KTM 350 EXC-F 2013: Papineau Labelle Wildlife Reserve Ride Part 1

Sunday, September 16 2012 - Patience paid off. For 3 days I could only admire the snazzy KTM 350 EXC-F in my garage.  Other priorities prevented me to go for an adventure ride with the “Ferrari” of dual sport bikes.  But finally, the perfect day presented itself: no rain on the horizon, sunny and 64 F (18 C) degrees as a maximum - perfect conditions.

But before leaving, I made ​​some adjustments that were beneficial:

1. I removed the visor on my hybrid helmet - it has the effect of a parachute on the highway with a dual-sport motorcycle.  So much for the look;
2. I adjusted the mirrors - returning from St-Bruno, Qc where I picked up the bike a few days earlier, I realized on the highway that the mirrors were very, very well secured, which is a good thing, unfortunately in a position that did not suit me well;
3. As the bike is pretty high, I got used to removing the kickstand before sitting  - a lot easier!

With the 350 EXC-F, I had to use my imagination and all the pockets of my jacket and my pants since there is obviously no suitcase or anything to carry some goods in.  This way, I could carry my usual equipment: camera, iPhone, 2 cans of energy drink, cereal bars etc etc..

And finally, a precaution: the fuel tank on the KTM is 10 liters with the reserve, so I planned for refuelling along the way... I will get back to this.

8:45 a.m., departure, heading to Lac des Plages village, through:

• 344 along the Ottawa river, then
• head to Staynerville road,
• Montee Hall,
• Dumoulin road,
• Rawcliffe,
• 6e concession,
• Scotch road,
• Huntington road,
• Maskinongé road,
• …
• and a stop at Namur village for refuelling.  So I thought…

The planned ride, about 140 km from (A) St-Eustache to (C) Lac des Plages with a gas stop at Namur (B)

 

 

West Staynerville Road

09:53 a.m. A gravel road… woot woot!  After 40 miles (60 km), I finally reached West Staynerville road.  I could probably have done this faster, but the ride alongside the Ottawa river (344) is always nice. At last! I could try the bike on a path that sticks a little more to what it was designed for. I opened the throttle and some adrenaline  flowed through my veins. Finally! - This is the reason I worked so hard planning all the steps to get there - you can’t imagine – riding a KTM in the conditions where it excels, what a great start!

 

10:02 a.m.  On the Hydro road near Montée Hall. This road, I had looked at it often in the past: access is obstructed by concrete blocks, but the KTM is so narrow that it can sneak in everywhere. This is a major advantage! +2 I often wondered what was at the end of that road - I thought that somehow I would be able to join the Scotch road from here, but no... Crap!  The road is blocked a mile further with a padlocked fence. No way around it. WWHHHYYYY?! Hydro roads are interesting for motorcycle adventuring!  Those lands are supposed to be public!  Frustrating!

Chemin Hydro, près de Montée Hall

Anyway, continuing southbound on the Montée Hall, I joined another gravel road (Dumoulin road) along highway 50 and the path that leads to Rawcliffe road. One thing lead to another, I borrowed my usual trails in the area through the 6th concession.

I appreciated the lightness of the bike and its handling on hotter trails. Everything became so easy, it was night and day with my usual bike that weighs almost twice as much. Normally, I drive with caution in rocky trails, but with the high ground clearance of the KTM, its large diameter wheels (21 and 18 inches) and long travel suspensions, the same routes seemed to be made of pavers - fantastic!

This was a total bliss until I reached the next section of this awesome road:

 

To be continued…See part 2

Ciao!

DSAQ

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KTM 350 EXC-F 2013, Photo Montage, Papineau Labelle Park

Enjoy!

DSAQ

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First Contact: KTM 350 EXC-F 2013

When I asked KTM Canada to lend me a bike, I did not expect to be catapulted miles out of my comfort zone.

The landing is a bit brutal: it is not the bike that is adapted to humans - but humans must adapt to it.  The word “compromise" was not part of the 350 EXC-F spec sheet.

Result: about 240 pounds.

Once the shock of the first contact has passed, one understands where he just landed: in a world where gravity is no longer as important. The 350 EXC-F is easy to tame and quickly becomes an extension of the driver.  The step is high, but behind the handle bar, everything is possible.  I experienced it on my way back from KTM Canada in St-Bruno.

My first off-road experiment was done in Kahnawake, near Mercier Bridge on the south shore of Montreal: I spotted a trail from the road and gave it a try.  There was a steep slope covered with boulders - the kind of road where you have to think twice with a bigger bike. With the KTM, I was on top of the slope in a wink. It felt like the weight of the bike was almost negligible and it didn’t require much effort to drive even in difficult situations.  I was pretty eager to find other similar challenges after this one.  I rode alongside the St-Lawrence river for a while in short trails then I continued my journey to St-Eustache.

On my way back home, there is a trail that I could never access with my regular motorcycle: there are big concrete blocks that prevent vehicles from crossing.  The 350 EXC-F is so thin that I could snake around the blocks easily.  At the other end of the trail there was a racing sand pit with jumps and bumps pretty well hidden from sight – probably the best kept secret in town.  I went for a couple of laps in the sand, through the bumps, and even attempted a few jumps.  That was pretty cool.  I was able to ride the bike it the sand with such ease!  The biggest surprise was that the small 350cc engine was more than sufficient for the task.

So my next ride with the bike will be to kick some ass in trails that I could not complete and had to turn around with my regular bike.  My expectations are very high, but I feel that I will not be disappointed… 

Ciao!
DSAQ

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NEW XC VERSION OF TRIUMPH TIGER EXPLORER FOR 2013

Here is the original press release followed by my own opinions on the subject.

Triumph Tiger Explorer XC 2013

• Aluminium rimmed, steel spoked wheels with tubeless tyres. • Ride by wire, traction control, cruise control and switchable ABS all as standard. • Hand Guards, Fog Lights, Belly Pan and Engine Bars to back up the go anywhere capability of the Explorer XC . • Extended Service intervals along with two-year unlimited mileage warranty. • Available at Triumph dealerships April, 2013.

Triumph Motorcycles increases its range in the Adventure Touring market with the launch of the new Tiger Explorer XC. With a nod to the styling cues of the award winning Tiger 800 XC, the new Tiger Explorer XC gains a number of enhancements to further enhance its long haul adventure touring appeal.

Key to the rugged look of the XC are the new aluminum rimmed, steel spoked wheels. Maintaining the 19” front and 17” rear of the Explorer, the new Triumph designed spoked wheels retain the Explorer’s incredible dynamic handling providing the additional benefit of tubeless tyres. If mid adventure you find yourself suffering with a flat tyre the experience can soon turn into an adventure of a different kind! Triumph’s tubeless rims ensure this will not be the case and allow you to quickly resume your explorations without the need for an extensive tool kit or experienced tyre fitters.

The adventure look is further enhanced with the standard fit of some additional features, designed to increase comfort and confidence to any adventure. The high impact Adventure Hand Guards offer warmth and protection to hands and controls, whilst the high performance 55w Dual Fog Lights deliver increased visibility for those late rides. Tough 22mm steel tube engine bars and a heavy gauge aluminium Belly Guard combine to offer maximum protection when the going gets more challenging. For riders wishing to further tailor their XC, there is a further range of 54 additional Genuine Triumph Accessories to choose from.

The Tiger Explorer XC is powered by Triumph’s shaft-driven 1215cc triple. Producing 137ps with 121Nm of torque the engine continues to impress. Add into the equation cruise and traction control, switchable ABS and a virtually maintenance free shaft drive, you have the perfect combination for long distance adventure touring. All confidently backed up by a 10,000 mile service interval and unlimited mileage two-year warranty.

Available in Khaki Green, the XC will make its debut during Triumph Live, the World’s largest celebration of all things Triumph, being held at Mallory Park, Leicestershire, UK over the weekend of 31 Aug – 2 September. The Triumph Tiger Explorer XC’s international debut will follow at Intermot, Cologne, on 2 October, 2012. Test rides at Triumph dealerships will be available in early April 2013.

[SRC: TRIUMPH]

When I saw the original Explorer last year, my first thought was “great!, but it seems Triumph has cooked up a more road oriented adventurer this time”.  The XC version aims to fill in the blanks.

Cruise control!  Simply said, this is an underrated item on ADV motorcycles – it will be standard on the XC.

Hopefully traction control (TC) will be easy to turn off - it is not clear on the original press release... crossing fingers.  Personally, I would have preferred TC as optional for a lower bill.  I still need to understand the positive aspect of TC on ADV bikes, but I clearly get the minuses.

Shaft drive: some like, other don’t.  Personally, I appreciate the maintenance free aspect of it.  I own a chain drive bike right now: I can’t find any advantages besides “I could eventually change the sprockets and save a few bucks on gas”, but I feel the hassle of required regular maintenance.  Shaft drive is a plus in my book especially with that much torque on the throttle.

Triumph announces a hefty 54 genuine accessories to choose from.  I assume that heater grips will be part of the list – on my top 5 items not far from aluminum side/top cases.  Add a USB plug and (personal wish!) electronic adjustable suspension (EAS) to complete the shopping list…yeah, I’m a big fan of EAS since my last adv ride to Parent.

To conclude, most likely the total weight of the XC is not heading south and off road capabilities will be limited in heavy conditions – which is the price to pay for a long range, comfortable and powerful adventure motorcycle.

Ciao!

DSAQ

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Trying a new floating bar widget

Found this widget:
http://www.way2blogging.org/2012/06/new-floating-social-sharing-bar-widget-blogger-blogspot.html

So let's give it a try.

Nope.  Cannot find the <data:post.body/> tag.

I tried with the regualar </body> but the floating bar appears with errors at the bottom of the page.

Update: finally found the <data:post.body/> tag.  I miss looked ;)

But there are 4.  So testing with appending the code at first one seems to work.  However my page is not big enough to see the scrolling effect.

So adding

many

useless

lines

to

see

it

scrolling.

Update: nope.  This is not scrolling.

Checking for miss coding.  Hmm, probably miss placed code.  Should try other  <data:post.body/> ...

anyhow, not exactly what I was looking for, but close.

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Testing floating social widget

First test: floating social widget found on http://www.realcombiz.com/2012/06/add-floating-share-barwidget-to-your.html

Instructions are simple.  Let see if that works.

Hmm, no.  The widget does not show up.  It seems the recommanded before </body> position to include the code is not fonctionning.  I added my own alert("") and it does not show up either.

Ok, that works.  One need to click on the post title: good to know.

However, I was expecting to see numbers.  The widget does not show them.

Ok, that work fine. But this is a little misleading, the blog uses another widget that prints number, so I was expecting to have the same result.

So finally will not use this plugin.

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Welcome!

Rather than messing up with my blogs, I created this blog to experiment different widgets.

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12oo GS Rallye 2012: Ride to Parent: part 3

See part 2

Sand pit, near Parent (47.75° N, 74.61° O).  Free camping area?

Nearing Parent (at about 11h20) on my first ride, a road leading to this sand pit got my attention.  The place was huge!  The picture on the left shows one third of the sand pit area.  Most likely a place where ATVs and motocross riders hang out.  I would have spent a lot of time here but I was on a tight schedule.  I will certainly have other occasions to come back. There was evidence of camp fire in the pit… probably a nice place for free camping near Parent.

Once in Parent, there are gas stations, restaurants, camping areas and hotels.  I had to refuel and eat something.  I was toasted and would probably have had a power nap in the restaurant after lunch, but hey!, the little restaurant was crowded!

1 p.m., back to Mont St-Michel

Heading home was more difficult than expected: the road from Parent to Mt St-Michel has more sand patches and the washboard sections are more pronounced.  I have my own theory on this: given that the logging trucks are loaded heading to Mont St-Michel and empty back from Parent, the road is subject to more strain and is more distorted. Here's how the return went on each of the bikes:

1- First with the Versys, it was a real ordeal. I stopped on the way, I could take no more of these vibrations: DrrrRRrrrRRrrrrr. I took off some pressure in the front tire. It was a good improvement for the washboard sections, but a big mistake for sand patches! The wheel had lost its bite in the sand and the bike slowed down more than before and easily shifted from left to right. The best solution, in my opinion, would be to further reduce the preload on the front suspension. In any case, it was a real relief when I finally left the path to Parent! But I still had 240 km to go ... ouch!

I decided to spend some time in the area and took some shots.  I saw this beautiful horse earlier on my way to Parent.  I stopped by and took this shot.

Palomino, on Principal road, Mt. St-Michel

From that point onward, the way home was pretty boring.  I made many stops to rest, drink and eat something.  I was toasted when I arrived at home, the adrenalineless road sucked up the rest of my energy.  Of course, the fact that I left home at 3 a.m. and got back at 7 p.m. weighed in the balance.

2- Now with the 1200GS Rallye.  The combination of both a thinner and larger diameter front wheel was a major asset in this mix of sand and washboard. The wheel was more incisive in the sand and was less prone to transmit the road waves but rather to fly (for lack of better term) over them.  By adding the positive effects of suspension and a set of TKC 80 (50-50) tires, the behavior of the bike was much more predictable.

However, there was a real problem: traction control. When I passed through the sandy sections, the bike began to hesitate: Brrr ... brrr.br.. Rrrrrrr .. brrr ... When I opened the throttle to compensate for the bike slowdown, I felt like I was riding a horse that did not want to jump a fence! Fortunately, this option can be disengaged – something I had not bothered to do before because the effect of traction control had never been a real problem, but now it was really time to disengage it.  For the time I had the 1200GS Rallye, I never experienced a situation where I saw the positive effects of traction control.  Its real benefit remains unclear on that kind of bike.

Beginning of the pavement after 120 miles of dusty Parent road, Mont St-Michel

Of course, I had to return home with the 1200GS too. Since it was still early in the afternoon, I stopped on the side of the road and searched on my iPhone for a route that could be more interesting than the 117 for the return. A resident of Mont St-Michel, a truck driver who knew the place, came by and suggested I take the Manaouane path: much quieter than the Parent road but also unpaved.  This road would lead to St-Michel-des-Saints, down South.

So, here I am at 2 p.m. seeking around for the Manaoune path, 140 miles (240 km) away from home.  Really, this old retired man kept a good secret…  since my Internet connection was bad, I could not find the said road with my iPhone/GPS!  Even after asking other residents, I was unable to reach this path.  Not an issue.  It will probably be my next destination: The Manaouane Indian Reserve through St-Michel-des-Saints.

Finally, I programmed my GPS to go home.  On my way back, I recalled a previous ride where I rode by the Labelle Lake and ended up about 20 miles north of Mont-Tremblant on the 117.  So I decided to make that previous ride in reverse (I was close to Labelle Lake.)

So I was riding south on the 117 looking for Labelle signs…Darn!  I missed the exit!  Oh well, I’ll take the next one.  I finally got out at the 323 South.  Let me say that providence made it quite enjoyable from then on…

One thing leading to another, I crossed this covered bridge on Prud’Homme road to take this unexpected picture.  Tires coincide perfectly with tire marks on the pavement, giving the impression I made quite a stunt to get there (my wife was the first to notice when I showed her my ride pics).

Funny coincidence!  Covered bridge, Prud’homme road

Then on the 327 South, I stumbled upon this beautiful creature:

Oddly enough, ever since I took a hunter safety course, deer keep popping up everywhere during my rides!  I like to stop and take pictures, but I can also understand hunters that like the challenge as well… could I shoot those beautiful animals?  There is a grey zone in my head.

The rest of the 327 south was a total frenzy. The road snakes through the mountains in successive curves, at times requiring to apply the brakes firmly (brakes on the Rallye are quite efficient) and then to accelerate to the next curve (and again quite sensational).

Heading through the 323 and 327 was the apotheosis of this ride with the Rallye.  I was able to enjoy the full potential of the bike on paved road, and it was absolutely awesome!

Lastly, I’d like to thank BMW Canada who accepted to lend me their brand new press bike (only 72 miles/120 km on the odometer) and Moto Internationale, on St-Jacques street in Montreal, who prepared the motorcycle.

Thank you for reading!
DSAQ

A condensed diaporama of the ride below. 

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