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rtadlock

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My bet on your electrical problem is a battery issue. Twice in my history I have had problems as you describe and both were caused my an old battery that was severely low on water. That said, you probably have a AGM these days, and my old school thoughts are irrelevant.

 

I am waiting to hear "The Rest of the Story".

Edited by Hibobb
Because i can't spell!
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We are all tattooed in our cradles with the beliefs of our tribe

~Oliver Wendell Holmes~

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Day 5

 

We took our time getting up and decided our plan of action.  We decided to visit the KTM shop not too far from the hotel and look for a rectifier/regulator (given the high voltage, we figured it probably went belly up).  The parts guy had never heard of a regulator/rectifier and it took us time to convince him it was a real part.  As you might expect, they didn't have any in stock and doing an inventory search, could only find one in Nevada somewhere with a 2 week shipping time.  That was a no go, so we called a all the other moto dealers in town....nothing.  We decided to call Steele's Cycle in Denver to see what they had.  Steele's is a huge moto junkyard that I've been getting parts from for years.  It was great we called them, because he did have one, but he also said, it's pretty much a standard part on motos and small engines so we should just find what we can.

 

So we called a bunch of small engine shopes, car parts places, etc.  Nothing.  Seems no one carries anything in stock anymore.  I guess, thanks Amazon?  Anyway, we never really figured things out, next step was to find a multimeter.  Called Autozone, Napa, etc.  Nothing.  Finally we Uber'd to Walmart and found one.  We decided we needed to spray the bike off fist to have any chance of figuring things out:

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Then we picked up some dielectric grease, WD40, electrical tape, etc and headed for the hotel.  Luckily it was sunny and warm, so we took the opportunity to dry some gear:

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Then we got into the bottom end of the 990:

 

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What we found was that every single electrical connector behind the skid was packed full of mud.  The battery wasn't swollen or anything so we started testing the entire electrical system.  Thanks to Rocky Mountain ATV for the fantastic videos on how to test the regulator/rectifier:
 

 

After testing, the regulator, charging, battery, stator, etc it seemed that it was just the connectors all gummed up.  We sprayed all the connectors out with water and then WD 40.  Had everything super  clean, let it dry, then packed it full of dielectric grease.  Put it all back together and she fired right up and was running really well!  We decided to go for a good test ride around Sante Fe and glad we did.  As we were riding, the voltage was dropping now.  Damn!  So we headed back to the hotel and took things apart again.  Turns out Chris hadn't gotten the connection from the regulator connected up properly and it fell off.  Got that sorted, and went for another good ride.  Everything was running perfectly.  By this time it was 2pm, which was the latest the hotel would let us stay, so we decided to stay another night and find some beers....

 

 

PXL_20210728_175243366.jpg

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Did you add drainage to your panniers? Or do they fill up with water when it rains?

Did you hit 10,000 waves or Meow Wolf while in Santa Fe?

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We got up on Day 6 ready to get out of the city.  We were on the road by 7am.   No traffic and cool temps had us feeling great.  We stopped in Abiquiu once again for gas and a breakfast burrito.  The gas station there is pretty well stocked and the breakfast burritos where legit!  We spent a few minutes off the bike talking to a few mountain bikers.  They were about 10 days from finishing by their estimate.

 

No rain this day, which I think was the only day of the trip without rain.  The best thing about all the moisture was the cool temps and lack of dust.  There were a few rocky sections though.  These are the times you start to feel the harshness of the T7 suspension:

 

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Lots of fast dirt roads and we made good time.  Right before we hit the pavement again, we saw the train that comes from Chama, NM making it's way towards us.  We decided to stop and wait for it to cross the road:

 

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Then after about 5 mins, as we were getting ready to ride again, we saw this little fella coming down the tracks:

 

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After the train, we jumped on a super nice, twisty pavement road and headed towards Chama to get gas and lunch....
 

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13 minutes ago, jdk2man said:

Did you add drainage to your panniers? Or do they fill up with water when it rains?

Did you hit 10,000 waves or Meow Wolf while in Santa Fe?

 

No drainage in my panniers.  I thought about that after I sewed them, but didn't really have time to pull the seams out and add the drainage hole where I wanted it.  This meant I did need to empty them a few times in the mornings, but no rain really built up in them during the day because they were cinched and my duffel covered the opening.  I purposely left the panniers in a non finished state knowing I'd want t adjust some stuff when I got back.  I'm going to pull them apart and add drainage, and also add a cinch closer to the top. 

 

Also, no, we didn't hit either of those places in Sante Fe.  We hadn't planned on stopping in Sante Fe, so I never really did much research.  Our main goal was to get back on the trail, but thanks for the recommendations, I'll look both those places up next time I'm in Sante Fe!

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We finished Day 6 by camping at the RV park in Del Norte, CO.  We both like the brewery/restaurant in town, and it was the first of their weekly concerts in the park.  First things, fist we stopped at Three Barrel Brewing for dinner and to grab beer.  We had salad to be healthy, but took a pizza with us back to camp.  I grabbed some beers too:

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We setup camp and cracked a beer:

 

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The park is pretty much next door to where we were camping, so we just turned the chairs and listened to the concert:

 

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The only downside was the mosquitos were pretty bad, so we had to wear long sleeves and cover up.  Chris said the skeeters were getting his ankles so, we made some gators:

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But then, Chris found some bug spray in his kit:

 

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It didn't work that well, but I can't tell if it's because it didn't have DEET in it, or because I used it wrong?

 

Beers were good, weather was great, and the music was a hit.  Really good time laughing and talking about when we were going to attack the northern half of the ride....

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Day 7 started off overcast and gray.  We knew we'd be in weather and we planned on getting as far long the trail as we could, and making it home if we felt up to it.  Not long after we got going it started to rain on and off and was pretty windy.  We didn't take any pictures as we were trying to hustle to camp or home.  I think we were both pretty tired of riding in the rain by this point....

 

Anyway, we pushed onward and up Boreas pass.  Clouds and lightening were moving in hard and we decided to hit the camp sites on the south side of the pass.  It was just starting to sprinkle as we pulled into camp.  The only vehicle there was a Sprinter, so we had our pic of sites.  First thing we did was get our tents up as fast as possible and then setup the tarp:

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I bet it wasn't 5 mins after we got the tarp setup before the skies OPENED UP!  It rained for the next 7 or 8 hours.  We huddled under the tarp and made dinner and finished the whiskey we brought:

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We had to find a stick to prop up on the table to help with drainage:

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The good news is we collected a few gallons of water for food, coffee, and camelbaks for the next day.  I climbed in my tent around 9 and listened to it rain hard for a for 30 or 40 mins before I fell asleep.  I really can't remember the last time it rained that hard for that length of time in my neck of the woods.  At least the sun was out when we woke.  We packed all the wet Shet up, and got on the road.  We thought about trying to eat breakfast in Breck or Frisco, but it's always a complete zoo, so we decided to just head home and eat in Eagle.  Our original plan was to ride to Steamboat, but the road that the route passes through was closed due to an active fire, so we would have had to divert anyway, and with the amount of rain we got and my low fender, we figured it best to just get home.   Plus, there was a lot more rain in the forecast for that afternoon.  We're going to go back and finish the last section as a day ride in a few weeks.

 

Anyway, that's about it.  We had a great time and I wish I could have just kept going and done the northern section again, but it is what it is with vacation time and all that.   So I'll leave you with a few thoughts:

On the T7:

- Over all fantastic bike.  I love the feel of it in slow speed chunky stuff and the smooth motor when I'm wanting to hustle a bit.  The motor feels a bit lacking, especially when you get back to CO altitudes, but it's still more motor than I need off road and will easily cruise 80+ on the highway all day.  The suspension is pretty disappointing, but just enough to get the job done if I pull back a bit with my pace on forest service roads and I stop trying to boost off of water bars and stuff.  The rear brake is super vague and requires a fair amount of pressure to get it locked up (which I do a lot to skid turn and such).  I'd bet the vagueness has a lot to do with the fact that it's a single pot caliper, but who knows.  Either way, I'd like a better option for that, so if anyone knows of an aftermarket unit, let me know.  I've called around to a few places for suspension work and haven't found a place to work on it yet, but that is my highest priority.  Once I get that dialed I think this bike will take over the 990's spot in my heart.  I love the ease of working on it, the looks, the sharp handling, how it hooks up hard out of turns, etc.  All for $10k, which is the same as my 300!  Crazy stuff

On my home made luggage:

- As mentioned, I need to add drain holes, but other than that it worked flawlessly.  My heat sealed dry bags didn't leak a single drop, even though we were in rain hours almost ever day.  Even sitting in the rain while I setup up camp or had lunch, they were just solid.  I even tried them as a rain hat:

PXL_20210726_133802073.thumb.jpg.4c04c478b01134afbdf44deeeb65033f.jpg

🙂

I'm going to go back and add some mole webbing to attach a small gas bottle, and I'm going to add some kind of draw string closure so I can just toss stuff in and keep it secure, but all in all I'm happy.

On the route:

From memory, I think Montana and Idaho had some of my favorite terrain and views, but New Mexico has the best feel for me.  It's just so remote and has so few people and all the small spots we stopped at had great Mexican food and friendly people.  I hate to say it, but Colorado is my least favorite part.  I think it's just because it's so full of people now that it doesn't feel like an adventure any more and finding camping can be a bit of a PIA.  I love it here, but NM is something I'm going back to see more of.  I'm planning on the BDR there ASAP.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the pictures.  I'm planning on riding as much as I can over the next few months, so much more to follow....

 

- Rob

 

 

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Very good read.  I wish I was there.  The pictures really tell a good story as well.  Thanks for taking the time to do this report/write up.  I appreciated that.

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Throughly entertaining read, thank you. It shows again what great people Yamaha Riders are, helping their KTM brethren to keep going!

Edited by thepointchris
typo
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14 hours ago, Landshark said:

Very good read.  I wish I was there.  The pictures really tell a good story as well.  Thanks for taking the time to do this report/write up.  I appreciated that.

 

Glad you enjoyed it.  Ride reports and pictures are the main reason I come to forums like these.  Sounds like there are other people out there that feel the same.

 

12 hours ago, thepointchris said:

Throughly entertaining read, thank you. It shows again what great people Yamaha Riders are, helping their KTM brethren to keep going!

 

You find the nicest people on a Yamaha!

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1 hour ago, rtadlock said:

You find the nicest people on a Yamaha!

Aaaa, that would be Honda...

 

 

Edited by Hibobb
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We are all tattooed in our cradles with the beliefs of our tribe

~Oliver Wendell Holmes~

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3 hours ago, Hibobb said:

Aaaa, that would be Honda...

 

 

 

Yeah, I know.  Was trying to make a joke...but obviously a bad one. 🙂

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2 minutes ago, rtadlock said:

 

Yeah, I know.  Was trying to make a joke...but obviously a bad one. 🙂

Na, I got that it was a play on Honda (aka a joke) but that song was just too cool not to post.

Nice work on the ride report. Great pictures too!

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We are all tattooed in our cradles with the beliefs of our tribe

~Oliver Wendell Holmes~

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24 minutes ago, Hibobb said:

Na, I got that it was a play on Honda (aka a joke) but that song was just too cool not to post.

Nice work on the ride report. Great pictures too!

if you don't own wings, you'll never fly?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Few weeks ago, my brother called and said he was coming up to visit me and ride motos.  Sweet!  He's mostly a road guy but wanted to try out some dirt biking.  My wife's Freeride was the perfect bike to get him started.  I took him on a bunch of my local trails and really wore him out over two days:

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Then the last few days, we decided to get on the big bikes and do a big mixed dirt/pavement loop.  He rode my T7 and I borrowed my friends 990:

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He got comfortable pretty quickly:

 

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And when he got home, I did some work on the bike.  I have a weeping fork seal on the right from the GDR trip, so I used a tool to try and pull any dirt/grit out of it.  We'll see how she goes.  I also added a flip up gas cap hinge so I don't have to find a place to set the cap every time I fuel:

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Hoping to get out again soon, so more pictures to follow....

 

 

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