[acidman1968]

Kinda close...

 

[planalp]

LOL Never thought of Dale Gribble. Good one, acidman. BTW, Dale Gribble was modeled after Hunter S. Thompson and in my book that's a huge compliment.

 

[marvinsc]

Last Spring at Buzzard's roost in the Smokey Mountains

 

[CAL1987]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dicky]

At the mountain in Panamá

 

[Fanbelt]

North of Marathon

 

[MTKKLR]

This is my "other" ride. Bombardier CRJ-900. Id take my 03 KLR over this gal any day though.

 

[foo]

Ridge Road, above Los Angeles

 

[Navigator]

I'm the guy in the center and that's my VStrom on the right.

 

[Fanbelt]

Gosh, what time of day was that photo taken, about 2230 at night? Some of the best fun you can have on two wheels !

 

[Navigator]

Gosh, what time of day was that photo taken, about 2230 at night? Some of the best fun you can have on two wheels !

Just about midnight. We rode up there for the Summer Solstice. We unloaded our gear at the Eagle Plains Lodge after having departed Dawson City, about 225 miles up the Dempster "Highway". It's approximately another 30 miles then to the marker. I'd forgotten my sunglasses in my gear with the sun on the horizon directly in my eyes all the way up. As we rode back, the earth had rotated so that the sun was directly in my eyes again. The gent on the right, a Doctor of Infectious Diseases at Univ of BC, was riding a brand new 2015 KLR all the way up. His normal ride was a Harley Electra Glide. The guy who took the photo was his friend Karim, who had just retired as head of BC's Cancer Society. He was riding a BMW 800 GSA. My Strom blew it's front wheel bearings in Chetwin, BC on the return ride. I can't figure out how to post a full photo. I drag and drop the pic and it comes out a thumbnail.

Karim's BMW

 

[Fanbelt]

Ive never had a wheel bearing fail but the thought of it frightens me because it will be when I am far and away....

 

[Tom Schmitz]

...I can't figure out how to post a full photo...

To do that you need to have the photo hosted on a photo hosting service like smugmug, imgur, flickr, etc.

I downloaded the photo of Karim's Beemer and uploaded it to my flickr account and inserted it here.

 

[Navigator]

Thanks Tom. I don't know what any of those sites are so will just post thumbnails.

Fanbelt, I would not be concerned about your KLR. When Dr Peter was doing on on line research in Chetwynd for a bearing replacement, he found that the VStrom wheel bearings were junk and should be replaced before venturing on extended off road rides. My bad.

About 2500 miles into our ride I could sense that something was amiss with the front end but neither I, nor my riding friends, could find identify a problem as we twisted the front forks and wheel to determine if there was some type of issue. The bearings went out about 100 miles north of Chetwynd when I was riding alone, with no cell service and not a car or truck to be seen. I rolled into Chetwynd with the front wheel wobbling and grinding. The Yukon and upper BC gives an entire new meaning to the word, "wilderness".

Unlike the KLR, the Strom bearings were inferior open face bearings. In other words, junk for a dual sport bike. The good news was that the replacement bearing was a very common one and the local Napa dealer had a bunch of them. The mechanic at the Arctic Cat dealership replaced them after chiseling out the bad ones and I was on my way. Upon my return home, I had both the front and rears replaced with All Balls at about $25 an axle and bought spares for each axle.

If you are doing any serious long haul off road riding, I recommend that you have All Balls replacement bearings and then carry a spare for each wheel. They are inexpensive insurance in the event of a failure. And I assure you, a failure out in the middle of nowhere is a very sinking feeling.

 

[Fanbelt]

Good info on bearings as my other bike is a 15 model Vstrom. The bike has about 11k on the clock and I just fitted new tires a few months ago . The bearings felt good then . I probably will
be shopping for more parts soon!!

 

[DirtWeasel]

Typical old, fat guy with a kick azz KLR650. Lol!

 

[Jack Straw]

Here's one of me at age 20. Should I post one from age 70?.........do I have to?????

 

[pdwestman]

Here's one of me at age 20. Should I post one from age 70?.........do I have to????? View attachment 26482

Did you compete on the Salt Flats during the same time frame as "The Worlds Fastest Indian"?

No pun intended, just hoping that you might have met him, and I Can't remember his name!!!!!!

 

[Tom Schmitz]

@Jack Straw

Wolverine!

 

[Jack Straw]

That's funny right there, don't care who ya are.