Thanks Crank... How much snow (depth) can you ride in before it becomes more of a PITA than it's worth? I'm thinking a foot would be max. I'm excited about opening the low boggy areas and creeks, areas where you can't go in summer months. Garrett
3-4" is fun to mess around in, I'm heading out in the morning to ride in some fresh snow with ZimZooma. When it gets to be about a foot deep, the ruts can present a problem. If you're riding in virgin powder, it's fine though. Most fun is groomed snowmobile trails at night after a warm sunny afternoon or a light drizzle.....friggin race track Here is a quick vid of me riding on a dirt driveway with about 4" on top..... The ice is even more fun. In this video, I'm working on my flicking
Thats looks FUN. Kept thinking you were going to low side on the lake. Very cool. I never thought of the night riding angle but there'd be a LOT of visiblity especially on a bright moon lit night. Thanks for the vids. Garrett
Has anyone set one of these up as an adventure bike (big tank, racks, side bags, seat) and done any long distance adventure rides? Like everyone, I'd like a bike that can run pavement / dirt roads but work like a dirt bike on single track.... AK Greg
To answer your question in a word. Yes. Numerous tanks are available-search this thread. Racks. Globetrottin has a set. Bags. Numerous, but the kind I'm using are Giant Loop, they have several different depending on what you want. Dirt Bagz may work and WolfMan bags are well made. Seat. I love my SeatConcepts seat, this is my 4th seat from them. Renazco makes one, EnduroEngineering. You'll find your answers if you look inside this thread. Tons of info here. Good luck Garrett
I got a call from the dealer that I bought the bike from yesterday. I purchased the bike in Feb of 12. It's a 12 model. I didn't think the 12 models were having the fuel line issues like the 13's? At any rate, this is the dealer that said my bike was not on the list for the upside down roller that I checked myself and had to have another dealer fix for me. I am not sure I want the fuel line changed as the last I read, that didn't help (the new lines were bad too) and most guys were having to go to aftermarket lines anyway... Any advice Zuber? Anyone? I just don't want to volunteer to put a bad fuel line on when mine is fine after 60 hrs and 1600 miles.
We all have broken families with some members trying to raise the kids by themselves, it's a tough gig. On my wife's side, my wife's niece had to work and asked us to hang with her five year old son for a few hours. He's a good kid that needs a little direction and a little love. He has expressed an interest in motorcycles to his mom, and last night he got to feel the power of the 500..... <iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0g-8WZGY8nY" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe>
Replace the fuel line yourself with 5/16" line from auto parts store and some high quality hose clamps.
I used Nylon spacers between the protector and the clamp. Looks great and seems to be holding up. The extra 3/4 of vertical clearance is necessary to clear the two closest indicators. m
Perhaps you can post some pictures. I have a clearance problem with my clutch line where it passes down from the handlebar. It rubs on the HDB swivel.
I managed to take perhaps the last ride out with the 500 exc before the winter here in Finland. It's the mid-season now, too slippery for normal tyres, but not enough snow for studded tyres. So, we'll wait. So, it was maybe 15 minutes of riding in nice sandy tracks, then an hour and fifteen minutes of getting the bike out of a little sticky mudhole! Luckily, I happened to have my camera rolling. Here's a little video I spliced together. :) <iframe src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/uuiAJhVMRZc" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>
