You’re doing great Bud. Especially for a one year rider. You have everything you need. = The spirit. Just keep going. It’s ok to be scared. It’s ok not to have experience. This is how you get experience. Just keep telling yourself to go & keep going. Is all the soul experience you need.
just finished this route last month...2 KLRs and a GS1200...what a ride!! but wouldnt ever tackle it west to east...i was glad to get off that mountain...
West to east on 9/13. The weather was perfect but it was a real bitch. I'm a newer rider myself and my F850gsa doesn't have the low end torque to run slow so I really had to grip it and rip it... Crazy! Probably a lot more scary than it was dangerous. The biggest factor was all the self- balancing bikes (cars) that have no idea what they are doing on that one way section. Also, maybe an extra 100lbs of moto camping gear didn't help either🤪 What a day!
I’ve never ridden a 650 off road but I’d like to! The 1200 is a monster for sure. Heavy, when fully loaded anyway. I’m 6’ and 215 pounds of moderately good physical condition. If you’re a similar build then you’d be fine tossing this thing around! But it IS a lot of work!
Riding down a skree pile is pretty intimidating. I think the 19" front on a GSA actually helps in this situation. You may want to ditch those hard boxes for soft luggage. They can cost you a broken leg.
I traveled a lot of gravel roads myself and as i see this... gee... that's really a hard track with a big bike. That big loose and deep gravels/stones don't make it easy at all, but you got paid with a magnificent view. Great riding and thank you for showing! (Your video helps me a lot for finding tracks for our tour in June. I know, weather always can change up there... what do you think, might this road already be snow free in the beginning of June?)
Thanks! I would bet not. But surely theres a website that will tell you current conditions of all the Alpine Loop Passes! When you go come back and let us know how it was! Have a great time!
Ive took a loaded klr over worse, but i think the video isnt showing how steep it is which completely changes the game especially down hill on the side of a mountain
That shit was stressing me out watching. I am completely new to the GS thing 10,000 miles new probably couple hundred on dirt with it. My whole life on every 2 wheeled machine imaginal. I own 3 other enduros and dirt bikes. Im really technical but this shit is almost like starting all over. I have done some pretty rough sections but nothing like that shit that long. Just like maybe 50 foot sections. That was some continuous shit. Conditioning could play a major role in the success. I understand. Did you run ABS going down that?. I have not really grasped the ABS thing in the dirt it defies all my experience with the 1200s weight. I usually run super enduro mode so I can skid and rip in the turns. But that was some white knuckled shit no screwing around on that shit. How did you have it set. Oh, WOW thanks for the vid.
Thanks!! As a rule I always go to Enduro Pro mode and turn OFF ABS whenever I get off pavement. As was in this case. And there a couple extra reasons for it…. at least that I have a theory about, based on my experience. If you just turn off ABS and don’t switch from one of the road riding modes (on the street I always ride in Dyna, unless it’s rainy-then in Rain mode), then if you’re cornering, say on a loose gravel road or something, and if you go to downshift, the computer senses the bank angle from the accelerometers then suddenly sees a change in the system and MAY try to lock up the rear tire for a fraction of a second, until all is rolling together again. That’s my theory from two scenarios I’ve had. It’ll get your attention and thankfully it didn’t ruin my day. So for me, in general, if ABS comes off, I try to remember to put it in Enduro Pro mode to turn off all that other shit too!
Very nice adventure. You guys should consider switching to BUMOT Xtremada soft panniers. At 500$ they fit on you OEM racks and will make your adventures easier and safer. Same capacity as stock alu cases.
Yeaup. Conditions are always different. Best advice to anyone is check with locals or someone who's done the trail before you to see what the conditions are. On a related note. Good job. It's all part of the adventure. Nice job staying positive.
Thanks dude! Most folks I know with experience here are on 4 wheels. Locals are great! We got some intel up at the pass, but he didn’t prove to be very helpful for us on big bikes. He was in a truck, but very nice.
Grading high alpine mountain passes like this seems like an impossible task. No grader I’ve ever seen could take the task, sections of the trail are so deep with loose shale, and if a grader slipped off the road it would never be recovered!
@@CaptMaxADV if you closed the pass while the work was being done it shouldn't be a problem, you could potentially grade it with anything from a 4x4 farm tractor to a dozer, newer dozers are surprisingly good at fine grading. if the Swiss, and Norwegians can do it, so can we.
That really doesn't look like a lot of fun, and doesn't look a lot easier on the smaller bikes that were going uphill (talking about the gnarly rocky section)
There were definitely some un-fun parts, but it was beautiful and worth the struggle! Glad we did it. But it was WAAAAAY more intense than I could have imagined.
@@CaptMaxADV if you stand up on the bike on the more difficult parts of the route, it is much easyer! You got way more and better control of the bike😜 ps im not a hater, i just wanna give a tip, ride on buddy🤟🏻
I hear ya. And anyone who’s ridden big bikes on super gnar stuff knows that while 95% of the time you should, the other 5% of the time you’re not able to, which can be a struggle while youre trying your damndest to get to the closest spot possible to get up on those pegs without cartwheeling! If you watch most of my vids you’ll see that I always stand up, same as in this video. It’s when the wind screen dips low in the frame. Hard to see from this camera angle. But yeah, you’re right! To try to ride shit like this sitting would be disastrous!
@@CaptMaxADV Im still working on getting the foot controls in a position where they work well seated or standing. I find that shifting while standing is an issue as I normally keep my weight on the balls of my feet which means I have to move my foot to shift, the movement itself can be an issue as I unweight and weight my foot to get under or on top of the shifter. There's a lot of moving parts (no pun intended) riding this kind of terrain. I imagine Ill get better with more miles under my belt, but that terrain you rode would not be fun for me. I actually did it a couple of weeks after you guys were there with a friend in a lifted forerunner and even that was intense sometimes.
I believe it! Next summer I plan to take a couple of my Toyota’s over a bunch of those passes! My kids’ll driving one or two of em. I ride mostly in the arches of my feet. Probably not the very best for all out maneuverability, but it works. No shifting problems. If I rode a light dirt bike and was throwing it all around I’d probably be on m balls more. 🤷🏼♂️ What are you riding?
As compared to what?? I can’t disagree because I have nothing to compare it to from my experience. But find it a joy to maneuver and that it handles quite well for its size!
You’re doing great Bud. Especially for a one year rider. You have everything you need. = The spirit. Just keep going. It’s ok to be scared. It’s ok not to have experience. This is how you get experience. Just keep telling yourself to go & keep going. Is all the soul experience you need.
Thanks bruh! 👊🏻
We considered this two up on our 2016 GSA but reconsidered. The scree was too intense....Great video! Watched it twice!
Dooooods! Right?!?! 🙌🏻
@@CaptMaxADV Actually my wife and I....ride on!
Nice vid. 👍 I did this pass solo in the other direction on a loaded Triumph Explorer with street tires. Learned from that! 😆🏍🏁
OMG! That looks like so much fun!
Hella fun. Woulda rather not had my heavy ass boxes on though! 😆
Wow! And I thought the Dempster Highway was treacherous. It is really long and tiring, especially when it gets wet.
just finished this route last month...2 KLRs and a GS1200...what a ride!! but wouldnt ever tackle it west to east...i was glad to get off that mountain...
Yes. Sir! 🙌🏻
West to east on 9/13. The weather was perfect but it was a real bitch. I'm a newer rider myself and my F850gsa doesn't have the low end torque to run slow so I really had to grip it and rip it... Crazy! Probably a lot more scary than it was dangerous. The biggest factor was all the self- balancing bikes (cars) that have no idea what they are doing on that one way section.
Also, maybe an extra 100lbs of moto camping gear didn't help either🤪 What a day!
West to east in my 2020 rubicon JLU. We had to pull over a little so other vehicles can descend .
Was there last week (in my Jeep), man rough. Left the big girl at home 😂. Nice job
Nice, that guy was cool as hell!
Yeah dogg. Super helpful!
Great job! I just wished you had gotten more shots of the superior machine in the pack. The Super Tenere! 🙃
Oh, okay! 😆😉
Kudos! I have a interest in going up to a 1200 from a dr650. What do you think of sizing up to your bike from the 650 off road?
I’ve never ridden a 650 off road but I’d like to!
The 1200 is a monster for sure. Heavy, when fully loaded anyway. I’m 6’ and 215 pounds of moderately good physical condition. If you’re a similar build then you’d be fine tossing this thing around! But it IS a lot of work!
Riding down a skree pile is pretty intimidating. I think the 19" front on a GSA actually helps in this situation. You may want to ditch those hard boxes for soft luggage. They can cost you a broken leg.
Agreed. The very thing I discuss in my soft luggage Mosko Moto video! 🙌🏻
I traveled a lot of gravel roads myself and as i see this... gee... that's really a hard track with a big bike. That big loose and deep gravels/stones don't make it easy at all, but you got paid with a magnificent view. Great riding and thank you for showing! (Your video helps me a lot for finding tracks for our tour in June. I know, weather always can change up there... what do you think, might this road already be snow free in the beginning of June?)
Thanks! I would bet not. But surely theres a website that will tell you current conditions of all the Alpine Loop Passes! When you go come back and let us know how it was! Have a great time!
Wow that was a haard descent... loose rocks are tricky, but you were doing really well, nice vid!
Hey thanks!! It was an eye opener! Stay tuned for when we go up to Animas Forks. That’s vid after next!
Ive took a loaded klr over worse, but i think the video isnt showing how steep it is which completely changes the game especially down hill on the side of a mountain
Right. Even now, 5 years of riding experience, I still wouldn’t take a loaded GSA up or down that trail again!
That shit was stressing me out watching. I am completely new to the GS thing 10,000 miles new probably couple hundred on dirt with it. My whole life on every 2 wheeled machine imaginal. I own 3 other enduros and dirt bikes. Im really technical but this shit is almost like starting all over. I have done some pretty rough sections but nothing like that shit that long. Just like maybe 50 foot sections. That was some continuous shit. Conditioning could play a major role in the success. I understand. Did you run ABS going down that?. I have not really grasped the ABS thing in the dirt it defies all my experience with the 1200s weight. I usually run super enduro mode so I can skid and rip in the turns. But that was some white knuckled shit no screwing around on that shit. How did you have it set. Oh, WOW thanks for the vid.
Thanks!!
As a rule I always go to Enduro Pro mode and turn OFF ABS whenever I get off pavement. As was in this case.
And there a couple extra reasons for it…. at least that I have a theory about, based on my experience.
If you just turn off ABS and don’t switch from one of the road riding modes (on the street I always ride in Dyna, unless it’s rainy-then in Rain mode), then if you’re cornering, say on a loose gravel road or something, and if you go to downshift, the computer senses the bank angle from the accelerometers then suddenly sees a change in the system and MAY try to lock up the rear tire for a fraction of a second, until all is rolling together again.
That’s my theory from two scenarios I’ve had. It’ll get your attention and thankfully it didn’t ruin my day.
So for me, in general, if ABS comes off, I try to remember to put it in Enduro Pro mode to turn off all that other shit too!
Great vid guys some learned advice leave yhe hard bags home for the hiway only soft bags safer for you and the bike hard bags can pin you jus saying
This was the reason I upgraded to the $850 soft bags…
How’s it going in 2024 ha
That area is like Switzerland ha
Going great! Stayed local with the bike this year. Went down to Baja and mainland Mexico last fall.
Very nice adventure. You guys should consider switching to BUMOT Xtremada soft panniers. At 500$ they fit on you OEM racks and will make your adventures easier and safer. Same capacity as stock alu cases.
I went with the Mosko Moto Backcountry bags and LOVE THEM!!
th-cam.com/video/TBvWCv_qeKM/w-d-xo.html
@@CaptMaxADV Mosko are good. Less capacity though
I love those Bumont bags on my GSA
The mtns are so pretty
the stock music is not as good as just hearing the moto
i cried after watching this
How come?
Yeaup. Conditions are always different. Best advice to anyone is check with locals or someone who's done the trail before you to see what the conditions are.
On a related note. Good job. It's all part of the adventure. Nice job staying positive.
Thanks dude! Most folks I know with experience here are on 4 wheels. Locals are great! We got some intel up at the pass, but he didn’t prove to be very helpful for us on big bikes. He was in a truck, but very nice.
With all of the traffic Ophier sees you would think they would grade it off at least once a year.🤷♂
Grading high alpine mountain passes like this seems like an impossible task. No grader I’ve ever seen could take the task, sections of the trail are so deep with loose shale, and if a grader slipped off the road it would never be recovered!
@@CaptMaxADV if you closed the pass while the work was being done it shouldn't be a problem, you could potentially grade it with anything from a 4x4 farm tractor to a dozer, newer dozers are surprisingly good at fine grading.
if the Swiss, and Norwegians can do it, so can we.
Momentum is your friend, scary but easier.
You guys took the easy way. Try going up that shit. It sucks.
LMAO!! No Fuckin Thanks!!
I went up earlier this year on a Husky FE350S, and that was awful. I wouldn’t even attempt it on a 1200/1250GS, and I love those bikes.
That really doesn't look like a lot of fun, and doesn't look a lot easier on the smaller bikes that were going uphill (talking about the gnarly rocky section)
There were definitely some un-fun parts, but it was beautiful and worth the struggle! Glad we did it. But it was WAAAAAY more intense than I could have imagined.
@@CaptMaxADV if you stand up on the bike on the more difficult parts of the route, it is much easyer! You got way more and better control of the bike😜 ps im not a hater, i just wanna give a tip, ride on buddy🤟🏻
I hear ya. And anyone who’s ridden big bikes on super gnar stuff knows that while 95% of the time you should, the other 5% of the time you’re not able to, which can be a struggle while youre trying your damndest to get to the closest spot possible to get up on those pegs without cartwheeling!
If you watch most of my vids you’ll see that I always stand up, same as in this video. It’s when the wind screen dips low in the frame. Hard to see from this camera angle.
But yeah, you’re right! To try to ride shit like this sitting would be disastrous!
@@CaptMaxADV Im still working on getting the foot controls in a position where they work well seated or standing.
I find that shifting while standing is an issue as I normally keep my weight on the balls of my feet which means I have to move my foot to shift, the movement itself can be an issue as I unweight and weight my foot to get under or on top of the shifter. There's a lot of moving parts (no pun intended) riding this kind of terrain.
I imagine Ill get better with more miles under my belt, but that terrain you rode would not be fun for me. I actually did it a couple of weeks after you guys were there with a friend in a lifted forerunner and even that was intense sometimes.
I believe it! Next summer I plan to take a couple of my Toyota’s over a bunch of those passes! My kids’ll driving one or two of em.
I ride mostly in the arches of my feet. Probably not the very best for all out maneuverability, but it works. No shifting problems.
If I rode a light dirt bike and was throwing it all around I’d probably be on m balls more. 🤷🏼♂️
What are you riding?
started to watch, but that music.... ugh, had to stop. sorry guys, was looking good tho
Perciate the feedback.
This bike is top heavy and too heavy
As compared to what?? I can’t disagree because I have nothing to compare it to from my experience. But find it a joy to maneuver and that it handles quite well for its size!
@@CaptMaxADV compared to almost every other bike in its category
@@CaptMaxADV but yes great bike to ride