In this episode -- Ghostface KLR flies The Finger, Swamp Monster tops off the CRF, and Last Minute Ryan stuffs it in a puddle...
"$57." "Wait, did you say $57?" That's right. Ghostface KLR's truck and trailer combo was visualized to be under 40 feet in length at the Fauntleroy ferry departure pier by the attendant. "It's under 30 feet." It's always under 30 feet. It's measured with the roller and always comes up under 30, just. This time, the attendant measured three times, each with different measurement results -- all over 30 feet. Nothing good could come of this. Ghostface KLR threatened to just drive around (to the peninsula) unless the price dropped to the correct under 30 measurement. We watched the vehicle boarding gate close as the quibble continued. End of ferry boat story; it was leaving without us. We had to drive around. But not before Ghostface KLR threw a fit. Upon u-turn, his arm went out the window with a full left-armed The One proudly sticking up at the Washington State Department of Transportation's ferry system representative.
"Paninis are no longer on the menu." One of our favorite panini sandwich makers at the Belfair Safeway had to explain to us, loyal motorcycle/Safeway club members and all, that our pre-ride tradition of eating hot paninis was over... almost. The grocery store chain deleted them from the menu because, apparently, The Dirty Crew was the only panini customer. Our maker had saved us two loaves of panini bread, so she was able to satisfy us once last time. Next time we're bringing guns and gasoline, because if there are no paninis, the place is going down.
"Holy S**t! It started!" MotoBum was in disbelief that Swamp Monster's CRF started right up from cold. That bike has never run right... at least since the bike's second ride where it was submerged under water and Swamp Monster coined his nickname. He'd had adjusted the valve clearances to actually be within specification. And now it runs like a champ. Imagine that.
Last Minute Ryan kicked and kicked the XR250R's kickstarter. There was no life there. You could tell by the look on his face that he'd regretted eating his words about never wanting to ride it again. It turned out alright though. Once the engine was warm after a thousand kicks, it fired right up. It actually revved over 4000rpm on this day because Ghostface KLR had slid in a new air filter (with rim grease). Medivac could breathe. And with three remaining strands of throttle cable remaining, what could go possibly go wrong on this ride?
Bwaaa rraaahaa rraaarrhaarra. As MotoBum was following Ghostface KLR through a particularly sweet section of banked snaking trail containing nice tacky dirt, his keen senses could tell that Ghostface KLR was getting particularly friendly with the throttle of his extremely powerful Gas Gas EC300... uncharacteristically friendly. Then Ghostface KLR flew off the trail. What ensued next was something unseen since the Fauntleroy ferry terminal -- lots of swearing. The EC's throttle had gotten stuck open. Ghostface KLR was okay. After a throttle disassembly and reassembly, it was determined that... well... nothing was determined to be wrong. A slight clicking of the twistgrip disappeared after reassembly, but nothing was obviously the matter. Ghostface KLR rode the rest of the ride "cautiously."
MotoBum stuffs it in a puddle video:
About 1.5 seconds after MotoBum stuffed it, Last Minute Ryan did the same thing in the same puddle.
Margaritas and tacos were had at a bad Mexican restaurant in Belfair. It will never be frequented again as the food was bland.
The deer.
Max Speed: 72mph. Swamp Monster topped-off his Honda CRF250X on a dead straight dirt road. MotoBum had this idea to just go for it down an access road. So they did. Swamp Monster's bike actually hit the limiter in 6th gear!
The Dirty Crew got together for another fabulous day of riding dirt bikes in the dirt at Tahuya State Forest on January 1, 2012. They wanted to start the year off right.
Special Guest Star Ruthie went along for her second outing. Again, she rode the TDC Honda XR250R. Ghostface KLR had spent an entire day doing maintenance on it the day prior. With a broken decompression cable and a throttle cable operating with only three strands remaining, Ruthie once again proved that riding dirt bikes is the most fun one can have while still wearing pants. She crashed only once while navigating a slippery rock/root/gravel/corner situation while practicing her proper Shane-Watts-style of using the twistgrip like a doorknob. It didn't work.
E-rock hadn't ridden in a while. His arms instantly went to jello for the first 15 minutes of the ride. Then, miraculously, were fine. His WR250F stalled out in deep water twice. The first time he was able to roll through to dry ground. The second one was due to ATV riders blocking the high-ground, leaving E-rock little choice but to take to deep water. What is up with ATV riders anyway?
MotoBum got off line on one section of trail and got his left leg pinned between an embankment and his trusty WR250F. He was laughing too hard to flag-down Swamp Monster for help, but was able to free himself once the laughing subsided. Later, he got the wind knocked out of him as he clipped a fallen tree sticking out into the trail with his chest. Feeling a bit beat up, he attempted to self-medicate by consuming two fish-bowl margaritas at dinner. It worked. But E-rock had to help him with the second one, which was probably a good thing for the interior of Ghostface KLR's truck as it ended-up not getting barfed on.
Ghostface KLR continues to love his Gas Gas EC300. It's been detuned enough now to be fun and "ridable." MotoBum rode it for a minute and swore it off for life. It still has way too much power. Swamp Monster rode it and loved it. Now he's obsessed with getting one of his own. The low weight and low seat height just work well for some people. Ghostface KLR loves his bike so much that he launched off his favorite jump without spotting the landing, landed in a large puddle, and rode the second half of the ride soaking wet. He couldn't wait to get his pants off.
Swamp Monster captured some video with his helmet-mounted GoPro camera... after his CRF250X started, that is. It actually started on the second long push this time (exhausting MotoBum in the process). It won't initially start from the kickstarter or the push-button anymore. Swamp Monster thinks it might be time to check the valves and rebuild the carburetor... shortly before putting it on craigslist in order to fund-raise for his own Gas Gas.
On December 4, 2011, Swamp Monster, Ghostface KLR, and MotoBum hit the trails of Tahuya State Forest for more dirt bike riding fun.
Ghostface KLR's Gas Gas EC300 proved once again to have as much power on the trails as a Honda CBR900RR with a pipe, carb mods, and a big-bore kit. His ride was supposedly easier to control with the freshly installed G2 Throttle Cam System 400. It wasn't. MotoBum test rode the bike down Randy's Water Stop. After 30 feet he stopped, handed the machine back, and said "yeah, that's awesome."
Swamp Monster sat out the last bit of the ride after getting a bit banged-up on the leg during a near-crash. He was resting in the truck when The Man (law enforcement official) showed up to issue the $99 fine for not having a Washington State Discovery Pass displayed. He tried to sweet-talk The Man out of issuing the mandatory enforcement fine. It didn't work.
MotoBum almost became Swamp Monster II during the final leg. A piece of lumber floating in a deep, long, puddle washed out the front end of his WR250F, throwing him down to the left. The piece of lumber had been ridden over no less than three times on this ride. Having taken him by surprise, he fell down... but only onto an embankment and not under water. He got up. He backed out of the deep water. He started the thing. He rode.
Here are the GPS tracks from the first leg of this ride.
Swamp Monster, Ghostface KLR, and MotoBum hit the trails of Tahuya on Sunday, November 6, 2011. We all discovered how blazingly fast GFKLR's Gas Gas EC300 is and how easy it is to push-start Swampy's Honda CRF250X after kicking it for half an hour in attempt to light its very cold fuse. It turned out to be a bad fuel screw setting, but we had a good time.
