Some random dune pictures....(part 2)

[GPracer2500]

Glamis. That's me on my CR.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/100_4114Medium.jpg

Glamis
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/10-15-2006005Medium.jpg

Glamis
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/100_4108Medium.jpg

Glamis. Riding a two wheeler through the dunes at night is not for the faint of heart! :devil:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/100_4137Medium.jpg

Glamis. Tents suck at the dunes.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/6502320-R1-006-1AMedium.jpg

Glamis. Me getting ready to do some jetting.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/DSC00876Medium.jpg

On the way to Glamis.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/DSC00873Medium.jpg

Glamis. This is what happens when you arrive at 3:30am and the sun is coming up by the time you're done setting up camp. You ride first and then crash (no pun!) later.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/6502320-R1-008-2AMedium.jpg

Gordens Well, at the sand drags there. This guy was serious about getting some good video footage.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/P2170015Medium.jpg

Gordens Well. I have no idea how this guy got stuck right there. I thought his poor truck was going to twist in half.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/P2180058Medium.jpg

Bed time in the trailer.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/P2180049Small.jpg

Gordens Well. Test hill at night.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/P2170046Medium.jpg

Gordens Well. Dune Buggy flats camping area at sunset.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/P2170025Medium.jpg

My venerable (and now long gone) 1999 400EX. I still miss her every now and again.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/P8180046.jpg



These pictures are from my last trip to the Coral Pink dunes in Utah. It's a lot different then the ISDRA (Glamis, Gordens Well, et al).

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/P7130043Medium.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/P7130046Medium.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/P7130040Medium.jpg

My bud Ruf on my CR.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/P7130033_1Medium.jpg

The two guys on the left were just some folks we met out there and rode with for a while. The place was pretty much empty.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/9-20-06006Medium.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/9-20-06008Medium.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/9-20-06003Medium.jpg




These aren't dune pics. Just a few shoots of riding in AZ....

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/IMG_2141Large.jpg

It ain't easy riding a 300lbs motorcycle through this stuff--fun though.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/IMG_2159croppedMedium.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/P1010027Large.jpg

Dirt road between Young and the Lake Roosevelt area.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/P1010002Large.jpg

This is up by Parker. My friend ran straight through a barbed wire fence strung across here. If you look closely you can see a standing post on the right and a knocked down one on the left. He was in fourth gear (I checked) and one wire caught him square in the neck. Very scary. He was airlifted to a trauma center in Phoenix. He ended up being ok, thank goodness.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/PC100004Medium.jpg





This is the only picture I took from when I rode with 250r4life and some of his crew on a day-trip to ButterCup. 250r4life is third from the left (not that you can really see him--this picture's not so great).
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/gpracer2500/Dunes/P3240003Medium.jpg

Here's a short vid of me racing 250r4life on Comp Hill at Buttercup.. I was on my buddies Raptor 700 and he was on his YFZ450. I lost. I swear it would have been closer if not for the junky GBC Paddle Masters that were on the Raptor at the time (although I may have lost no matter what). :cool: I hate mentioning that but my pride demands it [wink]! Said another way--250r4life's drag racing skill will exploit any opponents weekness. So you better bring you A-game or he's gonna make you look silly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOcpFAtBt8k

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Hope you enjoyed the pics!

[250r4life]

he had to have broken something in his rear end... there is no way he got it tucked up and under like that, especially with the lift it looks like it had from the front end...

thats crazy!

its nuts how bad people bury themselves there..

im pretty upset that as of march i cant say i've never gotten stuck in the dunes anymore. i had a good streak going...

i guess i can take some confort in nowing i didnt bury myself and didnt have to get pulled out... i simply had to unhook and rehook and got out of there...

soft sand and not enough momentum... just sank...

[250r4life]

my buddy joey and i are supposed to buy/split a cr250 this summer- i've told you about it...

you think we're going to be hooked to 2 wheels, or...?

i'm excited, but also a little aprehensive as i know im gunna eat shiz for a while :devil:

[250r4life]

that was a fun trip- it was cool meeting up with you... we got a lot of good, hard, fast riding in that day!!!

if your buddy would have had coolant in his banshee, and my buddy wouldnt have grenaded his tranny in his banshee, it would have been a good trip had by all!

[250r4life]

Originally posted by GPracer2500

Here's a short vid of me racing 250r4life on Comp Hill at Buttercup.. I was on my buddies Raptor 700 and he was on his YFZ450. I lost. I swear it would have been closer if not for the junky GBC Paddle Masters that were on the Raptor at the time (although I may have lost no matter what). :cool: I hate mentioning that but my pride demands it [wink]! Said another way--250r4life's drag racing skill will exploit any opponents weekness. So you better bring you A-game or he's gonna make you look silly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOcpFAtBt8k



Hope you enjoyed the pics!

thanks for posting that- that was cool to see...

i thought he had haulers on there, but i guess it might have been your buddy with the banshee that had those...

I appreciate the compliments, but im not the one on 3 wheels not missing a beat (except for when we took that sharp turn and you had to bail off for a second) ;) .... and we were'nt exactly going slow... i was impressed- you have my respect.

[GPracer2500]

Originally posted by 250r4life
my buddy joey and i are supposed to buy/split a cr250 this summer- i've told you about it...

you think we're going to be hooked to 2 wheels, or...?

i'm excited, but also a little aprehensive as i know im gunna eat shiz for a while :devil:

I look forward to that.

I use to see guys on dirt bikes in the dunes and would think, "Wow, that must be really hard. They must be sooo fit and ride so aggressively." It's true to an extent but not as much as I imagined. I had an XR400R years ago and out at Sycamore or somewhere I'd get down in a sand wash and feel like I was barely in control. I'd always remember that when watching bikes in the dunes.

Then I got my XR650R, bought a paddle and gave it a try. To my surprise I could do it. It was tough at first, but on my first day I was getting around OK and could mostly go where I wanted. I couldn't always take the line I wanted--but I did alright.

That same weekend a friend had an old (88' I think) CR250 out there. It didn't even really run right but it was a lot easier to dune with. It just felt so much more planted--particularly the front. The XR's front wanted to push everywhere. The CR would carve.

So I decided I needed a better dune bike and got the 95' CR250. I love it. Absolutely love it. Riding a dirt bike in the dunes is SOOOO gratifying. I come back to camp after each ride and feel so damn satisfied--like I acomplished something. I can't remember the last time I felt that to the same degree on a quad.

My powersport roots are with street and roadrace bikes. I had that XR400R for a while but didn't really off-road with it a whole bunch. Then I only rode quads until I got my XR650R. What I'm getting at is I don't really have a rich background of dirt bike riding. So I was surprised how well I took to two-wheeling in the dunes. Not that I'm anything great two wheeling in the dunes--I'm not. But I can follow in most any snake (line choice does make a difference though) and enjoy leading if I'm in the right dune-sets.

Like I mentioned, line choice on a dirt bike can be a little different vs. an ATV. Some of it is probably just my current skill level, but for example: I wouldn't have lasted long riding many of the lines we where takeing at Buttercup. Tight turns are physically draining and a challenge on two wheels. Bikes are great for the real rough sand though. Smooth is still better, but you don't get beat to hell riding through chop on a bike like you do on a quad.

I've seen how you ride your quad and think you'll do fine on a dirt bike--especially a good dune bike like a CR250. And you may very well get hooked. It's really a whole different world. That's what I discovered anyway. Having both an ATV and a dirt bike is ideal. Best of both worlds. If I was forced to choose one over the other for duning--boy that would be tough. I'd really want to choose the bike. But I might (might!) choose a fast quad because because they're a bit more versatile.

[dang I type a lot :eek: ]

[GPracer2500]

Originally posted by 250r4life
...i thought he had haulers on there, but i guess it might have been your buddy with the banshee that had those...

He did. He had 8 paddle Extremes and the Banshee had the Paddle Masters. But he switched them for that ride to see what the Paddle Masters where like on his Rap. Ruf was pretty irritated that he didn't have his Extremes on when we were doing all that racing. He thought the Paddle Masters were really hurting performance on the hill. It was harder for me to judge exactly with it not being my Rap and all....but I've ridden it enough to tell it definitely felt different.

Check out the difference in roost between us. Not that roost is necessarily the best judge of performance, but his Extremes behave differently in that regard.

[250r4life]

Originally posted by GPracer2500
I look forward to that.

I use to see guys on dirt bikes in the dunes and would think, "Wow, that must be really hard. They must be sooo fit and ride so aggressively." It's true to an extent but not as much as I imagined. I had an XR400R years ago and out at Sycamore or somewhere I'd get down in a sand wash and feel like I was barely in control. I'd always remember that when watching bikes in the dunes.

Then I got my XR650R, bought a paddle and gave it a try. To my surprise I could do it. It was tough at first, but on my first day I was getting around OK and could mostly go where I wanted. I couldn't always take the line I wanted--but I did alright.

That same weekend a friend had an old (88' I think) CR250 out there. It didn't even really run right but it was a lot easier to dune with. It just felt so much more planted--particularly the front. The XR's front wanted to push everywhere. The CR would carve.

So I decided I needed a better dune bike and got the 95' CR250. I love it. Absolutely love it. Riding a dirt bike in the dunes is SOOOO gratifying. I come back to camp after each ride and feel so damn satisfied--like I acomplished something. I can't remember the last time I felt that to the same degree on a quad.

My powersport roots are with street and roadrace bikes. I had that XR400R for a while but didn't really off-road with it a whole bunch. Then I only rode quads until I got my XR650R. What I'm getting at is I don't really have a rich background of dirt bike riding. So I was surprised how well I took to two-wheeling in the dunes. Not that I'm anything great two wheeling in the dunes--I'm not. But I can follow in most any snake (line choice does make a difference though) and enjoy leading if I'm in the right dune-sets.

Like I mentioned, line choice on a dirt bike can be a little different vs. an ATV. Some of it is probably just my current skill level, but for example: I wouldn't have lasted long riding many of the lines we where takeing at Buttercup. Tight turns are physically draining and a challenge on two wheels. Bikes are great for the real rough sand though. Smooth is still better, but you don't get beat to hell riding through chop on a bike like you do on a quad.

I've seen how you ride your quad and think you'll do fine on a dirt bike--especially a good dune bike like a CR250. And you may very well get hooked. It's really a whole different world. That's what I discovered anyway. Having both an ATV and a dirt bike is ideal. Best of both worlds. If I was forced to choose one over the other for duning--boy that would be tough. I'd really want to choose the bike. But I might (might!) choose a fast quad because because they're a bit more versatile.

[dang I type a lot :eek: ]

yah... we'll see... im a little excited but yet aprehensive at the same time... we have a few buddies that used to be in our group that kind of do their own thing now, and they rode quads for years... well, one of them went and got a dirt bike, and now they all have them and swear by them, and just leave their quads at home sitting in the garage untouched...

i love racing the hill too much to ever get rid of my quad, as i dont think its nearly the same thing with a bike... i dont see them racing too much...

i'm gunna have too many toys (if that is possible) and have to have buddies help bring them down, as by dune season i plan to have sold my R and buy a raptor, have a cr250, and my buddy joey and i each bought 185 3 wheelers to mess around on... all in addition to my YFZ...

[250r4life]

Originally posted by GPracer2500
He did. He had 8 paddle Extremes and the Banshee had the Paddle Masters. But he switched them for that ride to see what the Paddle Masters where like on his Rap. Ruf was pretty irritated that he didn't have his Extremes on when we were doing all that racing. He thought the Paddle Masters were really hurting performance on the hill. It was harder for me to judge exactly with it not being my Rap and all....but I've ridden it enough to tell it definitely felt different.

Check out the difference in roost between us. Not that roost is necessarily the best judge of performance, but his Extremes behave differently in that regard.

oh... i remeber him having a hauler on one side and the paddle master on the other side and messing around around camp like that, but i didnt realize he had switched for that full ride...

yah- i had noticed that earlier that my roost was quite a bit bigger than yours... that is hard to tell, as its a very thin line between having too much grip and throwing too much sand, and not having enough... obviously those sand stars i have are not the best for climbing the hill...

i feel the same way about haulers as i do about a pipe... yah it would be cool to have them, and i would be a bit faster, but its fun beating people without them- especially when they have them.

im surprised as usually i build my leads through the whoops, but with you it seems i built it just at the very end of the whoops and then on the hill... i swear those last 3 whoops or so are the most critical- keeping your back end down and really getting it wrapped out before the climb...

[250r4life]

it looks like half way up the hill i start to pull away faster than before... is that just me or...?

im trying to remember/figure out if i downshifted to 3rd as i wasnt pulling it good in 4th, or if i was in 3rd and up shifted to 4th...


ahywho... tell Ruf i'm always down for a rematch... and im not saying that in a cocky way, im saying that im always down for a good race... i'll give anybody a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 37th chance at racing me...

i remember back when my 250r was stock... i was always out there racing, and a lot of the times i would line up next to somebody who would smoke me, and i would come back down and line up again and get smoked 10 more times... i just like racing...