JohnnyMac

Member
Jun 18, 2000
47
0
I’m heading out to Glamis this weekend and am taking some major precautions to keep my bike as sand free as possible. I purchased a “shock wares” shock cover and after installing, I noticed that with the placement of the KTM no link setup, the shock cover material is extremely close to the pipe on my 520SX.

I'm worried about it melting as I'm not sure if the material is heat resistant.

Does anybody have any experience with these? Any other “sand proofing” tips are welcome!
 

JohnnyMac

Member
Jun 18, 2000
47
0
Guess I’m being a little paranoid. After being able to ride on groomed tracks throughout the year, it just seems strange riding in something so abrasive. Last Time I went on a dune ride, my rims lost their shiny finish and the “Excel” stickers in about 20 minutes.
Guess I’ll just relax and enjoy the ride.:cool:
 

bens

Sponsoring Member
Aug 15, 2001
31
0
An extra air filter is ecellent insurance. I have not tried it but I have heard of people putting panty hose over thier a/f. :think If you got the cash a paddle tire is a good idea also I've run the Hooker II (some of my friends have had problems w/ flats) Chenshin (sp?) also makes paddles. They are alot of fun to ride on. Higher gearing is not a bad Idea either. Depending on how you ride I would also go up one main jet size (oops just realized your on a f/s I'm not sure of the jetting thing now) This is do to the wfo riding.

I learned to ride at Silver Lake sand dunes in Mears MI there are over a 1000 acres of dunes to ride. (alot for a state w/o desert) However I dont go any more do to the # of people.:p
 

yota

Member
Oct 9, 2001
293
0
Just make sure you grease air filter seal and have fun! I live in Florida now but grew up riding on sand dunes on Oregon coast. Good sand tires we use here are Bridgestone M26 rear and Michelin S12 front. If you have 18" rear try M40 or Kenda Trackmaster. Run 10 or 11 lbs. air in rear and 12 to 13 lbs. in front. Paddle tires are good for dunes but useless anywhere else. M26 is as close to a paddle as you can get. Works great in mud too.
 
Jan 10, 2001
28
0
If you plan on doing some extreme riding then a paddle tire is the way to go, and go Cheng Shin 8 paddle. I have used Skat-Trak, Cheng Shin paddles, and also a Pirelli MT44 Lagunacross. Cheng Shin is the best for durability, I actually had a paddle break in half and fall off the Skat-Trak. The MT44 is one heck of a tire, I put it on there cause I was riding Little Sahara, OK dunes, mountain passes in Silverton, Colorado, back to the dunes in Little Sahara, Utah and then made a stop at the dunes at Farmington, New Mexico, which also has an awesome mini Baja as I like to call it, out through the desert, so the tire did quite well. Sand didn't do much harm except for a little wear on the inner side of the rear wheel where the tire is snug up against the rim. Eh, if you go with paddles, try not to land sideways on the rear, they like to slide if you get to far over on the edge, actually came right out from under me :) But that was really my fought. Have fun, the Dunes are the funnest places I have ever ridden, it is very addicting.
Remember, faster is better in the dunes, the faster you go the more stable it is, don't try to creep down steep dunes shove it up in 3rd and go wide open down them. Awesome Rush.
 
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jski

Sponsoring Member
Apr 5, 2001
178
0
90% of my riding time is in sand and the one thing I would recommend over anything is a paddle tire because on a bike without a paddle you have to really work the bike and stay in the higher rpm ranges in sand, which is hard on any bike. As far as the sand issue just make sure your filter seal is greased and you will be fine, In fact my filter from a hard weekend in the sand is cleaner then when I ride for 2 hours at the local mx track. I have never been to Glamis but have heard it is a fun ride but busy. Have fun

Jim
 
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