat. Fortunately our winters are like So Cal in Spring, low humidity and very mild. 👍 Nice, relaxing day of scenic backroads and a number of sections of squirrely, deep sand to keep things interesting. SWL managed to tag a squirrel at speed. I was right behind him, so I got to see the carnage. Tiger 1, squirrel 0. Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve Richloam Fire Tower Video Richloam Fish Hatchery Entrance Withlacoochee River Park

Destination Mission Mountain Pass A 12 klm gravel switch-back that during the BC gold rush was quite famous and is still well worth the trip To get there there just follow the map to Seaton Portage . Beautiful lakes and and free camping, if you like to rough it. The whole area is fun for exploring with a lot of fairly well maintained forest service roads Our Vstroms had no trouble on the dry gravel roads. Be prepared, there are no gas stations or cell phone reception, back there your on your own. if you don't mind 12 hours in the saddle this is a fun day trip out of Vancouver, this 600 klm can be done,

If your company needs any help, please let me know As for the weight, I'm not too worried about it. That skid plate is down low and the weight we lost with the Rottweiler kit was higher, so a shift down in center of gravity will be a good thing.

That's pretty impressive, and weight added by protection is often good in the long run. Although some people take that too far(I'm super active sitting on an offshore platform where they called me out over 20 hours early for work)

What is that 990 tipping the scales at now?

Nerb doing the Simpson desert on his loaded 1190 R. That's balls! You can just feel the fatigue too. Huge props. I have done many sections like that on the GSA but not for that far. Gotta have a fresh rear tire, stay loose and plenty of throttle.

Fixed the links, end of Day 3 here because forum limits the number of photo's in one post. Then we went down to Cedar break and took a couple photo’s So we decided to stay at Zion Ponderosa Ranch for the night, the tempting shower/hot tub and laundry facilities were calling our name. So was the BEER, but we forgot it was Utah Grade beer!!  After washing clothes and a nice shower and beer we decided to stay at the resort for a second night, so the next day we headed out to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon traveling light, leaving our camping gear etc at the resort.

So in summary Was a great ride, lots of fun and…. F@%K Sand F@%K Mud F@%K Rocks F@%K Sticks And F@%K Utah Beer But Thumbs up to great views!!

Arrived yesterday! I think these are just the engine bars but haven't unwrapped them yet. We may hold off putting the engine bars on (but not the head light guard) until the final graphics wrap comes in.

After picking up the bike and all of us creaping through the snot again we took a side trail intending to drop into Bryce Canyon from the West side of the park. But it was not to be, this was the first hint that it may not be possible. However in the spirit of adventure after making sure the trail wasn’t undercut we pushed on past the narrow spot Then under the fallen tree Only to have the entire trail washed out around the next bend!!!! @#$@ So we turned around and headed back down towards the main trail. After this section we ran along a side trail that was of Epic levels of awesome. Slightly narrow two track that was just wet enough to not make any dust but also not be a slippery mess. Lead all of us into playing too hard, power sliding around corners and zipping along at a really good pace. The light drizzle that we hit intermittently just kept the dirt that perfect tacky texture for the next 30 or 40 minutes it seemed while we all got lost in the joy of this empty beautiful land that we could explore and play in. Then back along the main dirt road near Tropic Reservoir, At the reservoir we circled up to the bluffs that gave us an impressive view of the valley bellow and the town of Hatch, UT. After looping up to the bluffs we stopped at a natural spring to fill up our water supplies prior to making camp. We found a perfect spot next to Tropic Reservoir where someone was kind enough to leave a bit of pre chopped wood and a campfire ring that we used for our evening. Then we all cleaned up, I went for a VERY quick swim and we cooked up some dinner. This was another great day on the trail, with so many memorable moments for all of us.

Day 2 We packed up and left the OHV area we stayed in, had a light breakfast in camp of stuff we picked up the evening before and found a nice sandy 2 track that took us back to Hwy 89. Dusty is enjoying the new GSA, and the sand has a good layer of dampness on top to make it a bit easier to ride! But this was his first real experience in sand, and this fine soft fluff got the best of him Thank goodness for crash bars, skid plates and bark busters as the only damage the entire week was the ball at the end of a clutch lever!! Orbel making his way through the countryside With Dusty getting a bit more comfortable with the sand The sand got to me when I started getting cocky and trying to power through it like I was on a dirtbike again! As the morning wore on the sand started to dry out and get a bit more challenging to ride over. But everyone was having a GREAT time, even if it is hard work in the sand with all our gear on the bikes! Then we stumbled into a giant bottomless sand pit! Was a wash that the trail dropped into, with no choice but continue or turn back. The drop in was so soft you could only slide down it pushing a mountain of sand with you, and it took all 3 of us to get Orbel up and out the other side so he could hit the end of the trail 200yards past this hill. This was very fine bottomless silt deposited by a stream and time, Dusty we could have pushed through as he was also running Kenda Big Blocks, but my Heidenau K60’s would have left me buried and stuck. So he and I made the smart choice, and backtracked about 2 miles to drop out onto the road further south and meet up with Orbel at the intersection. During this backtrack Dusty was moving along smoothly and then suddenly cut to the left and fell down. I was a little confused :huh :huh so I pull up next to him to help lift the bike and he is pulling a stick out of his spokes. Apparently it deflected up and was enough to stop the front wheel in the soft sand causing him to plow and drop the bike. I convinced him to keep the stick, but neglected to get any photo’s of the event. :baldy :baldy From there it was a few quick corners back to the road where we met up with Orbel and headed into Caramal Jct. for a meal, free air and time to regroup and plan the afternoon’s activities.

Not too far out of Hurricane we took a detour on the way to Zion just to get some dirt under our tires, and of course Dusty had to go through the only mud puddle to help start the break in process on his GSA. With a long open view in front of us we set off, happy to finally be getting into the good stuff. And good views it provided, in all directions. With a rocky downhill section where Dusty raved about how much easier to manage the big GSA was than the 800Adventure he just moved away from Then it was a nice scenic ride to the border of Zion National Park At the entrance to the park we stopped for an early dinner and a celebratory pint. Some great fish and chips at this place and a very nice server before we rode through Zion. After stopping to wait for the tunnel, enjoying the views, and walking up to see some native Sheep we headed out of the park and into Caramal Jct, with the home of the Ho-Made Pies(but for some reason they have Cherry, wouldn’t think that was an option in this type of joint!!) We then headed over to Coral Pink Sand Dunes only to find the camping area full, but Ponderosa Pines BLM campground nearby had a great spot for us to setup for the night.

Brown Santa came today with some cool parts for the bike! Feast your eyes... Black Dog Cycle Works Skid plate, pegs and side stand relocation kit Renthal Fatbar RC High bars RoxSpeedFx risers

Yes, I own Seat Concepts! So lets get a seat on there! Bundy

Hi Eric! I think we can help as well! If you'd like we can supply you with some of these parts: Hepco & Becker Engine Guard: Headlight grill: Rear Rack: Feel free to shoot me a PM if need be!

Yes, I have them on both the SMT and the ADV, they fit well and they have protected the engine case from multiple events, despite the bash plates. The rubber-like brake pedals on all KTMs bends and digs into the engines case, so I have even swapped out the cover (and the pedal) once after a major spill, and the engine case was untouched. The covers on both sides show battle scars.

Agreed. F800 GS is just too heavy

I switched from the 690 R (with mods), which I used for single or multi-day adventures, to the 990 ADV (with mods) for the comfort, and I would not go back. The extra weight means the bike absorbs the rough terrain, rather than the rider, and while it can get tiring lifting her back up after a fall, I avoid falling more than a couple of times a day. The mono also vibrates more, despite what anyone may say about the improvements to reduce vibrations. I can now ride for 8 - 12 hrs/day without hand or bum numbness, and in most situations ride just as fast off road because the suspension is working out, not me. Now, if they brought out a 800 ADV twin at 180kg dry with 25+ L fuel, I'd buy one without a second thought. That sounds like the 800GS, but I mean built tough (KTM style) with a real off-road attitude.

The 990ADV is a great bike, the most important mod is to fix the soft front suspension with a stiffer spring, and get the extra 50mm travel from the R version plungers, or something more custom. I also recommend putting a high mud guard from 690 R or SMC (it's only a matter of time before the OEM tire hugger gets ripped out in the mud), and it needs molded engine case covers (there is a well known brand that makes them). There are other mods I've done, and now the bike is truly capable off-road for long weekend trips.

I'd trust Bundy there because my knowledge of seats is next to nill. I've heard nothing but great things about their seats and they are tight with Dirthammers and ICON Raiden who are sort of industry friends already.

One of these Safari Tanks. 10.5 gallons http://safaritanksusa.com/product_info.php?products_id=21 I'd like that on my own regular 990 but this is kind of a show pony and I think it might change the look too much. Plus, it's not really in the budget

First thing that comes to mind is a seat!! Bundy