Leaderboard

2 degrees C and a dusting of snow here and there made for a great ride behind Squamish B.C. ! RPM @rpmadventures

Getting myself one of these Voyager Pro gps units soon and pretty excited! Especially undertaking this LAB2V planning. I'm very interested in the buddy feature where you can see your friends (who have the same unit) on-screen. REVER has this feature too and it's how I found @motochefarwi at TOD last year although that does require cell phone signal whereas the Voyager Pro relies on antennas that have about a 1.5 mile radius but depends mostly on line of sight. I got to demo one at last year's Mojave Rally and I was very interested. I actually still have the antenna on my bike! It will also sync via Bluetooth to your phone allowing you access to your music, messages and phone dialing. I already have a tachometer so I can see that but it would be nice to try and integrate the tach and engine temp features. That's more of a small-bike thing though as this is designed to completely replace whatever existing display is on your dirtbike. I saw they sell a thermostat but it's not something I plan to integrate at this time. As far as mounts go, I'm really not sure how I'll do it. They have a RAM mount accessory and I could easily do that to the handlebars like I have with my current Garmin but that tends to vibrate a lot and move no matter how tight I screw it down. I'd like it above my current oem display but not really sure how to best install it. We'll see. But here's what really strikes me most about this unit from TrailTech, it's that it's a unit designed and built from the ground up for OFF ROAD USE! The screen is VERY easy to see, even in bright light. The tracks and waypoints, etc... are all easy-peasy like we all got together to decide how to best to a GPS for our type of use. I'll post up more later once I get it installed and then as I use it. What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear from those who have this unit already.

I've been an AMA member for quite a few years and have done LAB2V twice. My first time was 2011 on the GSA and I basically destroyed my rims (20 psi was too low obviously). I did it again in 2015 on the 990 and it was much more fun given I could actually ride better and had a more dirt-appropriate bike. I followed @motoguru and his buddy on small bikes and we finished quite early on day 1. Day 2 we split up but it was still a lot of fast fun tracks. Me in 2011. Such the Starbucks noob in my BMW whale foreskin suit and Schuberth C3 touring helmet! I think there were about 60 adventure bikes this most recent event and unfortunately I know of at least a few who had some unfortunate spills with injury like @William Howard and Evan Brown. I met the AMA D37 director, Kieth Huff, that year in 2011 as well and he's been trying with some degree of success to build a better ADV showing each year. He's asked for help putting together a route before and I did give it some consideration but I was concerned the BLM was just going to say "no" and force us down the same power line roads they always go; roads I'd never choose to ride on a weekend fun ride let alone an adv-appropriate trail. But this time Kieth says don't assume that's the case; that this event brings in quite a lot of fees to BLM and they've actually been very cooperative. He's confident they'll work with us and may even prefer the more road-friendly motorcycles on the more tame roads out there. End of first day So LAB2V has been historically quite the experience, for small bikes and especially for adv bikes. But that's also meant not many can ride it on an ADV bike without a considerable risk to injury or damaging their bike. Whoops and deep fluffy sand aren't really the type of terrain that's going to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for the average ADV rider. "But Eric, THAT'S THE DESERT!" many crusty old dirtbikers will say. "SACRILEGE!" they'll say at the idea of creating "some kind of Starbucks poser route!" Exactly!!! This really strikes at the core of what XLADV is all about from the beginning. Our motto is "size matters." It does! Bigger adv bikes are made for different purposes. They're made with stiffer rear subframes to carry gear, bigger tanks for longer range and more power and wind protection for long distance comfort on the highway. They don't handle the same way as a dirtbike and aren't designed for the same terrain/riding style. This is apples/oranges to compare big with small and somehow say "big bikes don't belong." Bent my paralever strut in to where it was rubbing on the tire. Found some ATV people camped with their RV who loaned me a pipe to bend it back out. This is nothing more than tribal bs akin to a "locals only" mentality that says unless you live and surf there regularly, don't bother trying to surf here. The fact is that our public lands are public and belong to no particular group. They are there for everyone's enjoyment. Except for quads and side-by-sides! Just so we agree on that! lol Last day I hit a rock early in the morning before Baker and couldn't find a tube so used Slime to no good result I think this is a great opportunity for the AMA D37 to expand further in to ADV. After all, it's the American MOTORCYCLE Association, not the American Dirtbike Association. I'm sure there will be much blowback and wailing as well as "Starbucks" jokes thrown out there but I'm actually counting on that! I'd love to leverage this in a number of ways. I'm sure we can get sponsors and volunteers to set up "Starbucks bistros" along the way for photo ops that are then leveraged on social media (Instagram, Facebook) for points. Prizes will be awarded the final night for those with the most points. I'm sure many sponsors will have an interest here and perhaps each coffee station could be sponsored/manned by a particular company who'd LOVE the opportunity to also display their wares under their EZ-UP. With over 100 riders posting snapshots of each coffee station (and sponsor) online I'm sure they'd be more than willing. You'd need a selfie of you holding a Starbucks cup with the sponsor's sign behind you. Managed to limp to the finish via highway from Baker stopping a few times to add air to the front wheel. I'm aiming for a truly tame course that the average rider on a GS could do with minimal "difficult" sections, no more than 10% of the total miles even. Like the stretch between Husky monument and Inscription Canyon can be sandy (depending on time of year) but not impossible. The route would be even a bit easier than the BDR-style Beyond Starbucks Gold route I came up with. That would be a good practice run for those wishing to get some practice in. I will be scouting routes with Mike Neagle who does the dual sport and hard routes for LAB2V in the next few months. He's out of town this weekend but I'm going to do some scouting myself this Sunday if anyone would care to join? Meet at 8:00 am at the Starbucks (of course) in Adelanto on Hwy 395.

@Eric Hall I'm really excited for this route to happen. There have been a couple years where I contemplated doing it but was always concerned my bike wouldn't make it out the other end. This is a big deal since my bike is also my form of transportation to get to work. Will be watching the developments closely.

Remote Oregon. Cascades, Mount Jefferson in the background

I bought that seat pad at the AIM show and used it recently during the Geico Adventure rally. It was excellent and I highly recommend it over any gel seat.