Sportbike and Forest Service Road

Today I decided to escape the 100 degree heat and take a ride up into the
high country. I generally don't like to ride out and back, I prefer to put
together a loop ride.

Two of my favorite rides (Mirror Lake Highway and Wolf Creek pass run on
opposite sides of the High Uintas Wilderness. The only way to ride both is
to ride completely around the Wilderness and that would make for a long day.
However, they are connected by a Forest Service road in Soapstone basin.

I pulled off into Soapstone Basin and road quickly turned to dirt. The road
was in excellent condition for the first few miles as it climbed through the
forest. The surface was damp, packed and smooth. Except for the radical
crown this section was a breeze.

I came out of the trees on a high plateau and the road chnaged to pea and
marble size gravel. This was a bit more challenging. Plus I was getting
weird looks from all the people on their quads.

A few miles later I began the descent to Wolf Creek. The off camber switch
backs with loose gravel and wash board conditions made riding a bit
interesting.

Here are my observations on riding a sport bike on dirt forest service
roads. First, I only felt safe between 15 and 25mph. At that speed there
is not enough air going through the radiator so the fan was constantly on.
Michelin Pilot Powers are probably not the ideal tire for these conditions.
My biggest worry was kicking up gravel and damaging the radiator. With a
little more practice I think I could power slide through the corners. Even
with the suspension set to full soft washboard sections were very rough and
I had to really slow for big bumps.

Overall it was an excellent ride and I won't hesitate to take the F4i down
most dirt roads. As a matter of fact I think I'll add the old Pony Express
Trail from outside Salt Lake to Nevada to my list of rides to be done. That
is about 100 miles of dirt across the desert.

The photograph was taken by a camera mounted on the handlebars of
rattletrap, my old Guzzi 850 T-3. We are in motion, headed down a
moderatlely steep grade. Moderate for this area, anyway...

Al Moore
DoD 734

For your next set of tires, try Pirelli Scorpion Syncs. A tad more
aggressive tread, but still VERY sticky with good mileage. They are also
AWESOME in the rain.