Day two 195 miles (over 150 off road):
If I was to describe this day in one word it would be “intense”. It started a few miles out of town to the dirt road for a 88 mile ride to Toroweap Overlook. First few miles and I had to stop and tighten up my brake perch and zip tie the GPS mount to keep it from moving. This was the first and last time I had to touch the bike during the trip. I set the tire pressures at home (32 front/36 rear) and left them alone for the whole trip.
This leg of the ride was really strange. I did not know what to expect. The BLM gave me fair warning that the road from St George via Mt Trumbull is not the normal route to Toroweap. It is nothing but a desolate road that seems to take you to the end of the world. After about 30 miles or so I was getting a strange nervous feeling in my gut. Then I came across some cows and I started to feel “at home”. After about another 20 miles I stopped at a schoolhouse in the middle of nothing. How weird!!
At this point I met with a dual sport club going to the same place as me. I let them go ahead as they were on lightweight bikes that were much faster than mine in the dirt. Without realizing it I had climbed from 2800’ to almost 8000’!! All of a sudden I start going up these rocky switchbacks and I’m wondering if I should turn around. I decided to just go slow and see how far I could go. Thankfully this only lasted a mile or so. At this point I was thinking I might have bit off too much for my skill level.
After that huge climb I started the decent from over 8000’ in the pines to around 4000’ in the sagebrush to the desert floor. I finally reach the sign for the last 13 miles to the overlook. The warning sign states that it’s very rocky and to have high clearance vehicles only to the overlook. The dual sport club had some GPS tracks that were marked green (which means easy) so even beginner riders could make it. I figured I was good to go.
HOLY CRAP!! What BS!! I ended up hitting 2 sections right after the start that tested every last bit of my skill. The first one was some deep sand. I ended up putting traction control to the number 2 setting and blazed through it in third gear doing about 40-50mph. I was standing, keeping light on the bars, using short bursts of throttle, and just letting my 700lb beast do all the work. It was wandering but staying balanced and stable. The 2nd section was really spooky! It was very fine and deep red silt. Underneath it were solid deep ruts that were hardened from guys going through there when it was muddy. I ended up just dropping into a rut and riding it until it ended on rocky hardback. Normally on a lightweight dirt bike with 21” wheel, you can climb in/out of the ruts with little drama. On a 700lb bike with 19” front wheel, all you can do is hang on, stay in the rut, and trust the stability of the bike. Main thing is to stand up and stay balanced and light on the bars.
After those 2 sections I thought that was the end of it. Not so!! Another warning sign for the last three miles for high clearance vehicles only. At this point I had to make a hard decision. I decided to see how far I could go. If it got too bad I would turn around. It was pretty darn tough!! I made it but stood on the pegs and did some foot dabbing the whole time in mostly 1st gear. I abused the hell out of the clutch and used a lot of rear brake/weighting the pegs for direction changes. My skid plate was scraping hard. The rock was solid, super slippery with a light coating of loose dirt and descending all the way to the parking area. This is not a sit down section. You have to be comfortable standing on the pegs for most all of the last three miles.
The Overlook was actually disappointing for all the riding I did. The only way to get a good picture was to hang off the edge. I took enough chances for the day. 3500’ drop into the Grand Canyon does not appeal to me. The overlook was pretty crowded. After a quick lunch and a few pics it was time to head back into the same stuff I came through.
Once I got to the split on the dirt road, I headed back about 74 miles on the easy dirt road to Fredonia AZ. Fueled up and took pavement to my 2 night stay at Jacob Lake Cabins.
So now some pictures:
Miles and miles of nothing but sagebrush and fire road.
Here is an old school on a dirt road over 50 miles from the city!!
What have I got myself into? I chose a different route at this point.
This was as close as I dared to get to the edge!
This looks easy but trust me it gets harder and is very challenging on a big adventure bike!! The harder
sections I did not take pictures. I was too busy concentrating on picking good lines and keeping my beast upright.
There are plenty of "chest pounding" blogs and videos on how easy this trail is. A few guys even bragging on doing it with smooth tires. I call BS to anyone who says this trail is easy on a bagged up 700lb Super Tenere. I was fortunate to have just enough skills to keep the bike upright. And the knobby's were my saving grace and a big help keeping me stable in the deep sandy/silt sections and loose slippery rock. I would not recommend this ride out to the overlook unless you are prepared with serious off road riding skills, full knobby big block tires, and a good tool kit. If you do not feel comfortable standing, weighting your pegs/using rear brake for controlling direction for long miles, this is not a trail you want to tackle.
FWIW at no time did I feel a need to disconnect the antilock brakes. IMHO, you need to work on your riding skills if you feel a need to delete the antilock to lock up the rear tire. I had no issue at all skidding the rear wheel to change direction and turn the bike. With proper clutch and footwork on the rear brake, it's easy to slide the rear wheel in loose sections. OTOH, if you want to do 180 pivot turns, fast brake lock slides, etc, then I suggest a lighter bike.