Thoughts on BDR Routes...not for me!

[Jayzonk]

Not sure who has ridden any of the BDR routes, but I have been giving them some consideration lately.  Obviously, they aren't for the Tracer (except the MABDR perhaps?  Looks like it's mainly secondary tarmac with a bit of hardpack gravel), but I had been thinking about getting a bike so I could ride the MABDR (mid-Atlantic) or the NEBDR (northeast).   So I watched a few of their promo videos...

Northeast BDR - I see riders on BMW 1200's riding up rocky, wet trails with their rear wheels sliding around on the rocks.  There were many many falls on the trails...I think everyone fell at least once and some riders had two and three falls, breaking all kinds of stuff on their bikes.  One rider literally slammed her panniers into a tree as she slid sideways across the trail.  It's funny to watch...someone falls over, and the others park their bikes and run up to help the person push the bike up.  What fun!  Ridic!!

Idaho BDR - two major crashes on the first day.  The first one took out the rider's bike, so he was done.  The second one was a broken leg, requiring a helicopter extraction from the area.  Lots of fun....

So the way I see it...

1) Take a full-sized adventure bike.  No thanks.  Being in SW Ontario, I would have to take a full-sized adventure bike to just get to the trails, which means I'm handicapped right away....there's no way I would want to take something that big offroad.  I saw so many instances of people trying to put their foot down, only to find that it was hanging over a six inch rut.  By the time their foot came down, they had too much lean angle and just fell over.  It just tells me that it's not the way to get through there.

2) Drive down there with a dual sport in a trailer then ride.  Don't think that works out either.  So, perhaps I take a  dual sport in a trailer to the NEBDR.  Sure, I can get myself there, but then I'd have to try to pack enough stuff on board to try to get through the trail.  So, suppose I can pack enough stuff.  Fine.  But the problem is that the routes are pretty long.  The NEBDR is 1200 miles long, and over half of that is tarmac, so how are you actually supposed to do that on a dual sport?  It would be really unpleasant, I suspect.  Perhaps a KLR or a DR or a Husqvarna 701, but even those options aren't going to be fun on the highways, even at 50 mph.  

So the way I look at it, since I do not live near a BDR I don't see either option as a valid way to ride this thing.  If I lived near there, it would be a different story, because I could pick up sections of the trail here and there at my leisure.  

So I've decided that it's best to stick with road (tarmac) touring.  I'm thinking that I can piece together a road route that pretty much parallels the NEBDR without having to do any of the dirt sections at all.  This would mean that I could cover it all on the Tracer, and likely see most of the things that you would see if you did the off-highway sections anyway.  I'm a Roadrunner subscriber, so I might be able to piece together some of the routes in the magazine to essentially cover the same areas as the BDR's.  

I thought about a Tenere 700...driving it from SW Ontario then running the BDR with it, but, after sitting on it, I still think it's too big and tall.  Maybe the MABDR but not the NEBDR.  

Hmmm

[lather]

I am 100% with you on this. My riding buddies have all changed from sport tourers to adventure bikes. They insist on including some dirt or gravel roads on our trips so I have to plan an alternate paved bypass. I just bought a Tracer 9 GT to replace my beloved Concours 14 which I totaled last August crashing on a slippery wet dirt road in Kansas! The clutch resorvoir was cracked and the bike unridable. I had to get towed 210 miles!

I do have a KLX 250 with knobbies but I just ride it only locally and by myself so I don't have to keep up with anyone, just putt around.

[Jayzonk]

Sorry about your slip.   What happened?  Were your tires cold or were they just wearing out?

Yea, i just hear things on these BDR rides that don't make sense.   Some riders wiped out on Idaho simply because they said there was a big dip in the path that they didn't see ahead of time....if you've got 100 pounds of gear in an ADV bike and you're already taxing the suspension, flying along at whatever speed, I guess you're going to overwhelm the suspension and go down.   It's not like you can't wipe out on a dirt bike either. But something tells me that the weight of an ADV bike , the potential unbalanced load, and the additional weight of rhe loaded panniers just make this better performed on a true dirt bike. 

[lather]

My tires were good and well warmed up. Two of us were riding a farm road after visiting Monument Rocks, 70 foot high chalk formations. There was no visible moisture on the road but apparently it had recently rained and the road was super slippery. Both of us were slip sliding and almost went down several times, the last one got me. My theory is that the chalk in the area does something strange with moisture. It does not look wet but is super slippery.

[vincep]

I got back into the dirt in 2010, single track and fire trails on a KTM 450 XCW and a 1978 IT 175. 

I have done five of the BDRs (NE, MA, ID, CO & WY) and Copper Canyon MX on a Tenere 700.  I agree with @Jayzonk most fun would be on a smaller bike, say a Husky 501 set up for light ADV or the more popular KTM 690 enduro.  They cost a lot to set up.  Light is right as they say.

I really enjoyed the BDRs / ADV and camping with two riding buddies.  A lot of fun.

The funny thing is that as a youngster in Australia, we rode our road bikes on all roads - well maybe not single track!  Seems you need to have a dedicated bike for each type of riding now.  

Images are out west last year.

[Ride365]

Never mount hard panniers when riding off pavement, you want soft bags for "obvious reasons". I did some pretty gnarly off pavement on my Strom 650 out in NM/AZ/CO......it was very stressful and extreme hard work, but we did see some amazing scenery. If I did such a thing again, I would likely be on a Tenere 700 at the most......and it hurts too much when you go down, and sucks picking up a heavy bike. 😅

[Jayzonk]

16 hours ago, vincep said:

I got back into the dirt in 2010, single track and fire trails on a KTM 450 XCW and a 1978 IT 175. 

I have done five of the BDRs (NE, MA, ID, CO & WY) and Copper Canyon MX on a Tenere 700.  I agree with @Jayzonk most fun would be on a smaller bike, say a Husky 501 set up for light ADV or the more popular KTM 690 enduro.  They cost a lot to set up.  Light is right as they say.

I really enjoyed the BDRs / ADV and camping with two riding buddies.  A lot of fun.

The funny thing is that as a youngster in Australia, we rode our road bikes on all roads - well maybe not single track!  Seems you need to have a dedicated bike for each type of riding now.  

Images are out west last year.

Whereabouts was that?  One of the issues for me is tires.  I know  you can buy 50/50 tires, 80/20 tires, but I'm thinking that the tires I'd travel on to get to a BDR would be different than the ones I'd want to use on the BDR, if I'm going to get into some deeper dirt, rocks, water, etc.  I'm pretty sure that a 50/50 tire has its compromises. 

[Jayzonk]

On 5/2/2023 at 9:07 AM, lather said:

I am 100% with you on this. My riding buddies have all changed from sport tourers to adventure bikes. They insist on including some dirt or gravel roads on our trips so I have to plan an alternate paved bypass. I just bought a Tracer 9 GT to replace my beloved Concours 14 which I totaled last August crashing on a slippery wet dirt road in Kansas! The clutch resorvoir was cracked and the bike unridable. I had to get towed 210 miles!

I do have a KLX 250 with knobbies but I just ride it only locally and by myself so I don't have to keep up with anyone, just putt around.

How are you acclimating to the Tracer?  Compared to the Connie?  I've never ridden one but would like to try.

[lather]

1 hour ago, Jayzonk said:

How are you acclimating to the Tracer?  Compared to the Connie?  I've never ridden one but would like to try.

I am loving the Tracer! So much lighter and nimbler. I thought I would miss the Connie's power but the Tracer is a beast at 9000 RPM. Does not have the top speed but it pulls as hard. Have not done any long rides yet but I doubt it will be as comfortable as the Connie. About to order some crash bars so I can mount highway pegs.

[Jayzonk]

That's great to hear.  I don't think there's too many bikes that fit into the Tracer's category other than the BMW X1000XR, the 900XR, and maybe the new Moto Guzzi Centenario.  

I sat on a Suzuki GSX1000GTA but I just can't get away from the larger cockpit feeling of the Tracer.  I might as well forget about ever moving back to something with a lower seat-to-peg distance.  

But I'm sure your Connie was a smooth, strong ride.  

[vincep]

8 hours ago, Jayzonk said:

Whereabouts was that?  One of the issues for me is tires.  I know  you can buy 50/50 tires, 80/20 tires, but I'm thinking that the tires I'd travel on to get to a BDR would be different than the ones I'd want to use on the BDR, if I'm going to get into some deeper dirt, rocks, water, etc.  I'm pretty sure that a 50/50 tire has its compromises. 

First image was CO, second image the Desert X Loop on the WY BDR.

Re tires, always tricky.  I trailered out west so having aggressive tires was not an issue.

[PhotoAl]

I'm with the OP on the BDRs.  Would love to ride more gravel roads but the thought of a big BMW ADV bike on the gnarly routes does not sound like fun.  I toy with the idea of a lighter bike but as the OP said getting there becomes hard.  The T7 sounds like a good way to go but with clothes and camping gear still a lot of weight.  I have figured out my Tracer 900 GT is not fond of gravel.  It's a different feel but still seems quite unsettled.   I've wondered about different tires maybe 80/20s.  In SD, Kansas, Wyoming, Nebraska and Montana there are lots of gravel roads that seem to not be that difficult.

[Jayzonk]

Agreed, but doesn't the idea of going for two weeks away on the Tracer just sound so much easier?  I think adding the off-road stuff would just add to the stress level.  Going for a ride isn't supposed to be work, for me anyway.  

[Ride365]

I had a 2008 Connie 14 for 4 years, I like my Tracer better in every single way. Yeah the 14 was fast and smooth, but also immensely heavy and HOT, also the bikes overall have been plagued with more than a few annoying issues. 

[lather]

1 hour ago, Ride365 said:

I had a 2008 Connie 14 for 4 years, I like my Tracer better in every single way. Yeah the 14 was fast and smooth, but also immensely heavy and HOT, also the bikes overall have been plagued with more than a few annoying issues. 

I put 220,000 miles on two 08 C14s in 15 years and other than the heat the only issue I ever had were self inflicted.

The first one was rear-ended and totaled by a Corolla at 175,000 miles. The Corolla was toataled too!

I am looking forward to a long and happy relationship with the Tracer