Adventurers Wanted

[bryanchurch06]

Yup, that's basically what most of the CT125 type adventurers have pointed out. Shipping is a huge cost that usually dwarfs the rest, particularly if you're shipping both ways.

In my case, I'm shipping one way only and committing to riding back. I have a spreadsheet tracking my expected expenses with a pessimistic view on most of these costs that you can look at for individual costs. That's assuming I have all the swag I need for this already (I almost do, I would need some clothing), and costing only fuel, accommodation, shipping, flights, and necessary maintenance.

Right now the magic number is $3k, 1/3 of which is just getting the bike to the start line, and assuming we have a pretty luxurious time along the way.

EDIT: Side note, but at one point I was cost estimating based on what it would take to get my bike back from Vegas to Seattle via various mechanisms. In the end I went with a $670 U-Ship. I have that data saved still complete with a data visualization and can share that by DM if you're interested.

At this point I am considering just riding to New Mexico as well, I can take my time riding the 1100 miles, stay in nice motels and still spend less than half of the uhaul bill. I've been watching every video I can find on the trail and people are getting hammered with rain storms no matter what month they start in, so that leaves us watching the snow fall in Colorado, unless we bypass the high elevation passes. Another thing I was thinking if we leave earlier than most tour companies and large groups it will give us better access to the limited lodging and supplies along the route. What's your thoughts on this?

 

[SneakyDingo]

At this point I am considering just riding to New Mexico as well, I can take my time riding the 1100 miles, stay in nice motels and still spend less than half of the uhaul bill.

Generally speaking, when I was looking into retrieving the CT125 from Vegas, that was the cheapest possible way to get back. The hardest part was establishing a safe route for the journey and making the mileage per day meet expectations, particularly as it was looking more and more likely (and eventually did actually result in) the bike being delivered during winter. However, if your behind, your wallet and your watch can all take it, that is a ridiculously cheap way to go, especially if you mail your gear ahead and have it held at a post office so you don't have to ride heavy the entire way.

I've been watching every video I can find on the trail and people are getting hammered with rain storms no matter what month they start in, so that leaves us watching the snow fall in Colorado, unless we bypass the high elevation passes.

I think the snow statement holds pretty true unless we leave in September, "enjoying" the heat of NM in the process. Without knowing what kind of snowfall year Colorado will have, determining an exact start date to min-max our experience will be impossible. I'm also pretty mindful that with elevation of 14000 ft, you're looking at around 40% power loss due to altitude which puts the bike right around 5 hp - not a lot to push it up some of those fairly steep hills.

Another thing I was thinking if we leave earlier than most tour companies and large groups it will give us better access to the limited lodging and supplies along the route. What's your thoughts on this?

Honestly, I think we're SOL on that and we'll have to pick which discomfort we enjoy. We can enjoy snow, cold, mud and impassable high altitude; hot desert heat, fire season and minimal water sources; or peak periods of limited lodging and busy activity. To be honest, of the three, touring motorcycles that are faster than us could be more of a benefit over a pitfall - there's lots of opportunities to make friends on this ride with these crazy motorcycles, including the kind that will text us for impassable spaces and/or welcome us for a beer near the end of a ride, telling us about lodging that may not necessarily have been on radar beforehand.

If I had to choose between those three, a busier route seems like the least of the bad. I'd rate fire season and snow season about the same since both require detours, but it's easier to camp when it's hot.

EDIT: Something else to consider is that when they know it's peak season, they roll out the welcome cart for riders to come in. That means that smart places will have rider friendly amenities. Along the same lines, it might be worth looking up whether there is something like a gym chain along the way, such as 24h fitness (so as to leverage showers even if we cannot get a hotel room). Or find WarmShowers, a friendly CT125 forum member, etc.

 

[bryanchurch06]

If this weather is correct than I am more worried about rainy season mud in New Mexico than snow in Colorado so I'm thinking 1st of June may be on the table again. I've spent some time in Grant's, pie town and Timberlake NM I really don't see a way to ride the dirt roads if it's rainy. If the weather is good NM can be ridden in 2 long days or 3 comfortable ones.

 

[SneakyDingo]

If this weather is correct than I am more worried about rainy season mud in New Mexico than snow in Colorado so I'm thinking 1st of June may be on the table again. I've spent some time in Grant's, pie town and Timberlake NM I really don't see a way to ride the dirt roads if it's rainy. If the weather is good NM can be ridden in 2 long days or 3 comfortable ones.

I'll defer to experience in this case. I've never been to NM so the only thoughts I have on it are, "don't ride in mud."

 

[Tchap]

Guys, please do keep us posted on developments related to this trip. I can’t be with you, but I, for one, will get lots of enjoyment from vicariously experiencing your planning and execution of this adventure!

 

[bryanchurch06]

Guys, please do keep us posted on developments related to this trip. I can’t be with you, but I, for one, will get lots of enjoyment from vicariously experiencing your planning and execution of this adventure!

Update on the CDT trip
So far we have a couple members interested in the trip, Sneakydingo and thebenson have dm conversations about logistics and time frames involved. I will post the concerns for me in my opinion.
1st start date to ride south to north route, I have some experience with NM mud in the rainy season and for that reason I am looking at 1st week of June to start, I realize this may cause snow issues in Colorado, however I deal with snow far better than mud.
2nd issue for me is deciding on tires and gears, after watching many videos I believe a large portion of the trail can be ridden on either the stock tires or shinko 244 the 241s are to soft for the asphalt sections which are numerous if you follow the least challenging routes. Which leads to gears, I will probably use both 13 and 15 tooth depending on roads and elevation upcoming as changes can be made easily.
3rd accommodations and transportation to and from start and finish, the transportation details are up in the air right now as a lot can change in the next 6 months, as for the trail section I plan on Camping as much as possible as my original thoughts on the trip if I was traveling alone was to go as light and fast as possible with the trip lasting 12 to 15 days. If others are involved than group dynamics take control.
4th is what spare equipment to carry with us to be able to repair bikes, with flat or worn tires being top of the list Sneakydingo has put together a great list of tools and parts.
So that's where we are at present, still open to company from members who want to travel the whole trail or sections, also any members in Colorado or Wyoming who would be willing to store tires for the group would be appreciated as well. I'm sure I have forgotten tons to mention so stay tuned.

 

[SneakyDingo]

1st start date to ride south to north route, I have some experience with NM mud in the rainy season and for that reason I am looking at 1st week of June to start, I realize this may cause snow issues in Colorado, however I deal with snow far better than mud.

My personal response when we discussed this is we can always reroute as needed, although I would be extremely disappointed if our decisions would not allow me to visit Yellowstone. I've never been there and I may not get another opportunity.

2nd issue for me is deciding on tires and gears, after watching many videos I believe a large portion of the trail can be ridden on either the stock tires or shinko 244 the 241s are to soft for the asphalt sections which are numerous if you follow the least challenging routes. Which leads to gears, I will probably use both 13 and 15 tooth depending on roads and elevation upcoming as changes can be made easily.

I'm almost certainly running the SR244's x 3.0's for my rear. The front, I'm still unsure about; I have a SR241 tire that might do the trick, but I'm toying with the idea of a 2.5" SR244 on the front and 3.0" on the back. Short term I'm going to start by running just the SR244 on the rear with the 14T on my commute for a few months to see how that is (as I have two tires), and decide from there. I have a 13T ready to go, but until I have TWO 13T's I'm probably not going to try running that on the daily commuter.

3rd accommodations and transportation to and from start and finish, the transportation details are up in the air right now as a lot can change in the next 6 months, as for the trail section I plan on Camping as much as possible as my original thoughts on the trip if I was traveling alone was to go as light and fast as possible with the trip lasting 12 to 15 days. If others are involved than group dynamics take control.

We share sentiments here, and I attribute that to our similar backgrounds with camping (Bryan IIRC does backpacking and hiking, I'm a bikepacker). I feel like I've gone a step further than Bryan with running several estimates using other people's numbers for cost, and will be adding ~15% cost buffer on the maximum because no one ever complains about coming in under budget.

4th is what spare equipment to carry with us to be able to repair bikes, with flat or worn tires being top of the list Sneakydingo has put together a great list of tools and parts.

I'll be doing a bigger pack list later on, but Ang from SomeGuyRides has a pretty decent tools list going. We'll likely prepare for critical path stuff individually, and then have our own version of "optional" equipment. Like it's really unlikely we'll need two spark plug wrenches, but I can see having a pump each being pretty beneficial.

There's also embracing imperfection and credit card touring - we don't have to solve everything. We just have to solve "enough".

 

[dmonkey]

FWIW the IRC TR-1 comes in 2.75-17 and has almost the same block pattern as the Shinko SR241 but is less soft of a compound. You'll get better longevity out of it.
There should be a spark plug wrench in the OEM tool kit on each CT125 unless it fell out or you removed it.

 

[bryanchurch06]

FWIW the IRC TR-1 comes in 2.75-17 and has almost the same block pattern as the Shinko SR241 but is less soft of a compound. You'll get better longevity out of it.
There should be a spark plug wrench in the OEM tool kit on each CT125 unless it fell out or you removed it.

In your opinion running the IR TR1 front and the Shinko 244 300 17 rear with 75 percent dirt usage what mileage could I expect? Also what tube would you run? Thanks for all your responses any input we get is helpful in planning this trip.

 

[dmonkey]

I don't have miles on the SR244 to have an idea for that one, there might be some posts on advrider forum or videos on YouTube from Ang or Johnny Pow who did that TAT sharing their tire longevity with the SR244.

I got ~3k miles out of the last rear IRC TR-1 before it stopped performing well off-road, it lost shear force as the knobs wore down. At 60-80% wear dual-sport and MX tires can start to suck off-road, I'd guess it was near 80% when I changed it. There were certainly more miles left on the tires if you needed there to be. At ~3k miles the front had plenty of tread left but showed undesirable characteristics of rounded knobs, cracked knobs, and chunks missing from the outside knobs - so I replaced the front and rear at the same time. There are few motorcycle and tire combos where I've been able to get the nice 1:2 front-to-rear tire ratio without pushing it and riding on something with poor performance, usually when the rear is shot the front is getting funky in some other way where it's not truly due for replacement, but it's a convenient time to do it when you're already doing the other. I know that's a much different scenario than stretching every mile you can get out of a tire touring though. It used to be that you could easily get tires ordered up and shipped while traveling, but with the current supply chain issues I'd recommend trying to have any replacement tires secured in advance. If you don't want to carry spares for the trip, you could have someone at home keep them packaged and ready to go, then plan to have them ship to somewhere you'll be staying or a shop along the way. This is a common practice for backpacking resupply packages, you could even ship it ahead to yourself like a "bounce box". USPS General Delivery often permits packages at rural post offices, best to call the post office location to confirm because sometimes only 1 post office in an area handles all General Delivery. They also appreciate if you mark packages with the date you expect to pick it up.

As for tubes, I've been running these with no flats: https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/bike-master-performance-motorcycle-tube?sku_id=1087209 , but if you pick up a screw it doesn't care what tube you're running (unless it's a foam tube), so best to plan for that scenario.

 

[bryanchurch06]

Dmonkey thanks for the reply, obviously the dream would be to use 1 set of tires for the whole trip, with the amount of pavement riding being the deciding factor I think. With the low weight I plan on carrying having an extra tire would not be a deal breaker. You are right about the supply chain so I am buying anything I think I need as I find it, with tires and tube being the only holdout, oddly enough I can order the stock tires from Honda quite easily, anyone have much dirt experience with them? From the videos I've seen people seem to change to knobbys quickly.

 

[dmonkey]

For a not quite apples-to-apples comparison my Shinko SR241 rear was absolutely shot at a measly 2k miles. I was running it at the recommended 33 PSI for the bike though, and learned that's a great way to square off the tire on long stretches of pavement. I had problems with the stock tire in front washing out just riding around my yard. If it works for you though then I imagine it might be one of the longer lasting options available, you could even put a knobby up front and run the stock GP-5 in the rear.

 

[bryanchurch06]

For a not quite apples-to-apples comparison my Shinko SR241 rear was absolutely shot at a measly 2k miles. I was running it at the recommended 33 PSI for the bike though, and learned that's a great way to square off the tire on long stretches of pavement. I had problems with the stock tire in front washing out just riding around my yard. If it works for you though then I imagine it might be one of the longer lasting options available, you could even put a knobby up front and run the stock GP-5 in the rear.

I am currently looking for a set of 244s and irc gp1s to try, hard to find right now. I am working on designing my route as well, that will also affect my tire choice. I am thinking of using 15t front sprocket and less aggressive tires for long, level packed dirt and pavement sections then switch to 13t and knobby for the sandy deeper gravel and hill climb sections.

 

[SLO]

Are you the type of person who is up for a really good bad idea? Can you embrace the suck with a sense of humor and the proper curse words? are you financially responsible and mechanically sound? If so why not join me this June for the CDT trail ride, That's right lets ride the little red machines from New Mexico to the Canadian border. I plan on leaving the 1st week of June and spending 2 or 3 weeks on the ride, I am somewhat flexible on the route as far as difficulty level, and time spent in each state. If this sounds like a good idea to you then you must be as crazy as i am so clear out your calendar and lets make some history. I live in South Dakota so we can ride South to North or North to South, the distance to start line is about the same.

It would be a bad idea only ,if you follow someone that wants to lead ,when they have never done it before. It sounds like a great idea to me. I believe I am your huckleberry. So if it takes a week to get out of New Mexico,providing I don't get distracted,and I hope I do,I will be right behind you.I just had a thought! I think I will start a few miles away from the Mexico border! I mean ,going from border to border after starting where. I don't believe we will miss much.

 

[SLO]

I am currently looking for a set of 244s and irc gp1s to try, hard to find right now. I am working on designing my route as well, that will also affect my tire choice. I am thinking of using 15t front sprocket and less aggressive tires for long, level packed dirt and pavement sections then switch to 13t and knobby for the sandy deeper gravel and hill climb sections.

I run Shinko 244 3/0 front and rear with a 13 tooth on the front. Revs wont hurt it,use ,keep fresh oil. Problem is it wont rev up nigh enough in 3rd and 4th,and that is what you are using unless you are standing still. You don't shift any sooner,You let the engine BREATH! REVZILLA for tires.

 

[bryanchurch06]

It would be a bad idea only ,if you follow someone that wants to lead ,when they have never done it before. It sounds like a great idea to me. I believe I am your huckleberry. So if it takes a week to get out of New Mexico,providing I don't get distracted,and I hope I do,I will be right behind you.I just had a thought! I think I will start a few miles away from the Mexico border! I mean ,going from border to border after starting where. I don't believe we will miss much.

You will be most welcome, so far we are looking at late June or early July departure. May I ask what state you are in?

 

[SLO]

I am in southwest Virginia,near Bristol I-81. I believe I could ride along,and leave the bike at some point with other rider,get ride back to initial A O. Get the transport vehicle,catch up with any survivors,while picking up provisions.Could transport one way or both for others if pick up spots coordinate with my route to and from Meadowview ,Va. 24361 I-81 to New Mexico,whatever route.

 

[bryanchurch06]

I am in southwest Virginia,near Bristol I-81. I believe I could ride along,and leave the bike at some point with other rider,get ride back to initial A O. Get the transport vehicle,catch up with any survivors,while picking up provisions.Could transport one way or both for others if pick up spots coordinate with my route to and from Meadowview ,Va. 24361 I-81 to New Mexico,whatever route.

My wife is a travel nurse we just spent a year in Elizabethton Tennessee, came back to South Dakota in August

 

[bryanchurch06]

My wife is a travel nurse we just spent a year in Elizabethton Tennessee, came back to South Dakota in August

There is a member outside Knoxville that maybe interested, he might need a ride?

 

[SLO]

My wife is a travel nurse we just spent a year in Elizabethton Tennessee, came back to South Dakota in August

Did you eat at Ridge wood BBQ? Surely you did.