Winter escape
 

It’s been cold and rainy in the PNW and I finally had enough so I decided to head South on the RX3. This will be a two week trip down to SoCal. Plan was to go straight down I-5 from the Seattle area to CSC to have some things done to the RX3 that’s I didn’t want to do myself and then connect with another RX3 buddy and his friend to ride around the Salton Sea. So Sunday morning I loaded up the bike and headed South. It rained a LOT. My Klim gear, A* Toucan boots, heated jacket liner, heated grips and new grip muffs kept me dry and warm

Made it to Grants Pass with no issues. 440 miles. This morning I left Grants pass but had to take HWY 199 to Crescent City, CA as the Sisque pass was covered with snow and ice. Lots of construction on 101 slowed my progress and I have stopped in Willits for the night. BBQ and a Beer!

Safe travels and keep us posted on your trip.

Looks like a really fun trip, FJ! Keep the rubber side down and your head on a swivel. The drivers out there are crazy! Keep us posted and let us know if you need anything.

Another long day on the Bike heading South. 400 miles. Coolest sight was crossing the Oakland bridge then just lots of rolling hills of wheat. Staying in the big city of Buttonwillow tonight.

Make sure that you get in a couple of laps on the race course.

Bridges are just cool...thanks for sharing the pics.

Made the last 140 miles into Azusa today and arrived at CSC. Wind was brutal coming over the grapevine and it took all I had to stay in my lane. The team at CSC is working like a NASCAR pit crew doing all the service items I want taken care of plus a few extras like a KIPO exhaust. Coming in towards CSC on HWY 210 I went through the smoke from the wildfires in the area. Steve the owner was nice enough to lend me his RX3 while mine is being worked on.

KIPO exhaust??? Do tell!

What mods are you having done? Kipo exhaust?

Lovely pictures as always, mate.

KIPO is a Colombian company that makes a drop in exhaust system for the ATK 250. The Colombian version of the RX3. Ohio Dan put a ne on and like it. Gerry at CSC has one and says it adds some horsepower with better airflow. Problem is that KIPO won’t sell in the US. CSC tried to get them and got some to test but the deal fell through. I’m getting one of the samples. Looks nice and is a bit lighter. Don’t know what it will sound like yet. Has a screen inside that should work for a spark arrestor.

Hmmm, I'll be going to Bogata for work next year at least once. I wonder what customs would say???

:yay:

I’m getting the full standard service which is a full inspection, spark plug, fuel filter, air filter, oil change, clutch pack, tranny bolt torqued, tires, radiator and brake fluid, wheel trueing, Fix rim ding, linkage lube, new RTV on rocker cover, valve job and the exhaust. Wanted them to really go through the Bike since I’ve got 16,250 miles on it AND I’m riding to Prudhoe Bay in July.

Bring a clarinet case with you and put it in there.

Awesome !!!! Keep us posted indeed on all the work, and your ride, of course. Make SURE to eat at IN N Out Burger at least once. Also, while youre there, what spark plug are they recommending we go to? There was a thread about it, but I can't find it. Just curious, and ride safe.

I will hit in and out. Today I hit Taco King and had the best Chile Verde ever! I’ll keep posting. The fun stuff will start this weekend! The recommended plus is: ngk cr8ek. That’s one level hotter than the stock which is a series 7. It also has two angled cathodes so it lasts a bit longer. I have one in there now and it has 12000 miles on it but the electrode is petty eaten up at this point. I can’t say though that I notice any difference in how the bike starts or runs over stock.

I lived an mile from In and Out and about 4 from a Tommy's when I lived in Northridge, Cal. I would more often than not go to Tommy's. Tommy's sells chili burgers and hot dogs, and has been a more localized to L.A. family-run burger chain since In and Out expanded out of the greater L.A. metropolitan area in the late 80s (they had opened a couple shops in Las Vegas back then and have since expanded to as far as Texas, if not further?).

To be honest, Tommy's is one of those places you have to be in the mood for, whereas In and Out can be eaten much more often. Tommy's is definitely a glutonous experience, but I do recommend to try it. We have an In and Out in Yuma, AZ, which I do NOT take for granted since the closest Tommy's nowadays is 3 hours away in San Diego...

(sorry to go off-topic, but In and Out should definitely be on an L.A. area short-list--good advice AdventureDad :tup: )

Happy to help! I grew up in San Fernando Valley before moving to New Mexico. All my family except my big brother stayed in LA, Ventura and Big Bear. Funny, my brother just went there this past weekend, sent me a pic of a Tommy's burger, didn't stop at In N Out....that is exactly the kind of fool I pity.

You mean it's better than Blakes Lottaburger???

:yay:

Dude.... it’s beyond better. It’s...betterer (?!) it’s a double double piece of gustatory heaven

Sorry for the thread hijack Joe!!!


I ate at Blake's once. that was more than enough!

Let's just say that In-n-Out is "Gooder"

Bike is almost done but here is a shot with the KIPO exhaust

Joe , a lot of your pics are coming in upside down in the china rider ride report. Whats up wid dat? Have a great ride with Matt this weekend. Any Plans after that?

hows the new exhaust sound? Any improvement in performance?

So whatever forum the China riders is based on doesn’t use the jpg metadata to make a photo upright. I am a leftie so I hold the phone the other way. All other pages put them the correct orientation.

The exhaust sounds awesome and is quieter at highway speeds. I haven’t noticed any power increase though.

I’m at the Salton Sea now and we rode around salvation mountain. Strange place. Good riding if you like deep sand!

Today was a hell of a ride in miles of deep sand and super scary terrain but also some cool sightseeing

The man, the myth, the legend!
 

On my way back north I got a chance to catch up with Joe Berk and get my copy of MotoBaja autographed!

If you look up Kipo's web page (in Spanish) and click on the Facebook link, the Owner of UMMO Industrial (Juan is his name) should reply and allow a Facebook Chat where you can discuss purchasing a KIPO system for your RX3

That is how I (errr....ummm...I mean Ohio Dan lol) was able to purchase a system.

Videos from the Winter Escape
 

Some videos from the ride so far:
Lane Splitting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F4oxerNdfY
Wildfires close by: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSRuJqtPSXQ
Dusk Ride: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE2xv_jVMBU
Salvation Mountain (Whoville): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBDAbvg7TQQ
Sculptures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqExPJnwxVE
Anza Borrego Desert Big Ride: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6HZBH7ee5g


Hope you enjoy!


Joe

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.

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

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

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!