I can imagine those bigger bikes would struggled in the soft stuff. I whinged about the weight of the KLX, but next to the big bikes in your pics it would have been positively featherweight!

Since you put me onto your tyre combo I have been converted. The XCMS actually works well as an intermediate terrain tyre, then really flexes its muscles in the soft stuff. Reading up on a few Finke racers experiences a few months ago made me realise it's a very popular combo with a lot of those guys too - so the combo is battle tested. The only problem I have found with them is they don't like rocks... at all! I wrecked a brand new MX eXTra in 1 weekend in rocky conditions on my 450, but expect the KLX would go easier on tyres with its smoother delivery.

Sounds like you've made your engine work hard in that sand if you've been sitting at the higher revs for extended periods. At times like that you appreciate the bulletproof engine. Did you find dust o be much of a problem on such a dry track? ...or were you out front most of the time so it wasn't a problem

 

Photos tell the story really. Very little dust as it's all sand and there was a little bit of rain in the days leading up to the ride. There was also a very nice 20 knot cross wind that made any dust disappear instantly.

I examined my Twin Air when I got home and barely any dust at all. The riders (7 one way, and 4 on the return) were pretty well spaced out, and yes I was riding at the pointy end a fair bit sharing the track with INDO on his big KTM.

Reviewed my GPS log and as I thought, pretty much all 4th and 5th gear stuff. I don't really let the the bike rev too high, preferring to short shift and use the torque. Bike spent most of the ride at around 4.5K to 6K. Although there were a few short (1 or 2 km max) 6th gear high speed runs. The run in from Hyden (45km) and the return were a lazy 90kmh ride. Bike runs at about 7K at that speed. I had the tyres aired to 25psi on the run in on the bitumen, but on the return they were left at the trail pressures. (15psi front and 16psi rear.)



Well here is a little bit of a slide show to keep you all going.

Bully (Glen) on the big pig (a couple of offs, one of which gave a scare and reminded him that he's not 21 anymore. Rode the big Bavarian with aplomb throughout the weekend.)

Smelly Dog (Sage) on the KTM540 Adventure. (a couple of offs, at least. 2 of which were on the same section of deep sand only about 2 km into the track, 1 on the way out and 1 on the way back. That'll teach him to follow my lines)

INDO (Robin) on the KTM540EXC (1 off, that I didn't see but a rarity in Robins case as he's competed at the highest level of Desert racing in Australia for many years.)

Vince on the DR650SE. (a couple of offs. Caught nicely on his helmet mounted camera. Not so easy to get the big DR to "float" on the sand, especially with a 30 litre (8 gallon) Safari tank up front. Still smiling at the end of the day.

KTMPilot (Conrad) on the KTM990 Adventure. (A couple of offs too, one of which was a result of following too close. I stalled on one deep sand section, and Conrad following had nowhere to go. Lesson learned. A also saw him test the bottom out on the big KTM as he failed to see a very large (dry) mud hole and locked the rear just before he skidded through the 3 foot deep trench. Remained upright though, so credit given where it's due.)

Fatgut (Kevin)on the Husqvarna TE610 (carb model.) Clean sheet. Plenty of years honing his skills on various knobby tyred bikes. It shows.

WestOzKLX (myself, Gavin) on the KLX250R. Clean sheet also, although as noted by Bully, there were a few untidy lines in the sand. The KLX really is a great bike for these short trips away. I couldn't be happier.

Enjoy.

ADV Holland Track

Music courtesy of The WHO.

 

Link didn't work, but this should: ADV Holland Track 2011

 

Fixed. Thanks Arctra, my BBCode is a little rusty.

Tried to Embed the slide show from Vimeo but no joy. seems you can only embed vids from Youtube.