grio
06-07-2009, 03:46 AM
Ladies and gentlemen, have I have a story for you. It's long, you've been warned.
It involved 3 trikes, 2+ gallons of pre-mix, 1 possible heat stroke, 1 over-heating 2-stroke, 2 cop cars, 2 Honda 250sxs, a NOS YT-125G Air Filter (and $12-per-can foam air filter spray oil), a 45 degree jutted incline, ATV Limbo, some hot sand action (sans paddle tires), and taking a YT-125G to its limits (that means airborn, son!)
Every good story starts at the beginning, so here we go. Wife mentions brother(in-law for me; good guy) is coming into town and she would be taking him and my daughters outta town for the weekend to go see relatives. Legalese Broheim is living in Florida, on a layoff, coming up to visit. Namely, I find out I get to bachelor it up for 4 days starting Saturday morning.
Shadix and I immediately knew what the plan was. It would appear he and another coworker have investigated an area by the Arkansas River out in Derby, KS that has an amazing assortment of hills, trails, fallen timber, sandy beaches, some river crossings, etc. I have no curfew, no kiddos to watch, a freshly tuned but sputtering YT-125G (thanks for the carb advice VealMonkey), a full tank of refill gas, and aired up tires. AKA, I was ready to get this party started.
Alright, so after picking up an air filter (the store manager gave a shocked response when he saw he still had an air filter IN STOCK :crazy: for an '80 YT-125. He gave a 20% disco just to get it gone), then a quick lunch of tacos, we make for this trail. I'm enamored immediately. It's your average trail, ups, down, sweeping turns, the occasional jump in the form of a tree log to keep you on your toes. We make our runs through there, Shadix, who's been through the course a couple of times, shows me the good spots, what to watch for, and overall, the impressions.
Once we get out on the sand, however, I notice my trike can barely make it through in first gear. Kept getting stuck and had to be rocked to get out. Dammit. Shaun (who's in the pics but I don't believe has joined the board yet) shows, we get going, start hitting some areas. I get pissed at my bike, and decide, well, this is a ATV and it's meant to make trails where none existed. I took a leg of the trail, veered left, and started through the fallen trees and limbs. The result looked a little something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVHLkFnr9jI The YT-125 could sneak underneath, Shadix had to get off and throttle through, but Shaun pulled it, as the video showed. :D
The next major event was running out of gas in the 125. Still getting the hang of how long 'Reserve' works. Apparently about 7 minutes. Shadix pulled the 125 AND me up the hill and to my truck without so much as a hesitation. I was impressed. The more impressive part was that after a gas change, my horsepower seemed to grow exponentially. I think I had the gas/oil mix wrong, because once I got out there on the sand again, I was opening it up in 2nd full-bore without hesitation. All this without paddle tires. :w00t:
Shaun, however, thought he'd step out in the water and try and ride the sandbar. You'll find the video here of part of that misadventure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcAepaTrtYM I was running out of space on the camera, but if you finished it, you would find him being pulled out by a tow rope. :lol:
The final, and most entertaining part of the afternoon was when we were ripping through a part of the trails we really weren't expecting to have a lot of luck in. While those two are a bit hesitant to pick up any speed in rough terrain, I've developed a knack of using my arms and legs for suspension (Mike, you got those shocks in the mail yet?! =P ). I kick it into 2nd gear and head as fast can I can over rebar, rocks, shredded wood and jutting rock. At one point I was slammed off the bike and high-centered on the chain guard, but shear momentum and the severe desire not to show up on the nightly news as another 3-wheeler statistic allowed me to stay on and only leave the situation with knobby-patterned bruises on the backs of my calves. The other two were shortly behind. It looked like a grater had come through and just tore the whole area down without regard. Which should have been the first clue.
After coming to a halt to wait for the other two to catch up, I tried the 45 degree angle, but, like an idiot, didn't try a switchback angle but went straight at it. Got 3/4 of the way up (about 15-20 feet) and the clutch couldn't hold. Had to pop neutral and roll back. Shaun makes a pass around me, full bore, and gets his front wheel to the top, but digs in. Roll mine back, hop off, and help Shaun get to the top. We pause for a breather. I turn mine back on to turn around, and I hear from the top of this what I now know to be a levy wall: "Po-po."
What?
"Po-po."
Stop f**kin' around.
"No, seriously, and he's just about here. Kill your bike."
And sure enough, an Officer Maxwell steps out of his Sedgwick Co Sheriff's Office car Robocop-style, then pronounces to the group from on high:
"Do you guys know its a $500 fine plus court cost for riding 3-Wheelers in The Big Ditch?" Big Ditch apparently = Arkansas River where we were.
A unanimous and suddenly very concerned "Uh, no.(!)" came from all of us.
"You didn't see the No Trespassing signs put up?"
For the record, there's one, and it's now hidden partially by tree limbs. Rinse, repeat that last answer from our dumb-founded mouths.
"Come up here, I need to get your names."
At that point we were processed, the whole time seriously dumb-founded at the predicament we found ourselves in. 5 minutes passed, and the cop decided out of his graces to give us a pass. But the story doesn't end there, oh no. Shadix damn near died in the next part, and it had nothing to do with 3-wheeler safety. I'll leave that part for him to tell.
What we found out is where we were at was the water level control levy for flood overflow. Apparently jackasses such as ourselves come out there and tear up property that handles that, so what was once a symbiotic relationship has now turned into a hefty fine. :banned:
I was just pissed because personally I just want to find a place to ride that doesn't ruffle feathers, and so far, the only place we've found is where the last part of the story takes place.
I was exhausted, but there was still some sun, so Shadix, now recovered from his near-death experience, talked me into going to our original riding spot. Once there, he showed me a new part that he knew about.
A flat track. With *jumps*.
Tired, worn out, and ready to shut her down and seal the petcock, we went out there. Now that the 125 was firing and accelerating properly, I made a few passes, got comfortable with the jumps, and after about 20 minutes, took one last run.
Now, I'm not saying I got mad air or anything. I'm 250lbs of lovin' riding a bike that barely can pull me proper. But with no suspension, tired arms, and the desire to get all three wheels off the ground a few times, it's got air. Not huge, can't say; Shadix can answer that. But I finally broke her in.
And then I promptly bought some beer :beer and some Beef Lo Mein and called it a night.
It involved 3 trikes, 2+ gallons of pre-mix, 1 possible heat stroke, 1 over-heating 2-stroke, 2 cop cars, 2 Honda 250sxs, a NOS YT-125G Air Filter (and $12-per-can foam air filter spray oil), a 45 degree jutted incline, ATV Limbo, some hot sand action (sans paddle tires), and taking a YT-125G to its limits (that means airborn, son!)
Every good story starts at the beginning, so here we go. Wife mentions brother(in-law for me; good guy) is coming into town and she would be taking him and my daughters outta town for the weekend to go see relatives. Legalese Broheim is living in Florida, on a layoff, coming up to visit. Namely, I find out I get to bachelor it up for 4 days starting Saturday morning.
Shadix and I immediately knew what the plan was. It would appear he and another coworker have investigated an area by the Arkansas River out in Derby, KS that has an amazing assortment of hills, trails, fallen timber, sandy beaches, some river crossings, etc. I have no curfew, no kiddos to watch, a freshly tuned but sputtering YT-125G (thanks for the carb advice VealMonkey), a full tank of refill gas, and aired up tires. AKA, I was ready to get this party started.
Alright, so after picking up an air filter (the store manager gave a shocked response when he saw he still had an air filter IN STOCK :crazy: for an '80 YT-125. He gave a 20% disco just to get it gone), then a quick lunch of tacos, we make for this trail. I'm enamored immediately. It's your average trail, ups, down, sweeping turns, the occasional jump in the form of a tree log to keep you on your toes. We make our runs through there, Shadix, who's been through the course a couple of times, shows me the good spots, what to watch for, and overall, the impressions.
Once we get out on the sand, however, I notice my trike can barely make it through in first gear. Kept getting stuck and had to be rocked to get out. Dammit. Shaun (who's in the pics but I don't believe has joined the board yet) shows, we get going, start hitting some areas. I get pissed at my bike, and decide, well, this is a ATV and it's meant to make trails where none existed. I took a leg of the trail, veered left, and started through the fallen trees and limbs. The result looked a little something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVHLkFnr9jI The YT-125 could sneak underneath, Shadix had to get off and throttle through, but Shaun pulled it, as the video showed. :D
The next major event was running out of gas in the 125. Still getting the hang of how long 'Reserve' works. Apparently about 7 minutes. Shadix pulled the 125 AND me up the hill and to my truck without so much as a hesitation. I was impressed. The more impressive part was that after a gas change, my horsepower seemed to grow exponentially. I think I had the gas/oil mix wrong, because once I got out there on the sand again, I was opening it up in 2nd full-bore without hesitation. All this without paddle tires. :w00t:
Shaun, however, thought he'd step out in the water and try and ride the sandbar. You'll find the video here of part of that misadventure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcAepaTrtYM I was running out of space on the camera, but if you finished it, you would find him being pulled out by a tow rope. :lol:
The final, and most entertaining part of the afternoon was when we were ripping through a part of the trails we really weren't expecting to have a lot of luck in. While those two are a bit hesitant to pick up any speed in rough terrain, I've developed a knack of using my arms and legs for suspension (Mike, you got those shocks in the mail yet?! =P ). I kick it into 2nd gear and head as fast can I can over rebar, rocks, shredded wood and jutting rock. At one point I was slammed off the bike and high-centered on the chain guard, but shear momentum and the severe desire not to show up on the nightly news as another 3-wheeler statistic allowed me to stay on and only leave the situation with knobby-patterned bruises on the backs of my calves. The other two were shortly behind. It looked like a grater had come through and just tore the whole area down without regard. Which should have been the first clue.
After coming to a halt to wait for the other two to catch up, I tried the 45 degree angle, but, like an idiot, didn't try a switchback angle but went straight at it. Got 3/4 of the way up (about 15-20 feet) and the clutch couldn't hold. Had to pop neutral and roll back. Shaun makes a pass around me, full bore, and gets his front wheel to the top, but digs in. Roll mine back, hop off, and help Shaun get to the top. We pause for a breather. I turn mine back on to turn around, and I hear from the top of this what I now know to be a levy wall: "Po-po."
What?
"Po-po."
Stop f**kin' around.
"No, seriously, and he's just about here. Kill your bike."
And sure enough, an Officer Maxwell steps out of his Sedgwick Co Sheriff's Office car Robocop-style, then pronounces to the group from on high:
"Do you guys know its a $500 fine plus court cost for riding 3-Wheelers in The Big Ditch?" Big Ditch apparently = Arkansas River where we were.
A unanimous and suddenly very concerned "Uh, no.(!)" came from all of us.
"You didn't see the No Trespassing signs put up?"
For the record, there's one, and it's now hidden partially by tree limbs. Rinse, repeat that last answer from our dumb-founded mouths.
"Come up here, I need to get your names."
At that point we were processed, the whole time seriously dumb-founded at the predicament we found ourselves in. 5 minutes passed, and the cop decided out of his graces to give us a pass. But the story doesn't end there, oh no. Shadix damn near died in the next part, and it had nothing to do with 3-wheeler safety. I'll leave that part for him to tell.
What we found out is where we were at was the water level control levy for flood overflow. Apparently jackasses such as ourselves come out there and tear up property that handles that, so what was once a symbiotic relationship has now turned into a hefty fine. :banned:
I was just pissed because personally I just want to find a place to ride that doesn't ruffle feathers, and so far, the only place we've found is where the last part of the story takes place.
I was exhausted, but there was still some sun, so Shadix, now recovered from his near-death experience, talked me into going to our original riding spot. Once there, he showed me a new part that he knew about.
A flat track. With *jumps*.
Tired, worn out, and ready to shut her down and seal the petcock, we went out there. Now that the 125 was firing and accelerating properly, I made a few passes, got comfortable with the jumps, and after about 20 minutes, took one last run.
Now, I'm not saying I got mad air or anything. I'm 250lbs of lovin' riding a bike that barely can pull me proper. But with no suspension, tired arms, and the desire to get all three wheels off the ground a few times, it's got air. Not huge, can't say; Shadix can answer that. But I finally broke her in.
And then I promptly bought some beer :beer and some Beef Lo Mein and called it a night.