Adventure Awaits: Riding, Camping, and Life on Two Wheels

Join hosts Justin Bethune, Jeff Griffith, and guest Hunter McCandless in this thrilling episode of the Throttle Stop Moto Podcast. The trio dives into exciting tales from their recent motorcycle trips and camping adventures, sharing tips on everything from motorcycle camping and adventure riding to gear and travel planning. They discuss packing efficiently for long trips and the realities of motorcycle camping, drawing from their experiences on dual sport motorcycles and the challenges of off-road riding.

With stories ranging from Walt Disney World vacations to epic rides through changing terrains, you'll discover valuable insights into motorcycle maintenance, motorcycling adventures, and essential motorcycle safety tips. Whether you're an experienced rider or just starting out, there’s something here for everyone who loves the open road and the adventure that comes with it.

https://www.ducati.com/us/en/bikes/multistrada
https://www.triumphmotorcycles.com/motorcycles/adventure
https://www.ktm.com/en-us/models/travel.html
https://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/en/models/adventure/overview-adventure.html

https://www.pandorasmotorsports.com/

Transcript

welcome to the throttle stop moto podcast I Am Justin Bethune and with me today. I have Jeff Griffith and Hunter McCandless. What's up guys?

 Not much.

 Not much. Good to see you hunter. Good to see Jeff. Jeff's back from vacation Yeah, tell us a little bit about that real quick before we jump in

 I took the kid to Disney



 With the Disney did the whole thing. It was awesome. The crowd was not bad at all. We didn't wait really lines Hardly at all like nice. Yeah, it was awesome. It's nice to go before a holiday So there's my tip to everybody who wants to go to Disney and go before a holiday

 I figured it'd be terrible being Before holiday weekend.

 No you want to get like just that window before they get there because everyone's going no one's gonna take their kid Out of school.

 Oh, yeah, you want the four-week before yeah.

 Yeah, so you go the week before nice Take your kid out of school. Like that's the thing



 But then we went over to my my parents have a house in Florida and rode bicycles in the wiki watch you preserve which is really nice a guy out on his stay sick he's sick so he rides a stick around and Then we went to went on the ocean road wave runners the next day. We rode the boat. So I mean he's got all the toys down There it's a lot of fun. Nice

 Sounds like y'all had a really good time. Yep, but would you do this weekend?

 I went and rode my motorcycle the dirt scooter and nice. Yes, so both of them Yeah, that's what I do every weekend is ride

 pulled the dirt bike with the GS. No, I'm not that fancy yet. Do you have Yeah, do you have some kind of Contraction to mount it on the back, you

 know, they've done two by two cycles Have you seen those where they have the bicycle mounted on the back of you? That they haven't done that for a dirt bike yet.

 I Mean it wouldn't put you over the weight capacity.

 It's about where that is and we're gonna talk

 about that



 I've seen it done. I just haven't done it. Okay, somebody's actually done it.

 Mm-hmm so we have a customer Casey who he had a Goldwing and he had a trailer. Oh, it's just a one-wheel trailer that he put his dirt bike on Yeah, I've seen that show up to the races that way. Nice.

 Yeah, we used to have



 The the one that slides into your trailer hitch and then you just set your bike on it and you jack it up

 You can't hardly do that though with With the motorcycle.

 I think you could though just like run it, you know, so it's like shaped like a tee You'd

 have to have a wheelie bar on it.

 Yeah, probably I don't know. It's not different than having a really big girl on the back But to go there turn 20 pounds.

 Well, I think what Justin saying though It's the the motorcycle is parallel with the tailgate not perpendicular to the tailgate. Yeah More like the black widow Style hauler. Yeah Like the hitch hauler. Yeah, it just it it's got a hydraulic ram on it And so when it's like a lift that's one-sided



 So we had a customer come in and had one it was really it's pretty cool

 Yeah, they're really like if you have an SUV or a minivan or something.

 Yeah easy to haul your bike I'm sorry. So talking about motorcycle.

 Yeah, I am saying put one of those on the back of a bike So you've got your your GS this way and then your dirt bike is on the back perpendicular to the bike Yeah, that would

 hurt at the first red light.

 They probably Is a lot of weight to balance?

 No, you just lean it over on the front tire of the bike You

 have to worry about dropping it. Yeah, you clip a car and then you're

 Like even with like big GSA bags and things like that. I have smacked so many of those little penniers I

 have to especially in my carport. I got hit my carport at my old house like three times with the tiger Yeah, yeah, cuz like We would have a car in the front of the carport and to get from the garage out to the front yard you had to go between the car and the house and Go in between and there was post in there so like I had like an inch on either side and so like on the sport bike or the supermoto just zip right through there and I would always forget when I Would have the bags on the tiger and I would clip it on that metal post every single time

 I got really lucky one time when I was I was selling a bike and it was really tough negotiations the guy was my friend who was buying it and



 He he was a salesman himself So either a salesman can either be your best customer your worst customer Either they get it and they don't want to give you a hard time or they get it and they really know how to play the game right and they're gonna pull every trick in the book, but this was the latter and I was pulling that bike in and I clipped the side of the the entry of the garage and Scuff the bag. I was back there buffing I was trying to figure out everything and actually I got lucky and it buffed out but it's Was

 it a metal bag?

 No, it was a painted bag So luckily it didn't get all the way through the clear and I was I was good dang, but I was so mad

 You forget about those bags because they're behind you. Yeah, exactly in the widest part of your bike isn't behind you

 Yeah, and I wasn't right. It wasn't a wide bike. Yeah, you know, I wasn't used to riding these big wide GS's at the time And you know, I didn't leave extra room. Oh Well, but that's something you get used to

 it's what they're made for Yeah, first time you smack a case you don't you you remember that one.

 Yeah, I remember I remembered after the second

 time I Smacked a big fan one time. Yeah, there's a lot of accidents that have happened But it's bad when you clip it when you clip another bike though, yeah, and there's collateral damage that gets pretty expensive

 Yeah, I saw a video last night where a guy ran wide



 And took out like six bikes that were parked on the side of the road. Yeah, man, you just had to take everybody else out with you huh, so

 moral of the story be aware of how wide you are and Mounting another motorcycle to the back would probably be too wide.

 Yeah, but it'd be fun to watch I've seen a guy haul two by fours on a motorcycle. So yeah



 Anyway, so today I brought hunter McCandless in he is our new salesman Sorry new sales manager I was gonna say yeah, no not me salesman. He is officially the general sales manager Pandora's European Motorsports and he has a quite extensive background They actually grew up here up on signal mountain, right?

 Yep grew up on single mountain and



 Yeah, I lived on single mountain my whole life except for when I wasn't here in town.

 Yeah, so What began in

 yes graduated from board Buchanan in 2001

 yeah, and then what did you do right after that?

 So after that, you know was still in community college I worked



 For a local employer here and then moved to Charlotte, North Carolina went to UNC Charlotte for Motorsports engineering and then got into Portia racing and did that for quite a long time

 So did you do the same thing that Matt did where he kind of just got hired before he finished school? Or did you finish out that I got hired before I finished that seems to be what happens whenever there's someone that they Recognize ahead of time. I think that That's kind of interesting



 Yeah, I learned that I could execute what needed to happen



 At early on and just ran with it.

 Yeah, and that's that's I've heard multiple people say that that's what happened with them So how does that happen? Does someone get a like do they hear about you some way? Are you

 actually my story is I was at an autocross in Charlotte Saw a gentleman that had a 944 Porsche Went up and struck up a conversation and I my dad's always had Porsche cars. I've grown up around them I love them And we started talking and came to find out he worked at a shop Yeah, so I went down and I would go down on Fridays Take a case of beer and I didn't quit doing it until they offered me a job So you were determined in that I wanted it. I was I was hungry and I wanted the opportunity and Jim Burton gave me the opportunity and the guys that year works and then it was downhill



 After that, how long did you do that? see I started at gyms in o5 and Worked in the race world up until you know a Year and a half ago, but I'm still involved with some stuff You know on my time and still kind of consult for some folks. That's cool



 So we always talk about how like you work hard you get ahead, right? And a lot of times it's you have you have to work hard obviously bringing them beer every time was you know That was working hard, but it's a different kind of work And you know personality matters a lot too, and you don't get any kind of sales You know environment without some personality to go behind it

 correct and You know the hard thing about racing. It's just like the sales world or any occupation Everybody wants to hire somebody with experience But nobody wants to give you that experience, and I was very fortunate that I got the break I was able to Capitalize on you know I put a lot of effort into it and work really really hard and it paid off in the long run



 For me,

 and I don't know if we exactly said this what were you doing for the Porsche teams?

 So when I first started out you know I was I was a grunt right now. I was clean shagging tires cleaning wheels



 basic just helping And then that progressed into once they see your skill set and that you've got some motivation then you kind of all the responsibilities get added and and then when I finished I was technical manager of Of a program

 and these race teams always follow the rules right?

 We we do read the rule book and we do abide by the rules That are written



 The ones that are explicitly stated will follow those correct.

 Yes. Yeah, it's only cheating if you get caught Yeah, we'll say we'll save all the good stories for another podcast



 You're not cheating you're not trying right Especially when it comes to racing

 well But it is a certain creativity has to go into using the rules to your advantage and knowing what's going to be you know Hate to say inspected, but what

 are we talking about racing or politics?



 But it's I don't consider it cheating it's creative problem-solving there you go

 So you went from that and then you were hired straight from that to Pandora's weren't you yes, okay.

 Yes after You know I was on the road a lot Wanted to kind of settle down And got the opportunity to come to Pandora's and that's gonna be so I took it. Yeah, it was I mean, it's it's was amazing I love all the experiences and the people I got to interact with and Some of my closest friends are all my racing buddies to this day, right? It's a pretty tight-knit group I mean we all work really really hard together It's all about the team and racing. That's the only way you can be successful.

 I think the psychological term is trauma bonding.

 Yes there is some of that but



 But all in all you've got guys that you know have your back in the craziest situation and Racing the highs are high and the lows are low I mean you can go from on top of the world to it's Devastating and it happens so fast and so quick that it's uh, well, they're gonna be taxing Yeah, there can only be one winner Right and and you can you're not first or last right and you can do everything right? Yeah, perfect and the car is like spot-on the drivers are spot-on and Somebody else does something stupid hits you you get a lot of taking out or a flat tire debris Just anything and then it's you know, I've lost races in the last 30 seconds of the race, you know and Where you have it won and yeah, it did not work out.

 Well, so at what point in this did you get into motorcycles?



 so You know growing up You know, my parents were amazing but a motorcycle was a hard no which was not what I wanted to hear. So growing up in high school still my best friend of the state Nick Riley, he had a 99 XR 400 and I learned to ride the motorcycle basically out in the fields of Appison, Tennessee and then we would beg steal and borrow any bikes and we would go ride at Taylor's Ridge and You know borrowed gear the whole nine yards. So that started my no my favorite and fit Yeah, all the stuff you shouldn't do that. Everybody has done at one point we were doing and then



 You know started working was really building my career



 Racing Then had the opportunity and enough money when I was in my mid 20s to buy my first bike. So bought a About a 600 cc naked bike and I put 40,000 miles on it and I was there When I first started riding I was probably average in 2,000 miles a month just I loved it and it was the best of it was so awesome and Fell in love with it and been doing it ever since

 now It seems kind of the opposite of what I grew up with because my dad was so into Motorcycling it was like it was just everyday life like it was just there at a certain point I didn't want to see another motorcycle like at the end of the day like



 But that's that's only in the stressful times is still something we enjoyed But I mean really coming from your background whenever you had a parent that said no the whole time That was something novel is really something that I can tell you love and want to do all the time

 Yeah, and I mean, I think they were looking out You know, I've got three younger siblings and looking out for my safety and you know, I I think they did the right thing Yeah at that point But in my dad has always been you know, he's had several BMWs later in life Once we were all out of the house, which I can appreciate. I mean he put us first. Yeah, so I have to thank him for that But at the same time, I'll never forget Had a garage and I Invited some friends over to we're gonna grill hamburgers and hot dogs He's just kind of hang out in the garage and I had gotten my motorcycle and I hadn't told my parents. Oh, no so and I invited my dad my dad came over and you know I'll never forget to look on his face cuz you were sitting there and he goes he looked at my friend Craig and he Was like man Craig, that's a good-looking motorcycle. You got there and Craig goes it's not mine And my dad just whips around and goes you didn't I was like, oh, yeah, I did And but then you know, we we started riding together and that was really cool to go right with my dad and and then Yeah, it's just been fantastic.

 It's me a really good bonding experience even you know If they're not as into it as you are right?

 Well, and I just I love it and you know, I can remember even in high school going to the BMW dealerships and looking at GS is and go one day I'm gonna own one of those just because the idea of being out in the woods and camping and traveling and That experience just would be fantastic.

 What what BMW dealerships were around here?

 Oh We were going to Atlanta. Oh, so I don't recall it being here in Chattanooga, but when we would travel Yeah, I guess you just go in different places We would you know stop go to Nashville or stop by and you know, we just always

 yeah back then I didn't really know anything about like ADV bikes or anything because like there was no dealers around here

 The ADV category really wasn't popular until BMW popularized it right was it 1980? Was it nine? When was it that they came out with the first GS?

 I want to say it was like 79 or 80 I think was the proto Like yeah the prototype and then you know the R 80 But g slash s like

 the only thing I ever saw was like a DRZ 400 or XR 650 Yeah, these around here. That's like all we really saw

 Yeah dual sports But you didn't have anything that really like was a dual sport that you can travel travel on right and that was kind of a category That BMW invented all together and the whole idea of traveling and one thing we wanted to talk about today was camping And having the equipment to do that on a motorcycle. It's kind of odd to even think about but even even before that Jack



 John Pinton actually did a cross-country trip on a BMW. I want to say it was an R 80 I can't remember exactly but and Set a record going coast to coast so, you know, it was a bike that was well suited toward travel and so I Want to talk about a little bit of your background you're talking about getting into Boy Scouts and camping You did some interesting stuff in Alaska.

 Yeah, so Started out when I was 12 got into the Boy Scout program at troop 176 Which is on Signal Mountain was very fortunate. It was an amazing program you know got a lot of experiences but Spent a lot of time camping and learning You know outdoor skills. Yeah, and so Found my love for being outside backpacking and such Spent a couple summers working in Kenton, North Carolina as a camp counselor and then that turned we went to Boy Scout camp Boy Scout camp Camp Daniel Boone and then we went to Alaska



 That would have been the summer of



 2000 With the scout troop. That was our summer trip Ended up falling in love with Alaska. So



 Sought out a job at the camp Gorsuch, which is a high adventure base in



 Right outside of Anchorage Yeah, a Boy Scout camp and then it ended up working for that camp



 So I was you know 18 years old got out of school left the next morning on a flight to Alaska to work for the summer and I never met my boss or Anybody so it was a real like eye-opening experience at that age. Yeah Got there and you know, of course me being a good southern boy born and raised in the Presbyterian Church I get up and my boss is Seventh-day Adventist and he's you know, got a lot. There's it's a huge family. Yeah, right. So it was like culture shock for me But ended up working With some really neat folks and having some really cool experiences basically lived in a tent all summer Which was a ball a lot of fun and then so that all that experience Comes Into You know the motorcycle camping Because backpacking and motorcycle camping are congruent with each other. It's everything has to have a purpose weight is Key and you don't want to carry any more than you have to but you need to have the things you need To be able to make things happen

 and you learn a lot more than tying ropes.

 Yeah. Yes

 Yes, that's my first thing. I think I want to think of Boy Scouts And it's the most basic thing is tying different knots And I don't know how to do that. I'm not very good at that, but

 I Mean, that's essential to setting up camp.

 Well, I mean, I'm not so you guys have the experience with camping I have done this once on a motorcycle. I brought a hammock and I was good



 But y'all are talking more long-term and actually doing some travel camping. Yeah and So getting some of that Experience from the Boy Scouts getting some experience from having your your experience in Alaska



 You guys would have to know a lot more about this than I would and So you actually did a trip that we talked about a little bit already. I've done a few trips on the motorcycle.

 Okay. Yeah Yeah, and so what it really comes down to is if you have experience backpacking for more than one day You can camp off of a motorcycle. You can travel from it because it's all about weight and space It's really what it comes down to and so it's basically the same gear. It's lightweight Everything needs to fit in like one pack. You got to take your shelter your sleeping bag your cooking Gear and utensils and everything like basically everything that you need to set up Yeah camp and on a motorcycle That's the cheapest way to travel right a lot cheaper to sleep on a tent than to stay in a hotel over here I mean, yeah, you can travel across the globe and staying in hostels and hotels and Airbnb That's

 why I was like say if you're when you're talking camping, you're talking a three-star hotel, right?

 No Oh, no, they've every three every three nights like every third night.

 You gotta get a shower Yeah,

 you gotta get a shower But wait, I I would try to stay at least every other night in an actual campground Like I try to find the most remote campground that I could so I would have access to electricity to charge all my batteries And then at least a bathhouse Yeah, even if like I stayed in a lot of places where they converted shipping containers to bath houses and it was just like a very rudimentary Hey works No hot water and I was like but it's like 20 bucks for the night and you've got a place with a gate You're parked behind a gate. You've got access to water and electricity and that's really so

 you did a lot of research ahead of time And making sure your root

 no I'd like all of my trips If they're more than a couple of days I'd literally just fly by the seat of my pants Like I get up that morning and I figure out where I'm staying that night Maybe the night before like if I get into camp and I've got service I'll figure out where I'm staying the next day, but never more than a couple of days out. Is that true for you, too?

 I'm gonna fly by the seat of my pants. Really?

 Yeah No, dude, I don't know the route. I don't know where I'm staying I look at like because because when you're traveling on a motorcycle You don't know what's gonna happen if you try to plan everything out ahead of time. It's gonna stress you out Yeah and then it takes all the fun out of it because if you have one day of really bad weather and it sets you back or If you run into traffic or you have to take a detour you have a flat tire or anything like that Or if you just find a place where you're like, hey, I want to hang out here for a few hours at this cool thing But you're like, well, I got to get to this hotel because I've already paid for this freaking room, you know It's like it sucks. And so like part of traveling on a motorcycle is the journey itself It's not where you're going. Yeah, and so like you you want to make sure that you've got plenty of time It's like every trip that I take I add like four or five days total To what I think is gonna take to do the whole trip because you're gonna find a couple of places that you want to stay A couple of days.

 I've always wanted to do the Transamerica trail and I've helped a lot of riders along the path You know just help them with service and getting tires and things like that And I know that there's always the talk of you know You have to take a pretty significant time off of work to do that. You do and that's not possible for everybody. No so They they do tend to do more planning and kind of know what what stage they need to be in at You know at a certain time because they're trying to get back but outside of that I'd say I would agree with you It's you kind of lose some of the experience if you have to reach a certain checkpoint at a certain time

 so both of my long trips were to Colorado and so it was business coaching that I was going to in Denver and I had to be there for three days So I would spend like a week week and a half going out week week and a half coming back three days there And so I would add a couple of days going out and a couple of days coming back So I could just kind of do what I want to but I knew we're the midpoint Right gonna be and when I had to be there So I gave myself an extra couple of days.

 Yeah, and if you slack off a day and you're behind Yeah, that's not a big you can always make it up Yeah You can always that's the thing about like especially things like a Trans America trail If you get behind you can always make it up by skipping some features

 Yeah, you can hop off and jump on the highway and catch up a little bit. Yeah Yeah, that's um That's one that I would like to do for sure I've got to get a little better off-road Yeah, my bike is not suited for that trip.

 That's a difficult choice I mean to what bike to choose on that trip and a lot of people do take the GS as in GSA is it's Becomes a fuel issue at that point because they're trying to get the biggest tank that they can in that situation. Yeah And you know, if you're getting a bike that big there are some features. You're just not gonna be able to do So are you the guy that wants to do all the challenging off-road? Are you the guy that wants to make the journey as leisurely as possible? And there's always a choice between you know, like are you gonna go full, you know 500 EXC? I've had customers do it on a 500 EXC Or are you gonna go all the way up to the 1200 GSA or 12?

 Yeah, and then you also have to figure out our GSA what are you gonna take with you? Yeah, and so the more stuff you want to take with you the bigger the bike needs to be

 Yeah, so if you're going with a 500 EXC, you're probably planning on some hotel.

 Exactly Yeah, cuz you're not gonna be taking, you know a full kitchen with you



 I have been impressed. I had some people come with the British Heart Foundation That were over there. They they had a giant tank and they had one of those giant loops on the back and I'm amazed at the amount of things they were able to carry And you know using equipment that wasn't



 Exactly made for what they're doing it for. They're actually running tubeless And those aren't DOT legal



 But it does make things like you It is what it is

 Well, you but you can air down. Yeah when it becomes more technical and I mean I grew up bird hunting in Like Kansas and out, you know in in mid-america, right and when it gets muddy out there Yeah, it's a whole different because there's so much crown in the roads. I mean, it's a whole different ballgame And you know being able to maximize traction in such yeah, cuz you're just sliding off the side of the road, right? And you know the the Transamerica What's really cool is you're in so many different terrain environments, right? You go from the Appalachia's out to you know, mid America and then you're back up into the North Northwest and you know, you're you're in different topography



 Different ecosystems and that's but like you said earlier that's half the fun of the motorcycle is you're exposed to those Different and and you're immersed You're immersed in the sit in the scenery and the surroundings versus when I drive my vehicle I don't it's not the same right? No, it's not and and it's hard to describe If you haven't traveled on a motorcycle whether you're camping or hotel



 Staying in hotels. It's a It's a pretty fantastic feeling. It's so different and it's it's really cool

 It shows that they were really focused on having that tubeless tire Because if you have to get out and change the tube on the side of a trail, that's a lot harder than just plugging it

 Right, but it yes. Yes and no right in the off chance you slice a tire Yeah, the tubeless is all then you need a tire Yeah, right, but you can also carry a 21 inch front tube you can put in a rear tire and a pinch So you carry one tube and that way you've got You know a backup because I've got a 1250 GSA and a 500 exe right in my outlook on loading and camping off of each motorcycle is completely different because of Space constraints and weight and the type of terrain I'm gonna go ride

 Sure, and you're talking so you can only put so much stuff on the back of a dirt bike

 Right. It's it but you can fit a lot Yeah, you know, especially if the bike set up for



 for the gear right so Like re-springing, you know making this is correct suspension modifications where the bike set up. Yeah that way



 really makes a difference in the handling and the Just how comfortable the bike can be right because of if you have a bike that's overloaded It's not gonna be comfortable or confident

 And that's a big thing is set up on a bike especially if you're going with something small like a 500 exe and I've written I've test I had to test ride them because we're servicing those bikes and



 He took all the luggage and stuff off of it and I sit on that bike and I'm like man How is he doing this because the suspension was so stiff? But by the time he put all this stuff on it, it really worked really well It felt so awkward too because he had these handlebar risers that were super high It's just a different setup if you're planning on being the four on the bike for that long.

 Yeah. Yeah, I think the the best use of dollars spent for traveling on a motorcycle especially on the the 500 something that doesn't have like an electronically adjustable suspension like Like some of the BMW's and Ducati's do is investing in the correct Spring rate like yeah get your kit together weigh it weigh yourself set the sag and that can make the experience from very pleasurable to very difficult and on the in it on it ill hound dealing motorcycle

 on the GS GS A's and I think on your multi-strata you have the dynamic ESA or something similar and That can help make up for a lot of that Yeah,

 because it auto compensates for the weight so it it actually adjusts the spring preload To the weight of the motorcycle through a ride height sensor, which is super awesome, right? Is my BMW whether I'm loaded down headed out west or headed to the shop like this morning? Mm-hmm it it rides the same way all the time.

 Yeah, it's amazing to have something that has that kind of range because I know it's difficult from a springing perspective like because you're changing your preload You're not necessarily necessarily change the spring, right? Correct But it can make up for a lot of that lack

 right and then To that point, you know putting a ton of preload into the bike is not that means you don't have the correct spring Right on the bike right because you want the dampener to work correctly Yeah, and this is the race car side of me coming out right is understanding suspension dynamics and how things work and Yes, you can you can overcompensate on compression and rebound for a bad spring rate. Yeah, so actually the bikes not riding



 correctly because you're Overcompensating with one one adjustment or the other where you could be more neutral with the with a bike being correctly sprung

 And I would say with a lot of people I always say like, you know I'm only using 10% of my bikes ability But if you're if you're using 10% of a bike's ability and you have a bike that you know is more capable You're still more capable because of that And you can get so serious into like if you're gonna do a lot of this and you want to really get into the right Spring rates and things like that You can upgrade with your suspension. You can do tour tech you go to traction dynamics get them to set it up We can set it up for you And help with a lot of that



 But it just depends on how serious you want to get with it Because we can spend all your money like we could spend as much money as you want to throw

 out us the spending it's expensive

 but Ultimately don't you don't have to do all of that with something that has that adjustment

 Correct and and a lot of it comes down to not actually replacing the damper. It's putting the correct spring rates Yeah, you know the the dampers there, but it'll work well, but it'll work best with the correct spring, right?

 So I think it's good now like we're talking about having all this weight on the bike and especially you because you carried a passenger on your last one



 What don't you bring?



 So the way I learned was on my first trip solo I did 5000 miles on the Tiger 900 and I took everything that I could put on like I've loaded the bike out Like because I was gonna be gone for three weeks. So I had and like I was going for business So I had a full change like I had my riding boots I had tennis shoes and Like my regular cowboy boots that I wear all the time. So I had three pair of shoes I had to have like work clothes. So I had to have some polos. I had to have nice pants that stuff So I had like a full set of luggage all my toiletries and then on top of that I had to have my air mattress my My tent I had to have all my cooking gear pillow, you know and a fan



 Extra batteries and I had to have my laptop and my go-pros and all that stuff and so like I had Everything well on that trip. I kept a list of everything that I did not use at all and so I'm like, okay Well, this is the crap that I'm not taking again because it's like there's so much stuff that you think like Oh, I might need this might



 If it's a might don't take it Especially if it's something that if you need it, you can go to the store and buy it easily Yeah, like they sell it at Walgreens and you're like, I don't know if I need throw it to the side Because if you need it, you can go buy it. Yeah, and so that less is definitely more because if it's if it's something you're gonna use once But you don't really have to have it you're better off to not have ten of those items because it's gonna save you 30 or 40 pounds. Yeah, it's especially when you're carrying a bunch of electronics



 That's where it gets

 complicated right and that's and I I guess in my experience I'm definitely on the opposite end of things right?

 I don't carry electronics.

 Yeah, I don't like having my phone up on the handlebars It's just I want to it's my Decompression time right and that's but I So for me, I try to I don't take Like another pair of shoes right my riding boots. I have I can hike in them for short distances when we're out places I can walk around That

 speaks to the quality of the equipment you're using

 and I do use, you know having good equipment Well,

 that's why I bought the difference that I got I got the form of adventures because they're really comfortable to walk in Right.

 I like some of the Garnet products. I really like I think it's a balance oiled Yeah, you know the waterproof and then like I don't take another pair of shoes I take a pair of sandals because that changes my footbed in the evenings Yeah, but it they also don't take up very much room at all You know, I tend not to take a rain jacket because most time I've got my climb Gore-tex gear on and that serves as my rain jacket and rain suit when I'm off the motorcycle as well

 That's something that is really important is to have gear that serves multiple purposes.

 Yeah, so, you know All my I've got the Badlands pro top and Badlands pro bottom. I don't need



 To take a lot of other things right because they serve as my rain gear. They're warm They flow a sufficient amount of air To ride. I mean in the warmer months it is a little bit warmer but then again if I get a pop-up rainstorm, I also don't have to have a One-piece rain suit or more rain gear, right? Those are other items Yeah, I just I don't have and I don't I like to keep things real simple You know take some instant oatmeal like I can live off of that for at least two weeks every morning You know granola bars and usually when I'm riding I'd like I don't stop and you know We'll stop and have lunch sometimes at a restaurant because that's a whole lot easier and you're not having to carry as much food And then you know, I usually carry a couple of nights worth of freeze-dried meals Granola bars because I mean you can survive. Yeah But you can also restock this but you can restock all that stuff exactly I mean, there's arias everywhere if you want mountain house meals Yeah, and then and you know, I'll stop sometimes if I'm out I'll pick a restaurant You know if I go by a restaurant and it's getting later in the day I go ahead and stop and eat and then I just keep riding to my destination campsite So when I set up camp, I don't I don't have to worry about cooking But in the situations where you need to cook you have that yeah that I

 usually try to take at least like four meals worth Just on the bike Breakfast and dinner and then I'll typically eat lunch out every day So you're not having to stop and unpack twice during the day Because it's just more convenient and it's faster. Obviously usually going in the air conditioning

 You're not bringing like refrigerated meats or anything like that. So when you go meal, you got granola bars. What else?

 Mountain house meals You can just mostly just freeze-dried stuff. I'll get Um cans of tuna or chicken or the packs so you can do like chicken and tuna salad



 What else



 Not the rice meals because you can cook those on the rocket stove really easy

 Yeah, and I tend to go for a jet boil. Yeah, and uh, it's just real simple. It's all And you can do coffee in it in the morning You can do your water for oatmeal and you know Like if you boil the water for the oatmeal you're eating your oatmeal while your coffee's going And that way you're or you can do the opposite if you don't mind a little coffee taste I mean if you want to be real efficient you do the coffee and then the oatmeal and then you're rinsing cleaning out the jet Boil with the water from the for the oatmeal and you just keep on trucking And there's very minimal cleanup.

 Yeah, basically everything that you're cooking all you're having to do is boil water, right? That's like the majority of what you're doing um, so I mean i've got a folding pan like if I do want to stop one night and and grab like a steak or something and Like if i've got extra time, um, I have the capacity to be able to do that So i'm bringing like seasoning and stuff with me

 And you know, i'll just take honestly some Uh dried pasta and like even spaghetti or angel hair and you break it in half put it in a ziploc bag Don't put it in the pasta



 Well, it's gotta fit. It's gotta fit in my my size constraints, right? Yeah, um and uh, you know a little bit of olive oil and some garlic salt And it's like I can I can make a great meal and it takes up no space And it's just it's fantastic here. I'll show you the uh

 Y'all keep talking i'll get this out

 You're talking about um packing your case.

 This is what I use for my spices and stuff So it's got oh salt and pepper in the top and then i've got all the like paprika garlic Chives like all that stuff. There's six in this one little thing. Wait, can we show the camera? Yeah There's six in that one little thing. That's awesome. This has fallen in my face



 Um

 You're talking about packing your your luggage in a certain way we've talked about how like being top heavy is not a good thing Um, and so what were what was your advice there?



 Well, a lot of it it depends you've got to think through your process, right? And you've got to analyze. Okay, what what am I going to need to access during my typically? What do I access during the ride? Um, you know where I don't want to have to unpack my backs



 So that being said I keep all my camping gear Um at the bottom of the cases usually it tends to be heavier Um and a little more not cumbersome But just takes up some volume in my cases and I don't want to have to move those items out of the way to get to What I need to get to yeah, um, I tend to have clothes in one case Uh, you know my change of clothes toiletries Basically stuff for me and then stuff to camp i'd try to keep in my left side case So my side case on the gsa is right for me kind of my all my personal stuff My camping stuff goes in the left side case.

 Are you running a top box at all?

 Uh, I tend not to run a top box um, I will Depending on the trip like i'm gonna that's my that's my overflow Um, but I can get everything I need in my left and right paneer Um, and that keeps the weight down low and it allows me the the top of the uh motorcycle to stop and get some ice cold beverages



 opportunity arises

 I usually keep a cooler in my top box. That's where we keep like just stuff that we need for the day Yeah And then so like for for and and like with what you were saying keeping Separated left and right and you also have to keep in mind that you have to keep those balanced weight wise Correct. You want to keep the same amount of weight on either side? Um, so for me on the ducati the way i've got it Set up is I try to go heaviest to lightest bottom to top Yeah, so all my tools and everything are in the bottom and I try to distribute those left and right But then i've also got the uh, the waterproof bags that mount on my front crash bars Yeah, and so that's where I keep Um, like my tire plug kit Um emergency my pump My waterproof gloves and then like my rain gear and stuff like that.

 So if it gets serious enough You have your tool kit.

 I have everything I need

 Yeah, but if it it'd have to get pretty serious for you to take all that out is what you're what i'm hearing

 Yeah, but it's in my paneer. So it's not that hard to get to Like my full tool roll like all I gotta do is pull out like my tent and stuff and it's it's right there So it's not and then on the top of the side pan since we're riding two up We take a lot more stuff And so on the top of the painters We have two waterproof bags that mount to the top of the painters and those are our clothes bags So she has one and then I have one and that's got our clothes and toiletries and

 you're also running the clam shell style bag On the multi, right or do you have no you have you have aluminum cases. Yeah, i've got aluminum cases. Yeah, so Aluminum cases or soft cases?



 Depends on which bike



 Aluminum cases for the multi Uh for a dual sport I would prefer like for something where you're doing more hardcore off-road. I would prefer soft cases



 So I have aluminum pin years and soft pin years for the bmw Um, I prefer the aluminum On longer trips because I actually have more room um, the the soft cases and I don't that's a hard it's you know, because you can argue the protection point for the motorcycle And then you know bending side cases in the event of you know going down



 Something like that. I mean



 From personal experience the the aluminum cases are pretty tough. Yeah



 You know, you really got to whack one really really good Uh to cause an issue. Um So I prefer the aluminum cases and then on my 500 I only do soft luggage, right? Um, but you know i'm going from



 The bmw cases are probably 30 liters For the left side and like maybe 28. It's probably you know, it's a little smaller It's a little bit smaller, but you know, let's say 60 liters and then on my dirt bike i've got uh Like 36 liters complete. Yeah, so



 Everything on my 500 is one case on the bmw. Yeah So that that really changes things. Yeah



 As far as the layout, but I I prefer the aluminum and

 I do think that if you had the aluminum side cases You can combine and add more luggage to the top, but it sounds like at a certain point you're just over weighting the bike



 Yes, I'm I think the goal is always less is more for me it's it's using that backpacking



 Mentality that in making sure things serve more than one purpose and two is The less stuff I have the more pleasant the experience is for me, right? Um, yeah You're the majority of your time is riding right and you know when I get on and when we ride You know, i'm usually hammered down Um and and ride all day, you know, I don't I don't I tend not to stop a whole lot



 Because I want to ride like I want to cover and on the big trips, right It's like I need to get going somewhere And so I try to be as efficient as I can with my time because if you aren't on the motorcycle You aren't covering ground.

 Yeah Yeah When you're in between stops that you're wanting to hit you want to cover as much ground as you possibly can to give yourself more time For the stuff that you do want to do



 Yeah, and it's and and for me especially riding with a passenger, uh, I mean let's be honest i've got to stop a lot more



 Because she's gonna have to go to the bathroom a lot more often than I am like I can I can go four or five six hours



 Not without stopping. Um, she can't right?

 Well, and yeah, and and everybody's got their own Nuances, right but it's like I ride on the long rides. I ride with a hydration bladder Um just because you know



 You got to watch you can lose a lot of water Especially in the hotter months on a motorcycle, but you're moving through the air. So you don't you don't realize you don't realize how much water You're actually or how? You're perspiring. Yeah.

 Yeah, if you want to figure that out Ride for a while in the heat You don't feel yourself while you're moving because it's drying as you're sweating and then once you stop and get off the bike Watch how much you sweat. Yeah, like everybody experiences that like after once you get off the bike Then you just start pouring sweat and you're like what is going like I was fine while I was riding

 goodness I've had so many situations where I am just blazing hot and as soon as I get to a cooler environment I over cool. Yes, and you end up doing that



 Right.

 So also when you're traveling you got to be careful, uh Depending on which environment you're in. I mean in a 12-hour riding day you can go from 40 degrees in the morning to 100 degrees in the afternoon We've done that like heading into texas And so you're like you're dressed for the cool in the morning and then you don't realize it and it's it's creeping up 80 90 degrees And you still got your thermals on you're like, okay now we gotta pull over the side of the road and strip down naked



 Right and we were in uh coming out of I believe it was encampment wyoming coming in Steamboat springs we were doing all gravel section there and we were going up through a mountain pass And it went from like, you know, the high 80s to 42 degrees inhaling and like it was a diabolical storm You know all within this is all within like five minutes You know that it just completely changed, but then that goes back to the gear choices It's like I was riding in cortex Yeah You know all you do is, you know I'm zipping up a couple of the vents and it's a quality garment that provides warmth. So, you know, I don't have to stop Right we can keep on Moving so that makes a makes a big difference and and looking you know, you've got to be prepared, right? But uh Like I always take a down jacket Um with me, um, and I have it in a small stuff sack. Well, that also doubles as my pillow, right? So i've got a i've got a layer in that that down jacket under my riding jacket You know, it can get really really cold and I can still be comfortable.

 This is my pillow



 That's the inflatable pillow snug pack pillow. We've got well i've got two of them because Got two people. Yeah, but but yeah, like We were going to esta springs and we were running late and we were going to be going through the rocky mountain national park for some Reason the way that we were going on the interstate was completely shut down that day And so it rerouted us through the rocky mountain national park from the back side going into esta springs from grandby Yeah, we were staying at the stanley And so we were getting in so late because we had to detour so far around it was going to be dark As we were getting right to the peak and i've got all this on gopro footage It's crazy And so like that morning when we left it was hot and the majority of the writing that we do is in the summertime So all my stuff's invented and so I just I keep rain gear So if if it rains I throw that on if it gets cold I just throw that on top and it just you know, it's a windbreaker And so we're already running late and then we start going up and once you start going up through there There's like nowhere to pull over this is in uh early september, so it's still summer and There's lights flashing this ice on the road and this and that and when you get up to the top It's a completely different environment and it's like sleeting And it drops to like 30 degrees and the sun's going down And we're like i'm like do I pull over and put on my thermals and take you know Could you go pull everything off put your thermals on all this stuff and i'm like, let's just Bump it on out and she's sitting back there just like freezing and I feel bad I'm like we we got to get out of here before it gets dark You know like especially with it because the darker it gets the colder it's going to get and the roads are already starting to ice And i'm not that i'm not confident riding on ice At all not too up with 200 pounds of gear on top of

 that so many experienced riders go down when it gets icy

 Yeah, and it's completely I was like no we need to get out of here so the crank up the the heated seat and the heated grips and push on through that was uh That was one of two kind of scary incidents on that trip The other one was getting hit by hail in texas We were out in the middle of the oil fields and a dust storm kicked up just like out of nowhere and Sirens started going off our phones started flashing baseball-sized hail animals will be killed seek shelter And there's nowhere to go Nowhere like miles in every direction. There's no overpasses. There's no ditches. There's no culverts Nothing,

 you're about to get knocked out by a block of ice,

 dude Yeah, and that's what we felt like so I pulled over I checked the weather and it's just one How like there's no side roads like I can't get away from this So it's either we turn around and chuck it 30 miles back to the last gas station We were at or try to ride this shit out and it starts getting so windy I pull over Our phones are going off in our headsets and everything And the wind storm just kicks up. It gets jet black and it starts hailing and the bike starts doing this on the kickstand So I put her under me I'm like put your helmet back on and luckily we had all of our gear on and everything And I'm not kidding you golf ball-sized hail started coming down I don't know how it didn't bust the windshield on the bike But I had her under me between me and the bike and i'm holding on to the bike so it doesn't Tip over I had bruises all over my forearms And it was uh, that was kind of kind of scary And then we had to ride through like two feet of water in the next town because in texas when it rains like that it just It floods quick. Yeah, and so That's the i've got footage of all this stuff. I've got to get it all posted I never got through and sat down i've got hours of footage from

 hey after something like that. You're tired You don't want to be editing.

 I didn't want to go back and watch it again Yeah This is a little dramatic trauma. Yeah Because I i'm freaking out i'm like Because if it's just you it's like, okay, i'll figure this out But when you've got somebody else that you're responsible for yeah, you know It's like I promise I would keep you safe on this trip and You don't want to fight mother nature when it comes to that because you're gonna lose



 Exactly. And and and you know, that's some of what's fun about the motorcycling, right? Is you you You don't want to be in those predicaments, but it also adds to the the element of the trip, right? It's all about the journey and and I think that's what i've found what I love the most is Is not necessarily having too much of a plan. Yeah, but You know, it's just you can kind of go with the flow and

 it's just like another thing If you've got a huge storm coming in and you can detour around it and You you can do it But if you've got a hotel over here that's in the middle of the storm that you've already paid for and you can't get your Money back.

 Well, I remember the first the first time I was out west right i'm riding across kansas headed to uh denver and um, this is probably back in like 09 and uh You know, I see the rain clouds up ahead in the storm and you know around here. It's like, okay Back then I didn't have any gortex gear, but i've got a rain suit. So I pull over and put on my rain suit Well, I rode for like another 45 minutes



 And I was like i'm not getting any closer to this Oh, it's 60 60 miles away And so i've ended up taking my rain gear off like rode for another two hours and then got into it But I what you know, I just hadn't ridden out west and so, you know, I thought I called my redneck radar, right? Yeah, uh that my redneck radar was going off and going. Hey, i'm about to get wet Yeah,

 because around here in the mountains if you see the clouds, it's close enough to rain on you Correct.

 Yeah, you're riding here in the apple ages and it's like if you see clouds You know that wall of water is coming and it's coming quick

 and there's no way to get out away from it Correct or out west you can you can see the entire storm front and you can see clear skies on either way And so I did a lot of that on my first trip as I would just kind of detour around and just completely miss all the rain Because you can see it from so far away, right?

 Well, but it's also super convenient having like the climb gear because I don't have to stop, you know if it starts raining Uh, you know, I don't I don't want to hate but you see a lot of the the the cruiser guys, you know They're on the side of the road and i'm just not their frog togs the frog togs That

 was a huge thing 20 years ago It

 still is but I just I like the fact that you know, I can just you know, I don't have to stop right and

 what I figured out so like we uh Since I was going out there for business my one of my business coaches his saying while we were there was kind of funny It was be the bison because you're like, uh, the difference in bison and cattle is cattle will run away from a storm And eventually they'll get stopped They can't go any further and then they're just stuck and then we got to ride out the storm My bison will charge into the storm and get through the other side quicker. They'll just go as fast as they can And so his saying for the meeting that that week was be the bison And so on the way back is when we hit all those damn storms And so like our mantra was just like just power through it and like not even stop and put on our our gortex gear or anything Just like you might get wet Yeah, you're gonna get wet and so once you're out the other side and it dries up you're gonna be dry in 20 minutes I mean you're going 80 miles an hour, right?

 Yeah, especially in the in the summer months now you get into the colder Yeah, you don't want to do that when it's cold a whole different ball game, you know, the one thing I remember from Uh going back to my scouting days was a wet eskimo was a dead eskimo Um, so I kind of live and live by that mantra

 Well, so there's like if it's cold and i'm riding in the cold i've got my gortex on top of my gear Anyways, because that's what stops the wind for me, right?

 And you know, but you've got to be prepared for those situations I'll you know even here I was uh riding Uh with friends up in the telco plains area and we were like we're gonna run over the skyway real quick Uh that being the chair hall of skyway And we got up to the top and there was ice on the trees and we froze our beehinds off And you know, it was 80 degrees in telco and it It was totally different up top Um, and you know that was a rude awakening that day because I was not prepared

 Yeah, you ride for the day. You don't think about taking everything with you. Correct That's why I love having a bike with panniers on it all the time. I just keep that stuff with me Yeah, I keep an extra jacket and a set of rain gear and an extra set of gloves And I just keep them in the bike all the time

 and i'm the same way It's like I have kind of my standard kit That I have all the

 time and you know, i'm that guy if anybody breaks down I've got all the tools and they're always even on a day ride i've got them with me, right?

 And like i've got a there's actually a small toolbox. It's in board of my left paneer. Oh, yeah That that's where my tools Uh, I keep my visor cleaner a microfiber. It's just Like my quick and dirty access for stuff that I just want to grab at a fuel stop or you know if you go through



 As we've all experienced you go through the bug



 Oh my god.

 Yeah, we talked about that all of bugs bugs right because I had to clean off my uh, my radar



 Stopped working exactly

 right and you know It's just nice to have right because having a clear line of sight especially when you start riding in that dusk hour



 Right before it gets dark, you know, that's the hardest especially if you're headed west right because sun's right in your face and you get all those bugs and And it makes a big difference to be able to see clearly.

 Yeah, I found uh, if you keep Uh wet wipes in a plastic baggie and they'll stay wet you can use those to clean off your your visor

 Yeah, so I always keep wet wipes. I have that. I like the little individual It's it's not as economic or eco-friendly Uh, but it's also nice and you know that way I don't have to carry a roll of toilet paper either Right, uh, because let's face it.

 I mean, yep, I keep dude wipes, but I also take a roll of toilet paper I just take the the core out of it and just flatten it down and put it in a

 yeah for me It's just like the one time it gets wet and it just yeah I've had some experiences where I keep all my stuff in

 ziplock baggies though.

 It hadn't gone well and you know It's those if it's pouring down. Yeah, so I won't go into details, but I had a bad experience one day. Yeah, you know where the toilet paper went away and I didn't need it



 That's nasty All right.

 Well before we head out let's talk about uh, since we're talking about camping. What's your uh, your sleep system real quick?



 Who that's a great question Um, so I kind of am all over the board Um, I like to cowboy camp a lot



 So I will take this time of the year if the weather looks good for my trip Um, you know, I will take a tent Um small lightweight really efficient. I don't necessarily use it. Sometimes I just sleep on a ground cloth You know under the stars We were on a trip the other day and I did not take a tent because the weather was clear made the mistake It started at two o'clock in the morning. We woke up and you could hear the rain coming. Yep And uh, so I just got up rolled rolled the tarp over top of me And uh when I woke up the next morning, there's a spot. That's the size of my body. That's dry Uh, but I was able to make it happen You know basic, uh, you know, I do carry a Sleeping pad sleeping bag, uh, like I said Keep a stuff sack with a down jacket in it as my pillow Um and uh, keep it pretty basic, uh, you know, i've got i'll take a summer bag during the summer months That's just more really lightweight because you don't really need and then in the winter months. I I take a a proper sleeping bag.

 Yeah Nice. Yeah, we've got mine is set up for two people. So it's it's a little more cumbersome, but i've got the uh The big agnes bike tent So it's got the garage on the side and then so I can keep all of our gear Out of the weather. Um, so I pull all the bags and painters and everything off and just throw them in there And then uh, we have the big agnes, uh double Um sleeping pad the inflatable sleeping pad And then so that acts as your insulation for your back and then our sleeping bag Is just like a sheet on the bottom and it's basically just a sleeping bag that's open So it's it's a double wide and then so your your down part is just what's on top of you It's not like a full so it's about the size of a regular sleeping bag It's just the sleeping pad is what's bigger but it's made for two people And so it's two people in one sleeping bag. So one you stay warmer And two you're not having to take two pads two sleeping bags everything So obviously you're carrying more gear than you would for just one person, but it's less than if each person has their own Right. So that's been uh nice to have and I keep a pump a little battery powered pump It's about this big and it doubles as my lantern. It's got a light on it

 Sorry, brie, but if you come camping, uh, you're driving the car



 That's actually the way to do it Ride and have one of the wives just drive a car and meet you there and just haul all the gear for you With the cooler and the beer and everything if

 i'm doing motorcycle camping. She's not coming



 That's when you bring one dude with a gold wing and a trailer



 That's a fly vehicle, yeah So when are we going on a camping trip so we can we can show you what it's all about.

 I don't have any Camping trips coming up. We talked about doing one in october, right? Yes. So we may have something in october coming um in september This will not be out by the time we do our ride in chikamaga Or walker county.

 No because that's in a week and a half

 But uh, it went great guys. Um, but uh,

 we had a blast I don't know if I can if I made it or not

 so by the time this airs we will be Preparing for the uh, the 20 which is the week after that.

 Yeah, so this episode will come out two days before that.

 Yeah So we'll have a ride on the 21st that uh, we're gonna do an adventure ride. That's starting up in reliance we're gonna meet at that texaco 8 30 on the 21st and um, so there's gonna be a bit of an adventure ride no camping yet, but Maybe

 the texaco being web store right there. Yeah 315 and 30. Yep. Okay.

 So how rough is that uh route?

 It's gonna be an easy one. It's it's suitable for big bikes.

 It's uh, even riding two up.

 Yeah, i'd say so Um, it's a group coming out of alabama. It's the remember.

 I suck off-road. I will get better. I will not Me Told you I don't want to drop that

 bike Is it adventure riders of alabama or is alabama adventure riders? I can never remember which way it goes Um, it's adventure riders valabama. I think so. Yeah, um, but they're coming up and they're hosting the ride So they're we're gonna meet back up at the shop and have lunch

 All right, if it gets too tough, i'll just turn around and just meet y'all back at the shop

 Well, I mean the way that they're going I know they're going to be going up through. Um Where like where mcfarlane is and all that. Yeah Um, you can follow gravel roads all the way back out. It's not you're never gonna be stuck where you are I don't think they're planning on doing trail 81 and trail 82 because that would be a nightmare on the big bikes They're bringing. Yeah But it's it's supposed to be big bike friendly. Okay

 All right, we'll see you'll be fine. I may be way back just going at my own pace



 Or y'all can uh Loan me a dual sport or something. Yeah for the day I'm still not really comfortable with that 600 pound bike off road. You'll be fine. It's just gravel. Okay, it's just gravel. I'll be okay Gravel's won't worry about



 Yeah, you'll be fine. I'd rather ride on dirt than gravel



 Um



 Depends on the dirt depends on the dirt and the gravel right because I mean one trip we did we we were going up through



 Outside of telco and we were looking at the dump trucks as they were dumping the gravel out



 Like I mean dump fresh stone and it was thick and that was you know You just got to drop your heels get back on the bike and you know Let her let her rip take a chip and get through it, right? Um So it's not the

 kind of stuff. I like to ride in

 no



 Me neither, but I learned a lot that day. I bet you did you know you you you learn Like riding in sand for the first time and half of riding off-road is learning to adapt to the changing environments and situation and I really like that aspect is uh, you know, you got to figure it out and and that's a lot of fun to

 Say half the fun of adventure riding for me is taking big bikes and doing things that you know Stopped being fun on small bikes because there's a point where i'm not I don't want to go any faster, right? Because you know, you're increasing your danger at that point Um, but if you can just challenge yourself to tackle the same kinds of terrains on a bike that is heavier That's a that has its own fun for me Um, that's why I love my 1290 adventure r I rode that thing like a dirt bike and I went everywhere that I would go on a dirt bike on it, but uh It was a bigger challenge and it was really cool You know hopping over logs on a bike that you didn't think could do that.

 Well, everything's a dirt bike if you're brave enough



 There's a different meme



 But anyway, yeah, you can take a sport bike through there if you want to

 and i've seen guys do it do that you see there someone did like a um, a panigale and Put tkc 80s on it and took it off road is insane Um, that's a lot of money to waste

 It is yeah Good thing of the sport bike this low center of gravity is easy to get your feet down Be hard to drop

 it suspension and who needs suspension 17 inch wheels.

 Yeah, you know Take it easy



 Go big or just throttle out When in doubt throttle out exactly



 Let her rip potato chip

 with uh with that being said

 pitter patter. Let's get at her.

 Thank you for watching. Uh This episode of the throttle stop moto podcast with justin Jeff and our guest our guest hunter. Thanks for coming in today, buddy. Appreciate it Good to see you. Jeff.

 Good to see you.

 All right. See y'all in the next one