New Blog - No More Posts On Dr Siouxsie's Travels

Dr. Siouxsie's Travels will not be updated any more.  For new posts from Paul and Andy, you need to go to Andy's blog "The Real Motorcycle Diaries" where we will collaborate and post all new rides, adventures and stories together rather than duplicate as we have done in the past.  The Real Motorcycle Diaries is easier on the eye and contains many of the same links.  

Dr Siouxsie's posts, maps and images will all be kept as is for reference.  Thanks for your patronage and come join us over at The Real Motorcycle Diaries for more updates on local mid island riding access, gate locations, work arounds, trail conditions and photos.

Paul

Up the Hellevator to DeCosmos and the Gold Mine

Andy on his blog, The REAL Motorcycle Diaries , has just blogged our latest jaunt.  And it was a good great one.  I am not going to repeat the excellent job he has done - his maps and graphics are amazing - but am going to add some pictures and Vids to illustrate his description.  I have borrowed his map below to reference the pictures from the Coleman Conquest camera I am using.  It is set to take pictures every 30s, unfortunately, I need to remember to clean the damn lens before I head out.  

Above: Starting at Phantom, heading past Boomerang, Cottle and joining the hydrolines.  The Hellevator starts from there...

Above - 9.  This is the junction. Take the Left off of the power lines trail to meet with connector trail leading to Nanaimo Lakes area:    

Above and Below: This is the type of terrain you can expect along much of the connector to the Hellevator...

 

Above: 10.  This is the entrance to "The Hellevator" - a technical trail joining power lines area to the Nanaimo Lakes roads.  At this point you have a choice, right or left...they both join back up within a few metres, but the choice is yours.  We chose the right... This is an essential local trail to know if you want to get out to the Nanaimo Lakes area easily. Hellevator because it is a challenge and it climbs - big time.

Above: The right fork...?  Well it's the one we went with.  And it worked for us.

The left fork...A trials bike seems to have "enjoyed" this one.  

And  a video of the Hellevator...

Above: Between #10 and #11 en route up DeCosmos...Great roads and rides.

#11: The gate in the background was open...and the views below were spectacular.  iPhones don't do it justice.

#13 The gaping Maw of the Deadhorse Creek Gold Mine...Cool even on a 30+C day.  Wet, bug ridden but intriguing...

This working looks new...in the distance looks like a new excavation since we were here last...

Above: Getting down to the mine is courtesy of two nylon ropes.

The only spoiler...2nd Lake gate shut on a Sunday.  Again.  Has it been open this year?  No problem.  We have several routes back. 

Husaberg FE390 - Sweet Cheeks -Extending the Fuel Range

Since selling the big thumper and getting the svelte Berg, the one thing I have missed is the security of a huge IMS tank and a range of 300+km.  After several dirt rides with the Berg, I have calculated that she gets at least 20 km per litre of gas on the dirt.  Sunday's ride to the gold mine and De Cosmos was a 124 km ride, and the reserve light did NOT come on.  The Berg's reserve is set at the factory to 2.8L, but it can be adjusted to 1.8L.  The overall tank capacity is 8.5L. 

All of which means I have burned less than 5.7L getting 124 km, so I'm getting at least 21.75 km per litre on a long dirt ride.  That would give a range of a little more than 180 km per tank.  This seems very optimistic given what I have read, but, nevertheless, is what my numbers tell me right now.  

But that's still not enough, so if you look at the picture above you will note a pair of 1.5L fuel bottles bought on line and a "Sweet Cheeks" seat cover with cylindrical sleeves to slip the bottles and their foam covers in.  They seem to work well and were completely stable, didn't leak and, with a bit more finagling, the Sweet Cheeks cover should fit perfectly.  The added 3L of fuel should give me an extra 60+km bringing the theoretical range to 240 km. 

Now that's respectable! 

BTW: Cycle Analyst is the producer of Sweet Cheeks.  It was custom made, for little more than $35.  It's good quality and well worth the money.  As you can see below, there's plenty of room to sit and ride.

Lantzville Foothills and Biosolids

I had a great ride through a place, although local, I haven't spent any time in, preferring the logging roads proper.  What a mistake.  The Lantzville foothills are packed with great trails - Andy has been telling me for eons, but I have never really got round to trying them.  Since the Logging Co. have shut all access to the back roads recently, new pastures have to be tried.  Here is the map of today's route...(Ignore the dates on the images, the camera powered down and reverted to the default date...these were taken in June, 2014)

The typical access to Canada's back-country has been blocked by TW recently: both the tank traps and alternative routes from Dumount Road have been seriously messed with...

Above:A good use of timber?  This is the usual access to Domount from the Kidney - Boomerang connector.  Not now...no way through.  Below...tank traps, logs and rocks...but some kind souls have decorated them...access is possible a km further on in the Boomerang direction here...

There are some challenging sections, but most of the trails in the foothills are easy, rewarding and allow for good speed.  Pics below...

Above: Don't try to leave through Vipond Road...It's Gated...and shut (June 2014 - ignore the date above...)  Below: a selection of shots from the trails...A good mix of woodsy, twisty, open, grades and vistas... Well worth a ride.

FE 390 Suspension Tweeks...Some New Local Trails

The Husaberg's suspension has been a revelation compared to what I was used to.  But if had one complaint, it was that unless I was travelling at light speed warp nine, it was too hard.  The 390 liked to do everything quickly.  Hit a rough patch, and the cure is to peg the throttle and make the suspension work - it smooths stuff out.  But come the end of the ride, legs burning, arms noodled, brain addled, it's nice to slow down.  And there was the rub.  It got harder to ride the bike.  From a magic a carpet ride it would turn into a mechanical bull.

So I looked at at the comprehensive user manual that came with the bike (it looked like it had never been opened).  On the Husaberg FE 390 there are 3 adjustments that can be made to the front suspension: the compression damping, rebound damping and spring preload.  There are three settings for each of these: Comfort, Standard and Sport.  So on setting these (which is remarkably easy) the compression damping and the spring preload were set to the "Standard" setting.  But what the previous owner did with the rebound damping was ridiculous - it was set way too hard.  I wanted the rebound damping to be set to 22 clicks (comfort); with Standard being 20 clicks and Sport being 18 clicks.  The previous owner (we'll call him numb-nuts for short because that is what he must have by now) had dialed in the rebound damping to a masochistic 10 clicks.  Extreme.

Anyway, on resetting the forks to comfort for all three settings, the bike is transformed! The rear, while still on the firm side, is tamed by my added riding gear weight, is great, but the front is fabulous.  You can steer and lean this bike on all sorts of gravel, rock and loose surface and it is so stable as to be unreal.  It's taken a few days for me to trust the grip levels, but best of all, the forks are soaking up everything and remaining amazingly composed.  Its a revelation for me.

On another note, I explored a whole bunch of local routes today and found some amazing trails, technical and just perfect to test the bike out.  I really feel I am wearing this bike now, rather than holding on.  I am tackling stuff I would have never tried with the big Siouxsie.  Am I a better rider?  No.  But the bike gives you confidence to pull it off...

I found some great single track trails in upper Lantzville (top of the map) that I had ridden past on the way to Sundew for a few years.  Scenic, technical and exciting, they really tested the suspension out today.  Great stuff.

Below, some of the other trails that I tried today...and the mystery Husqvarna rider again...I keep seeing this guy either at the tank traps or leaving as I enter.  That's three times in a row now...

New Crashsite Unearthed on Vancouver Island

While the exact location remains a mystery, yet another WW2 mystery is solved.  72 years ago, an Avro Anson with a crew of 3 RAF and 1 RCAF took off from Pat Bay on a training mission in 1942.  They were never seen again.  Here's the story, and, perhaps, one day, another potential ride...

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The 70-year-old mystery of four airmen lost during a World War II training flight has finally been solved after a chance discovery by loggers on Vancouver Island.

The three British and one Canadian airmen took off on a training exercise from Patricia Bay on Oct. 30, 1942, and never returned. A search at the time failed to locate their downed Avro Anson L7056.

Last October, a logging crew from Teal-Jones Cedar Products spotted the wreck and notified authorities. A recovery effort was launched by the Department of National Defence and the B.C. Coroners Service.

“They came across some debris in the forest, and they figured it was a plane crash,” said Michael Pegg of Teal-Jones.

“There were wheels, the engine of the plane, mangled plane parts. There was a boot, shoes and a jacket.”

The coroner’s office said the plane crashed on a remote mountainside near Port Renfrew on the Island’s southwest coast, just 50 kilometres west of where the twin-engine propeller plane took off.

The recovery was stalled by poor weather over the winter, but during a week in early May, crews were able to confirm the crash site contained the remains of the lost airmen.

“The primary focus of the operation was to recover any human remains and artefacts, as well as identify and remove potential physical and/or environmental hazards,” said DND spokeswoman Johanna Quinney in a release Friday.

Royal Canadian Air Force Sgt. William Baird of Calgary; Royal Air Force Pilot Officers Charles George Fox and Anthony William Lawrence; and Sgt. Robert Ernest Luckock had been listed as missing and presumed dead.

Now that their remains have been found, the DND and Canadian Air Force are working with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, officials in the U.K. and relatives of the airmen to organize a formal interment ceremony.

“This recovery, and subsequent burial, will provide closure to the families and give these fallen service members the dignity and respect they deserve,” said National Defence Minister Rob Nicholson in a statement.

“No matter how much time passes, doing the right thing for our people and for their families is an Air Force priority,” said RCAF Commander Lieut.-Gen. Yvan Blondin.

Pegg said it’s been a fascinating story for him and his forestry crew to be part of.

“It touches your heart when you realize there are these families that have been out there not knowing what has happened to their siblings for all these years,” he said.

“Hopefully this will be able to provide some closure to them.”

More than 100 air crew died while flying out of Patricia Bay during the Second World War.

The crash site remains closed while the military wraps up environmental testing.

First Ride With Andy Since Decosmos!

Well, it was only a quickie, but I finally got Andy out for a ride this weekend.  Better be careful, I know how that sounds...we're talking bikes here folks!  The ride was a great break-in ride for me, and was nothing outstanding except for a fish and a bear.   There have been a couple of guys interested in riding with us, Steve and Kyle, so next ride - whenever that is - we'll contact them and hope to get them along.  Actually, it was one of them, Kyle, that has got me thinking about trying a particular route that, for me, looks like it could be challenging, but with 3 or 4 of us, maybe we can heft the bikes up - it's a short cut to the Deadhorse Creek Gold Mine from the hydro lines...I forget the name Kyle gave the trail, but I have traversed all but the tricky looking section at the end with Andy several times.

The Coleman Conquest camera is working well, and the pic quality and vids are very clear.  However, I have it set to take snaps every two minutes (the choices are burst = 30fps, one pic every 30 secs, or one pic every 2mins), and this uses the battery up very quickly as the screen is set to power down after 2 mins of inactivity...which cannot be adjusted.  So it doesn't power down and eats the battery up in 54 frames or two hours.  The video lasts longer - 2.5 hours as it powers down the screen in two mins after starting.

The other thing is the remote control is handy, except when I tried to push it on Saturday morning on seeing my first bear of the season...no luck.  I ran a test afterwards, and wouldn't you know it - Murphey's Law - it worked...I've got the short vid below...As you can hear, the camera makes an annoying beep sound when the remote is pressed...so next time I'll know...no beep, no vid...

After missing the bear...

That's all folks...

Dirt bikes and quads used on Crown land will require licence plates and drivers will need helmets

One of the many reasons I have always wanted a dual sport bike, rather than a strictly dirt machine (although the Husaberg functions as both) is that I like to ride to and from the trails rather than the hassle of loading  the bike in and out of the truck.  This is really convenient if you only have a couple of hours or someone else wants to use the truck... 

 
But now, with the recent reading of Bill 13 in BC, there is another reason.  It is now going to become mandatory for all ORVs - quads and dirt bikes - to be registered and carry a license plate and possibly some liability insurance.  This part is a no-brainer to me. I've seen too many yahoo's in the back country charging down single track without a thought for the environment, other users or, in some cases, themselves.  Stopping for a beer break, to unleash some shotgun pellets on some unsuspecting animal, or worse, back-country user, then charging off at triple digit speeds is what gives us all a bad name in my opinion, and probably one of the few legitimate reasons the logging companies limit our access to the back country.  

As for mandating the use of a helmet (and seatbelts in quads), well all I can say is "Darwin Awards" to those out there who don't use a lid.

There are some potential pitfalls though.  Got a dirt bike that you bought years ago and can't find the bill of sale?  Cobbled together an old banger from a bunch of dead bikes and got VIN confusion?  Got a dedicated KTM motocross or trials bike - that could be classed as an  excluded vehicle? Whoops. Where will the revenue go from this vast untapped source?  Hmm.  General Revenue or enforcement and upkeep of trails?  Steve Thomson, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations luncheon expenses?  Your guess is as good as mine. 

Anyway, here's a couple of links to some articles out there on the new law, enforcement, fines, conservation officers' rights over you, fees, and, perhaps most troublesome for some, having the "original bill of sale" for  your vehicle to prove tax was paid on it when it was originally purchased, even if you purchased it years ago.  

Links:

Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations

Vancouver Sun

Dual Sport BC Thread...What ORV Users Think...

UPDATED Checking the Fuel Range of the Husaberg FE390

Andy was sick.  What to do?  Well I figured today would be a good day, given the excellent weather, to check the fuel range of Ingrid.  And what better way to do it, than to do my traditional April ride up to Hydro Lake.  Round trip is about 100km if I include the blacktop to and from my house via the lake and take a different route back.  

Filling up earlier, I had 80km on the clock and the tank took 5L to top up to its huge capacity of, wait for it, 8.5L which includes the reserve of 2.5L or 1.5L if you modify it (an easy thing to do).  Conservatively, or pessimistically, that means that I was getting 15km per litre.  Hmm.  That means, in theory, I should be able to make at least 120km on a tank.  And that reserve should pop on, at about 90km.  

While at the lake, I could perhaps, if I was so moved, drop a line in the lake to see if anything was happening: it was a week ago last year that I hauled a bunch o trout from this very lake.  Surely today would yield something similar...and if I run out of fuel, raw trout will keep me alive until I've push, pulled and cussed my way back to what we subjectively call "civilization" (although from the finger hoisted my way enroute for having the audacity to merge in front of a cager, you have to wonder if the gap between civilization and red-neck is nothing more than a veneer on the island. Anyway, I digress.  Cool, though, my horn works! - And so does my finger...)

I stopped at the usual bridge and remembered that up ahead, last year, the logging co had shut the gate...Good news.  It was open today.  Given my theoretical limited range, going back and around using  route142 might have proven a journey too far...

Having done my research on the Internet, I had discovered that most 450 and 570 owners seem to get between 65km to 120km before reserve.  Not much help there then, except that 390 should be better?  As mentioned, the total tank capacity of all 3 models is 8.5L.  Reserve on the FE series of bikes is 2.5L, although you can change this to 1.5L fairly easily.  Most owners do, as they lament the "ridiculously large" reserve on these bikes.  What a joke! KTM/Husa owners, you need to know that 2.5L/1.5L is nowt if you've wound your merry way to the back and beyond and the little yellow light comes on. You'd be better to siphon out the gas, start a fire and decide which part of the bike you're going to eat first.  Perhaps the tires, drizzled in a oil reduction? No, then I give you the rubber hand grips, melted in cowling and seat saute? Coming from a bike with a 300km plus range, it was a new experience today to be at all concerned about fuel range on a "routine" jaunt like this.  

The new parking and trail-head for "Hydro" Lake is 500m further on than the old place.  Not entirely satisfactory, as the bike is out in the open rather than hidden from the logging road as was possible with the old access parking area. But, quads and dirt bikes have bought this upon themselves...Too many of them refused to park at the adequate parking space, and instead decided to drive their arses right to the lake.  What a mess.  No wonder steps were taken...You can see the signs...

Getting to the lake from the gas stop was 30km.  On arriving I found that Timberlands has completely changed the access.  They have comprehensively blocked the southwestern access to the lake with a series of boulders and logs laid perpendicular to the trail.  No one is getting through (no, quadders, that isn't a challenge, it's a fact...).  If you want to try it, make sure you bring a second quad with a winch.

Some things never change.  Absolute silence and beautifully scenic.  Unfortunately, there were no bites either...

After several hours of munching and fishing, and adequately skunked as I was, I decided to get back to the plan.  The range. So it was off back to the tank traps via 142 and 15summint....And then I had the plan to try another lake, but it was skunkworthy too.

Anyway the long and short is I got back home with 102km on the clock and no orange reserve light.  Which means one of two things.  The orange reserve light isn't working or, hopefully, it is, and I have more than 2.5L left. 

I'll update this post when I've ridden until the reserve light pops on, filled 'er up, and calculated what my range is on mainly dirt.  On the positive side, the bike is sooo torquey, that loping along in 5th or 6th is easy...I have deliberately kept the revs down today...most of the time.  It is very tempting though, to open Ingrid up and ride the wave... wow! 

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UPDATE.  I finally had enough time to ride the Husa until the reserve light came on.  Mostly dirt, it came on at 140km.  When I filled up though, it took 6.6L, not 6L which gave me a reserve of 1.9L not the vaunted 2.5 L reserve...

So, conservatively, I'm looking at 20km per L.  With 8.5L in the tank plus two 1.5 L fuel containers, I'm looking at a 11L and change.  This gives me a range of 200km+.  That's more comforting than the 80-100km that had been rumoured...
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