Dacre Dual sport Challenge 2019

Should he run gold on his brand spanking new KTM 790 Adventure R?

ABSOLUTELY YES!!

Actually I have a legit question. Did you carry extra gas or were you good with the stock tank on the GasGas? It’s 10L I believe?

Good question.
I actually had an IMS tank on the bike. It was 13L. The first section was a good bit over 100km so I also carried 2 1L fuel bottles for that section just in case. I wouldn’t have needed them normally, so they were just insurance.
Turned out it was a wise insurance policy to have, something got stuck in the float valve of my carb and I didn’t notice it until I hit reserve. Had to open the carb up on the trail and clean it, then dumped the 2L in. Glad I had them with me or I’d have run out for sure. Even as it was I only JUST made it to my support truck.

Mousse, Tubliss, or Tubes?

I ran TuBliss for Dacre. I prefer them for the lower pressures. Especially with the harder DOT compounds. Also, repair times are shorter than tubes. And I’ve had few problems with them. However, if someone in your group is running tubes or TuBliss, I’d carry one spare 21” tube and have a 21 and 18 with the support truck. You can almost always limp out of a total tube or TuBliss failure with a single 21” tube to get back to your truck.

I did switch to mousses just before the Cord this year though, and I’ll be running them exclusively in my new bike. Knowing that flats are impossible is a pretty great feeling, and the new plushy options on the market are pretty sweet.

Still sticking with GasGas despite it being KTM’s adopted red headed step child?

I’m not.
While KTM has a lot going for them, I can’t get over the suspension. They’ve said they’ll be replacing the KYB’s that were on my Gasser with WP’s.

I’m actually thrilled to be joining Beta Canada as an Ambassador for 2020! The new model bikes are incredible, and super smooth.
2020 is gonna be awesome!

Congrats!! There should be more ambassador opportunities by all the manufacturers for people who eat, sleep and breath this crazy sport we’re into.

Thanks! While I enjoyed GasGas, and the bike was brilliant, I was getting tired of the corporate idiocy going on there.
I’m excited to ride a Beta. The importer here in Canada is so dedicated. And the brand is growing by leaps every year. After demoing the ‘20’s a few months back I was sold! The Ambassador stuff is more than I could ever ask for. Especially considering my skill level. I know SO many riders who have more talent than I do. Pretty humbling.... I really want to focus on having fun next year and hitting as many events as I can.

No way, not possible.

C’mon! Where’s your sense of adventure!?

Congrats man, that is epic indeed!

I apologize for the off topic question, but this is the exact group of folks I want to ask. Do you mind recommending a GPS unit for daily use that would be also be compatible with this event. I am looking to increase my navigation skills, and want to make sure I invest in relevant technology. I ride weekly in the area of this rally, and am looking to get involved over the coming years. Appreciate anything, thanks!

I’d say 80-90% of the riders at Dacre were using a Garmin Montana 610 or 680.

Yup. What Mike said. Garmin Montana. Hands down. They aren’t cheap, but you get what you pay for. Any of the 600, 610, 650, or 680 series is fine.
Follow Rally Connex to get hooked up with a GPS training seminar when they run them. Well worth the free price.

Amazing, thanks guys. Exactly the info I needed, look forward to meeting you in the coming years. Now to figure out if I give the incoming Tenere 700 a go in Iron class sight unseen, or ease in to the experience on an enduro.

The Tenere will be perfect in Iron.

The higher classes will push most riders on an Enduro bike.

No matter what you bring though you’ll enjoy the personal challenge.

There is also a few new units coming from Garmin now that blend the gps and the tracker into one. I can’t remember the name of it right now, but that will be my next gps. As team support I need to be carrying an inreach and my Montana for routes, when garmin blends the Montana and an inreach I will upgrade, right now I think the unit is a blend of the inreach and the cs62. The older I get, the larger the screen needs to be.

Garmin GPSMAP 66i is the one I was thinking of, if I had to go and buy right now I would most likely get. They are on sale at GPS Central for $720 for Blackfriday. This unit combines an inreach and a normal handheld unit into one convenient package. As a sweep rider this is the unit I need to acquire. I would really prefer the larger screen size of the Montana, but that unit is not available at this time.