[1Scorpion]

Hi I'm still lurking and still on the fence. I'm an over 50 rider at about 200 lbs. I've been considering a TW for years. Now that I've had my first serious street wreck and broke my femur. It maybe time to get off the pavement, enough about my history.

I've ridden off road in Florida on a few dirt bikes a DR650 a klr200 and a DRZ400s. all were fun till I kept fallig off in the deep sugar sand. I ride alone a lot and the thought of laying there hurt waiting for help. Well I sold them all.

Are there any Fl riders here that would tell me what mods if any would be needed to make the TW something I could use to trail ride safely here in all this sand for someone like myself.

P.S. crashing sucks !

 

[ezman671]

I am not much of a dirt/sand rider yet so I cannot help you but where in Fl are you?



I am on the Spacecoast.

 

[1Scorpion]

I am not much of a dirt/sand rider yet so I cannot help you but where in Fl are you?



I am on the Spacecoast.

I'm not much of a dirt rider either. But my plan was to get an new atv to replace mine. However there are very few places to ride one legaly. So my thought were to off road ride at an easy pace not hauling the mail thru the woods. So I need to know if the little TW will be able to carry me at a slower pacer and still be controlable. I found most dirt or dualsport bikes require you to stay on the gas and float the front tire. I found this to be too much speed. I've been mainly a street rider. But I've had it with traffic and uncontrolable situations. I live on the west coast just north of Tampa.

 

[Xracer]

If you do a search there are several post on making the Dub a better off roader. What I've done for sugar sand blasting is lower the stock tire pressure down to 15PSI,keep the stock gearing and go slow. The Dub works pretty well even in deep sand and is light and low enough to drag out if you do get stuck. Buy and wear some good gear and most important file a flight plan!!! Getting hurt or broken down with no one knowing where you are is not much fun.Last I live in Lake Placid,Florida so I know sugar sand.

 

[qwerty]

The oversize front tire floats on sand much better than the tall, skinny conventional dirt bike tires, so it is not necessary to go nearly as fast all the time. Might even consider a bigger tire, such as a 5.10-18. I've had no problem in deep sand with a 120/90-18 Kenda K760 as it is a simple matter to keep atop the sand. The rear the K760 tends to wander around quite a bit while riding in a straight line, but corners like on rails.



As for your fear of falling, if it's a motorcycle, it will fall.

 

[1Scorpion]

Xracer or anyone, Have you ridden other dirtbikes in the sugar sand ? And how does the TW compare ?

 

[RodneyReed]

The TW is much better than other bikes in the sand at slow speeds. However, it is not capable of carrying the front wheel high for fast sand riding. Another advantage on the TW is the ability to run really low air pressure, with less danger of a flat because of the big tires and the slow speeds.

 

[FnMag]

Back when I had a Knobby on the front, I had a little difficulty riding in the same type of sand.. I'm in SE Alabama, so I know the sand you are talking about! I'm more street oriented as I ride my shadow more often than the TDub so I am slowly fixing mine so that it is more reliable and safer than it is currently ( blown fork seals ). Right now, I have a double ended cul-de-sac that has no houses built in it yet that has several trails that the 4 wheeler guys have made that criss cross RRTracks. Running the rail beds is much harder than the sand though with the gigantic rocks they use ( train runs at 10:30pm only).

 

[Xracer]

Xracer or anyone, Have you ridden other dirtbikes in the sugar sand ? And how does the TW compare ?

Yes. THEY SUCK!!!! I spent the entire time fighting the front end and trying not to bury myself. The Dub's fat tires help it float across the surface and it's low end power means it can pull itself out of holes. In fact I've been able to take it places that stopped me on a 4-wheeler!!

 

[Malkop]

Welcome to the Forum Scorpion. I came to TW Club on the down side of hill the by accident by bidding for one for a song on an auction. I gotta tell you I've had a few and ridden a few including my friend's KTM crotch rocket he bought for the Dakar. I must say that I envy them not a jot. For everyday use I like going fishing and sight seeing i like the safe calmness the TW gives one. Sure its fun to feel those G forces on a crothc rovket sometimes, but then I do that one my horses and nothing on wheels can cover 50 yards as quickly as a fast horse. Also my horses have a self interest in not falling and I am able to handover piloting to them at times when racing endurance or playing polo.



Qwerty said "As for your fear of falling, if it's a motorcycle, it will fall." Indeed and so will horses trying hard not to if you push them. Its just that the TDub feels less inclined to fall than any iron horse I ahve everf ridden and the horse power that she was blessed with does not temp one to hang one the cable and push her to the limit.



Join the Club!



Malcolm

 

[qwerty]

I have seen plenty of riders complain that TWs do not have the power for sand. That is not true. Some riders don't know how to keep the engine near peak torque by downshifting. I have passed KLRs, XLs, DRs, and KTMs stuck in deep, powdery sand. In fact, I've stopped to check on stuck bikes and powered Tdub right back up to speed. Many times.

 

[1Scorpion]

Thanks for all the responses. It will be at least a couple of months before I can walk again without a walker or crutches.

This will give me time to look for a good used TW. And to work on my wife to convince her this is the hobby I just have to have.

We've got lots of state forest roads without traffic that I can explore on a street legal ride. But I was concerned cause sooner or later they turn into sugar sand. That's the biggest problem I have with my atv only a couple of places to ride and you have to pay to ride.

Meanwhile I'll keep lurking and learning.

 

[sasnydley]

I have ridden several bikes offroad in Florida and yes it is a totally different experience. I had NX650,DR650,XR600 and other than the NX which was shorter- non were very fun off road-(better onroad LOL). The T-dub is very light and very nimble. geared really low. and goes nicely on road up to 40mph. Fun to just buzz around on. BTW I am in Florida. Sarasota area. You anywhere near?

 

[qwerty]

Hope you're still lurking and healing, Scorp.



On sand, a wider tire improves flotation. More flotation means less speed necessary to float the tire. Wedging rocks and sticks between the tire and forks isn't much of a problem in sand, so running the widest tire that will fit will help. I used to run all over south and central Florida unpaved roads in a 200cid Maverick with 60-series tires and 2-3 inch taller springs. I've also lived in Oneco and I know exactly the sand you're asking about.



There are a plethora of rears that work well on the front of a TW. In the stock 130/18 the Kenda K270 and Shenko 244 are all-around favorites. We've had no reports on the Shinko 700, but it as big blocks with many bite angles and not a whole lot of void, so it may be a surprisingly good sand tire.



I'm wondering if folks can check around with buds with other bikes to measure some of the 140/80-18 tires that are a common size on the rear of big dualsport and adventure bikes. Tread patterns range from the typical TW204 type to 4/5 knobbies similar to motocross tires. I've seen several interesting tread patterns that might do well on sand. The Pirelli MT21 has a good rep and comes in that size.



The Chen Shin 760 is a 4/5 motocross style knobby available in 5.30 and 5.60 sizes. It's a rear with a somewhat rounded profile that should improve cornering over some of the other 4/5 rears, and it's designed for hard surfaces so the rows of knobs are closer together, which will only improve pavement ride, handling, and directional stability when used as a front tire. I wonder if they will fit?



There's some homework for you to do while you're grounded.