"a lot of these things that I did today, most people would not try on a GS 1250" - man, I wouldn't do some of that on my DR650 if I was out by myself. Impressive riding.
You're about the humblest GS rider I've come across. No way you could make that trail, not dropping it even once, without some proper skills. Say what you want, that was clearly within your limits. Big respect!
Thanks Mike. I'm much more confident on the bike now. That was really the first time I tried anything that difficult on a bike that big. It's definitely been places I shouldn't have taken it now. And been down too many times to count. 30+ years on dirt bikes helps, but the big adv bikes always leave a little question mark in your head. Like "can this thing really do this?" If you know what I mean.
'we came out here to do stupid stuff' and the laugh that followed. Too funny. Then sure enough you rode that tightrope with ease. This is another one I'm happier to watch than to experience :p
This video proves what a good rider on a big bike can do. I actually think my 2020 R1250 GS Adv is better off road than my 2017 Africa Twin was. Thanks for sharing this!
Wow that Allison Road downhill is like a ski hill when it's wet I bet! Great video - reminds me of the parts of Ohio that I actually miss. Wish I'd have been riding when I lived there. Thanks for sharing!
you are too skilled, I can barely get my GS over a speed bump. i wish we had more trails and mountainous terrain in south florida, that looks fun....great job, be safe
Hello again from Colorado, sometimes 'Less is more' and sometimes 'More is less' and sometimes one doesn't have a choice. Some jobs are easier with a 1/4 or 3/8 inch socket set, but that doesn't mean they can't be done with a 1/2 inch set... Beautiful/serious trails, Impressed with your riding... I hope you've been keeping up with ItchyBoots, it's a kick seeing her ripping it up around Madagascar on that KTM350, perfect tool for the job...Cheers man, take care.
2007 GS1200, live in Colorado. Similar terrain. Well done brother. That's about the reasonable limit of terrain with even the best tires. TKC 80 rear, Dunlop Trail Max front right now for me( for the time being). These bikes are amazingly capable off road in respectful hands. Since the front end feel and feedback is so vague off road you just have to trust it and steer the bike from the middle if that makes sense. Better than my dad's Gold Wing on road as well. One of the finest machines ever made if you can get around the idiosyncracies and ride it like it was engineered, not ride it like a more traditional machine.
Couldn't agree more Glenn. The best all around bike I've ever had the pleasure of riding. I come from dirt bikes and I hear so many people talk about the vague front end feel, in loose stuff I steer from the middle and rear and I kind of like the feel. Maybe I'm referring to how plush it is more than feel. Idk. But I do love it. I find beauty in how it's different from my other bikes. Keeps it fun. Appreciate you watching. I'm coming back to your neck of the woods real soon.
Excellent riding on some pretty tough looking terrain. Now I’m gonna have to subscribe to your channel! I would love to see a video on your bike and what mods you’ve done and the gear you use. Great stuff so far. I look forward to more!
It’s not it’s capability, its how do you get out of bad situation when things go bad. Like if you drop a big heavy bike in a rut and you can’t get leverage to pick it up because these big bike can’t be drug around to a better lifting position. Always try and leave yourself a way out when things don’t go according to plan. It’s all good until it’s not.
@@ChopperChad I've pushed myself to do things most wouldn't my entire life. I have mostly succeeded because of research and preparation. I have a zoleo satellite communicator if it goes south. I carry a hefty block and tackle system if I can't lift or move the bike under my own power. For me this is what keeps me going. . It's not for everyone, but I like it. 28k miles all over America last year. Stuck in many spots I shouldn't have been. So far I have always found a way out. I have found if you think you can, you are half way there.
Great job. You said some wouldn't take a GS 1250 their some of us wouldn't take any bike their. really like the videos I get to see a side of riding I have never done Thanks
Enjoying your rides. I, too have a similar setup: a 790 r, and GSA. So it’s fun to hear your comments when comparing. Sounds familiar as I do a lot of off road out west in Az. I switch from bike to bike. Both have their advantages, etc..
I have a new 1250 adventure on order and I cannot wait! There is a lot of that type of riding in my area, will be nice to be able to get off the highway. Great riding, that was no walk in the park!
Wow! You're far braver than me! Well done! 5 Stars. I wouldn't even entertain the idea. My GS is strictly for road use and would be too worried about even slight damage. Hey, don't even have engine bar guards, just protective covers. Anyway, I'm impressed. Thanks for the video
Thanks. I totally get the road only aspect. But I've always been of the mindset of using it for it's intended purpose. After a couple dents and scratches, the worry goes away. Lol it's truly amazing what these big bikes can actually do.
I appreciate you saying that. I think all the time I should get a $3000 older gs and see what I can do with it.. See how crazy it can get. And not worry about going broke fixing the new one.
Finally someone who understood what GS is useful for too :) We ride like this every weekend and vacation twice a year and it's awesome. Only when we meet guys on dirt bikes in heavy terrain, they usually ask: how did you get here ?
@@localrouteadv Sometimes, it seems that my buddy and I are probably the only ones in our small country who ride harder offroad. But we enjoy it a lot. The helmet humming I hear over the intercom is excellent.
Time to sell your 890 because you don't need it... you ride that 1250 like your last name is Birch. I've got an 890R and 1250 GSA and if I could ride the GSA as well as you do I'd drop the KTM like a hot rock. Well done sir!
Thanks so much. I'm usually solo or run into someone along the way and link up. This is the first year where I've actually been on a couple group rides. Most people don't like the downtime involved in capturing the content. But I'm all for it.
Some of that really looks quite tough! nice work! I'm in Ohio and just picked up a GS, hope to hit some dirt with it sometime but probably not such techy downhills. Usually the camera doesn't do it justice and terrain looks kind of mild, but NOT in this video that looks like tough stuff. Stuff I'd be careful taking the DRZ through.
Really not bad at all. I'm impressed with your balance. I know that these lenses don't do any justice to what's been actually dealt with here. I'm also impressed with how the tank handled these without proper tires. Was your clutch smelling after some of these obstacles (one thing I hated about my GSs were the dry clutches) and did you have TC on (I assume no)? P.S. Going up off camber ruts on these tires and without slipping! Impressive indeed. I also like your careful approach, inspecting and proceeding with great caution.
thanks, no clutch smells. I am pretty careful about feathering the clutch on this beast. It can get problematic. I was using some TC, more testing it than anything else. I learned the hard way about checking things out before I get into something I can't get out of. Thanks for checking out the vid.
Very nice! I would try that on my Tiger 1200, but I'm not familiar enough with my 1250 GSA to tackle that _just_ yet... at least by myself.... I've grown pretty conservative when I'm solo...
I would never say you can’t take a big bike off-road. I just choose not to - at least not on the types of off-road you’re doing. I have a GSA and my main problem is that I consider it very tippy. It’s so heavy that it’s hard to manage if you need to stop and conditions aren’t perfect for that. And if you drop it, it’s a tough time getting it back up sometimes, on uneven ground. Of course, I “need” to stop more often than someone who has more talent and experience than I do! I’ll take way more chances on my DRZ, and that’s the whole reason I got it. Anyway, my hat is off to you! I left a pucker mark on my couch when I got up a minute ago. - A GSer from central KY.
I completely agree with everything you state here. I am a dirt bike ride at heart. I have a 250sx and also an 890r. Since getting the gs a few months ago, my 51 year old butt just keeps grabbing it as I keep searching for new trails that get further and further away. I've come to find that it is way more capable for me that I originally thought. I would not advise anyone that isn't very experienced off road and with big bikes trying this kind of thing. But there is just something about doing it and making it out alive just keeps me pumping. I may have a problem.
@@localrouteadv I’ve ridden a decent amount of rocky and mildly uneven unpaved roads as seen in some bits of your vid on the GSA, and with great success (I keep reminding myself the bike can totally do it and I just need to stay on and provide a little guidance). But that narrow, muddy, rutty, rocky, steep stuff with high cost of failure is just not for me - even on my DRZ - at least at my current level of competence and confidence. Although I arguably do have good basic skills (some transferred from mountain biking), I admittedly would just get too intimidated and screw up due to lack of confidence. I do intend to keep building skills (at 61 years old), but I’ll probably mostly relegate the BMW to the moto-camping and groomed off-pavement munching duties for the most part, or perhaps will trade it for an Aprilia Tuareg or some other mid-weight steed. I have the bags to set my DRZ up for lightweight ADV riding, and am planning to do a bit of that in Daniel Boone National Forest before too long. Anyway, this was an inspirational, if terrifying, video to watch 😅. Your dirt background is evident. Way to go!
@@localrouteadv Oh, and I also have a small channel where I put out motorcycling (among many other things) content now and then. I keep trying to find ways to improve the production quality. I’m also a musician, and often use my own backing tracks for the videos, and have also used drone footage now and then (which IMO is super difficult and risky from a bike, though it adds so much).
@@mike.thomas you are too kind. I always jokingly say it's 10% confidence and 99% momentum. Which I know doesn't add up. And everyone should stay in their lane(pun intended) when it comes to challenging their skills. Confidence is so important when trying something out of our comfort zone. So if you are sure your confidence isn't up to par, avoid it. If you aren't quite sure, make sure you have momentum. Lol
@@mike.thomas right on. Also a musician my entire life. Multi instruments. When I get into things, I try to master them. Which can also take some of the fun away. Much better reeling that in with age. I'll check it your stuff. Thanks for the chat.
Very impressive. Amazing what the big gsa will do. Ive got a 1200gss and no way i would have been able to do most of that. Ive got 100s of thousands of miles on 2 wheels, but most of that is street or forest service road. Just got a honda 300l to get better off road with. You must have road dirt bikes growing up? Maybe you can do some training videos too. Cheers from NW PA.
Thanks but I am a terrible teacher. I think so anyways. But you are correct. I've been on dirt bikes since I was 5. Raced for years and still race a few harescrambles every year. On the road, I am still learning.
At first I was excited I might have found a new route. Then I saw you do it. This would be tough on any bike. At some point you can't call them roads anymore. This one passed that point awhile ago. Wouldn't even be fun to hike it! lol Great riding. Hope you didn't give any dummies too much confidence! This dummy is going to skip it.
man, you are getting some great drone shots! did you ever put differnt tires on the GS? the GS's center of gravity is sure helpful oout there in wild lol hellua video Jay! sláinte
Thanks Ed, and still running the trailmax missions, but swapped it the stock anakee. I wanted to use them up, but I just couldn't take the lack of trail traction any longer.
@@Eds_PanAm for all around performance and longevity, I haven't found a better tire. In sand and mud they aren't good, but everything else they are great. I'll probably get 10k miles out of the rear and 15 out of the front.
I thought, ja off road, sure - is that any road without tar? Respect man you took that oversized land whale on some rough stuff. That motor just purrs. never seems stressed.
She absolutely loves it. Tried a goldwing first then a 1290 super adventure. Both were just ok. The gs changed everything. Now she actively plans trips with me. It's just so comfortable.
Well that's a story in itself. Lol. The bar mount is an ulanzi clamp. The controller itself has a GoPro stick on mount. Then it was just some combination of GoPro adaptor bits to link them together. I don't fully trust the stick on pad on the comptroller, so I have it tethered to the bars via a small carabineer clip and wire. Hope this helps.
Ohh if only you had a camera set up to catch the action from a short distance away 😢.....the rear view really did show the steepness of the hill though! 👍👍up!
I hear you. I need a film crew. The rear view on this trip was testing for future shots when I have a riding buddy to do just that. So there is more to come.
@@localrouteadv You’ve probably already considered it, but do consider getting yourself a 360 camera. The final quality won’t be quite as high, but you’ll be able to frame video how you like after recording. When mixed with traditional camera footage it’s pretty effective, IMO. You can also get some pretty cool creative shots with them by using different high/low, etc locations on the bike. Just be ready to destroy it, given the kind of riding you do 😂. Here’s an example with me riding the GSA on one of the few off-pavement roads that are somewhat convenient to me here in central KY. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-A_8_EHvhYXY.html
@@mike.thomas I have considered and tried one out, but I'm all about ease of use when editing and the extra step of framing and finalizing the shot before I can add it to the project has always stopped me. Not saying I won't consider it in the future, but for now I'm coming up with other ways to streamline the process and don't want to take a step back. Filming is the easy part, it's the hours behind the computer screen that can get me burned out if not careful.
@@localrouteadv Totally understood. I do get beaten down in the editing phase sometimes. I am usually running at least two cameras, and sometimes an audio recorder, so there’s all that reframing and then syncing to do, not to mention multi-camera editing. I’m usually pleased with the results, but it is certainly just a labor of love - I don’t get enough views to justify the dozens of hours I might spend on just one video. The other thing I run into is disk space. I’m a pack rat when it comes to footage, so I have many terabytes of footage on my almost-full drives. Takes some of the fun out of it to consider upsizing (again), but I can’t make myself delete anything 🤷🏻♂️.
@@mike.thomas one thing I started doing was once I have everything all lined up on the timeline and I go through and do the first cut out of the obvious bits. I render an hd video of that on a back up disc. Then once I finish the main video I save it as well and I can then delete the raw videos. But I know what you mean. You feel like you are losing something you might need later. But I can't just $100 for a drive every video.
