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Hi all,
I just returned from a two week trip to Death Valley, where I put 350 miles on my brand new TW200. Temps were delightful for the first week with highs in the low 80's and low's in the 50's, perfect for RV camping. I got to explore lots of territory that I had only dreamed of visiting before. Temps cooled off into the 60's and 70's for the second week and it was cloudy a lot, which curtailed riding much above 3000 feet, but the flowers were great in the south end of the park and it was still tolerable camping.....I must be getting old, I used to think nothing of tent camping in below freezing temps, now I wuss out at 50 in a trailer!!
The T-dub performed flawlessy, there was no issue at all with the stock jet at sea level other than a slight hunting just off idle when going downhill, thanks to Querty's suggestion to open up the pilot needle a turn and shim the main needle with a single washer. The bike ran better above about 3000 feet, but even at sea level it was pretty much a non-issue. I learned a lot about the handling in deep sand and gravel which DV is notorious for, and I did not even dump it once! I only lost my bag once on all those rough roads. Luckily I found it about a mile back, 'cause it had my truck keys in it.
I now tie anything on that rack with at least 6 bungees!!
I found that I got about 90 miles before going to reserve...all in second or third on a majorly rough road....so I figure 125 to dry tank is about right.
I did a 110 mile loop up to the Racetrack and Hidden Valley with lots of side exploring, got up to Chloride Cliff and the Big Bell Mine, Butte Valley up to Mengel Pass, Saratoga Springs, and more. I did not get up any other canyons off Westside Road as I had hoped, because the cooler weather also came with a lot of wind, and riding into the teeth of a 30 mph sand storm on a brutally washboarded road is not my idea of fun. God! Is there ANY dirt road in DV that isn't brutally washboarded??? Actually, I did find one, Echo Canyon Road up to the Inyo mine....that is a really pretty and pleasant 10 mile one way.
I definitely found that my poor old butt is not up to 5 hours on that saddle...I will have to look at the Stearns pad!
My thanks to the members here who answered my stupid noobie questions, their responses really helped make this trip a pleasant success instead of a learning-the-hard-way experience!
Rocky
EDIT trying some pics:
Camp at south end of DV
Geologist's Cabin in Butte Valley
Whoopee! it worked!
I just returned from a two week trip to Death Valley, where I put 350 miles on my brand new TW200. Temps were delightful for the first week with highs in the low 80's and low's in the 50's, perfect for RV camping. I got to explore lots of territory that I had only dreamed of visiting before. Temps cooled off into the 60's and 70's for the second week and it was cloudy a lot, which curtailed riding much above 3000 feet, but the flowers were great in the south end of the park and it was still tolerable camping.....I must be getting old, I used to think nothing of tent camping in below freezing temps, now I wuss out at 50 in a trailer!!
The T-dub performed flawlessy, there was no issue at all with the stock jet at sea level other than a slight hunting just off idle when going downhill, thanks to Querty's suggestion to open up the pilot needle a turn and shim the main needle with a single washer. The bike ran better above about 3000 feet, but even at sea level it was pretty much a non-issue. I learned a lot about the handling in deep sand and gravel which DV is notorious for, and I did not even dump it once! I only lost my bag once on all those rough roads. Luckily I found it about a mile back, 'cause it had my truck keys in it.

I found that I got about 90 miles before going to reserve...all in second or third on a majorly rough road....so I figure 125 to dry tank is about right.
I did a 110 mile loop up to the Racetrack and Hidden Valley with lots of side exploring, got up to Chloride Cliff and the Big Bell Mine, Butte Valley up to Mengel Pass, Saratoga Springs, and more. I did not get up any other canyons off Westside Road as I had hoped, because the cooler weather also came with a lot of wind, and riding into the teeth of a 30 mph sand storm on a brutally washboarded road is not my idea of fun. God! Is there ANY dirt road in DV that isn't brutally washboarded??? Actually, I did find one, Echo Canyon Road up to the Inyo mine....that is a really pretty and pleasant 10 mile one way.
I definitely found that my poor old butt is not up to 5 hours on that saddle...I will have to look at the Stearns pad!

My thanks to the members here who answered my stupid noobie questions, their responses really helped make this trip a pleasant success instead of a learning-the-hard-way experience!
Rocky
EDIT trying some pics:
Camp at south end of DV

Geologist's Cabin in Butte Valley

Whoopee! it worked!