LA-B-2V BABY!

My cousin Milo and I did the "LA-Barstow to Vegas" ride over the thanks giving weekend. There was sand, rocks, mountians, desert, fields, mud, snow, dust, hot and cold. Here are a few pictures from the 2 day, 440 mile enduro ride.

Day 1: Some easy some hard route

Getting close to the end of Day 1

Day 2: Hard route all day except 16 miles on freeway to keep on time.

End of Day 2: In Vegas.. time for some Beer!

The only casualty.. brand new rim on the 640 Adv

The Bike

After deciding to embark on a epic journey, I needed to find the correct iron steed. KTM and BMW own the market on big enduro/adventure bikes. My 06 KTM 640 Adventure was great on short trips but rattles your teeth loose from the vibration. The BMW F800GS was to soft in the suspension. The 690 KTM was chosen over the 990 KTM adventure because of the weight. Minimize the weight, and you will thank yourself later. Fast forward to mid July and I am the proud owner of a '10 KTM 690 enduro R.

First day out on my first brand new bike!

Fuel range, carrying luggage, comfort and preventative maintenance were the reason for the following mods:

FMF Q4 titanium exhaust (shed weight and heat), Twinair foam air filter (just clean and reuse), Scotts dampener, Scotts stainless oil filters (just clean an reuse)  RallyRaid skid plate, radiator guard, countershaft protection,  RallyRaid auxiliary gas tanks (adding 2.5 gallons to the 3.2 stock), Touratech 29/35l panniers and rack and a Garmin GPSmap 62st for navigation.


All loaded up with camping gear and flyrod



The finishing touches are on order: RallyRaid Adventure fairing. To make this enduro into the adventure bike that KTM should make. The fairing doesn't add much weight and makes a world of difference buffering the wind.



Not mine, but what mine will soon look like.

Only a few more short months! I am getting excited!

Leg 1: San Diego to Anchorage

The first leg will start on the Mexican boarder and end in Anchorage AK with short stops to snowboard in Bend, Portland and Bellingham. Travel into Canada/Alaska might be hindered by weather in the spring but as soon as snow is off the roads, I plan on venturing north. If all goes well, end of May/start of June I will be in Anchorage.

Planning Stages

Well.. I have fully decided to travel the world on a motorcycle. I have owned a few in the my life and finally bought my first brand new bike. The 2010 KTM 690 Enduro R. Smooth. power.

The trip starts in March 2012. So as of now, I have about 6 months of planning left. Gear, fly rod, spare parts, tools, papers, maps, electronics, medical, toiletries, cooking, and food will all be carried with me.

A 2 week shakedown with coworkers and friends to the tip of BAJA California will happen around Christmas/new years.

Stay tuned for more to come.