Saturday, March 10, Milford Lake School Creek OHV

[Hank Moody]

Mike.

I was just checkn I looked at thier site and didnt see any Huskys for sale. SO I was just interested.

Hummmmmmm want go out there Sat????? I would like to see one in person. YOU know......... kick the tires.

Hayden

Tracy,

Well Leigh said that he would let the TE 610 go for around $6,700.00. They have a lot of orange on the floor and only 2 little Huskys over in the corner. Good luck and bring your check book!

Get your ride on!

[MacWildcat]

Think I'll have to pass this time. Just got my bike back tonight from the dealer. I need to put some easy miles on the new overhaul. Not too sure I want to take a 650cc bike into Milford a little harsh for a big, heavy bike. I can just imagine doing a "Troy" (i.e. - your incident a David's place).
By the way, did your ribs heal up ok?

[troy]

Hey Mac! I'm healed up except I still have a nagging twinge of pain occasionally in one spot.

I've ridden a DR650, and sure, it would be nice to have a very small, light dirt-bike for the OHV area, I'd not hesitate to ride a DR650 out there---just take it a little easier than you would on a tiny 2 stroke.

But, probably a bad idea for breaking in a new engine.

[MacWildcat]

Yeah, I'll still be out riding Saturday. I plan to hit a little of Geary, Wabaunsee, Pottowatomie, and Riley county. You guys have a safe ride, hopefully it's cool enough you don't have to deal with drunk idiots at School Creek!

[katbeanz]

I got out and rode Troy's Plattsburg route today, had a good time. I was a little nervous about riding and looking at the gps but after twenty miles or so I got the hang of it.
Thanks for putting it together Troy, some of the roads I had been on at one time or another but had would have never got them put together. Dean

[Hank Moody]

Well it was Kyle, Troy and I today at Milford lake. I do have to say this is the best ORV park that I have been to and it has trails from mild to wild. The crowd wasn't bad at all and we hardly saw anyone on the trails. We did see two golden eagles!

Now the bad news, Troy twisted his ankle badly and is at the hospital right now getting an x-ray Hopefully it is only a sprain, but he couldn't walk on it and it was starting to swell up. We kept ice on it and I think that help a lot.

Troy was doing a table top jump with a double nack nack for added difficulty and came up a little short. When he came down from, what Kyle about 15 foot, he caught his handle bar on a tree branch causing him to land sideways. He put his foot down to keep from falling and through his strenght and skill as a ride was able to prevent a crash. But by doing this he twisted his ankle.

No really he was going down a step hill and washed out the rear tire and he went over the bars. His trusty steed, the DR 350, landed on his foot and ankle. At first we thought the bike took the worst, but a last Troy came up on the short end. Let's hope it is nothing too serious and that he will be back on his bike soon.

FYI, Troy will be the market for a new handle bar.

[ajayhawkfan]

I hate hearing that anyone got hurt. However, Troy should have gone geocaching instead.

[troy]

In hind-sight, I really did not have time for that second nack nack attempt.

We did have a great trail ride. If you are going to get hurt on a trail ride, be sure you have Daryl along on the ride. His professional medical training was invaluable to me. His analysis, instruction, and treatment on the spot and during the few hours between accident and hospital went a long way to getting me healed. He also drove my truck back to Kansas City which was nice. This allowed me to keep my ankle elevated and iced 20 minutes per hour.

My injuries are relatively minor. I have some serious ligament injuries in my right ankle. i.e. a bad "sprain". I can't walk on it and have crutches, ace-bandage, and a removable cast thing formed to my ankle. I should be putting some weight back on it in a few days and probably done with crutches in a week. Pain could last for weeks, doc says.

I'm 0 for 2 on my last 2 trail rides. Got smacked down at Hemphill's and now Milford. My track record before these incidents was stellar.

Both these accidents were caused by automatic reflex reactions to situations that were the wrong thing to do. Both accidents could have been prevented if I'd done the smart thing instead of the automatic reflex. Of course what bothers me is that my automatic reflex is not the smart thing!

In my riding, I've definitely been pushing myself to attempt things outside of my comfort level--a little beyond my skill level. How else do you improve? I guess an occasional smack-down is the price I'll pay. However, my current rate of smackdowns per trail ride is alarming.

[david h]

Troy, the thing to keep in mind is that you are consistent !

The way you're going through handle bars so fast maybe you should look for a 2 for 1 offer. I'll kept my eyes open on a good deal for you .

On the serious side, would a good pair of motocross boots have helped? I forgot what kind of boots you wear, but if you are like me they are not as stiff as a good dirt boot. When you compare the cost of a hospital visit to a $300 boot, the boot wins every time.

Take care and heal quick, you're friend, David H

[troy]

Thanks for the comments, David. Yeah, let me know if you see a deal on a multi-pack of handlebars!

Part of the reason I bent my handlebars is that I have to remove the cross-member in order to install my hand-guards. I know other people do not have to, so I'm not sure why I have to, but on both of my last 2 handlebars, with my Enduro Engineering hand guards, the location of where they have to bolt to my handlebars requires I remove the cross-member. From a safety standpoint, I have no problem with removing the cross-member. However, if I'm going to bend my bars a lot, that's a problem. Of course I went almost all of 2006 and hundreds of miles of rugged trail riding without bending them. (And without any accidents worth mentioning)

I'm not pleased with my new trend!

I wear $200 Oxtar riding boots. However, they are "dualsport" boots. They offer a lot of support, but they are not as rigid as true motocross boots. Then again, I don't want the discomfort of true motocross boots for my normal riding. Me thinks a pair of true motocross boots for my trail riding weekends is a good idea. Kyle & I are both a bit baffled at how my ankle could have twisted inside those Oxtar boots, but it happened. I think 240 lbs of steel slamming onto my ankles at high speed probably had something to do with it. I dunno.

[troy]

I got out and rode Troy's Plattsburg route today, had a good time. I was a little nervous about riding and looking at the gps but after twenty miles or so I got the hang of it.
Thanks for putting it together Troy, some of the roads I had been on at one time or another but had would have never got them put together. Dean

Glad you got out there and that you enjoyed the route. Did you see all the pig farms and the piglets?

[troy]

I hate hearing that anyone got hurt. However, Troy should have gone geocaching instead.

Yeah, cache hunting would have been a bit safer! Did you get out and ride?

[ajayhawkfan]

Yeah, cache hunting would have been a bit safer! Did you get out and ride?

I did, rode about 250 miles. I road minor roads from KC to Marshall. I then shot down 65 to Bothwell State Park for a few caches. I then road gravel most of the way home. I left around 9 and got home at 7. I picked up 10 caches along the route.

When you get better give the river route a try. It is very pretty and some of the old homes are incredible!!!

[katbeanz]

I got out and rode Troy's Plattsburg route today, had a good time. I was a little nervous about riding and looking at the gps but after twenty miles or so I got the hang of it.
Thanks for putting it together Troy, some of the roads I had been on at one time or another but had would have never got them put together. Dean

Glad you got out there and that you enjoyed the route. Did you see all the pig farms and the piglets?

I sure did, the smell brought back a flood of memories, most not pleasant. I'm glad you don't have a fracture, ligament injuries can take a long time to heal. I did something similar to my foot at an OK City Enduro in 85 and tore a bunch loose in my shoulder at White Rock. The foot still gives me a twinge from time to time.
Today I went up to Rusty's deal at Holt and had lunch with ajayhawkfan and my buddy Larry. I visited with some german guys and tried to coax them into telling me how to say bitchpad in german, cool guys but I don't think it translates well.
I hope you have a speedy recovery, if there's anything I can help you with just ask. Dean

[ajayhawkfan]

Dean it is nice seeing you again and meeting your friend. I made it back home just in time to watch KU WIN!!!!

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK, KU!!!!

Eddie

[Motoracer13]

Troy just a quick comment about your bars. On a set of bars with a cross bar the bar is bent and then when they put the cross bar on they are under pressure so the cross bar is "loaded". When I would have a cross bar come loose I would replace the bars wether they were bent or not. If you releave the "load" of the cross bar it will weaken the bar and allow it to bend easier. I loaned a bike to a friend one time and the next time I rode it I had the left side of the bar break clean off at the crossbar. Luckly this happen over a rough trail and not on the track. My buddy had bent the bar,taken the crossbar loose and then tightened the cross bar back on. Any way I was just mentioning that removing the cross bar aint a real good idea. Have you looked into a set of fat bars?

[troy]

...Any way I was just mentioning that removing the cross bar aint a real good idea. Have you looked into a set of fat bars?

Good advice. I really have not, but at this point, I need to change my strategy, so yeah, I'll do that. I guess I'm also curious why other people are able to install brushguards while leaving their handlebar crossmember attached. My setup won't work. Maybe I need different brushguards. Since they cost 3x what handlebars cost, I guess I'd rather change the bars....again.

I'd like recommendations for a specific handlebar model that is both "fat" and tall. I need some extra height to make standing on the little DR350 easier.

[tim]

hey man sorry to hear you got hurt. Heal up quick.

I'll spare you the typical 'wear the best gear you can I didnt and landed from a jump sideways and ran over my own foot with tennis shoes and ankle swelled up to grapefruit size and it still is weak to this day' stories.

or not

[david h]

Troy I took a piece of 1x2x 1/4 alum. angle and made a bracket that hooks to the top triple clamp bolts. I will try to send you a picture. The beauty of this is instead of hooking back to the bar its self it hooks to the top of your shock. In forms a nice triangle and to my way of thinking is much stronger than hooking back to the bars. If you hook back to the bars all the pressure is put on the bars where the bar clamp is. The way I have done mine the pressure is spread out . I did have to slightly twist the hand guards to get the job done, but with a vice it was no big deal.

There are lots of ways to skin a cat, so put on your thinking cap and have at it, David H

[troy]

I hadn't thought outside the box like that...thanks. I'll see if there are any options to connect the guards another way. I'm not looking at the bike right now, but I can't think of any other way to hook them up. These EE brushguards are very thick. Reshaping them--especially twisting--would be difficult I'd think. Please do send a photo if you can. I guess I had not noticed your setup. Thanks!