My Ride Today
 

I just wanted to share with you all today a ride I went and one of strangest things I have seen in my life today. It might not seem that strange to you all but I am still miffed by it.

Well I headed about this morning to a place I red about online. Its a patch of land that people take their 4x4's to.

I turned in off the road and started down the dirt as soon as I started to get going I fell :( I don't even know what happened I just hit the ground so fast. Luckily I was only going about 5 MPH. I scraped up the plastics a little, but I bent the handlebars which is where most of the damage came from. And don't worry, I came away mostly unscathed, except my pride :lol: That was the first time I have been down on a bike and I have been riding about 10 years.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...3/IMG_0784.jpg

Riding home 15 miles like that was kind of funny.

The place was rutted out so bad I got about a 1/2 mile in and said screw it and went home. I almost got swallowed alive by some of the ruts.

Anyway here is pic of something I stumbled across on my way through woods.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...3/IMG_0782.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...3/IMG_0783.jpg

I couldn't believe someone would abandoned their car there! I wouldn't say it has been sitting there for years but probably at least a month. That just gives you a little idea of how bad the ruts were there.

Other then that above nothing else really eventful happened.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...3/IMG_0785.jpg

Now she needs a bath.

It's kind of hard to find off road places around Cleveland, Ohio but I keep slowly checking out the ones I read about online.

Glad you're ok. Now's your chance to get a decent set of aluminum handlebars.

If you upgrade to 1 1/8" bars (will need adapters) they are nearly impossible to bend. I like Pro tapers mine have taken some massive hits on my ktm and are still straight

How much off road riding have you done? I drop my Zong all the time! :lol:

When the bike drops instantly, without warning, the front tire has washed out. I recommend you get a new front tire with a more aggressive thread. ;) I really like my current, Shinko, 524 front tire. :)

http://www.chinariders.net/modules.p...wtopic&t=14258

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...ngScout013.jpg

I also liked the Dunlop, MX51 front tire I had mounted on my Zong before I mounted the Shinko 524. :)

Spud :)

Glad you're ok dibe. Looking at your bike I am curious about a few things. What is that bracket bolted to your right fork? It looks like a license holder. If it's not needed, I would remove it. It will catch weeds riding off road or may get bent into your tire. I also see a bundle of wires hanging out by the right side passenger foot peg. You might want to tuck these in rather than have a branch yank them out. It might be a good idea to do a walk around your bike and see what is sticking out. Zip tie or clamp it all in so nothing gets pulled out. Nothing worse then having your riding fun ended because your bike gets shut down.

I can't quite tell but do you have rubber foot pegs? If you do, you might want to switch over to the toothed style for off roading. Let me know if you need a set as I have some I'm not using.

I agree with Spud on the tires and the washout. The set on your bike are mainly for street riding.

Nice looking bike, though.

Thanks for the advice.

I bent the bars back to pretty much straight so they should work for now.

I have about 45 minutes worth of off road riding :lol:

I'll have to look into removing that bracktet a little more. As far as I know it serves no purpose.

I think the wire you are talking about David might be the bracket for the foot peg but I'll take walk around the bike and check all thing out.

They are rubber foot pegs and would definitely be interested in the tooth style ones. I'll shoot you a PM.

Don't stress. You are now initiated! Good news!

I was a street rider for about 100 years before I became an off road rider. It is a different skill set to be sure. I have fallen countless times.

The cheap mild steel handlebars are not very good. Get a 50$ pair of aluminum ones and you're good to go.

That looks like a terrible riding area.

Start on some gravel roads and put around a bit and work your way up.

Enjoy the ride.

I also agree with Spud on the tires. Especially on soft surfaces, the 50/50 tires will do that. On harder surfaces they are good. Usually the front tire washes ut and poof, you're on your face.

Learn to ride standing up. It makes all the difference in the world on the rough and unstable surfaces.

The bracket is for a plate used by some other country somewhere.

Now your Roketa has been "baptized." ;) Off road bikes don't look good until they get dirty and acquire a few scratches. ;) If you're not dropping the bike once in a while, you're not having enough fun off road. Mother Earth is far softer, and far more forgiving than either asphalt or concrete. 8O Always ride within your current abilities, and any fall you take will be at low speed, and relatively painless for both you and your mototcycle. ;) Off road bikes will suffer occasional damage to the handlebars, levers, grips, et cetera. Fortunately, you can buy beefier handlebars, handguard protectors, et cetera. Turn signals, mirrors, et cetera, are relatively inexpensive to replace. ;)

I agree with FastDoc. Start riding off road on gravel roads, dry dirt roads, fire roads, and jeep trails. As you acquire experience, and confidence, you can tackle tougher terrain. ;) That particular road was very rutted, and very muddy for a first ride off the pavement. Keep having fun and acquiring skills on less challenging terrain, and you will soon be able to ride that same road with confidence, and much less effort. :)

Spud :)

I agree with David and FastDoc; remove the license plate bracket from you right fork. ;) A set of off road, foot pegs will also help you keep your feet on the pegs when conditions get sloppy. :)

If you're riding in muddy terrain, it's critical to have a front tire with an aggressive tread. ;) The rear tire is also important, but the front tire is critical in sloppy terrain. If the front tire loads up with mud, it will drop you instantly, without any warning. If the tread is aggressive, you will at least be warned to slow down, until the tire can clean itself by throwing off the mud. ;) If the rear tire fishtails, you will still remain upright; however, if the front tire washes out, you will fall immediately. ;)

You also want an aggressive tread for the rear tire, so you can dig into mud and soft surfaces to drive the rear wheel. However, the front tire is even more important, since it provides the stability to keep your bike upright. ;)

The stock, Cheng Shin, C858 tires on your bike are pretty good on dry surfaces. However, they don't do well in mud. ;) Put knobby tires on both wheels, and your off road, riding abilities will increase greatly. ;) The knobby tires will also inspire confidence, even on loose gravel roads. :)

Spud :)

I started riding in 1979 on a street bike, a Honda CB400. I didn't start riding off road until I bought my Zong in 2008. ;) As FastDoc stated, we all need to start at the beginning, and learn to ride off road. You are off to a good start! :D I encourage you to start a new thread concerning tire selection for off road riding. ;) We will be happy to offer you many suggestions regarding off road tires, and good places to buy them. Welcome to the world of dual sport riding; you are going to love it! You will visit many beautiful places as your skills improve with repeated practice. :D

Spud :)