Offroading an F6B? Not a good idea

So Google maps took me down some dirt "roads" deep in the Nevada desert last weekend. It start fine on hard pack dirt and gravel, although about 10 miles in it started getting progressively worse. Ended up stuck, both bottomed out on some roots, and rear tire dug itself down without traction. After trying to dig myself out with a "selfie-stick" (came with my 360 camera) for a couple hours I decided to hike a few miles then up a hill to get cell service and call a tow company. I do not recommend taking your bike off-road. Attachment 8331Attachment 8330Attachment 8332

I’ve done it myself, hard packed and sandy. Pucker factor was high but the only issue was a friends bike ended up like yours but there were enough of us there to hope dislodge it. Great scenery! Too bad you couldn’t enjoy it.

haha, I cut through a short portion of friends lawn last fall, soft ground, bottomed out, good thing I got on the throttle or I'd been stuck. I still need to go fix it, he reminded me today, lol.

Glad you and your bike made it out ok! I took a similar trek due to the Garmin's adventure setting apparently taking its job very seriously and leading me onto some private property that I nearly didn't make it out of, lol. Harrowing, but still fun.

Jason

I won’t even do a short dirt road, never mind a ride like that. I hate dirt, feels like ice to me.

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Originally Posted by wjduke

I won’t even do a short dirt road, never mind a ride like that. I hate dirt, feels like ice to me.

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I've done just a little dirt and gravel. Not for a long duration. Not my favorite. You have to let the big pig wander in it; don't grip the handlebars tightly and try to fight the nuances in its tracking.

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Originally Posted by wjduke

I won’t even do a short dirt road, never mind a ride like that. I hate dirt, feels like ice to me.

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What he said! :rolleyes:

Avoid sand at all costs!!

Ya, sand sucks on these bikes. Not quite so bad if the sand is wet/damp. While riding the northwoods backroads in Wisconsin a couple years ago with a bud on a Harley, he turned off on a DNR fire trail. Said it was a short cut, to our destination. well, turns out, not! Wet leaves and clay are not a friend of the F6B either. Did manage to get thru without a fall. Have friends in northern Minnesotta, that have about 5 miles of gravel road to the location. Also not fun when it rains.

I just did the same thing a couple of weeks ago. Me and the wife headed out on a beautiful Sunday morning to a destination about 3 hours away. My ride app showed a route that looked much better then taking the interstate. So we went for it. Well after about an hour into it the pavement ended. It was hard packed dirt at first, but then it soon turned into gravel and then rocks. But by that time we were at the point of no return. When it was all said and done it was about 30 miles of that crap. We never went down or got stuck, but it sure rattled you teeth as we would get passed by the occasional side by side or 4 x 4. Needless to say we took a different route home. The bike was filthy but ran fine. Unit I washed it a few days later. I rode down down to my local do it yourself "wand" car wash (I know, I know... that's an entirely different subject) got the bike all cleaned up and took the long way home (about 45 min) and everything was fine. Until I clicked off the ignition switch to coast the remaining 100' to my driveway. Without the motor running I could feel that the bike wasn't freewheeling as much as it should. It never locked up the rear tire, but by the time I made it to the driveway it would barely move. So much so that I had a hard time even rolling it back to get it on the center stand. After getting under the bike... I couldn't see any physical damage anywhere. But I couldn't move the rear wheel at all. After scratching my head for awhile... the only thing that I could assume was that there was sand in the brake caliper or the drive itself. So I decided to get out the brake cleaner and spray the hell out of the caliper. Sure enough... after a combination of spraying it and turning the wheel by hand it eventually freed up and now it seems fine. But I think I'm going to take it apart and make sure everything is clean and in good shape before my next ride. The last thing I would want to do is have it lock up again during a ride in the middle of nowhere. Note to self... NO DIRT ROADS!!!

Yep.
GPS says theres a road there, but doesnt show what kind of road or if its even paved all the way.
Most of the time short cuts dont pay off.
On a big heavy bike like the B, stick to the plan.