The TAT Preparation Thread-the logistical side of it

my bet would be this

Wow! Kinda makes me regret buying my Berg when I see the 500's selling at that price! I thought getting a new 570 at $7600 was a great deal. At least I could have found a big tank for new KTM.

Congrats Lefty, that is one awesome bike! Rode one last year at demo days and it had to have the smoothest dirt bike motor I have ever rode.

mrt10x, are you still running just the stock tank?

I am just guessing on the 500.. but I know he was asking about them in a couple of other threads. I feel the exact same way about the 570,, I bought it because I got it for $7500 and I couldnt even find a 500.

I gave up on waiting on the 70 degree subframe tank.. I had one on order for over a year...with the charge already on my CC, well not really on my CC because I pay it off every month... I had www.ktm-parts.com cancel my order and put the money towards a Safari front tank... It should be in the mail. I figure that plus a bladder or a couple of 1.5 liter bottles and I should be OK.

I too am out for the TAT this summer. Well at least the Eastern half.. maybe next year?

Oh ok. Hope he finds one!

I am just going to get some fuel bladders for now and hope for the subframe tank to go back into production sometime in the future.

Several things ruled out the TAT for me. Still have a lot of stuff to buy and am going to run out of money before August. The cost of the ride and then flying back and getting the bike shipped was also gonna cost me a lot. Have talked to several people about the eastern TAT and several said it was just "ok" and the western part was where it gets fun. So I am thinking about skipping the eastern portion, especially considering the bike I am riding. So my new plan is to wait until next year, get the bike ready, save more money, and more leave. I hope to truck the bike out towards the western start, ride it to Oregon, ride back to the CDR and take it back down to my truck. More bang for my buck I figure.

Another factor in my decision is that I took my girlfriend camping and found out she loves it! Lucky me! Going to take her out to Colorado, Utah, Arizona in the Tacoma for a week or two since she has never been out west.

Might try a Blue Ridge Parkway return Blue Ridge Trail trip this summer as a feeling out trip for next year if I can swing the time off.

O'k so I've been reading a bit about the KTM 500EXC-very dangerous. My first priority is to ride the TAT this year,and I will. I do have my bike up for sale,but I honestly don't think it will be sold-just kind of feeling it out. I'm thinking that I'll ride the TAT with it,and see if after that I'd still like to buy the KTM. That WR is a great all around reliable bike, no regrets buying it-just think a killer dirt bike with a plate may better suit me in the near future.

I'm planning my run for July solo but I'll be doing only the western part of the TAT due to time/off. I'll be super slabbing it all the way to the end of OKC and picking up the route in Boise City. I'll be opting for the GPS files as my form of navigation & possibly getting the route sheet as backup. I'm super slabbing it from NYC to OKC, then doing the NM/CO/UT portion. I'll stop mid point in Utah and try to ship my moto back probably from Salt Lake City to the East and fly home. I would love to do the whole thing but it's impossible to do the ride in 8-9 days and I want to enjoy it not rush it. A few questions..

- Anyone here who has shipped there moto back home? If so what company can you lead me to that wont break the bank? Not looking for an expedited service, so if it takes a week to get back to me and the cost is less that will be much better.

- I've thought of different options for the route, like probably riding from NYC - OKC and beginning the TAT in OKC. What do you guys recommend if you had 8-9 days to do the TAT coming from NYC?

Not sure of a route to okc but if you head down to Virginia you could pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway, cruise some or all of it down to Tennessee and then pickup up some of he fun eastern TAT parts in Tennessee. You could then run over to I-40 to Oklahoma. The BRP would require at least 2 days if you are running he whole thing and wanna look around but you could do small sections of it. This router might take up too much of your time though. I went to Utah last year in my truck and spent WAY too much time driving. Should have budgeting my time better. Seen less but would have enjoyed it more. Good luck!

Done the BRP twice and everything in between there a few years ago. Sounds good, but I want more of the Western part since I've never ridden that side before Another option that I'm thinking about is doing the OKC/NM/CO part of the TAT and ship my bike back to NYC via Forward Air in Denver. Seems to be a bit cheaper than SLC, Utah? There has to be other options out there still searching though. I read somewhere here about Terminal to Terminal shipping, would like to know what companies offer this option?

thanks.. great thread.. hope to meet some of you on the road.

No personal experience but I've read good things about a company called Federal. There is a group of guys out of NJ that do a big ride annually and the ship their bikes with Federal. Their leader goes by the name DockingPilot here on ADV. Contact him and I'm sure he can get you the details and contact information for Federal.

When they did the TAT they had their bikes shipped to Trinidad Colorado and started from there. When they got to Oregon they shipped them back home, I believe from Portland. It maximizes the riding time

Perfect I'll reach out and try to get some info, thanks a bunch.

My buddy and I are planning on slabbing out to the trail head and after finishing in Oregon slabbing it back home. No shipping worries here, just a lot of boring highway miles. I plan on trying to make them interesting though. I will have plenty of time off. We will be leaving MO June 17th and heading East.

We are still working on the route finding part. He is ordering the roll charts and I will have the GPS. Garmin Zumo. I too have to figure out how to get the tracks. I read that he is selling them state by state?

I guess my question on this post will be fuel. I am thinking of buying a extra fuel container, a rotopax. Is it necessary? I think I can get around 200 or so miles to a tank on my KTM 950. My buddy will be on a KLR and I am sure he'll be fine.

I wish you the best, but I would like to say this:

Unless you are rich, you will always "run-out" of money. It will always be "next year". What if next year never comes? What if you get a lawsuit filed against you for something stupid? What if.. what if.. Not trying to lecture really- Ive done it before too, but it always ended up not happening. This year, damnit, I will ride until I dont have a dime and im homeless and im stuck in the middle of nowhere. From there, ill figure something out. Cheers mate- nothing personal or insulting

**EDIT** Incidentally, mrt10x has a fantastic signature dealing exactly with this:
"We are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of "security." And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it our lives are gone."
Good stuff..

My understanding you need around 250+ for Nevada? Rotopax are kinda spent. I have the 4gal versions for my tacoma but for bike travel I feel there are lighter and less expensive options. I am leaning towards 4-6L dromedary bags. Cheap and easily rolled up once fuel is gone.

One of the inmates who said he had 20 yrs off road racing experience pm'd me last night with a response to a question I had about using a KTM 500EXC for the trip. He basically warned me about weight and the sandy sections with my bike. He also said this:
"I ran into two guys in Nevada that got off the TAT because one had a BMW GS800 and the other a KTM 990 because their bikes were just too big and heavy. They started the TAT in Colorada and had a lot of trouble. Their bikes although new had a lot of damage."
Not trying to discourage your choice of bike-just thought it could be helpful when packing up. Best of luck on your trip.

I'm considering riding the BRP getting down to TN ,but wondered if the highway would save much more time-what's your thoughts? I've ridden little sections a few times on my road bike,and know it can eat up some time;but wonder how much more time I will save if I stay on the highway.

The TAT conundrum.. the big bikes better for everything East of New Mexico, dirt bike needed for everything West. I plan on riding the GSA out from Colorado,, riding the trail on the BMW back to CO then switching to the Husaberg.. summer of 2014 assuming I havent caved in to the "security" trap and taken a full time grown up job

I think there's a flip side to that and rider skill can't be overlooked. Big Wan and Little Wan ran the TAT 2up on a big KTM and had no problem. Granted Big Wan is an animal, but the weight didn't stop them in the sand, they did Black Dragon with no trouble. Two other couples ran the TAT 2up this past summer on DR650s, based on their ride report they had very few problems getting through and it was usually on loose Rocky climbs when they did.

I just read this thread.

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=479876

Two guys that did it on 950's. It might be ruff in some parts, but looking at the ENTIRE route (including slabbing from MO to East coast, TAT, then slabbbing back to MO) the 950 is the best choice for me. Plus I am a college student, can't afford another bike and wouldn't dare sell my 950.

College student with a 950:eek1 , I was lucky just to drive my parents chevy

Even w/ little dirt riding experience one can ride TN to CO on a big bike, After that one would need some skills to call upon...at least for a big bike.