Watching this gives me so much respect for you guys riding those heavy bikes on these trails!

@bobwolff68

5 ай бұрын

Ha - thanks - appreciate it. There are soooo many who are badder-assers than me, but I do get out there to do the thing when I can! Sure is easier on the littler bike though.

We refer to that hill as baby head Junior. It’s difficult but the real baby head hill is a vicious blood sucking bike eater. Great video.

@bobwolff68

Күн бұрын

LOL thanks for the new nickname. Yeah we skipped the real deal and didn't even know it until after I'd published the video. My back was so friggin' tired by the time we had gotten off that mountain I was just wanting to take the work-around to Ellensburg to get a couple well made cocktails! :) Have a good one.

The toughest section I’ve ever done anywhere. Not stopping is key. I rode solo in ‘17, and I saw one stopped rider as far as I could see. So I started up and it turned out it was a group of 3 that all stopped. Hard on the throttle and with the engine screaming, I passed them all and never saw them again. Momentum is the only way

@bobwolff68

11 ай бұрын

Momentum - big time. Turning off traction control too! Well done!

Well earned drinks. TY for this, I might just have to do the bypass when I solo it next year. Love the attitude and no giving up.

@bobwolff68

7 ай бұрын

Thanks -glad it was helpful. I'd love to try that again on my smaller WR250R and work my way into doing it fully on my big bike, but that may just be a pipe dream! Ha. Good luck on your solo venture.

Great video. We just rode section 2 part one, to Nile; June 18th, cooler, but massive ruts filled with snowmeltwater. I was not enjoying the endless rocks riding. will attempt this climb at some later date. will pack even lighter when I do thanks to your experiences. Well done, Sir. I laid mine down in the mud yesterday, those banks are extemely slippery currently. Saw one big paw in the mud, with some droppings….. but I am no trapper, so could have been anything. (Bikers hand print that soiled hi self maybe? never know! or Bear…)

@bobwolff68

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah - the rocks on the North/East side of Bethel ridge were simply endless, eh? Thought my teeth would come loose. Ha. We saw cows at various times but nothing crazier than that. :)

That Chip- He is always working. One thing I will say is compared to the 1200GSA that the 500 was pure joy in those conditions. It was purposely laid down to help with up righting the pigs. Good job on the video.

@bobwolff68

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah - Chip is truly a warrior. I got nothing but respect for him. He 'da man. Yeah...my WR250R would have been easier for this stuff, but I really did want to take the 850 on this trip and I"m super happy I did. I'm currently repairing a blown fork seal from the trip. :)

I just rode section 2 today. You didn't ride the real Baby Head Hill. It's way more gnarly than what you crashed on. I barely made it up on my KTM 1290 SUPER ADVENTURE R. At least 60% of Section 2 is gnarly rocks and sketchy trail. So much rock it's unbelievable.

@bobwolff68

11 ай бұрын

Yeah there's discussion here about that topic. We skipped Umtanum ridge that day as we were pooped and I gotta say I'm pretty happy we did! Sounds like you made it ok - hope the bike surived as well. :D

@coasterx2796

3 ай бұрын

@@bobwolff68 I dropped my bmw in the exact same spots as you lol. we made it to the bottom of the real baby head hill and turned back cuz there was no way I was getting up it. It was worth the out and back for the ridge ride and scenery.

@bobwolff68

3 ай бұрын

@coasterx2796 heavy gravity on that hill! And yeah don't blame ya on the one on umtanum ridge!

Fantastic video, gents. Always seems like its your head that always gets ya in to trouble. Keep the RPM up and your arms loose. Pin it! I'm still building up the nerve. Bought a DRZ400 to step up my confidence on my 1200 GSA.

@bobwolff68

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Max. Yeah my TC got me in trouble the first time but I still dont know if I would have made it - pretty crazy for my level anyway. And yeah...I like my WR250R for making me a better rider on my 850.

Good job! I failed on my attempt. My DR650 seemed too light and after two attempts, my clutch was overheating and slipping. Gave up and road down to Natches and the canyon road to Ellensburg instead!

@bobwolff68

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah I could def imagine it being a beast on a clutch that has any issues at all or significant age. Good ya knew your limits and didn't destroy all your fun just to get up one hill!

thanks for the vid, line selection is crucial to success!

@bobwolff68

3 жыл бұрын

Absolutely! And turning off traction control too!

@jeffreylharley

3 жыл бұрын

@@bobwolff68 Interesting, you turn it off. I need to experiment more.

@bobwolff68

3 жыл бұрын

@@jeffreylharley to be clear I like some traction control and like the standard Enduro pro setting with it for everything except this kind of thing where it defeats you unwittingly.

@mikethompson2007

3 жыл бұрын

yeah.... at 7:55 I would have opted for the inside line!

I’ve really enjoyed your footage. Our group did this ride the following week. One correction however....babyhead hill is in the final segment of section 2....it appears you bypassed that part....that segment is by far the most difficult on the entire WABDR....I wish I’d bypassed it as I struggled a lot in the same high heat you guys faced. Anyway, thanks for sharing your experience. Have a great day.

@bobwolff68

3 жыл бұрын

Glad you've enjoyed! And congrats on making the WABDR too. There is, indeed, some discussion about this hill vs the one you speak of - I noted it in my edited comments giving location info on both. And yeah I have heard from a handful of folks who did that final segment that it was the toughest of the route. And I'm glad we went on the bypass. I was TOAST by the time we got off this mountain. :O

@MeerkatADV

2 жыл бұрын

@@bobwolff68 We've begun referring to this section as Baby Head Hill Jr. It's in pretty bad shape this year.

@bobwolff68

2 жыл бұрын

@@MeerkatADV cool. I like the naming scheme! Ha.

Rode that section in 2019 and a hot day as well. Fortunately I was riding a KTM 690 with minimal luggage so a much easier go. I would like to tackle again but maybe later in the season.

@bobwolff68

3 жыл бұрын

Definitely the lighter bike and less luggage would have helped, but I also needed to have my traction control OFF or way reduced and of course more SKILL. :)

I dropped my bike on that hill (video on my channel) Probably the most difficult part of the trip, besides the powder in section 5.

@bobwolff68

3 жыл бұрын

Indeed - that hill was tough. And the powder. The powder got me near Ardenvoir. I was cruisin' along just fine and before I could blink I was down and my bike was COVERED in silt -it got in EVERYTHING. Switches etc. Could hardly start my bike after that. :)

Why are you guys not up on your pegs? How much off-road experience did you guys have before taking these heavy adv bikes off-road?

@bobwolff68

21 күн бұрын

Well, he's a very experienced and talented rider and I'm no noob either. The steepness of that hill and the softness of the large rocks sliding made it pretty nasty to stand until you got a bit of momentum. But thanks for questioning whether we know what we're doing.

Love it! Thanks for sharing.

@bobwolff68

3 жыл бұрын

You bet! Was fun to re-live (mostly) through the footage and make the final video.

@jeffreylharley

3 жыл бұрын

​@@bobwolff68 Bought my first Adv bike and did sections 2,3,4 this year. On the WABDR gpx file download, Babyhead is located after Wenas Rd. So this particular hill caught me off guard. I now have this hill marked as well. (babyhead1, babyhead2) Part of the adventure right! Take care hope to see you on the BDR next year.

@bobwolff68

3 жыл бұрын

@@jeffreylharley yeah it appears there are two kinda similar sections and each has gotten the same name unfortunately by several people. Confusing. I at least tried to be clear on my location and updated the description to mention the other location too for future riders.

This is where the 21” front wheel becomes a big help. I couldn’t tell what bike/ wheel combination you were on.

@bobwolff68

3 жыл бұрын

Totally agree. The F850GS has a 21" that I was on. My bigger issue was a combination of skill and also having traction control still on. So I lost power faster than my throttle asked for it. My buddy recognized it and we turned it off for the rest of the hard stuff.

Great video! How is the 850 GS for that kind of terrain? Did you wish you were riding something different?

@bobwolff68

2 жыл бұрын

The 850 did GREAT on all of it with the exception of babyhead hill, but really even that was more of a rider issue than the bike. I have a WR250R also - and I would have had an easier time on that bike, but we also rode all the way from San Jose to WA and back - so the road for that long on the WR would have been "ick". It's always a compromise here or there. But the 850 I'm super super happy with.

That’s some clapped out rocky dirt road riding there. Not much fun! I’m looking to do section two later this summer starting in Packwood and riding to Ellensburg. Going to take my CRF 450RL. I hope the Packwood half of that ride is nicer than the Ellensburg side!

@bobwolff68

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah that was a tough section. And we didn't wind up doing the Eastern section that has the bigger baby-head hill! The 450 will treat you well, I'm sure.

I could smell the clutch from here

@bobwolff68

3 жыл бұрын

LOL. Yeah - and the smell of FEAR too. :-p

@michaelhazen8658

3 жыл бұрын

@@bobwolff68 Yeah that one is staying on my "nope" list until Ive got more dirt time under my belt

@bobwolff68

3 жыл бұрын

Oh I hear ya! It was definitely a challenge. Even on a smaller bike I would have had a tough time up the first section but I would have had more of a chance at making it due to weight and not losing momentum as easily.

You go where your eyes take you.

@bobwolff68

2 жыл бұрын

Target fixation is a real struggle! :D

It's a lot harder with 50 lb of luggage!

@bobwolff68

3 жыл бұрын

Yepper - that's about what I had between the sidebags and the top. Chip was probably a little lighter on luggage - and his bike is lighter. Anyway ... they're big bikes! :D

@mikethompson2007

3 жыл бұрын

@@bobwolff68 See Chad Mangel's video from 2016 of the same section...

Pick better lines and go faster! Slip that clutch and gas it. You need more momentum.

@bobwolff68

3 жыл бұрын

It's ALL TRUE. DTC killed my momentum and I was toast.

@tradingpost6412

2 жыл бұрын

@@bobwolff68 WAY DO YOU GUYS LIKE YOU RIDE THE BIG BIKES, YOU CAN SET UP A DR650 TO RIDE THE ROAD AND FOR DIRTALSO?

@bobwolff68

2 жыл бұрын

@@tradingpost6412 A few thoughts come to mind - 1) a DR650 isn't exactly a lightweight bike either. :) But it is lighter than the 850. 2) When you ride a long way to get to the "fun" (San Jose to WA), having the more road-worthy bike sure is nice. My other option was my WR250R which would have been way easier on the off-road sections but would have been hard on the highway. 3) There's definitely a "challenge factor" and "learning factor" too - adding to my skills each year puts me in a better position to be more capable on the bigger bike even when it gets tough. -- So anyway those are my thoughts. I used to have a KLR650 and a G650GS Sertao which were in the DR650 weight class - and they are a good compromise of big and small.