Ride report: Colorado and back in 6 days | GTAMotorcycle.com

Ride report: Colorado and back in 6 days

regder

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Made it back, with some unexpected excitement on the ride.

Left Friday evening right after work, made it 200 miles right across the Canada border to Port Huron, MI to beat the long weekend border traffic. Saturday did about 700 miles of straight interstate to just west of Des Moines, camped at a KOA.

Sunday was another 700 miles of straight interstate to Estes Park at the base of Rocky Mountain National Park, camped at Mary's Lake campground (I would recommend). Thankfully weather was decent that day, and just started to drizzle as I got to the campground. Noticed my Shinko 705 was wearing at an alarming rate half way through Sunday, about 1400 miles into the trip. Had 900 miles on it before I left and was about half way worn. I had worn through 2 705's before this one and hadn't seen wear like this, normally get 5-6k miles on a rear. Started freaking out and doing mental math where I would have to try and find a back tire along the route, convince myself to keep the speed to 75mph to preserve the tire.

Monday woke up to cold weather and a heavy drizzle. Checked the weather for Trail Ridge Rd and Mount Evans Rd, both were around freezing with consistent rain and a chance of snow. The bad weather and the rear tire situation wrecked my spirits for the day, doubled back to Loveland where it was warmer and a lot drier. Ended up doing a lazy day, rode south on 25 to outside Boulder and headed west into the mountains. More rain in the mountains. Once I got on I70 outside Denver the weather cleared and warmed up. Had a really nice ride on I70 to Glenwood Springs, before heading South East towards Independence Pass. Rain started to pop up in the distance. Stayed at the very nice Westin Resort in Snowmass Village (thanks Priceline). Started pouring just as I pulled up

Tuesday did Independence Pass which was beautiful, stopped a few times to take it in. Followed that by Monarch Pass, which I could have skipped. Didn't find it all that scenic and basically just blew through it. Finally did 550/Million Dollar Highway between Montrose and Durango. Weather turned on 550 and was pouring half the way before clearing by Durango. Checked the map and figured northern New Mexico wasn't doable timewise so turned eastward back home. Rain in the distance along the Contintental Divide. Got to Alamosa, CO by nightfall without rain and stayed at another KOA. Once again I'm worried about the back tire, the 705 starts at about 12mm of tread, was down to about 3mm at Alamosa with another 1700 miles to go or so. Highway 10 through eastern Colorado, incredibly remote and empty, only the odd ranch here and there, makes you think of a different kind of life. Ended the day in Concordia, MO.

Thursday was supposed to be 900 miles home. Rear tire is at 1-2mm so I'm starting to think it may actually make it. Got about 200 miles into the day, stop to fill up and notice the kick stand goes down unbelievably smooth, as if it was a brand new bike. Somethings's not right. Look down and I notice oil pooling below the sprocket cover and spray on the swing arm. Take off the sprocket cover and there's definite oil coming from somewhere, I try to convince myself that it's just chain lube liquifying from the heat in the mid 90's. Clean the residue, ride it 20 miles and it's a definite oil leak, I suspect from the countershaft oil seal. Call a few shops along the route and no one has the seal, I decide to gamble and ride it. Stop periodically to check it and it's getting worse and worse, starting to coat the rear tire. I keep the speed between 60-70 and contort my body to keep the bike upright at any curve in the road. Worrying about the oil leak and trying not to potentially crash is really wearing on my physically and mentally. Stop 125 miles from home to get a tow which is the limit with CAA (Canadian AAA). Tow is of course delayed, end up getting home at 4am, was originally planning to be home by 10pm.

Could have done without the bad weather, a few people mentioned it was typical of September not August. Ironic, as the last time I was in Colorado was in September and was near 100% dry the whole time. The bike issues were a pain. Any time on the bike and not at work is good though, some nice scenery in Colorado was a bonus.

Here's the approximate route I ended up taking, https://goo.gl/maps/Dz6fgegFC7K2

Anywhere in Nebraska

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Starting to dry off in Colorado

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Along I70

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Obligatory bike shot

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Is that rain the distance? ...

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Yup, it's rain

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Along Independence Pass

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Twin Lakes along Independance Pass

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Going to Monarch Pass, I see rain...

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Going to Alamosa, more rain in the distance

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Highway 10, makes me think of the wild west

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Don't know what these things were, but they flew only a foot off the ground and were full of bug juice

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Uh oh

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By the end of the day

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Trip stats (about 125 miles added on the back of a tow truck)

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6 days? Sweet Jesus, a buddy and I did an 8 day trip to Utah/Colorado trip, with a 1400 km final day ride. You're a machine.

Also on a vstrom 650.
 
Seriously impressive but that's what the Stroms are for. Have 10k km on this summer so far ...7.5 on the Strom plus an aborted southern BRP run that still ended up at 1600 km and some drama with a failed stator....thanks CAA Premiere !!!

If you decide on a newer Strom ...K60s will end your range anxiety with reports of 20,000 miles + on the rear and I can attest to that personally with 15,000 km on my first Wee and it easily passed safety.
You just need to put up with a bit of noise - performance in gravel is superb compared to the P3s I have on now which are squirmy.

Slightly less range ...Mitas EO7s a bit better in the wet and twists trading off for a bit less range. Also good off pavement.
.....

scrapbook shot for sure

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K60s will end your range anxiety with reports of 20,000 miles + on the rear...

Miles?? That's 32,000km. I'd like to see one of these reports. Link, please. I achieved less than half that on my rear K60.



via Tapatalk
 
The Heidenau K60 and K60 Scout tyres have earned an extremely good reputation as a true 50/50 dual sport tyre. A perfectly suited overland travel tyre; these tyres last longer than just about any comparable dual sport tyre, and do not get scary in the wet like many hard compound tyres do.

Click on the 'Additional Media' tab for detailed photos of each specific tyre.

Gabriel of Zen Overland, used a pair of these on his 60,000 mile 18 month RTW trip, clocking up an incredible total of over 20,000 miles on a single rear tyre!
https://www.zenoverland.com/tyres_tubes/heidenau-k60-k60-scout.html

When I first got my Wee I was in Vermont and didn't know much about them, came with the bike and guy came out and chatted with me ...had a Strom as well and he reported 22k miles on his set.

I put circa 20k km before I sold that first Wee and it passed safety easily . Only just put them on the second Strom as the P3s lasted a season and I did very little riding in 2016.
 
Thanks for the tire tips, will have to look into them.
 
Gabriel of Zen Overland, used a pair of these on his 60,000 mile 18 month RTW trip, clocking up an incredible total of over 20,000 miles on a single rear tyre! https://www.zenoverland.com/tyres_tu...k60-scout.html

Says a retailer with a vested interest and no documentation.


...had a Strom as well and he reported 22k miles on his set.

Highly unlikely. You can't believe everthing you hear. And if true, this is an exception, rather than the rule. Don't get me wrong, I like the K60s, am on my second set, but anything above 20,000km on the rear is unrealistic. The front can go 25,000km with no trouble.
 
The guy in Vermont had no reason to lie to me and my own experience was indicative tho I did not wear them out....and you think the Zen Overland guy is lying as well ???

Up to you what you want to beleive.....I know there is no tire that gets anywhere close afaik.

Sail2XXS just changed out his tires this weekend. He put over 25k on them. I was with him when they changed them out and I they still had a lot of tread left. The back was pretty squared off, but it still had a lot of life left in it.

http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=4604.50;wap

Pics and use description are in the "best tyre" thread at:

http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=2812.msg91226#msg91226

25,397 mostly highway miles, runnning 75-80 MPH indicated.

http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=2812.msg91226#msg91226
 
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I'm not saying anyone is lying. But I ride with mostly adv types and not one single person I know personally has ever gotten anywhere near 26000 miles on a k60.
Having said that, it is hard to beat them for longevity in that class of tire.
Also, who in the hell buys a k60 to run 26000 "mostly highway miles"?!? There definitely better tires out there for that use.

Sent from my SM-A500W using Tapatalk
 
Maybe he likes the longevity as I do.
It's also likely dependent on the road surfaces plus rider habits in terms of braking and to some degree acceleration.

I like them for the stability on gravel as well as the long life.

I opted for Mitas E7s in Aus as I was less concerned about longevity and more concerned with wet weather traction as the KLR has no ABS.

With ABS on the Wee...I went for distance.

One post mentioned they seemed to do better for distance at lower tire pressures which appears counter intuitive but maybe because they are so square to begin with ...it provides a very broad footprint almost the way a darkside does....
and lets face it ...darksiders get insane distance.
 
I can't even imagine trying to do that in 6 days. I was just out in Colorado and Utah end of July, best riding I had ever done especially Utah. Took two weeks and that was not even enough time, everywhere you turn is another amazing road or place to explore.

 
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I can't even imagine trying to do that in 6 days. I was just out in Colorado and Utah end of July, best riding I had ever done especially Utah. Took two weeks and that was not even enough time, everywhere you turn is another amazing road or place to explore.

Definitely not ideal. Missed a ton of big highlights because of the rushed schedule combined with poor weather.
 
I agree.............he went right past my favorite golf course! Sandhills, about 1.5 hours west of North Platte!

Whats the farthest you have rode in a day regder? My craziest was from Inverness, Cape Breton to Milton....lol

Cheers!
 
Cool trip. Just got back from a long one myself with lots of ~1000KM days, but we were on a mission moreso than sightseeing.

Last time I was out west was 2008 and we did the trip out and back in 4 weeks - some long days, some short days, and a decent number of down days as a result, but even then we STILL had to budget our time closely in order to have those down days in places we really wanted to visit - Banff, Vancouver, Whistler, Yellowstone NP, and a few other single day stops for theme parks, etc. I told myself if I ever did it again I'd want 6 weeks so there's plenty of time to stop and smell the roses at the slightest whim.
 
Whats the farthest you have rode in a day regder? My craziest was from Inverness, Cape Breton to Milton....lol

Cheers!

Not quite that far, probably about 1700km's in one day is probably my personal record. As I get a bit older, I try to be smarter and not ride on lonely highways at night or when tired.
 
Thanks for the ride report regder!:) It's incredibly fortuitous as I am currently planning to head that way in about a week.

I too am planning on slabbing it to Colorado but I'm limiting my suffering to just 3 days to Colorado Springs. Basically 23 hrs of riding divided by 3.

Glad to hear Independence Pass was a hit. Pikes peak wasn't on your list?

Any other tips, recommendations regarding the ride there/back would be great.
 
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Thanks for the ride report regder!:) It's incredibly fortuitous as I am currently planning to head that way in about a week.

I too am planning on slabbing it to Colorado but I'm limiting my suffering to just 3 days to Colorado Springs. Basically 23 hrs of riding divided by 3.

Glad to hear Independence Pass was a hit. Pikes peak wasn't on your list?

Any other tips, recommendations regarding the ride there/back would be great.

I was split between Mount Evans Road or Pikes Peak, Mount Evans fit better into my route. Ended up skipping both due to bad weather. Same with Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park. This was the route I had planned before I left, https://goo.gl/maps/FbN85QwwLCy

One suggestion I had which looked amazing but didn't fit into my route is Skyline Drive near Canon City (first video youtube found): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oxMGAawrHE

I wouldn't go out of my way to do Monarch Pass, unless it suits your route.

Hotel/motel pricing is really weird, may want to consider camping if you're into it. The Westin Resort in Snowmass ran me $80 on a Monday night, couldn't find a dumpy motel in Alamosa the next night for less than $130usd.

It can get seriously cold at elevation, pretty sure I had my heated jacket on whenever above 8k feet elevation, in early August.
 
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How long in the area? Are you doing Utah?

I'll be cutting through Utah to get to Nevada so I can hit Idaho from the south and do a lazy clockwise loop towards Yellowstone Park to prepare for riding Beartooth eastbound (which I hear is the best way to ride it)

I'll won't be staying in Utah long. Just a quick stop at the Salt Flats off I-80.

I was split between Mount Evans Road or Pikes Peak, Mount Evans fit better into my route. Ended up skipping both due to bad weather. Same with Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park. This was the route I had planned before I left, https://goo.gl/maps/FbN85QwwLCy

One suggestion I had which looked amazing but didn't fit into my route is Skyline Drive near Canon City (first video youtube found): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oxMGAawrHE

I wouldn't go out of my way to do Monarch Pass, unless it suits your route.

Thanks for that! I appreciate the advice. All of those are out of my way, and though Skyline doesn't suit my fancy, Trail Ridge looks quite epic!
Independence pass is on my list for sure. I'm mainly heading to the area to get a good run at Beartooth and hopefully Going-to-the-sun rd.

Hotel/motel pricing is really weird, may want to consider camping if you're into it. The Westin Resort in Snowmass ran me $80 on a Monday night, couldn't find a dumpy motel in Alamosa the next night for less than $130usd.

I wish I was into camping, otherwise I totally would. I never have done it, and don't want my first time trying to be on my own, ya know what I mean?
I'll be mainly using AirBnB. The average is around $80cdn it seems.

It can get seriously cold at elevation, pretty sure I had my heated jacket on whenever above 8k feet elevation, in early August.

I figured as much. I'll be sure to pack my heated vest and some layers. :cool: Thanks again.
 

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