Beez' Blog of Moto Greatness - Desert Sled

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I have neglected this blog for a while and now that the snow has melted and temperatures have moved upwards from the freezing point I will once again be writing entries. Nothing much to say yet, I have moved my motorcycles into the general garage area and am starting to check them out for the riding season.

I fear I may have to remove the carburetor from the Husqvarna and clean it. Not terribly difficult but it is a pain in the ass and could have been avoided. I don't ride it as regularly as the BMW so it can sit for day, even weeks, between rides. Due to the fu*king ethanol they put in gas (petrol for our EU crew) regular use is a must. If it sits the gas evaporates in the carb and the ethanol and the other sh!t they put in there leaves a gummy film that clogs the jets. I always put ethanol treatment in the gas I use in the Husky and garden equipment and I always drain the gas from the carb of the Husky. However, I know I didn't do that the last time I rode it. So instead of spending 1 minute to shut off the petcock and drain the fuel I have to spend an hour + taking it apart and cleaning each jet and orifice.

See that PB, I used orifice.

One of my goals is to ride the Husky more this year. Another goal is to make BeezWife's bike handle better. She is short of leg so I installed 1 inch lowering links to the rear suspension of her bike. If you lower the back you must lower the front or it not steer good. It will steer like a chopper. I raised the fork tubes in the triple clamps by about an inch to compensate for the rear but it still doesn't steer good. It doesn't bother her but I know it isn't right. I will be raising the forks 1mm at a time in hope it will quicken the steering.

On to the title of this entry, Desert Sled. The new Enduro motorcycle in GTA Online is a desert sled, i.e. what they raced in the Southern California desert (Mojave, Baja) before there were proper dirt bikes. The bikes were BSA Victor 441s & Goldstars, Triumph Bonnevilles & Tigers. Some of the better ones were the engines from those bike placed in purpose built off-road racing frames like Rickman and Metisse. When I look at the Enduro I think they used the Metisse as inspiration.

Nowadays we have the Triumph T100 Bonneville, a modern bike that looks like an old one. There is a whole cottage industry in customizing these from a cafe racer to a desert sled and anything in between. This video features a T100 customized by British Customs riding through some areas that look like Sandy Shores (might be the Salton Sea) by a very talented rider. Watch it and it might inspire you to create a race for Enduros out in Sandy Shores!

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