Anyone interested in a James Bay Road trip? | Page 10 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Anyone interested in a James Bay Road trip?

If you have a premium fuel bike, don’t be afraid. Go to CTC to get STP octane boost. $6 bottle does 70l of fuel. Can’t believe you don’t know this!

I'm keenly aware of octane boost products. I'm also keenly aware that their claims are very misleading - read the fine print on the bottle next time you're looking at a bottle of it - the big print on the front often says things like "Raises 70L of fuel 3 points!". It's only when you read the fine print on the back will you soon discover that they define a "point" as 0.1 (for the cheap stuff) to 0.3 (for the more expensive stuff) octane per the quantity of gas they quote to treat.

People just assume that "3 points" means it'll take 70L of 87 octane fuel and make it all 90 octane equivalent. Often, that entire bottle may take that 70L of fuel up to 87.3 octane, so you'd actually need about 10 bottles to reach 90 octane in that 70L tank of fuel. That's assuming you're using some of the good stuff - I've seen some of the cheap stuff claim only 0.1 octane per bottle, so you'd actually need 30 bottles.

Do you see the problem?

Even when you're scaling it down to a 20L motorcycle tank, you'd still need about 4 bottles with every fill up to get the 91 minimum octane that most bikes that need premium call for.

On a trip where you're riding thousands of kilometers without a guaranteed access to premium fuel (or an absolute guarantee you can buy it in quantity at every fuel stop) you're potentially needing to carry countless bottles (like, 30 or more) of octane booster with you.

This is the big issue. Beware misleading advertising.
 
Are you sure they were 777's? Shinko makes lots of different models, all with different hardness levels.

And yes, I very much did mean 30,000 and 40,000KM on my current set. FWIW I do a lot of long distance riding so a lot of those miles are far from stop and go city riding and that sort of thing, but unless you were riding like rossi I can't possibly imagine how you wore out a set of 777's in 5000KM, especially the front.
Correction - I just checked and mine were Shinko 712s. I gotta put tires on an one of my oldies for this summer -- if you're getting that kind of mileage they are worth a try. The best I've eve got from a motorcycle tire on a heavy bike is 15K - got that out of RoadPilot 4 GTs and Avon Angel GTs.

I do a lot of distance too, not much on slabs so my tires do scrub off quickly.
 
The only problem with the trip is that you have to go back to ride the Trans Taiga

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The only problem with the trip is that you have to go back to ride the Trans Taiga
That is a very remote destination, with no towns etc, and 600k to a dead end. I guess because it's there. ?‍♂️
 
That is a very remote destination, with no towns etc, and 600k to a dead end. I guess because it's there.
Adventure riders in a nutshell, "Because it's there.".

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Update: Unfortunately the 2 friends who'd I originally planned to do this JBR trip with this year aren't going to be able to make the schedule work.

So, accordingly, I am indeed looking for a few people to make the trip with - ideally looking for a group of 4 or 6 tops, including myself.

For those who have done this trip before and enjoy the whole endurance ride nature of the way I plan to do it, I'd love to have you on board - I know I'm preaching to the choir. But for those who may be newer riders or haven't done 10-15 hour/800-1000KM riding days, I'd also love to have you onboard, but please, read everything below and go in eyes wide open:

1/ I tend to ride hard because it's what I enjoy. I'm not the sort who stops every 30 or 45 minutes to sit in a coffee shop or on the side of the road somewhere to smoke. It's not uncommon for me to ride tank-to-tank, IE...only stopping when I have no choice because I'm out of gas. When I do stop for gas, often it's a gas, pee, refill my coffee (and for this trip, a quick discussion with the group to make sure everyone is good) and go scenario..no standing around for an hour at the gas station drinking coffee afterwards. If you're not into this sort of riding or can't do at least 2-2.5 hours non stop, then you probably don't want to ride with me. ;)

2/ Breakfast and lunch are usually short affairs when I'm on a long trip. Dinner is where I will sit down and relax for a proper dinner and social time after the days riding is done, but breakfast and lunch are seldom big long sit-down meals.

3/ I don't ride with anyone under the influence of anything. I enjoy a beer (or three) as much as anyone at the end of a day of riding, but I ask of anyone I ride with in a group ride to remain clean and sober through the day for everyone safety, not just mine. I ride by the pilots mantra - "8 Hours, bottle to throttle". I'm also not looking for a party, so if you're the sort that stays up until 3 or 4 AM when the rest of us are planning to be up at 6, packed, have breakfast onboard, and be rolling by 7-8AM, this trip isn't for you.

4/ This is remote territory we will be headed into, so your bike must be in 110% tip top condition - breaking down out there hundreds of kilometers either side of nowhere is a major problem for not only you, but by the nature of the group, everyone else. You MUST also be able to bring your own additional fuel to manage the 380+KM to the fuel stop on the JBR. For my bike for example, I'll need to be packing about 10-15L - others will need to know their bikes consumption and gauge their needs accordingly.

5/ If you haven't ridden at least an 600-800KM day minimum and know you are comfortable doing so, this might not be the trip for you, sorry.

As for the rest of the trip, my original trip plan as I mentioned earlier in this thread still stands, so I'm looking at:

Day 1 - Oshawa area to the base of the JBR @ Matagami, 875KM.

Day 2 - Early start, run the JBR, at the top head west to Chisasibi for photos and such there, get our "I rode to Nunavut" claim to fame, then head east to Radisson for the night. ~800KM day in total.

Day 3 - Radisson Hydroelectric Dam tour as soon as possible in the AM hours. Afterwards, depending on time, either run to the midpoint on the JBR and spend the night there (if we get out of Radisson very late), or (preferably and quite likely certainly unless it means riding after dark) get to the bottom of the JBR and spend the night in Matagami again. Around a 650KM day.

Day 4 - Early start, Matagami back home, possibly via Ottawa (to make it a different route). Between 875-1030KM depending on which route we go - I'd lean towards adding the extra 150KM going via Ottawa to cover new road on the way back vs backtracking the route north, but I'm open to discussion amongst the group on that one.

Day 5- Well, there ideally won't be a day 5, but if there's justification for such (departure from Radisson on day 3 is super late for example) I'm OK with adding another day to avoid the need to ride an iron-butt on day 4 to make it home...as I know few will be interested in that. But, I'm also not against it if the group consists of people like me who enjoy that sort of thing.

Accommodation plans TBD. I'll be bringing my tent regardless and am not against camping if needed, but given it's only 3 nights I'm happy to split accommodation costs with someone else to do the motel/hotel avenue so long as you're a non smoker.

I'm pretty easy to get along with, I have a good sense of humour, but please go into a trip like this eyes open keeping everything above firmly in mind. Sorry to be blunt with some of the above, but I'd rather do that then have people come onboard who are ill prepared or aren't keenly aware of what they're getting into and the sort of riding I plan to do. I'm all for having fun and enjoying the trip, but this is a 4 day trip logging 3100-3300 KM, so it's not for everyone.

Looking at the 3rd week of August at this point (Departing the 16'th or the 17'th), although I have some flexibility to perhaps move my vacation ahead a little into September if that works better. I don't want to move the trip ahead (earlier in August) as I will be riding out west with friends in late July/Early August and will want a few weeks off before another long trip.
 
I might plan my ride near those dates but I stop for photos, views, smell the roses etc.
I would do the same, what is the point of doing a tour if all you are doing is flying past everything. I rather take some of it in, see things, explore.
 
I understand not everyone’s into the endurance thing, which is why I was upfront and why I expect a pretty limited audience.

But to be honest, what I’m trying to get across is that I’m just not into the “ride 100km and stop for an hour” type of thing that others enjoy. It can turn a 800KM day into an exhausting 18 hour day, much less 1000+KM days.

I’m also not interested in this trip taking a week, either - I don’t want to use an entire week of my vacation for this.

And I should have been clearer that I’m not against stopping and seeing major points of scenery and such, although from everything I know of this trip, there’s not much to see, with few exceptions.

Again, I just believe in being upfront about the type of riding I plan to do for this trip. I agree my last reply was probably overly blunt and grumpy, but I’m not big on beating around the bush. ;)
 
I understand not everyone’s into the endurance thing, which is why I was upfront and why I expect a pretty limited audience.

But to be honest, what I’m trying to get across is that I’m just not into the “ride 100km and stop for an hour” type of thing that others enjoy. It can turn a 800KM day into an exhausting 18 hour day, much less 1000+KM days.

I’m also not interested in this trip taking a week, either - I don’t want to use an entire week of my vacation for this.

And I should have been clearer that I’m not against stopping and seeing major points of scenery and such, although from everything I know of this trip, there’s not much to see, with few exceptions.

Again, I just believe in being upfront about the type of riding I plan to do for this trip. I agree my last reply was probably overly blunt and grumpy, but I’m not big on beating around the bush. ;)
You are 100% right to be as blunt as possible. A ride like you're planning can be extremely difficult on the rider, and the middle of the JBR is the wrong place to find out you cant handle it. No point in sugar coating facts to coerce people into a trip only to have problems along the way.
I would definitely do this with you in 4-5 days, however my kids are young and my summer vacation is still spent with the family.

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I also agree with being blunt and straight forward. No need for fuckery while you are trying to enjoy your vacation time and figure out things as you go, more so when it's a remote destination like this.

A lot of what @PrivatePilot said was right on for expectations, but I think the post came off as little too "lets get r done", then lets have an amazing adventure and see and do cool stuff.
 
Thx for understanding guys. I think you get my points despite how they came across in my past last night. This is very much part endurance ride, and that’s part of the allure for me personally. I take in the scenery as it passes by and I lose myself in the miles.

I get the “You need to stop and smell the roses” thing all the time from others. Don’t get me wrong, I do that sort of riding as well when I’m with a different group of friends, but we’re talking 300-400KM days usually on those sorts of rides, so lots of stops to see things and have social time is cool.

But this isn’t going to be one of those rides. If it was, this would quickly become a 6-7 day trip, something I’m not interested in...as I have a family as well, albeit adult kids. But I’m already spending 8 days on a trip out west as mentioned in early August and I don’t want to ditch everyone again for another week for this trip.

Ultimately, if it ends up being just 2 or 3 likeminded people who come along, that’s cool. Again, I know my ideas of what I find enjoyable are not shared by everyone who owns a motorcycle.

I do however make no apologies for my take on alcohol or drugs. I’ve no interest in riding with anyone who’s impaired at any point during the hours we are on 2 wheels, full stop.
 
That is a very remote destination, with no towns etc, and 600k to a dead end. I guess because it's there. ?‍♂️
If you ride the last rough 80 odd kms past the dam you can get gas for 10$/gallon and if the ride was wet and cold maybe the best cup of coffee you ever tasted.
 
I'm thinking this over. I can certainly tick all the boxes, and I enjoy endurance rides. I plan my endurance rides through familiar territory, places I've already seen and enjoyed. If the destination is new and unfamiliar, I prefer a little more time to explore and enjoy the surroundings and people.

I think this ride could be a little of both. To make it a bit more appealing, maybe consider using Rouyn Noranda as the end of day 1 and 4, then use 3 days to do the JBR so there is enough time to enjoy the ride.
 
I do however make no apologies for my take on alcohol or drugs. I’ve no interest in riding with anyone who’s impaired at any point during the hours we are on 2 wheels, full stop.
I'm with you on that. When the ride shuts down for the day, go nuts. Just make sure there's 9 hours between lights out and riding.
 
To make it a bit more appealing, maybe consider using Rouyn Noranda as the end of day 1 and 4, then use 3 days to do the JBR so there is enough time to enjoy the ride.

We should have taken 5 days ....two 950k+ days on the Burgman ( Matagami to Mississauga ) was a push
 
5 days worked well for us.
1 day to Matagami, 1 day up the JBR stay in Radisson, 1 day to Chiassabi/James Bay and the Hydro tour, stay in Radisson, 1 day back down the JBR to Matagami, 1 day to GTA.
Gives you lots of time on the JBR for photos, rests etc... if you're so inclined.
 
Like others have said make time for the dam tour (4 hours if I recall)
 

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