ST1300 as an offroad bike?

Amazing and a little bit not soooo smart...
Let's say that this Russian lady is surprisingly good at managing 700lb on that kind of ground.
I wouldn't dare any of this and she is doing it like it was nothing.
But then, you think about the farkling, the radiator, the dust in the air filter or the clutch...
Ouch!
I really enjoyed seeing this, thank you for sharing.
 
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I rode my ST on about 5 miles of Arkansas non pavement going to Devil's Den State Park. It started out as hard pack gravel and turned into baby head size rocks and dirt with a stream crossing. I was lucky a few brain cells still remembered the dirt bike days and got me through it. Sure, it can be done, but why bring a knife to a gun fight.
 
I've done that kind of 2-track stuff on Montana rocky mountain trails & northern Michigan sand trails - 2-up , on my 2 GoldWings years ago . You definitely have to do it standing on the pegs .
I never went up narrow trails close to brush on the sides to scratch up any paint , etc.

I had done about 3 enduro races back in the early '70's on my (heavy) XL-250.


Haven't done it on my ST though , & at my age now , probably never will .
 
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2 scenarios:
1. very skilled rider!!! or
2. Lots of riders with the same build, suit, helmet, etc. and lots of identical ST's and they don't show the pile of wreckage and the many ambulance rides:biggrin:

The sheer strength required to keep it upright when having to stop in deeper sand or ruts is impressive itself but the steep inclines, in loose sand is :wave1:
 
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Got to give her credit for this!
I think if none of us cared if we dropped it, broke a pannier, mirror or tupperware, we could also do it.
Hmmmm maybe I'll buy an old Goldwing for dirt tracking!
 
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nicksacco said:
I think if none of us cared if we dropped it, broke a pannier, mirror or tupperware, we could also do it.
Click to expand...
This.

She's far more able & talented than I am, but I'm not horrified by the video. I had a misspent youth though, and I'm probably only still alive through sheer dumb luck. I mean, I once set myself on fire sliding along concrete (not wearing protection) after dropping a GN125ET from about 60ft up. The bike needed a bit more work than my body did. Then one of my mates bought a CB500, removed the plastics & threw on a knobbly tyre... that was fun.

I'm more impressed that she kept it upright (and that long uphill didn't look too pleasant). I'd love to see the outtakes / practice runs.
 
I visited a friend of mine who had a "shack" outside of Sam Houston National Forest/Park on my 05 ST... the pavement ended, then it was clay... then it was sand... then I was laying on my left side looking up at trees. :rofl1: Packed clay and dirt is one thing, anything involving sand or gravel is something else.

I had to ride my Wing thru a half mile of mud outside of Vanderpool due to road construction during CheapSTOC 2008 on the way to the motorcycle museum... slip sliding all over the place. As I was dismounting at the museum, up pulls a Duc covered in mud on the left side with it's rider slathered up with it too... mud is another hazard too. :thumb:
 
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It's easy to ride almost any bike in those conditions >>in a straight line<<

I can't blame her for not wanting to rail it around a rut in moist loamy earth, or for taking it's 5"-ish suspension travel onto rocky stuff.
 
At some point I’ve posted about riding a gravel section of a paved road under construction because I wasn’t about to do a u-turn in the gravel. The 1100 didn’t seem to care in the slightest and I arrived at the paved section without any real fuss.

However… I don’t have the skills to attempt the stuff in this video regardless of the amount of prep, spare bikes and parts.

I also want it on the record that I was the first to suggest Noraly get a Pan to replace her last bike, though it might have been a bit difficult getting it into that boat…
 
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