Went to Cinders today (pics!)

[Dammit!]

Decided to run up to Cinders today just to see how the 350x would run at 7000 feet above sea level. I didn't want to re-jet so I replaced the Uni with a K&N and ran it with no lid. At first it ran pretty decent but as the day wore on it started running like crap. Either the air filter was getting dirty and the jetting was so borderline that it didn't take much to make it run too rich or I have a more serious problem (which unfortuntely might be a strong possibility, read on).

Sorry I didn't call anyone to join me but there wasn't a lot of notice and I had some other stuff to do on this trip so I just went solo.

It was a perfect 75 degrees there as usual this time of year. Almost nobody out there so no dust either. Great place to get out of the Phoenix heat and closer than Glamis by about an hour.
http://www.triketrash.com/rides/cinders/1.jpg

I have no idea how this thing got here. There's no way it could have been driven in. A 4x4 had to have dragged it there.
http://www.triketrash.com/rides/cinders/2.jpg
http://www.triketrash.com/rides/cinders/3.jpg

Michelle went with me but stayed back with the dog. No action shots since I was riding alone (I know very dumb... read on).
http://www.triketrash.com/rides/cinders/4.jpg

Ahhh... trees.
http://www.triketrash.com/rides/cinders/5.jpg

For anyone that's never been to Cinders, this stuff can get deep and it robs power like you wouldn't believe. Well, that and the 7000 foot altitude.
http://www.triketrash.com/rides/cinders/6.jpg

All the BS I went through today was worth it right here.
http://www.triketrash.com/rides/cinders/7.jpg
http://www.triketrash.com/rides/cinders/8.jpg

I was mostly intent on trail riding and staying away from the big hills since the 350x can't handle the really big ones. It's pretty much impossible to avoid hill climbs at this place though. I did find some trails that I didn't know about before. Had to do some pretty good climbs but the 350x made it to the top of everything I pointed at (eventually).
http://www.triketrash.com/rides/cinders/9.jpg

By the time I got up a long climb to get to this spot my paddles had taken a beating. I'm honestly impressed they didn't get cut open. There were a ton of jagged rocks on that trail. By the time I hit them I was half way up with no room to turn around. Just had to pin it and hope for the best.
http://www.triketrash.com/rides/cinders/11.jpg
http://www.triketrash.com/rides/cinders/12.jpg

On the last ride of the day I did something stupid. I went on a LONG ride. Way far away from where I parked. I ended up *I think* on the back side of hundred dollar hill. Not even sure really. A break down or an accident this far from the main road would have been bad. Very, very bad.
http://www.triketrash.com/rides/cinders/13.jpg
http://www.triketrash.com/rides/cinders/14.jpg

So after snapping the two pics above I look at the 350x and notice something.
http://www.triketrash.com/rides/cinders/15.jpg

Looking a little closer I see an oil leak.
http://www.triketrash.com/rides/cinders/16.jpg

Not sure how long it's been there or how much oil I lost. It's damn near impossible to find level ground to see how much oil you have so after letting it cool off, I head back to the truck.

Now, of course some of this could have been my imagination. You know how it is when you're thinking something might be wrong with the bike. You start hearing things you never heard before and all that. But it definitely started running like crap while I was still very far from the main road and with nobody in sight. I made it back but it was dying as I got there. I'm HOPING it was simply a dirty air filter causing it to run way too rich (the dust that gets kicked up in this place is intense so it *could* happen). I'll change the oil, look for metal shavings and investigate that oil leak soon. I'll probably go ahead and pop the rocker cover off and check the cam journals too.

Anyway, Cinders is a cool place but it's definitely hard on your machine. The 350x felt like it had half as much power as it usually does and those little lava rocks chew up everything. I think I'll look into finding a spot in Prescott. 2000 feet lower and real dirt instead of this stuff. Should be easier on the machines and hopefully just as good weather wise.

[MonroeMike]

That looks like a awesome place, heck of a view, nice pics.

[LonesomeTriZ]

AZ has pine trees? Damn, I really need to get out to some other states.

[dcreel]

That is an awesome view.. Could you get away with nobbies? Or do you need paddles to get around?

[harryredtrike]

nice pics Dammit,looks like a sweet place to ride.is that Federal or state land.

[chris200x]

I can look at pics of this place all day long! SWEET!!!!

[Kintore]

Nice pics as usual!


Awesome Doug!

oh yah Come to TF!

[rdlsz24]

Looks like a fun ride. Can you tell you're up that high as far as breathing goes? I've lived my whole life near sea level so I have no clue.

Rob

[Dammit!]

AZ has lots of pine trees once you get up around 5000 feet or so.

I've never tried knobbies there but seeing how hard it is to get traction even with paddles, I'd say knobbies wouldn't be a good idea. Maybe on a 2-stroke where you can get a lot of wheel spin but on the 350x, no way.

Pretty sure it's state land. It's next to Monument crater I think but you can't ride to it. I'm overlooking a restricted section in a couple of the pics.

I never noticed a difference in my breathing up there. Maybe next time I'll try to run a little bit and see how quick I run out of air.

I'd actually love to do a build specifically for riding at this place and other high altitude locations in AZ. I wouldn't use a 350x for it though. A dialed in 2-stroke would be better. One of these 450 conversions would rock if you did one with EFI.

[Kerick]

Very cool pics!

[Micahdogg]

Great pics!

[Tecate250]

Man that place looks better then the sand dunes. Almost crusher dust. Love the comment about hearing tstrange noises and thinking something is wrong. I have had that too many times.