It has been a long time coming, but I have been busier than a 1-legged man in a butt kicking contest.
Many of you know I was sent to Malaysia for 2.5 months for business. I managed to go riding 3 times while there. I posted ride reports for rides 1 & 2, but I have been a lazy sod and I am just now getting 'round to writing up ride report #3.
Anyway.... The plan is to drive to an area South of Kuala Lumpur and hit some trails and even a 'motocross track' on some private land owned by a friend of my friend Raymond. We get to the place and unload and start riding about noon on Saturday 11/01. I do a couple of laps on the MX track just to check it out. We have 4 riders this time, so it is a small but good group. Raymond brought his trials bike for this ride. We hit some mangled jungle trail that is full of hill climbs and creek crossings. I call the area mangled jungle because some of the area had been cut for timber (making for some nice trail, btw). I am riding the same KTM 250 EXC that I rode in Kuala Lipis. I am riding well, but as the day goes on the performance of the bike has degraded to the point that I suggest that we go back to camp and take a look at it... the initial thought was that the power valve needed service and it had stuck open. It was not the case as the sparkplug was just not tightened enough and it had loosened enough that the bike was losing compression. I went over the bike and tightened the plug. She fired right up. After a test ride I decided it was time to hit the MX track before the sun went down (and it was setting fast). I hit the 'track' and I am feeling good. The bike is ripping. I clear the 1 small double, then hit a 180 turn to a nice drop off. I click into 2nd and launch off the drop off. Nice... I roll the gas on and click into 3rd. There is another small double up ahead with a long landing. The jump isn't more than 30 or so feet, but with that nice long run out I figure I'd just over-jump it so I kept it in 3rd. I hit the jump and what I didn't see was the kicker on the lip. I went to the air and the back end started to come up. Not so fast that I was going to endo, but it was up a bit higher than I wanted. I shifted my weight back and prepared to land, but the ground was uneven and upon landing front wheel down with the back up the bars collpased (turned) effectively dumping me off to the right side of the bike. I hit right on my elbow, then my right shoulder. I bounced and spun once and I landed in just a manner that the KTM could inflict insult to injury in the form of a fast-spinning knobby that hit me right on the ass and went up to the small of my back. Very nice indeed.
I got up feeling more pissed off than injured and it wasn't until a few moments later that I realized that I had gashed my right forearm open to the bone just above my elbow. The bike wasn't hurt bad at all. Bent bars and a busted headlamp. I needed medical help though.... Raymonds cousin is a Dr. in a newarby village, so we called him and went to his clinic. It took 6 stiches to close me up. One stitch on the inside to repair the torn muscle. That is the permanent souvenir part of the story.
No riding for me on Sunday... Oh well. I got to hang out with some really cool folks, do some riding before I ate dirt, and have some really good local food.
Pictures are below... Enjoy!
-jeffd
Many of you know I was sent to Malaysia for 2.5 months for business. I managed to go riding 3 times while there. I posted ride reports for rides 1 & 2, but I have been a lazy sod and I am just now getting 'round to writing up ride report #3.
Anyway.... The plan is to drive to an area South of Kuala Lumpur and hit some trails and even a 'motocross track' on some private land owned by a friend of my friend Raymond. We get to the place and unload and start riding about noon on Saturday 11/01. I do a couple of laps on the MX track just to check it out. We have 4 riders this time, so it is a small but good group. Raymond brought his trials bike for this ride. We hit some mangled jungle trail that is full of hill climbs and creek crossings. I call the area mangled jungle because some of the area had been cut for timber (making for some nice trail, btw). I am riding the same KTM 250 EXC that I rode in Kuala Lipis. I am riding well, but as the day goes on the performance of the bike has degraded to the point that I suggest that we go back to camp and take a look at it... the initial thought was that the power valve needed service and it had stuck open. It was not the case as the sparkplug was just not tightened enough and it had loosened enough that the bike was losing compression. I went over the bike and tightened the plug. She fired right up. After a test ride I decided it was time to hit the MX track before the sun went down (and it was setting fast). I hit the 'track' and I am feeling good. The bike is ripping. I clear the 1 small double, then hit a 180 turn to a nice drop off. I click into 2nd and launch off the drop off. Nice... I roll the gas on and click into 3rd. There is another small double up ahead with a long landing. The jump isn't more than 30 or so feet, but with that nice long run out I figure I'd just over-jump it so I kept it in 3rd. I hit the jump and what I didn't see was the kicker on the lip. I went to the air and the back end started to come up. Not so fast that I was going to endo, but it was up a bit higher than I wanted. I shifted my weight back and prepared to land, but the ground was uneven and upon landing front wheel down with the back up the bars collpased (turned) effectively dumping me off to the right side of the bike. I hit right on my elbow, then my right shoulder. I bounced and spun once and I landed in just a manner that the KTM could inflict insult to injury in the form of a fast-spinning knobby that hit me right on the ass and went up to the small of my back. Very nice indeed.
I got up feeling more pissed off than injured and it wasn't until a few moments later that I realized that I had gashed my right forearm open to the bone just above my elbow. The bike wasn't hurt bad at all. Bent bars and a busted headlamp. I needed medical help though.... Raymonds cousin is a Dr. in a newarby village, so we called him and went to his clinic. It took 6 stiches to close me up. One stitch on the inside to repair the torn muscle. That is the permanent souvenir part of the story.
No riding for me on Sunday... Oh well. I got to hang out with some really cool folks, do some riding before I ate dirt, and have some really good local food.
Pictures are below... Enjoy!
-jeffd
