DonsDeals Blog: My Comment on - Riding On Eggshells Video - Our Hardest Day Yet: Adventures in a Burning Land Part 8

Hi guys, I really enjoy your videos. I ended up watching the whole Playlist on this Trip, Today. Your sense of humor, keeps me chuckling the whole way through. And I admire, how both of you, never give up. You fall down, but you get up again, over & over & over:) I grew up riding motor cycles. Off Road in the Woods most of the time. I started with a Mini Bike, that I got for Christmas when I was 12. And from then on, I was hooked. The brakes didn't work. So, I wore out many a pair of shoes, stopping that thing. Later, my younger brother, got Honda 50 Mini Trail. And I helped him learn how to ride it. I would set him in front of me. And ride hard & fast. Do jumps, coaching him along the way. He didn't always enjoy it, though. Later he got a Yamaha 60 Enduro. Then a Yamaha YZ80 & it was fast!:) By the time I was 13, I didn't even want a Car. I wanted a Suzuki TS 250 (Trail Street Bike). I dreamed of traveling on it & taking every Trail I saw on the way. I saved my allowance, till I was 16. But, I didn't have enough for a TS 250, even though they were only $850 brand new! So, bought a 1962 Buick Invicta two door, with a 445 "Wilde Cat" Big Block Motor for $160. It would do 110mph, for a long as the road was straight enough. I finally did get a brand new Yamaha 650 Street Bike in 1980 or so. Still, I wish I would have bought the Yamaha TS 500 I really wanted. But, it cost about $500 more & I thought I was going to be riding it to work every day. Later, I sold the Yamaha 650 & also got a trade in of a Bultaco 180 dirt bike. But, it was setup for Circle Dirt Track Racing. No good on Trails. But, you could slide that thing, in a left turn for ever... After that I rebuilt my brothers Yamaha 60 for my son, who was 8 at the time. Then I got me an old Honda 125 Trail Street Bike, for cheep. I beat the heck out of that thing jumping it. I loved jumping bikes. It felt like flying. If only for a second or two. I liked climbing hills too. But, I didn't really like going down really steep hills too much. So, here's some things I learned, about dirt riding. It's very hard to balance a bike sitting still. Try to keep it moving, fast enough, so as not too loose your balance. Always take a running start at a big hill, if you possibly can. But, keep the bike in a low enough gear. Ring it's neck, so that you can still make it to the top. Unless your a gifted rider & and can shift on the fly, without missing a gear & rolling backwards down a hill in neutral. I did get pretty good at backing down a hill... Don't try to stop on a hill, till you get to a flat spot. Unless you like eating dirt. Don't continually watch your front wheel. Just give it a brief "squiz", often enough to stay out of deep holes, miss big rocks, cliffs etc. Constantly look ahead, to where you are going. You will fall much less, this way. I did usually start out standing up, like all the Internet Advisers say. But, I usually hit a rock or a rut & my feet would slide off the pegs. And I landed hard on the gas tank or the seat, if I was lucky. No matter, I just kept it on full throttle & leaned over the handle bars, so as to kiss the front tire. Sometimes, I made it up some pretty steep hills. After a few tries anyway. On steep down hill runs. I rarely ever used any brakes at all. I used Engine Braking. By putting the bike, in a low enough gear (usually 1, 2 or 3) to slow you down. But, not so low that the engine sounds like it's going to Pop a Piston. I works on both 2 & 4 Stroke Motors. But, 2 Strokes are more fun. Cause they make that cool sound, when the engine is being driven by the back wheel. The advantage to this, is that your back wheel doesn't lock up near as often. So, you don't have the back end sliding sideways, going down a hill. You can squeeze the clutch at little, if it does lock up or up-shift if you can. I didn't use the Clutch very often, when in tight situations. Pretty much any time I was going fast in the dirt. Dirt Bike Transmissions have been able to shift without the clutch, since the 80s. This greatly cuts down on the things you have to remember to do, at one time. Just hang on & ride the bike. Gas & Gears, that's enough for my brain. I have seen a few Pro Riders, talk about not using the clutch, on the newer bikes lately, too. I never used a front brake, going down a hill. I really didn't like doing Endos. And yes, I did a few, in my riding days. I see that many "Pro" riders these days. Talk about learning how to use your breaks together. Like you guys were talking about. But, I did see one, who mentioned Engine Breaking on Hills, the other day in a Suzuki ADV Bike Review. He said, the bike he was testing, did this well. And the motor could handle it. I gather, that some or allot of these new motors could be damaged by using Engine Braking. Or maybe the electronics - computer, just wont let you do it. I bet it would work just fine on they Himalayan, though. Since it has an old fashioned Carb & no Computer Control. And I suppose that front-back brake combo stuff, is good. If you can do just right, without going so slow, that you loose your balance and fall down. But, remember my first, Mini Bike, had no breaks! So, I had to learn another way to ride;) If stopping is not an option. You have to learn, how to ride you bike. To "become one with the machine";) You learn how to control it. When to lean with it & when throw it where you want to go. And when to bail off. But, I never liked to do bail. I usually hung on till I hit a Tree or just got thrown off. I learned How to sit back on the seat, pop a wheelie & pop over a log. Which I see you guys doing, allot. It's great to have a bike, with enough power, to pop wheelies at will, to go over even bigger things. But, that takes a bunch of practice to learn. End plenty of money to buy a hot bike like that. I rode a fairly new Honda 350 4-Stroke Enduro, back in the early 90's. It was a dog, on hills. It just kept slowing down, till you came to a complete stop, wherever you ran out of momentum. Then your 180 skills, had better shine & fast! Let-her back up till you get some speed. Then hit the back break & throw that front end down the hill. If you didn't kill the motor. You just ride down the hill, like you meant to do that... The best bike I ever rode. Was a late 80's Honda CR250. That thing would stand up, in 1-3 maybe 4, so easy. You didn't have to take the dips or bumps. Just goose it & go over them!:) The last bike I rode, was a buddies early 90's Kawasaki KX250. It was a good bike. Not quite as powerful as the CR. My buddy could climb a big hill, with ruts & rocks & a near straight up section at the top. And he shifted gears along the way. The Honda 350, that I was riding that day, was his dads. I tried the hill on it. But, I only got about 3/4 of the way & had to back around & go back down, 2 or 3 times. And he wouldn't even let me try it on his KX!:( But, I did go down a very long steep hill on the KX, at another place, with an even bigger & steeper hill. We met some guys there. I was following them on the trail. I think most of them went around it. But, I saw the last one, in front of me, go right down it. So, I figured, if he can do it, so can I. I used Engine Breaking, no brakes at all. I had to keep my feet on the pegs, to keep my butt on the back of the seat. It was really steep. The kind of hill, where your back end can com up over your head, real easy. But, I made it to the bottom like a Pro. There was a small Creek at the bottom, with bumps & rocks etc. I hit the gear shifter to go to a lower gear. And the darn thing just spun on the shaft. I was stuck in 3rd gear or so. Too high for starting of from hardly moving on a 2-Stroke. The Engine died & that was the end of my "Pro" moment... One guy said I did good. Then, they all took off down the trail & left me. There were no Tools under the seat. So, I couldn't do anything but follow this new trail, till it took me back to where we were parked. I knew the Trail it was a big Circle. Oh yes, & my Son was there riding his Yamaha 60. I don't even remember if he stayed back with me or went on with the Cool guys, now. It took me 1 to 1.5 hours to get back to the Truck. My buddy was about to go out looking for me, by then. And he was kind of pissed at me. But, I was pissed at him more. Since, he had brought the bike out to ride. Over 50 miles away from home. With a brand new Gear Shift Lever, that he hadn't even tried to see if it would fit. It didn't, the hole was too big. He had very few tools. He talked me into leaving my 76 Chevy Blazer 4x4, with all my tools behind at his house. We did have some Coke Cans. So, I said make a Shim, for it. He said, What? I offered to do if for him. But, he just had to prove something, I guess. He got mad at it & wouldn't listen when I tried to explain how to get it to the right thickness. So, when I stepped on the darn thing, at the bottom of the hill.... Fun times, Fun times;) Well, he did let me ride his bikes & that was very cool!:) That was the last time I got to go dirt bike riding... Oh, & the time before that. I broke my wrist on that KX. When I decided to do a quick jump, before coming back in from a short ride. That was the only bad injury I ever got, riding bikes. Turned out, my buddy, neglected to tell me. That he had a problem with the front shocks. And on had allot less oil in it, than the other one. So, when I cam down, from that steep little power jump. The forks, slammed the bike down hard, on the left side. I didn't let go of the bike, by instinct (that's how I rode). And also, because I didn't want to break his bike. So, I learned the hard way. My wrist was shattered. I think, that's way I liked to call them KawaSuckies... To be fair, I may have previously cracked my wrist, when I hit a big rock in 3ft Johnson Grass. When test riding my Sons Yamaha 60... That's way I was only taking a short ride. My wrist was till sore... I'm trying to remember, how old I was then. I think it was in 91 or 92 and I'm 63 now... Anyway, end of book... I enjoyed seeing your country side. It looks allot like Texas, Down Under...

Love the videos, have fun on your Journeys:) Don

Riding On Eggshells

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This day was tough - in some ways like our current predicament across the planet, it'll take a lot of persistence, kindness and humour to get to the other side. The Royal Enfield Himalayan and The Suzuki DR650 continue their way up the hill to attempt to cross the Snowy mountains for planned NYE in Dargo. It's the hottest part of the day, and the bikes and riders are exhausted Lots of falls, mistakes and problems in this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zPqwsGYIzY&list=PLJXDtrOZ3CeW1TkTubkvS2xugIL1mzRYS&index=8