- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Ride Report from the day... 
I planned a big ride for this Saturday (tomorrow), but decided I had to have a 'warm-up' ride today to get me ready. I opted to head up to the Grand Mesa, above Grand Junction.
The Grand Mesa is amazing, thousands of lakes all over the place, over 10k feet of elevation, amazing scenery, etc. It has it all... including a a very healthy mosquito population. With all the water up on the Mesa it becomes a massive mosquito breeding ground in the Summer months. When I first moved out here a few years ago I was talking to an old hayseed that knows this country like the back of his hand. The subject of good fishing came up and he recommended the Grand Mesa, but it came with a warning... "If you decide to go up there, you better fill your pockets with rocks, or the mosquito's will carry you off!" It's true...
I rode up from the De Beque canyon, got close to Mesa Lakes and turned off on trail 1A with the plan to come out on the other side of the Mesa and down thru Cedaredge, then home. The trail started out pretty mild, then eventually turned into a 4Wheeler 2-track. Of course I found some neat lakes along the way.
Soon enough I was working my way into the deep back country that the Mesa has to offer. One moment there would be thick groves of massive pine trees, with the trail filled with obstacles like roots, rocks and mud puddles, then it would be a nice winding trail thru open meadows. I stopped a few times to take some pics and was just getting mobbed by mosquitoes. At one point I looked down and had 7-8 on one arm. If you'd stop for too long, they'd be swarming all over.... and don't think repellent will chase them off, I've tried it and they seem to prefer the stuff! I did my damnedest to keep moving, but that wasn't always easy.
There were a bunch of water crossings, most of them were pretty rocky, some were muddy and all of them were a bit difficult.
The new Dunlop 606's were working well, but the front tire still likes to washout. Even then, they were earning their keep on this ride, that's for sure. I came across another water crossing, this one was in a gully and had been dug out by 4wheelers on all sides and lined with rocks on the climb out. From the looks of it, the water was well over 2' deep. I spied a small track on the right side, bypassing the nasty puddle. There were a few rocks on that trail and it sat about 18" above the water, so if I fell in from there, it would be quite a show. It was the best option though, so I went for it... creeping along until I got hung up on a rock over 1/2 way thru. I knew I needed some momentum to make it past the last bit and over the rocks, so I went for it. I made it past the puddle and almost out of the gully when the front tire bounced off a large rock. Lemme tell you something... a DR650 with 8 gallons of gas falls like a ton of bricks, there was no way of slowing it down, so I just tried to stay out of the way. It fell on the left side and I picked it up right away, then looked the bike over. The shifter took quite a hit and pushed into the engine case, cracking it. :sick: There was engine oil running out, a few drops at a time. Here's a poor pic of the damage.-
I know you can't see too much there, but the shifter made a gouge in the engine case, then tore thru just a bit.You can see the scrape in the case, the hole is at the bottom of the scape. I was in the middle of nowhere, with no way to repair the leak. The fun ride was over and it was now time to find a way to fix the bike and head home. I cautiously watched the oil level and leakage rate and headed towards Delta, CO. On the way out were some amazing views, even with the leak I took a bit of time to stop and try capture the beauty of the Grand Mesa.
After a quick ride down the Mesa, thru Cedaredge and then into Delta, I rolled into the Autozone. I bought some JB Weld and a quart of oil and went to work. The first application of JB Weld didn't hold due to the hot oil, but it took the 2nd time. I topped off the oil and let the bike sit while the JB Weld cured. I still had a hour of highway riding to get home and wanted to make sure the leak wasn't going to start up again. I relaxed in the shade, sweating in the 100* heat.
The fix was temporary, I'm going to drain the oil tomorrow and make a better repair. After that, it will be time to order some case protectors for the DR650. Even with the mishap, it was a great ride. I ended with just over 150 miles on the odo and had quite the adventure. I do have the remainder of the JB Weld in my tool bag, I think it will have to stay there for future mishaps!
I planned a big ride for this Saturday (tomorrow), but decided I had to have a 'warm-up' ride today to get me ready. I opted to head up to the Grand Mesa, above Grand Junction.
The Grand Mesa is amazing, thousands of lakes all over the place, over 10k feet of elevation, amazing scenery, etc. It has it all... including a a very healthy mosquito population. With all the water up on the Mesa it becomes a massive mosquito breeding ground in the Summer months. When I first moved out here a few years ago I was talking to an old hayseed that knows this country like the back of his hand. The subject of good fishing came up and he recommended the Grand Mesa, but it came with a warning... "If you decide to go up there, you better fill your pockets with rocks, or the mosquito's will carry you off!" It's true...
I rode up from the De Beque canyon, got close to Mesa Lakes and turned off on trail 1A with the plan to come out on the other side of the Mesa and down thru Cedaredge, then home. The trail started out pretty mild, then eventually turned into a 4Wheeler 2-track. Of course I found some neat lakes along the way.
Soon enough I was working my way into the deep back country that the Mesa has to offer. One moment there would be thick groves of massive pine trees, with the trail filled with obstacles like roots, rocks and mud puddles, then it would be a nice winding trail thru open meadows. I stopped a few times to take some pics and was just getting mobbed by mosquitoes. At one point I looked down and had 7-8 on one arm. If you'd stop for too long, they'd be swarming all over.... and don't think repellent will chase them off, I've tried it and they seem to prefer the stuff! I did my damnedest to keep moving, but that wasn't always easy.
There were a bunch of water crossings, most of them were pretty rocky, some were muddy and all of them were a bit difficult.
The new Dunlop 606's were working well, but the front tire still likes to washout. Even then, they were earning their keep on this ride, that's for sure. I came across another water crossing, this one was in a gully and had been dug out by 4wheelers on all sides and lined with rocks on the climb out. From the looks of it, the water was well over 2' deep. I spied a small track on the right side, bypassing the nasty puddle. There were a few rocks on that trail and it sat about 18" above the water, so if I fell in from there, it would be quite a show. It was the best option though, so I went for it... creeping along until I got hung up on a rock over 1/2 way thru. I knew I needed some momentum to make it past the last bit and over the rocks, so I went for it. I made it past the puddle and almost out of the gully when the front tire bounced off a large rock. Lemme tell you something... a DR650 with 8 gallons of gas falls like a ton of bricks, there was no way of slowing it down, so I just tried to stay out of the way. It fell on the left side and I picked it up right away, then looked the bike over. The shifter took quite a hit and pushed into the engine case, cracking it. :sick: There was engine oil running out, a few drops at a time. Here's a poor pic of the damage.-
I know you can't see too much there, but the shifter made a gouge in the engine case, then tore thru just a bit.You can see the scrape in the case, the hole is at the bottom of the scape. I was in the middle of nowhere, with no way to repair the leak. The fun ride was over and it was now time to find a way to fix the bike and head home. I cautiously watched the oil level and leakage rate and headed towards Delta, CO. On the way out were some amazing views, even with the leak I took a bit of time to stop and try capture the beauty of the Grand Mesa.
After a quick ride down the Mesa, thru Cedaredge and then into Delta, I rolled into the Autozone. I bought some JB Weld and a quart of oil and went to work. The first application of JB Weld didn't hold due to the hot oil, but it took the 2nd time. I topped off the oil and let the bike sit while the JB Weld cured. I still had a hour of highway riding to get home and wanted to make sure the leak wasn't going to start up again. I relaxed in the shade, sweating in the 100* heat.
The fix was temporary, I'm going to drain the oil tomorrow and make a better repair. After that, it will be time to order some case protectors for the DR650. Even with the mishap, it was a great ride. I ended with just over 150 miles on the odo and had quite the adventure. I do have the remainder of the JB Weld in my tool bag, I think it will have to stay there for future mishaps!
