dabneyr

There are several riding areas around Lake Isabella. One of them is Kennedy Meadows just to the north of Isabella. It's the best in California I think. Amazing single track trails everywhere. Keysville is to the east of the lake and has tons of great technical trails. You can actually take a single track trail from the base of the mountains down in Bakersfield all the way up to Lake Isabella. Or you can ride from Lake Isabella south to get to Jawbone Canyon down in the desert. Any direction you go there's great trail riding around Lake Isabella. Do you have any links to videos you've shot?

The Long Way Around was hard to watch sometimes. The bikes were so overloaded with stuff. I know they were filming, but it seemed like they had a lot more equipment than they needed. I like to pack as light as possible, even on the big bike. I try to find ways to save weight and space any opportunity I can get because it makes the bike more enjoyable to ride off-road. Usually, I ride with just a medium sized waterproof bag on the back of the 990 and no panniers. Off-road with panniers can be dangerous, but they are very convenient for getting to your things. Raiden Files was definitely all the riders and not the bikes. Every article review of the Triumph 800XC made a lot of criticisms of the bike's off-road capabilities. But they were riding them like they were motocross bikes in that video. That's what a professional rider can do for you. Most people buying these bikes are not anywhere close to that skill level. It was a great video to watch though! The XR650R has a special spot in my heart. Sweet bike if you have it dialed in. They are scary fast when you put the power up kit on them. And bulletproof. I wouldn't recommend the Rubicon on the XR though. It's doable but that kickstart will get you worn out quickly. Where am I riding? I ride all over but my main areas are around Southern and Central California. I've been doing a lot of riding around Lake Isabella lately on the 500. We go down to Baja every year usually too. Just got back from a trip on the Adventure Bikes in December. It was a great trip riding 8 days from San Diego to Cabo, then we shipped the bikes back. I'll try to post some pics on the Gallery. Good talking with you!

If you think you can't go off-road on a big adventure bike, check these guys out. A group of three adventure riders "completed" the Rubicon Trail riding KTM 990 Adventures... http://www.advpulse.com/adv-videos/taking-on-tahoes-rubicon-trail-on-ktm-990-adventure-bikes/

I own a KTM 990 Adventure R and a KTM 500 EXC. I have been riding both dual sport and adventure bikes for several years now. I ride both off-road and the experience is very different. I was a little initimidated when I bought my first ADV bike riding it off-road. But once you get used to it and you know it's limitations, you can go nearly anywhere a smaller bike can go and have just as much fun. It's just at a slower speed. The challenge of riding a heavy bike makes it interesting on trails that would be boring on a smaller bike. The mindset is different... When I'm on my adventure bike I am out looking to explore and cruise. I want to be comfortable and enjoy the scenery. When I"m on my small dual sport, I'm out there to haul ass and tear it up. It is very physical and fast paced. The point is to get a thrill out of attacking the trail on a smaller bike for me. You can do that in spurts on the big Adventure Bikes as long as you are cautious. 1) Is there a place for adventure touring motorcycles off-pavement? Yes, but this is not a replacement for small dual sports. The purpose of having a big Adventure Bike is for long distance multi-day touring that includes camping. You need a big bike to carry all your gear. You want something comfortable and fast enough to keep up with traffic on the highway. Then riding on dirt roads that are not too rocky or technical is absolutely a blast. But you don't want to take on the Rubicon Trail. Use a different bike for that. 2) Can a rider on a lightweight dual-sport with DOT knobby tires survive much time on the asphalt—if so, how much? What are your views on each motorcycle design?...Join this forum and share your off-pavement experiences and preferences! I don't think you should be on pavement for more than 20-30 minutes at a time on a small dual sport. I just feel like I'm eating up my knobbies and it's uncomfortable. Also, you just don't have enough range on the tank for long blasts on the highway if your goal is to get to a trail. Put the bike in the truck to get to the trails, then ride all day. If you need to get on the pavement to link up trails for 20-30 minutes it's fine. I don't think people should try to learn how to ride off-road on a full sized adventure bike. That's a mistake a lot of people make. Start with a small dual sport or smaller adventure bike in the 650cc range to learn off-road riding technique.