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Old 12-15-2017, 10:55 PM   #31
fjmartin   fjmartin is offline
 
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Videos from the Winter Escape

Some videos from the ride so far:
Lane Splitting:
Wildfires close by: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSRuJqtPSXQ
Dusk Ride: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE2xv_jVMBU
Salvation Mountain (Whoville):
Sculptures:
Anza Borrego Desert Big Ride:


Hope you enjoy!


Joe
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Old 12-15-2017, 11:36 PM   #32
AdventureDad   AdventureDad is offline
 
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You are quite the rider! Probably no way I'd of tackled that downhill in your first vid. It looked STEEP!!! How'd your ride down there go, and once there, against those big bore thumpers? Just like to hear pro's and con's.


 
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Old 12-16-2017, 01:34 PM   #33
fjmartin   fjmartin is offline
 
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I'm a newer rider with intermediate skills at BEST...I'm just dumb enough to continue forward. I think being a mountain bike racer helps from the skill but also the fear factor. In the last video the "Heart Attack Hill" descent was by far the scariest thing I've done on the bike as you can see how sketchy it was for a 30+ year motorcross veteran on his XR600 to go down. The ride down was good though, the RX3 is very comfortable on the highway as long as you know that you'll be in the right lane when the speeds are 70+ and traffic is exceeding it or once I get into the mountain passes. I did have to make a 3 hour detour on the way down. The Siskou pass from Oregon to Cali was snow and ice so I took Hwy 199 from Grants Pass, OR to Crescent City, CA and took 101 down to SF and then worked back towards I-5. The two other bikes were an ancient but very capable XR600 with kick start only and the other bike was a Honda CRF250L. Those guys both live in the L.A. area and trucked their bikes down the couple hour ride. For the XR he wasn't sure it would run well so wanted the truck to make sure he could get home...plus he brought a spare bike, but Matt on the CRF doesn't like riding it on the freeway. He also owns an RX3 but wanted the right weapon for the job and since he was just doing the dirt ride and not a couple thousand miles on the road that was probably a good choice. I of course rode down from WA and while having an enduro for the offroad would have been nice it would have sucked for the road travel. I think you'd have to move up to a much more expensive, powerful and heavy bike to get in the middle to have enjoyed the road and the trail...like a KTM 1090R or something...but lots more money! But once we got off-road they were kicking my butt for many reasons. 1-They are used to desert riding and SAND! I'm not, living in the PNW we have green trees and actual dirt with some mud mixed in. 2 - I'm not that great of a rider and it was scary to go over 30 mph in the sand with the bike wiggling all over the place 3 - They had twice the ground clearance and about twice the suspension as me so could hit stuff harder and faster. Their bikes have a better power to weight ratio as the CRF has a few more HP than the RX3 but is lighter. 4 - Once we got in the DEEP sand I couldn't get on top of it to plane out the bike. That was a combo of the bikes weight, my tires and how low of pressure I could run and power to weight. The CRF has the TubeLiss system installed and was running like 6PSI. I went down to about 24 but was worried about pinch flats, rim dings and spinning the tire on the rim and tearing off my valve stem. The XR guy kept higher pressure like me but the 600CC had the power to jump up on the sand. I did fine in the shallower stuff though. I had to pick my lines better than them so I didn't bottom out or get bucked hard. I was definitely riding the RX3 in areas that I don't think it was meant to go. It's an adventure bike, not an enduro like the TT250. No matter what though I've been loving the RX3 and have gotten more than my monies worth out of it. 19K miles in 14 months along with some amazing adventures and the CSC Baja tour and this next years run up to Alaska. Heck, I could abandon it in the bush and I'd be money ahead at this point...but I don't plan on doing that...I plan on riding the wheels off of it...how long it takes is anybodies guess!

Happy Holiday to you and yours and keep the rubber side down!

Joe
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Old 12-16-2017, 02:14 PM   #34
rjmorel   rjmorel is offline
 
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Wow Joe, Matt and other guy? That was some knurly riding!!!! I wouldn't want to take my RX3 down that hill. A trials bike maybe. But you proved it quite capable if it needed to out in the real world. Awesome vids that showed potential of all 3 bikes and riders. Epic journey for you Joe. That's what the RX3 is all about. Pack it , ride it, get home , priceless with enough money left in the bank to do it all over again. Did you guys camp out in the desert?
Joe if you need any info on Alaska I have the 2016 Mile Post book with all the info that's a great resource. Spent a 30 days up there last June, July. rj
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Old 12-16-2017, 03:37 PM   #35
fjmartin   fjmartin is offline
 
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Thanks Rob, I didn't want to go down that hill either but turning around wasn't an option either. No, we didn't camp, we stayed at a little lodge on the Salton Sea. It was nice after the hot and dusty rides to get a shower. Thanks for the offer on the Alaska info...I'll let you know. I'm going to place my order for the 2018 version once they release in April so I have the latest information. But I may have questions and will hit you up!
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