12 replies to this topic

[harvey krumpet]

Anybody have experience of punting their TDM in soft sand? Tips, tricks, psychological assessments?

I have dual porpoise tires on the bike & I'm gagging to ride up Ninety mile beach but the access & exit are through the very soft stuff. The exit I'm thinking of, Te Paki stream (tour promo) is just that, a stream over sand, usually hard packed....

I can punt a wee bike in sand but have never tried it on a big bike, let alone without knobblies.

Thoughts Genulmin?

[shadowjack]

Uh, sounds to me that with dual porpoise tyres, wouldn't you be all at sea, anyway?
And swimming up the Te Paki stream?
When I was up there, I must admit I looked at the beach, and went "Nuh".
Coulda been a whale of a time, though.

Probably not helpful comments in the context of your question, but, oh well...

Waddayouse West Island fullas reckon?

[BrewersWhoop]

What distance is involved in the entrance and exit? I've had to ride soft sand a couple of times on a Transalp, once with Tourances on (which were OK but not great) and once with TKC80's on (which were better, but still not great). Much leg work, pushing/pulling and heaving (both kinds) were involved, and the experience wasn't over-enjoyable. I'd expect the same on the TDM - hence the question about how far you'd have to ride on the softage.

I think the mentalists who regularly ride trailies on sand lower their tyre pressure a lot, but have rimlocks fitted to stop unpleasantness involving the tyre turning on the rim.

Masterbrewer is the guy to ask about offroad madness on a TDM!

[beerbelly]

I've ridden on soft sand on a 250 with dual porpoise tyres and it was horrible. The bike could only manage a walking pace with the back wheel doing about 30mph! The knobs weren't deep enough to grab the sand so the wheel was just spinning around on top of the sand. It really comes down to tread depth for soft sand so you can dig in and get a nice rooster tail happening...

[harvey krumpet]

What distance is involved in the entrance and exit? I've had to ride soft sand a couple of times on a Transalp, once with Tourances on (which were OK but not great) and once with TKC80's on (which were better, but still not great). Much leg work, pushing/pulling and heaving (both kinds) were involved, and the experience wasn't over-enjoyable. I'd expect the same on the TDM - hence the question about how far you'd have to ride on the softage.

I think the mentalists who regularly ride trailies on sand lower their tyre pressure a lot, but have rimlocks fitted to stop unpleasantness involving the tyre turning on the rim.

Masterbrewer is the guy to ask about offroad madness on a TDM!

Entrance & exit maybe 20 mtrs, round the Bluff, maybe 200 mtrs...

I know the technique, get your butt back & gas it, works on the wee bike but when that starts fish tailing & wallowing it's only 115kg. Not a back breaker to push either.

I think a nice long strop would be handy to have, once those doon pips hit the sand it will be well & truly stuck. The G/F can haul me out.
I promise to take video when it happens.

I'm going to get a good mountain bike pump so I can adjust the rear tire pressure as required & pump it back up for the seal.

Thanks for your contribution Shadowjack I have plenty of time to mullet over. Hope I don't get crabby..
Hows life in the snow?

[beerbelly]

I bet the TDM could do something like this:



If you fitted one of these:

[masterbrewer]

G'Day HK

Piece of piss on a TDM with the wide front tyre really.

Once you have lowered your tyre pressures to say 20psi front & say 25 psi rear (+ or - depending on sand thick/wetness) Actually I have rarely dropped them below 24psi front 30psi rear.

What I have found best is;

No1 ...... keep looking at where you want to finish and don't lower your vision ( you'll hit what you look at )

No2 ...... stand up & lean slightly over the bars unless it gets really soft & wobbly then lean further back, give it some whelly & hang on.

No3 ...... try to keep a minimal positive throttle until you feel a slight wobble then power on slightly & then back off at the first opportunity in preparation for the next wobbly bit & repeat.

No4 ...... lean back on downhill sections & lean forward on uphill sections.

No5 ...... Try to avoid following others' ruts

No6 ..... stop & look back on your achievement & take photos





Note this photo is when I was just taking off & about to jump on the pegs






....... and make sure your mate has your camera for that "special moment" for us all to enjoy

Good luck

Cheers

[LDRider]

Never tried one of my big thumpers in soft sand, but ridden fair bit of it as a kid on my small enduro/motorcross bikes. What I found then was that dual purpose tires are nearly useless, and the most aggressive knobbies you can get work pretty well. We used to put on full-dirt motocross race type knobbies for that - the most aggressive patterns we could find. I have ridden my GSA on some sandy roads, and lot of fire roads, and the 'dual purpose' (90/10) tires are useless - they look like they have grip for offroad, but basically it's for appearances not any real value. I've just ordered Heidenau Scout K60s for my GSA (50/50), and that I hope is about right for on/off use.

[TKH]

I did a volcanic ash flow on Vesuvius (road was blocked with ash) some years back on an XS 750 (with pillion)and it was an absolute mare but took it easy and got through ok.

[robelst]

I did a volcanic ash flow on Vesuvius (road was blocked with ash) some years back on an XS 750 (with pillion)and it was an absolute mare but took it easy and got through ok.

That's the whole thing - many owners of alleged "adventurous" bikes confuse "scraping through whilst being terrified" with well-controlled racing through the rough & tough with a big smile on the face (ah, I wish I never sold my Husqvarna wr250...).

To get inspired through deep sand you need really rough tyres (nothing that will fit a TDM rim, even Heidenaus or TCK80 will struggle), a suitable air-filter and a big heart

When it comes to weight, weight distribution, ground clearance, engine characteristics, crash-vulnerability and the ability to balance the bike by standing on the pegs, a TDM's off-roading capability is somewhere between that of a Honda Hornet and the great blue whale.

[harvey krumpet]

When it comes to weight, weight distribution, ground clearance, engine characteristics, crash-vulnerability and the ability to balance the bike by standing on the pegs, a TDM's off-roading capability is somewhere between that of a Honda Hornet and the great blue whale.

I agree, but if they drove a Morris Minor up Ben Nevis I can (try to) get my TDM up Ninety Mile Beach. The girlfriend will be on the Lanza so the whale won't get stranded, embarrassed maybe...

Thanks MasterBrewer, that's just the inspiration I'm looking for. I guess you don't have to worry about the tide coming in on a ride like that?

[shadowjack]

Hows life in the snow?

Beautiful - for about five minutes, then it's just cold and miserable. At these times, I cast my mind back to "happy place" summer tours in the upper half of the NI. It eases the discomfort. Only the one dump (snow, that is) this year, although it threatened a few flakes earlier in the week.

[harvey krumpet]

Beautiful - for about five minutes, then it's just cold and miserable. At these times, I cast my mind back to "happy place" summer tours in the upper half of the NI. It eases the discomfort. Only the one dump (snow, that is) this year, although it threatened a few flakes earlier in the week.

I had visions of you curled up in your man cave playing with your flies & tackle waiting for the daffodil's to pop up.

Jas and I are talking of a big adventure to the mainland when she gets her full licence. As much off tar seal as we can eat. Gonna be a year or three before it happens, though.