Big Bikes, Big Hills - Tucsan Dual Sport

Teaser video. Click picture to view.



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That bike sounds mean. What is that he is riding? Sounded like he was in third gear.

Todd Davis, BMW 650 X. The same bike he ran in the Parker 250 Ironman Class.

A bunch of ATR dirt bike club guys and gal made the trip from Phoenix metro to Tucson for the 2nd Annual TRS Dual Sport Ride yesterday. It was a small group overall signed up for the ride, I think about 14 riders total. This was an escorted ride through the Coronado National Forest in the Mt Lemon area, so no roll charts, maps, or malfunctioning GPS's to worry about, just stay behind the leader and ahead of the sweep rider.

Bikes on the days ride included:

BMW 1100, 650 X
DRZ 400 (2), 250
XR 650 (2)
KTM 640, 520, 450 (2), 400, 950 Adventure, 950 Superenduro

We started in Catalina, just outside of Tucson. Staging area.



We picked up some more riders waiting up by the highway.



BMW 1150 rider.

Yes, that was a teaser video all right. Hope to see more. Do you guys in Phoenix like to diss Tucsonites by mispelling their city's name or is that the alternative spelling?

Trail pictures

BMW 1150



KTM 950 Superenduro



DRZ 400



DRZ 250



Another DRZ 400

Oops, my bad!

I'm from out of town! Just moved here from Pennsylvania, my mind hasn't defrosted yet.

1000 apologies!

You should have seen how long it took me to spell Feenix right!

Hey Gadget, can you fix the thread title for me???

This KTM 520 sprang a leak.



Is that how the desert gets so green??



First flat of the day. KTM 640.



Easily remedied with a can of Fix-A-Flat! Lasted the rest of the day no problems.

And here it is, the BMW 650 X bike. Truely remarkable!! I had the opportunity to ride this "demo" bike from Iron Horse BMW for quite a few miles. It's set up as a true desert race bike, so the suspension was super stiff. The fuel injected 650 is an incredible motor, great power down low and revs out very nice. Seat is sky scraper high, but the riding position while standing on the pegs is perfect! This bike is a BIG step up from the previous BMW 650 line.

We did a bit of bike swapping. I was on the 650 X for a while. Then I swapped that with Sharon's KTM 450, which I was hoping to get a turn on. Big difference between the two, especially coming off my 950 Adventure. Best way to describe it would be to say that the 650 X is "roomy" like my 950. The 450 feels so tiny. Which is better is up to you.

Now that you're distracted, I can drop this bomb on you...

Some ways down the trail we come across the BMW 1150, in quite the distressed state.



There's a lot that I could say to try to describe the problem, but I think this picture alone should do it justice.

I guess the best thing to say is that jumping a big BMW 1150 should not be taken lightly (excuse the pun, I couldn't help myself).

Put enough dirt bike guys in a jar and shake it up, a solution usually presents itself.



Closeup, notice his landing also broke the foot peg off.

While we were working on the BMW, some of the guys were detained while fixing flat number 2 for the day.

Catching up.

Moving right along...



Into flat number 3.



These guys are pros!



Truely one with nature.



I didn't realize that he was riding a chopper 650L.

We were probably about 2 hours behind schedule when we hit the lunch stop. I was starving!



Carne Asada Tacos.

The trail got more interesting after lunch. Started with some real nice ATV/Jeep sized roads, twisty turny.



And then came the hills...

Somehow, Steve, on his DRZ250, got talked into going up this!



I missed his attempt to go up, but got some of the descent. Click on the picture to start the video.



I guess Todd must have felt guilty about sending Steve up this hill, so he took a crack at it on the BMW 650 X. Click picture for video.

very nice. jealous of that weather....

Group shot at the top of our first of many tough climbs.



Superenduro takes a nap.

Sharon got her 450 stuck part way up this nasty, rocky, hill.



Don't worry Sharon, help is on the way!



Triumph at the top!

It took a while to get everyone to the top.



Mack on his KTM 640. Once stopped, it's hard to get started again.



Action crash! No worse for the wear though.



You have to set goals to get anywhere in life.