Hey guys, I am off today so I figured that I would get up early go for a nice ride in the mtns and take my camera along to do a ride report.
Things were going great when I left my house in Travelers Rest SC. I rode 15 miles and up the mountain and crossed the NC state line. My bike was running great, this was the first time I had my klx on the hwy since the rejet and I was very happy about running 70mph up the mountain (throttle pegged) but my bike wouldnt do this good before. I got to an exit that reads Bat Cave so I figure "to the bat cave". The road starts getting to be alot of fun, verrrrry curvy following a small white water river on the right and then I come to this sign:
This is cool so I will keep going. Just a little further I get to Chimney Rock NC:


and then on to Lake Lure (just a couple miles away). This is where they filmed Dirty Dancing.


So now Im just cruising down the rode to see what is next when I noticed my odometer just tripped over 1000 miles and then I noticed that the bike is acting very weird. So I pulled over and saw That I have a flat front tire, its the damndest thing because I have been onroad w/no potholes and riding very slow and cautiously. This makes no sense! Anyway I called my wife to come and pick me and the bike up. That really screwed up this awesome ride!

Now Im changing my first tube.

 

Dude!!! If that's your first attempt then you are way ahead of the normal. Thanks man. Sorry about the flat, but hey it just gives you practice at changing a tire. Fortunately all my changes have been scheduled. I run the max tire pressure all the time no matter what condition I find myself riding in. Thanks for the report, oh and that Dam picture looks cool. Great stuff.

 

I think ALL the dam pictures look dam good!

Too bad your ride got cut short. Was the hole in the tube at the stem or did you run over a nail etc?
Dan

 

Good thing you could call your wife! It could have been worse and you could have been in the middle of the woods... Cool pix!

 

On my last off-road bike I came to hate flat tires so much that I declared war. Nearly max pressure all the time, moose ultra HD tubes that were super thick, rimlocks of course which are oddly not OEM on the KLX, and then I added slime to the tires. I haven't had a flat since and have been to some nasty places. Most of my flats were snakebites from hard hits onto roots and rocks.

I've ridden the last 30 miles of a 104 mile enduro race on a flat tire off road. It can be done but just go slow so as not to heat it up too much.

Thanks for the ride report. Good to see the carolina woods.

 

I found the hole about 5" from the valve stem on the upper side of the tube w/nothing in the tire. I'm still confused how I got the flat. I went to a local dealer and got a heavy duty tube @ $16. They had a more expensive tube for $29 but I cant imagine that it is worth twice as much (unless I get another flat).
I didnt have any problem installing the tube/tire except that I knocked the bike off of the jack and broke the clutch lever, so I ordered a new one along with handguards so that I dont do that again.
It has been a very mixed day!

 

jimntr, brings back memories. We used to do gravity powered go cart racing down the road at Chimney rock. Talk about a curvey road. We did one up in Boone and we ran 60 mph up there. A motel we tried to stay at in Lake Lure was so infested with fleas we had to leave. Those were some wild times back then. Sorry about the flat, but at least your wife could come and get you. Nice ride report. I can't believe your bike will only do 70 wide open. Was that up the big long hill on 25? What have you done besides the rejet? Pipe, snorkle removal? Add the mods to your signature.

 

Hi scallen, yeah I could only get 70 on the long hill on 25, area just past cliffs valley. I did get over 80 indicated on the speedo after I got passed the NC line. I only have the rejet w/2 1/2 turns out on mixture screw and airbox lid removed, but my order is in and just waiting for my new fmf megabomb headpipe w/q4 to come in. Im also guessing that I am currently running rich because after I got over 2000ft I did notice that the bike ran even better than at home @ 1000ft.
I cant wait!

 

You will be pleased with the pipe. The stock one restricts it so much. Iv'e been up to 85 before I let off. The hill your talking about is a B($#@. We used to do some riding up around the green river in NC when I lived in Greenville and ran enduros all the time. There sure were some good trails up there. Since you are in the area, check and see if any of the locals up there know of any riding up there. We used to ride for a day and not cross the same terrain.

 

Are you missing the rim strip (rubber band)?