So it’s been a whirlwind lately – hard to believe that it’s really almost time to leave.  I’ve got the bike all kitted, Giant Loop Great Basin Saddle bag fitted, Dunlop 606′s front and rear (learned how to change tires in the process), IMS 4.9 Gallon tank, GPS mount, oil changed, etc.  The only last thing i am waiting on is a tank bag from Giant Loop – they are sending it out overnight and it should be here tomorrow – or wednesday (nothing like cutting it close, eh?).  We got Chad’s DR all set up over the past few days (one marathon session for tires, tank, 12V adaptor, and new light).  Matt just called and his bike’s all ready – so on paper we’re a go…

I tested out the SPOT this weekend – will post a link here for anyone who cares to track our progress…

That’s it for now – just need to get the last minute details ready and wait…

My buddy Matt is coming on the WY dirtbike adventure with me. He’s been getting his bike all ready to go. I am not sure how big the stock tank on the BMW is, but he thought a bit more might help out so he ordered a RotoPax tank so he could carry a bit more fuel.  Here are some shots of his setup and his fully loaded bike.

Here’s my first stab at a video blog post – the production quality sucks, i know that, but it shows the Great Basin saddle bags from Giant Loop on the DR650.

DR 650 Giant Loop Saddle Bags from Hank Pantier on Vimeo.

Went for a nice morning ride yesterday with a friend.  I swung by his place and picked him up around 8 – we headed into Boulder, up magnolia, into Rollinsville and up the pass towards the tunnel.  Snow thwarted us at the first lake, but it looks like a week or two should take care of that.  We had some folks coming over for the 4th so we booked it back down 72 and back home.  All in all, pretty cool.

We got in over 100 miles – some of it on pretty technical dirs (for a DR650) , i got to play with the GPS and test out my new boots (they made it a bit hard to shift actually, so i filed off some of the knobbies that grip the shifter – we’ll see if that helps).  Next up, load up the Giant Loop Saddle bags and test out the camping gear.

The big brown truck showed up this afternoon with a delivery for me.  Seems the new IMS tank has arrived – this tank will give me two additional gallons fuel capacity which should give me about 100 additional miles worth of range.

First I attached the new petcock to the tank.  This thread is a bunch of DR owners with IMS tanks talking about issues (hope I shouldn’t be worried) but I went head and just did the install as per the included instructions – I figure if something leaks, I can always go back and revisit this thread then.  We’ll see.

Second, I attached the bracket that holds the front of the seat down (sorry no photos of this part – i forgot to take them in my excitement).

Third, I dove into the bike, pulled the side plastics and the seat.

Then it was time to drain the fuel from the old tank – this proved to be the longest (and messiest) part of the whole deal – i smell of gas as i type this.  After draining the old tank, I pulled the fuel line from it and the vacuum hose.  The new IMS tank came with a plug to put over the vacuum nipple on the carb – the photo i took came out blurry.

The black fairing that you see in the photo above came off after the tank

Then i put the new tank on – it went pretty smoothly.  I reconnected the fuel line – put on the seat and side plastics and volla.

Now if i can just find a seat that doesn’t have the blue on it…

Pick up an IMS tank here

On the 17th I ordered a set of Great Basin Saddle bags from Giant Loop – when i check Google Checkout it still says that the item has not been shipped.  I called yesterday and today, left a message both times inquiring about the status, but have yet to hear anything back…

I hope they call back soon (or better yet the bags just show up as it’s been over a week).

UPDATE:

Just got an email confirming shipping – a week to ship, seriously?  I hope the quality etc of these bags really blows me away, because from a customer service standpoint, i am less than impressed.

A friend of mine was out here a few weekends ago and we did a pretty cool ride through Boulder, over the Switzerland Trail to Gold Hill, up through Ward, to Caribou, into Ned, down Magnolia, and back home.  Here is a photo he took of the bikes – it shows my DR in it’s “Naked” state – the customizations are getting ready to ramp up, hopefully this week.

Both of these bikes will be going on our Contenential Divide trip – Stay tuned.

Since getting a DR and the idea that taking some trips on it might be fun, I have, of course, read some of the obvious books.  Long Way Round and Long Way Down and watched both of the TV Series.  Recently, though I have started reading Jupiter’s Travels – it’s old school and what really started the whole ball in motion, i guess.  If you are at all interested in any of this stuff, you should pick up one (or all) of these books.  They are very inspirational and chock full of adventure.

I think The Longest Ride will be my next read – or perhaps Race to Dakar (Charley cracks me up).

In addition to planning, this upcoming trip is going to necessitate some modifications to my DR650.  As I mentioned in an eariler post I have already ordered bags for the DR (which I can’t wait to see in person) additionally I am going to need the capacity to carry more fuel.  The stock DR gas tank is 2.9 gallons – I get an average of about 52 MPG – giving the bike, with stock tank, a range of about 150 miles.  I feel that for off road adventures, a 200 mile range is about the safe minimum so I ordered an IMS tank which can carry 2 additional gallons of fuel.  This addition should put me well within the “safe” range.

Note: not my bike in the photo – you have to be a real man to ride a yellow bike – I am not sure that I’m that cool.

Well they came in today the Adventure Cycling Association’s maps for Colorado and Wyoming – now it looks like it’s time to start wrapping my head around this.