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About 50% of all the roads in the US are unpaved. The single biggest disappointment with my California 1400 is how horrendous it handles gravel. I'm thinking about buying a cheap Stone and throwing a set of knobbies on it to get back some of the riding I'm missing..
I'm thinking about buying a cheap Stone and throwing a set of knobbies on it to get back some of the riding I'm missing..
As a teenager I learned to ride on the gravel roads that surrounded our farm for several miles. My bike was a CJ360 complete with ribbed front tire and drum brakes. I can appreciate both Nick's and Knuckle's assessments of gravel riding. The first time I took my Cali Stone off the highway I was surprised how stable it is. For me, the decent ground clearance, 18 inch wheels and neutral seating position make it a pretty good gravel sled. Who knows, maybe when my current tires are worn out, I'll replace them with some dual-sports.
Once you stand up while riding gravel roads you will be open to a whole new experience as you become the weightless rider. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWgfA6no5k4&list=LLxK8DeRJ56SmAikOfvQBIwg&index=2&t=0s
As the intro to the video says; standing up alone only improves your vision.
As the intro to the video says; standing up alone only improves your vision. I road enduro bikes off road until I was 39 then got my 1st street bike. I agree completely with the video presenter for trail riding, especially rocky, hill climbing etc. For gravel roads I disagree with the endure / trail standing default. I rode 2000 km of gravel last summer to Tuktoyuktuk and back on he Dempster hwy. mostly sitting and leaning back to keep the rear tire digging in and the front making as little contact as possible. Three of us on KLR 650's sat back, cruised at 65 ~ 75 mph all day and passed all the GS and KTM riders struggling to hold 45 mph on the gravel standing up.