Bitten by the Tick (Pseudo D606 review)

[scottzilla]

I bought these:


It was very hot and humid, but off I went:


I had no rear brake, which is important on a KLR because the bike hardly stops with 2 brakes as it is.
Upon inspection I found the inside pad cocked (Pardon the expression) as shown in this pic:
 


The mechanic that replaced my tires obviously sucks.

I suspected these tires would feel like shit on the street and they lived up to expectations.  They emit a loud hum at 40mph and the bike gently weaves from side to side.  I decided to ignore everything and just toss the bike in to corners (A technique that has worked thus far) and the bike seems to track through turns.  I haven't had to slow down persay, but they feel strange.  You have to counter-counter steer to prevent falling off the inside of the bike.  seriously.  The bike understeers horribly, and you have to feed reverse inputs in to the handlebar.
I'm not sure how much I ruined it's street appeal but we'll see.

Anxious to find some dirt, off I go.
I've been having some issues with pinched nerves in my neck and haven't been feeing 100% so I really wanted to take it easy.
I hit some trails.






This was a strange spot in the woods.  The trees were all twisted and stufff.  Blair Witch creepy.



The Tick.

[scottzilla]

Rocks stacked up-more Blair Witch shit.






Got a bit lost, and found a corn field.  I'm not one for riding on private property, so I turned around.

Farmers rationalize killing just about anything that interferes with their crops.
 


This was the first test for the knobbies.  The thing on the far left is straight up.  I saw some quad tracks but no way most would attempt that.  The section on the right was passable but loose and rocky.  On the way up just over a rise there is an exposed drainage pipe.  I stopped halfway up and adjusted my line.  Because I had stopped and was off balance so I sat on the seat rather than my normla peg stand and the bike motored up the hill.  Not possible with Distanzias.


More steepness.


This is the service road to the LIE that had been closed aprox 10 years ago.  It's amazing how quickly nature takes over.



Another of the Tick.

[scottzilla]

Deep sand.....I'm good in the stuff.  With Knobbies, I am a freaking God!  I was unable to crash in the sand.  Practicing on 10 yr old bald street tires does wonders for your skills.  Deep sand isn't exactly fun, and it's a bit tiring, but it's a piece of cake with Knobbies.
The other amazing thing about knobbies is I now can put the front tire pretty much where ever I want to.  It isn't pushing like it was, and i'm in much more control.
I'm a bit confused about my riding style, as I sat down more than usual and put a foot down motocross style and it felt "Fast" and in control.  I think not having knobbies forced me up on the pegs just to get through the rough parts.
Furthermore, the KLR's suspension truly sucks.  Prior to knobbies I really never had much complaints about the suspension. I think this is because I've been peg standing and therefore, not loading the suspension.  Now that I have traction the suspension sticks out like a sore thumb.
A Moab shock may be in my future.

 

Mandatory KLR Nazi pic.

[scottzilla]

Armed with the amazing power of knobbies, I decide to trek through the woods finding new and challenging trails to conquer.

So i'm on this trail I hadn't been on before and come upon this:


If you look past the bike you will see the Earth kind of disappears.  This was the steepest thing I had seen to date.  It was sandy, rocky and washed out pretty well.  The trees around the area were cut up like they were hit with a piece of machinery or something.  I stopped the bike and looked around.  I saw some dirt bike tracks and felt...angry.  Some dude on a dirt bike either went up or down this thing, WTF?  Goddamn, i'm a pussy.  I kinda stared off in to space for a few minutes.
Looking down, as usual the pics don't do it justice.






So I decide I'm going down.  I thumb the starter...nothing.  Please...not here.  I don't even know where I am.

Wait 5 minutes, nothing.

Fuck.

If you look at the above pics you wills see the trail goes straight up on the other side so that's not an option.
There is another trail that splits the ravine, but pushing a KLR down an unknown trail through sand after repelling down a freaking cliff seemed like a bad option.

Thumb starter...nothing.

OK, what if I hide the bike in the woods and walk out?  We'll make that plan B.  If the bike is found before I get back to it it's gone, or at least set on fire.  Besides, Would I even find the thing?  What if I get lost trying to find it?

Thumb starter...nothing.

Hey, what if I bump start it going down the hill?  Scott, you magnificent bastard.  That may work (Thumb starter-nothing).  I look down the hill and try to find the best spot to do this.  If I drop it here, then start it by the time I reach here I can get it over this huge rut and go down on that side.  Simple.

Thumb starter..nothing.

Two potential problems to look out for.  1-what if the rear tire just skids?  Yes, this would be a problem but what can I do?
2-DON'T DROP THE BIKE.  If you stall it, we're fucked.
Simple.

Thumb starter...nothing.

Off I go...dump clutch!  Motor fires right up!  Yaaaaaay!   Drop bike.
Bike is running, laying on top of me in that rut I was supposed to clear.
Took everything I had to lift that fucker.

Let's roll.

About 15 foot from the bottom-boom.  Drop bike again.  Please God, stay running.
It did.  Had it stalled there I was mighty fucked because I was out of gravity.
I made a right and within a mile I was in the back lot of a phone company depot and knew where I was which was nowhere near I thought I was.
I got out just prior to having to drink my own piss.

I rode around in circles trying to cool down and charge the battery.  I decided to keep riding thinking as long as I kept the thing running i'd be ok.  The tough stuff was out of the question so I took the girlie trails that led to this:

 




The Tick, running and mocking me.


Later bitches.

[garry]

D606s work well IMO, but they do vibrate and make noise on the street. You will get used to the feel eventually. I like the rear D606 more than the front.

[bomber]

You can't leave us hanging . . . . . . home come the electric foot ain't working?

[scottzilla]

You can't leave us hanging . . . . . . home come the electric foot ain't working?

I think it's just a dead battery.  Could be the original battery from '02 for all I know.
I'll run it on the charger overnight and see.  I was just happy to get home and I have two other bikes.

[sammyseaman]

You and your crazy KLR adventures   . You should do a tv show   Comedy/Adventure/Drama  

[DogBoy]

"Knobbies work great!" "KLR suspension sucks." Thanks for these revelations.

[scottzilla]

"Knobbies work great!" "KLR suspension sucks." Thanks for these revelations.

In a nutshell.

I spent a lot of time typing those words.

[veefer800canuck]

Hey, I enjoyed it. It's been a LONG time since I've done any off-roading.

Thanks.

[Mac]

Good report.

One day, if you have no objections, I may have to come up there to ride some long island dirt.

[scottzilla]

Good report.

One day, if you have no objections, I may have to come up there to ride some long island dirt.

Bring a quiet bike 'cause there aren't too many legal places to ride.

[kurtw]

Knobbies offroad? Hallelujah!

[scottzilla]

Knobbies offroad? Hallelujah!

 

[Windblown]

Nice report. Yeah that downhill section looked pretty sketchy for a KLR, or any DS type bike for that matter.

[Bounce]

[Mr.Black]

Scotts new 'stich?

[Lawn Dart]

I loved that 'Toon.  The Tick owns!

Great report!  Just love the panic button of whether or not it will start!