ST on dirt roads

I was reading a ride report on another forum about an old fella who road a road bike (old Motoguzzi Eldorado) on the Trans lab highway. I driven that road in a car and realize it's not really all that bad. There are some rough sections but generally it's just a well maintained dirt road.

I ridden my St on some dirt roads, very briefly (short cuts). I was mostly concerned about the radiator and the roughness loosening something.

My question is..has anybody ridden their St extensively on a good dirt road? If yes, did you have any problem during the ride or as a result of the dirt road.

Well George has ridden on poor dirt roads iirc poor enough to pull the front wheel to dislodge mud that that locked it up LOL.
It's not the bike of choice but it goes where you point it if the dirt isn't too loose for a street tire.
I wouldn't want to get it stuck in the mud or bury it up to the frame in sugar sand.

Friends camper in the woods has some not so great roads in the campground. Keep it moving stand on the pegs and it does ok just need to get creative sometimes to put the side stand down.

it's heavy, top heavy, with lots of Tupperware & plenty of places to clog up with mud. I keep mind down at my farm which is maybe a quarter mile down a gravel road but other than that, I don't go looking for off-road adventures with it. The Ural is MUCH better at that plus it never falls down.

I have ridden my ST on good dirt roads which are not to bad on that heavy bike, but I have ridden my ST where it would have been sketchy on my DR650. We made it through with no major problems.

IMHO must you go at least 20mph (or more) on unpaved roads to get proper stability... thus you need space and plan your track ahead well... and if its getting required, plan well where to stop to a) make the stop safely and b) be able to take off there again... so maybe better if you don't need to stop... ;-)
I often get really annoyed by cars, hence even dual sports ahead of me, doing barely 10mph... that's torture for me, too slow for the ST's wheels to keep track... and then I get "the stare" for passing...

French authorities withhold to sign out any roadworks... so your entering a valley to ride over a nice pass at the far end of it... then bang, coming out a hairpin right in the middle of the mountainside the blacktop is gone, road-level falls for >1ft right into soft stuff, gravel, sand, etc... and heavy plants crawling everywhere like dinosaurs... the ground just too soft to risk a stop, so you'll navigate and zig-zag through them... few miles later you're back on the old road, make a few "warm-up swerves" to clean the thread surface of your tires, and head on...

On the ST1100 the smooth engine character and calm throttle response supports such "off road adventures"... dunno about the ST1300 with its rather venomous throttle response though...

I occasionally ride dirt roads in Colorado & Wyoming. Typically I do not go over 35mph, unless the road is smooth, hard packed & has minimum gravel.

One of my buddies ( a former dirt flat track racer) rides his ST very fast on the dirt roads......not for me.

I learned the 'hard way' not to ride wet or recently watered roads. No tip overs, but very stressful & tiring.

I know that I don't ride a ST1300 but the RT is not that different. Last summer on our trip out west we went down a 30 km hard packed gravel road according the lodge we went to, I agree with the 30 km part. Here is a video I took while riding in, two up with luggage for a month long trip.

[video=youtube_share;diU_aTqWD_U]http://youtu.be/diU_aTqWD_U[/video]


Gerhard

That short sidewall profile and short tire in general attributes greatly to the lack of front stabiliy when on 'loose' terrain with the ST's. The taller(19") up front on my equilelant weight 33yr.old XS Venturer1100 factory dresser makes for better frontal stability in those situations similar to dirt bikes(and some dual-sport) having a 21in. front wheel. Larger radias, longer contact patch. Even though with past decades of off-road(moto-x,trials and single-track)competition, I go out of my way if necessary to avoid gravel/dirt roads. The added shock and vibrations, aside from any rock dings take a toll on mounting points that weren't necessarily designed for the added abuse. An upper frame motor mount attached to each head and not the block on the ST1100 comes to mind. IMHO, alot of rough roads IS the contributing factor of the small percetage of ST11's developing head casting fractures, not faulty castings.

Gerhard said:

Here is a video I took while riding in, two up with luggage for a month long trip.

Click to expand...

I gasped at 4:13 into the video. Nice handling.

Gerhard, geez nice driving, couple of nice catches there. I'm not sure I would have done that ride. Mostly because it's too much of a PITA to have to right the thing after and I wouldn't have your luck/skills anymore.
I agree with those who say the ST should not spend much time on the dirt roads. It really is not designed for that type of riding.

I'm surprised at how many have taken it down those roads tho. I done a few 30 Km short cuts but they were relatively smooth, no puddles, and not a lot of loose stuff. I will do those sort of things but nothing like Labrador or Alaska or Gerhardish(smile). I think even the," proper", bikes get beat up on those kind of rides

Thanks for your replys.

The ST is a bit much but rode mine over 15 miles on secondary gravel roads and I have a screen over the radiator to help keep it from accidental damage. Crossed puddles, ruts and slick spots but did ok, no rattles or damage. Make sure you have good tread a bald tire is not good in mud. Keep your momentum and weight balanced as best you can. If you are up to it the ST will surprise you.
Good luck
Gary

A couple of years ago took 'er down a lot of dirt roads and skidder trails in Arkansas looking for available real estate. She did pretty good...

Gerhard said:

I know that I don't ride a ST1300 but the RT is not that different. Last summer on our trip out west we went down a 30 km hard packed gravel road according the lodge we went to, I agree with the 30 km part. Here is a video I took while riding in, two up with luggage for a month long trip. Gerhard

Click to expand...

That is some skillful riding! It was obvious that once or twice you had some slight trouble going through the puddles (around 4 min+). Was the road under the water muddy? Did you feel like you were slipping and sliding through the puddles or did the bike take the water as if it was on a paved road (excepting the very few times that were obviously rutted/muddy/whatever)?

What would happen to the radiator going through mud and water like this?

Here is some exciting riding - tho probably not for an ST.......grin... (sorry, not sure how to post a link, so copy and paste the url below - this video should get your blood moving).

http://tomwade.me/motorcycles/incrides/


p.s. well, I'll be. the website automatically made that a link.

SMSW said:

That is some skillful riding! It was obvious that once or twice you had some slight trouble going through the puddles (around 4 min+). Was the road under the water muddy? Did you feel like you were slipping and sliding through the puddles or did the bike take the water as if it was on a paved road (excepting the very few times that were obviously rutted/muddy/whatever)?

What would happen to the radiator going through mud and water like this?

Click to expand...

Thanks everyone for the comments, the first puddles were shallow and it really was o.k., the one around the 4 minute area that splashed over us was deeper and you can see the traction control light flicker. Most of the puddles had a clay like material which felt slippery especially where it had partially drained. The part that scared me the most was when we went across an area that had been washed out and filled with large rocks which looked large enough to crack the engine case, that is why Cherie got off at the next filled in area to check for the bigger rocks. Then the part were the rear end lost traction and skidded side to side really gave me scare. I remember the lodge was beautiful and we had a good time there but it was always in the back of our mind that we had to leave down that same road. No worries about the radiator since the bike is air cooled. I think keeping the shiny side up had more to do with dumb luck than skill.

Gerhard

skidlid1300 said:

A couple of years ago took 'er down a lot of dirt roads and skidder trails in Arkansas looking for available real estate. She did pretty good...

Click to expand...

Those are the type of roads I've ridden on, not really rough or loose. I didn't make good time tho.

Karen....you are/were crazy (smile)..and road tires!! I would never ride my ST in those places, it is certain something bad will happen. Did you have any issues with the mud building up on the radiator or inside the fairing?


There is a guy a work who has ridden his 1100 in similar conditions. He just bought a KLR.

Ran into this road last year on my way back from Oregon, I was heading to Seabeck, and the GPS told me it was a rode...uhhh yeah! Only about 5 miles of that and it was back to blacktop. Not a bad road really, no potholes at least.

deej said:

...and the GPS told me it was a rode...

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LOL! Been there... lead a group in/through Slovenia, maps and GPS insisted that those are regular, yet major roadways...
Well, most of them turned out being unpaved, something we would call "forest roads"...
The ST did well with pillion aboard... but the ~10 sport-bike riders following... uuuh, they moaned, I never heard the end of it... :crackup
(yep, that's what 'squids' get for ranting about my rig being a "rolling living-room"... )
Only one guy joining with his KTM LC8 had a broad grin on his face... ;-)

How about gravel and dirt:

[video=youtube;u1xqGcvTIoE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1xqGcvTIoE[/video]

Clutch