Street Bike on Easy Trails?

There's also that time that Dan Sewell raced his race SV in a supermoto race, not exactly off road, but most definitely not paved and it looks like he's on slicks:laughing

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more amusing pics here:
https://www.svrider.com/threads/racing-sv-in-a-supermoto-track.110007/

Which goes to prove that for some riders their skill is at another level from us mere mortals.
 
What a bunch of enablers!! :)

The SV in dirt will not give you any idea of what it is to ride a dirt bike in the dirt. I took my KTM 990 SMT (17" wheels, 100% street tires) on about 1 mile of gravel dirt road and it was kind of scary. The same road on any crappy dirt bike on CL would be easy peasy.

It is like saying you want to learn about good pizza and then eating a frozen pizza ... that was in the freezer for 10 years ... and eating it uncooked. :)

:afm199:thumbup
 

Lowerside

Well-known member
I would avoid Carnegie. I think Hollister would be a better option since the trails are better.

Either way, pay your $5 and you're on your way at either park. Have you consider Metcalf?

I uh, sort of forgot about Hollister and Metcalf tbh :laughing

If you want to try the SV off-road try Summit road East off Hwy 17 and it turns into dirt and goes to Watsonville road but tpbefore you get there take the goat road down into Watsonville.

Or from Morgan Hill on Watsonville road take a aRt on Redwood road and a left up to summit which is fairly steep and dirt but only a couple miles. Beautiful area and hiking spots too.

Oh hell yes! I think I see which area you're talking about. This will be my first try out area whenever I get a free day.

He said he wanted to ride easy trails, not some rocky black diamond single-track stuff. :rolleyes

Carnegie is a safe place to find out about that if you stick with the green trails.

Haha yeah I just want to putt around to get a feel for it and bail out if there's any sort of rough terrain or sharp inclines/declines. I'd rather not have to do a trailside JB Weld sess because I got in over my head and cracked something open down on the unprotected underbits. Thanks for the info on Carnegie!

then eating a frozen pizza ... that was in the freezer for 10 years ... and eating it uncooked. :)

Who told you about my college years? 😁
 

OaklandF4i

Darwin's exception
What a bunch of enablers!! :)

The SV in dirt will not give you any idea of what it is to ride a dirt bike in the dirt. I took my KTM 990 SMT (17" wheels, 100% street tires) on about 1 mile of gravel dirt road and it was kind of scary. The same road on any crappy dirt bike on CL would be easy peasy.

It is like saying you want to learn about good pizza and then eating a frozen pizza ... that was in the freezer for 10 years ... and eating it uncooked. :)

For the win! And best visual to demonstrate a valid point. :laughing :thumbup
 

ScottRNelson

Mr. Dual Sport Rider
Haha yeah I just want to putt around to get a feel for it and bail out if there's any sort of rough terrain or sharp inclines/declines. I'd rather not have to do a trailside JB Weld sess because I got in over my head and cracked something open down on the unprotected underbits. Thanks for the info on Carnegie!
I went to Carnegie about three years ago with a guy that had a Yamaha TDM 850. He did fine on the easy stuff, and since that bike is sort of an adventure bike, we decided to try some slightly more difficult stuff. We went up Franciscan Loop down at the west end and he did fine going up.

But going down, he kept locking the rear wheel and dumping the bike. I couldn't figure out why he kept doing that, but about the fourth time he dumped the bike it cracked the engine case and started leaking oil a little bit. We made it down out of there and the oil wasn't coming out fast enough to empty the engine, so he rode it home. Stopped at an auto parts store in Pleasanton to get some more oil - and some stuff to soak up the oil it dumped in the parking lot.

So if you manage to dump the bike, make sure you understand what you did wrong and figure out how to correct it so that you don't do it again. :cool
 

Frame Maker

Well-known member
I think Carnegie would be an excellent place to ride a few dirt roads...

...It looks like Carnegie is open and has some easy trails marked. Would I just be able to ride over there, pay the entrance fee, and start riding those trails?

I uh, sort of forgot about Hollister and Metcalf ...


Having ridden Carnegie on a regular basis for the past 30 years and knowing the trails as well as anyone, I should mention that the trails (even the easiest) can become difficult very quickly and unexpectedly. Just be careful if you head up a seemingly bland trail into the hills. It can get very exciting very quickly if you don't know exactly where you are going.

Having also ridden Hollister and Metcalf, I can say that the trails at Hollister tend to stay much more consistent. If its marked as an easy trail, it will more often than not, stay easy with no surprises.

At Metcalf I've had both experiences with their trail system. Some trails are consistent, others are less so.

Anyway, be very careful going into the unknown at Carnegie. Many people don't like Carnegie for this reason.

On a personal note, I will also mention that I have extra dirt bikes and always welcome guests to come along for ride. :ride
 

ichabodnt650

KLX300SM
FZ-07 at Hollister. Beginner trails are doable, intermediate trails take some more commitment
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ditto for Metcalf
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Having more suspension travel makes the task easier and you can zip through faster, but if all you have is a street bike, then you ride what you have
 

dtrides

Well-known member
Just got back from my first time at Penny Pines...
It snowed after we pulled in Friday night. Very pretty in the morning...
We rode for three days. I stayed on what was listed as "easy trails"....
There would be no way you could of rode ANY street bike (dual sport, yes) on any of the trails I was on.
Enjoy some fire roads but I would think twice about trails..
Just my two cents....or if you do, as WC says, have some one take pictures while holding your beer..:thumbup
DT
 
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HadesOmega

Well-known member
Lookup Buzzards Lagoon Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It's a nice adv bike ride. Probably don't wanna go there when it's wet and muddy with street tires.
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If I can ride a 475lb electric motorcycle on fire roads you can do it on a SV650! It's just a more streety very of the Vstrom anyway. If they can ride 500+lb adv bikes on dirt roads you can do it on a SV also =P Just be prepared to drop your bike.
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youtu.be/EMrxee_fazo

I rode the Lost Coast Dual Sport event in 2019 and there were these 3 dudes 2 on GSAs and one on a Harley Davidson now that's impressive. They weren't fast but they just kept chugging along!
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Lowerside

Well-known member
On a personal note, I will also mention that I have extra dirt bikes and always welcome guests to come along for ride. :ride

Thanks for the info for the different OHVs. Yeah depending on how vaccinations and the rest of the year goes I might hit you up on that! Totally willing to cover gas, food, and anything I break :laughing

FZ-07 at Hollister. Beginner trails are doable, intermediate trails take some more commitment
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...

Heck yeah!

Lookup Buzzards Lagoon Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It's a nice adv bike ride. Probably don't wanna go there when it's wet and muddy with street tires.
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...

Nice! Another spot 👍Is the entrance to Buzzards on Trout Gulch Rd? Looks like the other roads leading to it either have gates or go through private property.
 

Slow Goat

Fun Junkie
Morgan Territory Road near Mt Diablo is paved but pretty goaty. Could make for a good practice before hitting actual dirt.
 

ScottRNelson

Mr. Dual Sport Rider
Morgan Territory Road near Mt Diablo is paved but pretty goaty. Could make for a good practice before hitting actual dirt.
I disagree. I've ridden Morgan Territory many times and ridden thousands of miles of dirt roads. I don't see any skill transfer at all.
 
Hitting pot-holes on goaty roads taught me to slow down ... also to watch carefully where I was going, but to look well down the road, too.

learned the slo-trick in club-racing. going slower resolved all my race bike suspension set-up issues. as a KLR rider, that slow lesson comes in handy to overcome all sorts of bike/rider shortcomings. :laughing:facepalm

but not too slow in the sand or rough stuff! :afm199
that momentum-is-my-friend was a hard lesson I certainly didn’t learn on goaty roads ...

fun to think about. my dirt-bike friends tell me my KLR is a street-bike (also that I’m slo mainly cuz old, ouch). :angel
 

Rudeojr

Well-known member
it can be done but does t really give you a good way to find out if you like dirt riding. i rode my honda st1300 from gonzalez to highway 25 via a dirt road that winds up the mountain to the summit. yeah it was sketchy but i made it.
 

HadesOmega

Well-known member
Goaty roads on a street bike vs on a dual sport is a big difference, the dual sport just chomps them right up and save your spine from a beating for sure. All you have to do to experience riding goaty roads is ride around SF haha, my KLR chomps it right up.
 
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