Riding in mud: what am I doing wrong?

[The Yeti]

Caseyjones and I went for a ride last Saturday and ran into quite a bit of slimy mud and wet grass.

His KLR on stock tires seemed to be tractoring right through with very little slippage, while my 950 with knobbies (D606f/D908RRr) was sliding all over the place.  I managed to keep her upright all day, but just barely.  On our last (very steep) uphill that caseyjones tractored right up, with just one spot where he had a bit of wheelspin, after three attempts, he had to give me a push to finally wrestle the pig up to the top.

I think I'm just getting too much power at the rear wheel, no matter how I feather the clutch, resulting in way too much wheelspin.  Could just be a matter of bad technique on my part...

Also, it didn't help that when my bike gets hot, she gets tempermental and likes to stall!    Not good on steep, wet uphills.

With regards to sliding around in the mud, what can I do to minimize this?  Is there anything I can do to the suspension setup to help (stiffer, softer)?  I aired the tires down to around 20psi right before the big slippery hill, and it seemed to help a bit, but nothing drastic.

I think lower gearing might help as well, but I've already got a 16t on the front. Could go to a 17 or put a 45t on the back....any thoughts on that?

[loingrader]

i think a lot of it is just the weight and high horsepower of your katoom yeti.  a klr has poor brakes and lackluster horsepower, which makes it a bit of a dud on the road, but it actually is beneficial off road, as you observed.

[Caseyjones]

I second this RE the KLR. I have the 16tooth on the front and could see a huge advantage to running a 14 offroad. It is also my opinion that that badass KTM would be a ton more managable, even in the mud, with a 14t sprocket. It has lots of torque working the wheel just to fast for the ground speed, slippage is inevitable.  That all being said I had a couple very near drops on the KLR to,at one point we were heading north and the bike decided it liked west better when the rear fell into a slick rut.  I found as I approached mud spots if I entered with some (hopefuly enough) momentum and just pull in the clutch and coast through it was more stable.

I think he did a remarkable job of keeping it upright and under control, especially considering the weight, size and gearing. We consulted and decided that mud sucks. So from now on, mud sucks.

Good times had by all tho, what a beautiful ride!

[fringefan]

Quote "You are just wrong on this one...the 9x0 is great for the entire spectrum with two exceptions; extreme long distance slab & very tight and/or gnarly single track...the rest of the spectrum is covered, in spades."

Add that one to the list





But then it happens to the best of them


Never been on the big KTM but weight and gearing is usually a big part of mud or hill climbing. If you are geared right you should not have to feather the clutch much and you should be able to "tractor up" most of what we ride which helps with wheel spin. 

[The Yeti]

You'll be happy to know that I am now considering a much smaller bike to replace the 950. You guys will never catch me!!   

[loingrader]

You'll be happy to know that I am now considering a much smaller bike to replace the 950.

whatever blows your skirt up yeti.  my wants for different bikes changes almost as often as yours does.  we don't care what you ride as long as you have fun on it!   

but i must say i do feel a little bad for the BIKE and the places you make that thing go...

[Caseyjones]

Cool, than maybe I wont lag so far behind on the hiway!

[The Yeti]

AND I'll be able to pick it up by myself!!  (unlike the above pick, where it took three of us to get it out of the mudhole)

Quote "You are just wrong on this one...the 9x0 is great for the entire spectrum with two exceptions; extreme long distance slab & very tight and/or gnarly single track...the rest of the spectrum is covered, in spades."

Yeah, I forgot to mention mud, but figured that was a given.   

You guys gotta understand, my first time off road was only 2.5 years ago on a KLR. NEVER ridden a real dirt bike (would love to if anyone wants to offer). I now think I went the wrong way when I got rid of the KLR, shoulda went smaller, but went bigger.  Of course, that was before I met you guys and found out what REAL dual-sporting was all about (rocks 'n stuff).  I really want to be able to conquer the more technical stuff...and that, I'm sorry to admit, ain't never gonna happen on a 950.

Really wish I could afford more than one bike, but that's just not in the cards right now.  I hope to cut my losses on the 950 and not come out of it with too much of a defecit.  On my quest for the perfect bike (which I now realize DOES NOT EXIST!!), I've wasted a lot of dollars....I really hope I can actually pay off my next bike before wanting another, but I'm pretty sure that's highly unlikely.   

[loingrader]

You guys gotta understand, my first time off road was only 2.5 years ago on a KLR.

Of course, that was before I met you guys and found out what REAL dual-sporting was all about (rocks 'n stuff). 

On my quest for the perfect bike (which I now realize DOES NOT EXIST!!), I've wasted a lot of dollars....

1.  you ride that big ol katoom amazingly well off road, especially considering your lack of dirt experience.  several in our group have done a lot of mountain biking off road and lots of motocross/hare scramble guys train in the off season on moutain bikes.  it amazes me how much it helps me in the technical stuff.  maybe an option if you can't do the dual bike thing

2.  as far as real dual sporting goes, i think you know that we ride far far FAR away from the normal dual sport rider spectrum.  how many guys on advrider do you think ride the stuff we do?  not too many.

3.  long ago i gave up worrying about dollars lost on motorcycle deals.  you learned a lot about many different bikes, and you can't forget all the fun you've had.  that is worth a ton in my book.  i definatly feel your pain though.  i bought my 05 fjr abs new at about $12500, and i loved that bike, but i'm much happier with the bikes in the garage now and i've got a lot less money invested.  live and learn my friend.

[fringefan]

Guys have had just as much fun if not more on much lesser bikes than even a KLR and too much gets lost looking for the prefect ride. Doubt there is a best bike because it depends on the person but that KTM you have is one hell of a ride. With a little encouragment  you have taken KTM places that would make some grown men cry and even though it was not always pretty, you still had a smile at the end of the day and that is all that matters.   

Know matter what I had to ride  I would want to ride the same stuff

[Hank]

Well don't keep us in suspenders!  What are you going to get?

In my humble, and not asked for opinion, your 950 will be missed.  Seems to me that most of your riding is moderate trails where it does great.  Do you really want a bike that is better in mud and rocks at the expense of all the 950 is good at?  Are rocks and mud really THAT fun on ANYTHING?    If you think you'll take a bath on the 950 when you sell it, take the 1K (or whatever) you'll lose, keep the 950, and pick up a 1991 DR350 for thrashing thru mud and rocks, then you can have the best of both worlds!

Anyhoo, that's my $.02.

[fringefan]

Two bikes are always better than 1. Even better to have a back up to the backup just in case

[The Yeti]

Moved all posts relating to my new WRR to the Yamaha section:

http://dev.dakotadualsportriders.com/smf/index.php?topic=328.0

[flexlarson]

HUMMM was it the bike?

[The Yeti]

HUMMM was it the bike?

That what...made me such a crappy rider? Nah.