June 11th-17th

[SpeedBump]

Heading out for my FIRST dune ride. We are going to Little Sahara, OK. It is a 1300 mile trip, one way. I hope it is worth it. I have been looking high and low for pictures/video clips of guys riding at these particualr dunes. If anybody has some they could post, or link to, I would be grateful. Also, any good info about camping would be great. I got a 28' Motorhome with a 20' trailer and a buddy is bringing his PU with a smaller trailer. I want/need full hook-ups. Which campground is the closest to the riding areas? Can we ride the quads directly into the dunes or do we have to trailer there. With the M-Home, it isn't going to be easy to do. We will have 4-5guys in our group and can't fit them all on one trailer to haul to ride. I need to get all these details worked out so the trip will be less confusing and more fun. How tall are the biggest dunes @ LS? I have seen some, and they seem kinda small. Not more than 100' ?????? There has to be some pics floating around. BTW, I have heard Geckos are good, and I have heard they suck. I can get brand new Maxxis Roosters for $100 a pair. Are they a good choice, or should I get something more aggressive? I will be taking 2 machines, the 350EX and the Kawi Tecate4. I thought about just running Geckos on the EX and straight paddles (Maxxis Roosters) on the 2 stroke. Good idea, bad idea. Any suggestions? Last question, should I get a outerware for my airbox?

[Bad Habit]

The dune area at LS is approximately 1500 acres. There is a fair amount of wooded trails along with a large area of flats and another large area filled with dunes of all sizes. I've seen the dunes vary in size quite a bit from trip to trip, but they are nothing like out west where they can get 200'-300' tall. The biggest dunes out there have been about 120' at times, and the same dunes later in the season have been down to around 50'-60'. It just depends on the amount of precipitation, wind etc etc.

There are three different camp grounds at the park (it's a state run park). They are the South, North and Cowboy. The North and South camp grounds both have full hook ups and the South has some elec only sites (not sure about the North). On busy weekends, the full hook ups are usually gone by Wednesday night. Camping fees are $15 per night for full hook ups and I believe $10 per night for primitive. The entry to the dunes at the South camp puts you right on the flats where all the drag racing happens. Every afternoon until dusk is when the "big dogs" come out to try their machines. Alot of spectating happens here. The North camp puts you pretty much at the start of the biggest dunes out there. IMO the best one is the South camp ground. There is a large shop located there with many parts for sale, they service machines as well. There is also the "Oasis". It's a small convenience store that sells gas, race gas, food, beer :D , ice and even serves hot food. Although, it is a convenience store so you can take your own chances with the food they serve.

You can ride straight from camp to the dune area. At both North and South camp grounds, you have to pass through a gate to enter the dunes. There is a ranger shack at the gate where you have to buy a wrist band for $7. This band gets you unlimited entry for that day, and you have to buy a new one each day. Also at the gate, you have to have a whip with orange flag on your machine that hits a cross bar as you pass through. You must have at least the orange flag, but you can have other flags of your choice as well. From dusk on, you are required to have at least one head light and tail light that are powered by the machines engine or primary battery. No glow sticks or flashlights are allowed as substitutes, although, my group usually tape glow sticks to the tops of our whips to make it easier to spot each other if we get separated.

Geckos in my experience are fine for low powered quads, but if you put some hp to them, and the sand is dry and powdery, they just spin like crazy. I have not had any experience with the Roosters so I can't help you on that one. Skat Trak Haulers are pretty much the paddle of choice on quads with bigger hp. If you have and outerwear on your filter, you don't need one for your box. I'm not sure what the elevation is where you're from, but it's around 800'-900' at LS, so you may want to bring some jets to go fatter, or you can buy some at the shop down there.

There is a small contingent of EXRiders going down next weekend and I'm sure that we'll get a bunch of pics. I'll have my digi camera with me this time cause all my other pics are on film. I have a drawing of the entire dune area on my pc at work (not sure where it went on my home pc) and I can post it for you on Monday. It will help alot as it will show you where everything is in relationship to the park.

I hope I answered your questions, but feel free to ask some more. Just don't ask them next week, cause I'll be at the dunes :macho

Later
Dan

[Bad Habit]

Here's the drawing of the dunes and the South campgrounds. Everything inside the dotted line is the riding area. There is an old barbed wire fence that is along the riding area line, so if you get lost, just find the fence and follow it around until you hit the gate. ;) The solid lines inside the riding area show the wooded areas that are spider webbed with trails.

[00Banshee]

Nice post Bad Habit. You covered everything, and even threw in a visual.

[kssandduner]

I had geckos on my 400ex and loved them. But now I got a 450R, so this weekend at the little sahara is going to be the first test witht the geckos on the R. I might be taking them to Jim's sand toys to try to trade them for some haulers if i don't like them.