In the Midwest I swear all the counties get kickbacks from the quarries because it is ridiculous in mid/late spring when they re-gravel most of the state.
I just returned from Northern Georgia, Western North Carolina, and Eastern Tennessee. In all three states, the Forest Service had recently put down a LOT of that grey gravel that ranges from maybe 1/4" to 1/2" in size, several inches deep in response to the heavy rains throughout May. On some of the roads, there was a decent cleared wheel track to ride in where it wasn't too bad. On other roads, there were no clear tracks, just deep gravel. I got caught out coming into a down hill corner a tad fast because I didn't start braking soon enough to allow for the rear sliding more than expected and didn't want to get to hard on the front because of worries about it washing out. I braked upright in a mostly clear wheel track as long as I could and then tried to turn as late as possible since I could see no one was coming the other way, ran a bit wide and hit the super deep stuff that covered the last 18" or so on the side of the road. Fortunately, by the time both tires washed out, I was almost completely through the corner and traveling straight, so I did not slide off the STEEP side of the mountain! The next day, we were on a different road, one with NO clear tracks. My son was commenting about how he really didn't care for the gravel but he'd just deal with it. A few corners later I heard the unmistakable sound of his bike going down in one of those U-turn corners so common out there. Like me, he was going down hill. It was the last day of the trip, we were all tired and I had just been telling him how important it was to stay focused. He hit a deep spot in the middle of the road and both tires just went out from under him. Fortunately for both of us, we were not running hot and had in fact dropped the pace considerably. Also, we were geared up appropriately. In both cases, no damage to rider or bike and we were able to continue without any issues. My son is only 17 and has been riding on the street for about a year. We rode for 10 days I was telling him every day how critical it was to keep the pace sane and not get overconfident. I think he got the message. Other than one other slow speed incident early in the trip, he did great the rest of the time. Here in East Texas were many of the roads used to be deep sand/silt, many counties have been putting down BIG gravel, like 1-3" in size. It can be quite deep as well. I'll take that any day over the little stuff!
Just finished a route like that today. They didn't even regrade the road, they simply dumped a bunch of gravel on top. So, the potholes and dips turned into gravel pits that gave me fits!
Perfect timing! I just did my first 100 miles on gravel today, just to practice. In the first mile I was kinda gripped, after 5 miles I was comfortable and enjoyed it quite alot! I noticed that my hips and knees were doing a lot of the steering, felt great! I live in Oregon in the middle of the Willamette national forest. 4600 miles of gravel roads! Stoked!!
Excellent video. No fluff. I’m 76. Never left blacktop until two years ago when since I’ve spent eight months in the European mountain passes, Morocco, the UK and Isle of Man. I ride a Yamaha T700 there with tubeless tires on remanufactured wheels. I’ve been on all these surfaces including really challenging conditions in the Moroccan Sahara and the Atlas Mountains. With my heart in my mouth. I have come around blind turns when all of a sudden a Volkswagen, mini bus shoots up to the corner, and the only thing I can do is ride down into a ditch and make the turn in the ditch, and then ride out again, and somehow by the grace of God, it happens. In fact, in retrospect, the only bad moments I’ve had on motorcycles in 60 years has been on the street and in both cases, it was the same issue. A car to the right of me, and the head of me decides to make a U-turn. ironically, I’ve been more fearful of riding on dirt and gravel and sand, than blacktop. The people you meet on other bikes and vehicles are usually better drivers, and I don’t mean that in just a skill way. I have experienced very few wrong moves on the part of other riders and drivers in the mountains and in the desert. How you get on the high speed road in northern Italy, and you take your life in your hands. There the danger is from the rear. And then there are the Audis on the high speed roads in Portugal. These Audi drivers are homicidal maniacs, who simply passed you going 60 to 80 km an hour faster than you’re going and swerving to your lane for kicks. This video was really helpful. Thank you.
In Portugal every driver seems to think of themselves as a formula 1 racer for some reason. The passing is insane, and seemingly obligatory, blind curves on twisty narrow country roads be damned.
for me the worst gravel is the one in country road when the grader just pass and the loose gravel its 3 to 5in deep...i really dont know what is the best way to ride on these gravel road condition
I grew up on ATV's, dirtbikes, street bikes, and now an ADV. My dad always told us to putt around for the first hour to recognize hazards, even in places we went often, as each time we rode, something would change. After we re familiarized ourselves with the ride area, we could open up the throttle. I still use that advice when I ride.
Good commentary. Not all gravel roads are the same, not by far. I’m always on the alert for a rapid change to worse traction, and it can happen without notice. Learning to quickly understand available traction is a great skill to build. I like to listen closely to what I’m feeling through the bike.
Great video and you're spot on! I too call it a dance, where sometimes you lead, other times the road leads, just trust you have the moves to keep up. The deeper it is, the worse it gets.
Those last roads are exactly like the ones around where I live in New Zealand. I get jealous whenever I watch videos of people riding though the outback of Australia on dry hard-pack dirt roads.
Hey Dusty, the worst kind of gravel road is what I encountered last week north of Weed on the New Mexico BDR. They have dumped untold cubic yards of 2 inch gravel all over the road. It is not compacted, just sitting on top. It cost me a broken hand and broken ankle. Just one moment of less than high concentration was all it took.
Hey, F1. Boy, do I agree with you. My buddy and I rode the first half of the NMBDR three weeks ago. That gravel you mentioned was nerve-wracking to me. I went down on a nice clean area the day before, which then made me really nervous on that gravel the next 4 days. I made it through all the gravel, but had a hard time trying to suppress my fear.
In case people didn’t pick up on this, it’s best to do gravel standing on the pegs. I have done some whilst sitting, it is possible, but you’ll end up with brown racing stripes in the pants! I was terrified until I stood up and was able to let the bike do its thing while pressuring the pegs, phew! Most of the mountain trails here in California, during the dry season, are that hard pan with variable-sized weathered gravel/rock on top. The toughest stuff is when the trail/road has off-cambered curves, yikes.
Worst kind of gravel is the deep one like at 1:32 but with rounded rocks and in a steep uphill slope. Some places where I ride are mostly quads trails and they put those in slopes to prevent erosion but it's really hard on a motorcycle. If you spin out and stop or fall and lose your momentum, you often have to go back down and try again. I'll take big solid rocky steps anytime instead of deep river bed rocks.
thanks for you rvideos! you always put my mind at ease on my 1200GS. At 64 years old, I need all the help I can get, even after 50 years on two wheels!
Thanks for the tips! I had my first long distance gravel road trip and it was very sketchy at times. I had some newly spread deep loose gravel and had a couple moments where the front tire almost steered me off the road. I definitely need to practice your tips.
There's some gnarly gravel when I go to my favorite camping spot it's always nerve-wracking when I first start out not going over 20 mph. Then about a mile down the road. I'm hitting 40 45 on the straightaways.
Did my first all day ride on gravel and “No Maintenance, drive at your own risk” roads. By the end of the day I had figured out most of what you’re saying here. (Wish I’d seen this before going, ha!) There we’re three spots where the road had washed out and they filled it with much much larger material. I wouldn’t even call it gravel, more like stones or even rocks. That was the worst. At the end of the day all three of us talked about that being the worst and all agreed that you had to find the sweet spot of speed, too slow was bad and too fast was bad. Each spot had a best speed and that was a little faster than I, as a newbie, thought it would be. Great video!
Yeah, I wrecked on that kind of small marbles on top of hardpack surface, totaled my Scrambler and injured my rotator cuff when I came up on a tight corner unexpectedly (New England forest - not much down-road visibility). Since then I've been practicing on exactly this kind of surface. I've also discovered that your specific traction control level/setting can make a ton of difference in this environment. Too much and you won't go anywhere. Too little and it is more likely you'll lose traction at the rear wheel when you want it most if you are pushing things a little too hard. Skill and practice is most important, of course, but TC on the marbl-ey stuff can change the ride entirely. Adding a GET ECU TC knob to my KTM 500 was a night and day difference in stability on this stuff when set to around level 6.
the hardest gravel I have ever ridden were in Harney county Oregon and the gravel was 3/8" minus about 5" deep so the tire tracks created 8-10" ridges. the ruts were still 2 to 3" rollers on rollers. You had to trust the bike and really lean the bike in the corners weighting the outside peg. Great little lesson Thank you for the post!
I normally have no issue in gravel, but I just ate in a deep section on the Dalton Highway, right before Deadhorse. Went into it at a pretty decent speed and got a bad tank slapper right away. Low sided and then high sided in the same crash! 🤣 (I'm fine, as was the bike)
The worst "gravel" road I have ridden was in Baja. No sand, no small rocks, just rounded rocks the size of bowling balls all across the road and buldozed to piles on either side.
Just got back from a day trip. The worst gravel is going up hill in deep loose gravel with bolders stuck in the middle of a hair pin turn with ATV's coming from the other side. Then around the corner, ruts so deep, both pegs hit the ground. An adventure for sure!
i would love that stuff too. I'm on the fence as to whether it should even be described as gravel. try some australian red-gravel roads, spherical shaped rocks sized 1/2" to 1", sitting on a rock-hard dry clay surface, like marbles scattered all over a skating rink
I've come unstuck twice on loose gravel. First time I was going a too fast through a corner trying to keep up with mates, panicked, hit the front brake and fixated on the side of the road. Front end slid out and down I went. The next time was after replacing my battery and I forgot to reprogram the settings on my F850gs. Every time I touched the throttle the rear would spin. Again, going around a corner with three washout humps, I made it round and went to accelerate out of the corner just as the back tire hit the third ridge. It spun out and flipped me sideways. Figuring this out I removed the PRO plug for the rest of the ride until I could go back and change the throttle response to something more manageable. A few weeks later I took an off road course and the instructor likened going round a corner to carving a corner with skis, getting the sidewalls of your tires to bite in. This made sense and I went looking for the first corner where I came unstuck. With the extra weeks of practice and with more confidence I couldn't even recognize the corner. I did realize how badly I executed it the first time!
I learned how to ride on some of this, by accident, and on a sportster (of all motorcycles). I live on top of a hill with a gravel driveway, and that little microcosm seems to change with every rain storm. Stopping at the bottom is sometime "fun" or "entertaining." I have only dropped in once in three years, when my front wheel locked up while braking and I guess I hit a rock. Before my brain kicked in to release the brake (I dont have ABS) the forke already locked ot one side and over I went. I hope to one day get an adventure bike, but my day to day travels in the Ozarks is slowly preparing me for it I think
After riding through 7 western states for 2 weeks, the gravel shown here is real nice. The deeper stuff and pea gravel is much worse. You can see your own tire ruts even in the main tracks from 4 wheeled vehicles. Add a stiff cross-wind for more "fun". I'll take raw doubletrack with deep erosion ruts, roots and embedded rock over most of the "improved" roads.
I hate the deep loose medium size rounded gravel with no hard packet bottom. The front wheel dig in more than in sand. I encountered that sh** on a cold war era mountain radar base I was exploring. Because of water erosion and off camber trails, I could not even ride with my feets on the pegs at some point.
I ran into that visiting a friend in Vermont. His farm was way up a hill and he'd *just* laid down a deep layer of that round rock. Not a problem for his truck, but I was on a CBR1100XX Blackbird, with my wife on the back too! The bike swam left and right, I was virtually unable to steer, but I just kept power on and hoped it would remain aimed uphill! We made it, but I was a nervous sweaty wreck by the time I reached his house.
I’ve ridden loads of big adventurer bikes off road and this is so true however a light dual sport (ktm 500exc is mine) this would be like a parking lot it’s to so easy. Too many people falling for the marketing hype seeing professional riders on big bikes.
Never had a problem on gravel, pretty much all I ride here in the northeast so maybe that’s why, but you can absolutely trail brake into a corner if you need too or want to carry some momentum. Brake Magazine did a great mini tip Monday on that technique.
The worst kind for me wouldn't be termed gravel, but loose rocks. I'm not sure when gravel becomes rocks but when I try to climb a steep hill with loose rocks, it never ends well. The rocks are several inches to almost a foot in size in all dimensions and irregular. Embedded rocks are nice by comparison but loose rocks are my nemesis.
Totally! This guy obviously has serious skill and excellent tips, but it seems that in every one of his videos that I watch I am at some point instinctively disagreeing with some fragment, even when on balance in sync with most everything else.
It’s hard to find gravel in my area but it’s there. My favorite is an 8 mile run through Hoosier national forest. Especially after enough rain to quell the dust. I hate dust!! But 70 on good gravel is just one reason I gave up Harleys. Africa Twin now
marbles of mayhem... however they have taught me how to replace handlebars, shifter and brake levers, mirrors, adjust tweaked forks, the importance of matched tires for terrain, and a solid appreciation for riding in full gear.
Man.. you throw that big bike around like a pro! Gravel is so tricky because it varies in thickness and rock size. Just a small increase in depth or a rock, front tire washes-out one way, rear goes the other and down you go.. I find riding gravel is controlled chaos, you have to let the bike work & wiggle under you, standing up and weighting the pegs allows your bodies natural balance to smooth out the flow. For me, when the front washes out, my natural tendency is to lower my center of gravity by sitting on the seat, that’s wrong! I have to force myself to stand up on those pegs and everything smoothes out. I have a formula: Sitting + Gravel = Crash “Steering with your weight on the pegs”, you nailed it!
Got to drive 16km through some very bad gravel with uphills/downhills, hairpin turns and large rocks a couple of weeks ago. Most fun I’ve had on a bike in a while.
Always a little pucker factor going on when I hit gravel on the KLR the first mile or two. By then I've 'felt' how the gravel is and relax after I've figured what speed is best for the grade. (Wet grass in the morning however with a sprocket to give me more high end speed is another matter LOL.)
Nice tips.. Funny thing is…. I sold my Adventure bike and bought a Kawasaki W650.. in Japan most mountain roads are big gravel rocks.. I’m so used to standing up.. let the bike move.. I can do it on a heavy cruiser now..
Hi Dusty. I really like your videos. They are absolutely helpful for me. Can you make a video about tires pressure and make some recommendations for us?
For me the worst gravel road ever was between the ferries on the Dempster HWY. the entire 70 miles was a fresh 2-4” of pea gravel. Just kept it at 50mph and kept my head and eyes up.
Yesterday while I was riding some unknown gravel roads I had this epiphany, speed and momentum is your friend. I hit some deep patches of just loose gravel and instead of sort of freaking out like I used to I just blipped the throttle and it straitened me right out. It's a little nerve wracking at first and goes against my better judgement but the results speak for themselves. I assume deep sand would be the same technique, hold momentum and let the front end just do what it wants. I will probably find out on my Baja trip. Thanks for the tips.
The worst gravel is the shale on the road to Inuvik. I did NOT go that way because of the road. I did go to Prudhoe Bay. The gravel was fin crushed and good on a dry sort of day. Wet I have hearf is a mess and when you see road maintence watch out for the thick layer of loose gravel they are spreading. Also note that there are some places a spring runs water down the road, don't be hot footing it unless you can see ahead a long way.
I am scared of the tiny gravel on top of hard packed dirt and also the second type of gravel in this video. I am getting better at staying loose on the bike and keeping momentum in the deep stuff, but I have trouble forcing myself to stop being stiff and nervous in the third type.
I just got to ride a gravel section where the gravel was around the size of your fist, very well rounded (think river rock) and sitting on top of a hard surface and spaced out just enough that each rock was free to move on its own, but the wheels could not get to the solid under surface. Like trying to ride on a bunch of fast balls. The front wheel literally slid off the side of every rock it tried to ride over. Turning was treacherous at best.
Hello, I've already taken a path with big pebbles and gravel on the road like at 1:42 , in addition to that going up a steep path, as you say and well it's keeping the momentum on the acceleration and letting the front of the wheel move freely. Unluckily I had to go back on the path, that is, going down the road I had the engine braking without success and even when braking the rear wheel I slipped over the gravel. It was a fun experience but I hope not to repeat it too many times😅. greetings from Portugal
On the motorcycle tour we adentured to go on a gravel path in Spain (Sotre to Espinama)...the video on the link below shows the gravel path: ua-cam.com/video/6x-yNvDT_wM/v-deo.html
I tried doing a trail last month where they filled in the holes with deep loose gravel. Some spots it was 6" thick. It brought me to a screeching halt and I almost went down. It took some effort to dig out as the rear tire was dug in pretty deep. I'd say deep loose gravel is the worst but haven't done a lot with mud yet.
Personally? That last one was not the worst for me. Yes, I get what you are talking about with the “marbles” on hard pack. Ditto for same on pavement in a corner. But for me it’s the stuff with no bottom…inches of pea stone or beach rocks. It’s all alive. Yes, let her float…but directional changes and the thing wants to wash out.
Agreed - I guess we consider that more "rock" than gravel. Bret did a episode on that way back. It was impressive watching him ride that stuff. ua-cam.com/video/vWdFiGoTOBA/v-deo.html
Yeah, was scrolling to say the same. There was one road I used to ride that has a steep section covered in smooth baseball size river gravel mixed with basketball size river rocks. It was all loose and would roll if your wheels touched it. The worst thing I've ever tried to ride on.
heres a good one, fast electric scooter doing 45 half way through a corner it switches to a temporary repair patch that they have put gravel on but havent sprayed the oil on yet. (country road) Im drifting toward the side without enough traction to slow down. So i just look through the corner hit the power and countersteer the heck out of it. The rear slid hard but i made that corner. Stand up scoots are just plain weird. It scared me so bad i had to go back and do it again til i felt more in control.
The worst thing about gravel is that it absolutely eats tires.The tire on the rear of my c50 Suzuki Boulevard lasted less than 1000 kms.(620 miles).Lots of throttle and wheel spin is fun but expensive.
They just laid this yellow sandstone gravel on a grade near my place. It is wild how unstable it is. The bike just floats sideways at near a stop! Otherwise I love gravel roads just less than the fast flowy sand.
sir, i love your content how you explain the basic to do things. May i ask a how to do a down hill on gravel with 2 people in a motorcycle? I often riding with my partner and i cant really do the weightless driver technique. thanks
Hey Dusty, how about washboard gravel roads? I had to go through it in Death Valley on a road they call the Race Track which takes you to the Moving Rocks.
My 250cc dual sport came with off-road tires. On dirt roads and pavement. The bike was really unstable. I went into tire research. I decided to go with Kenda. I was very careful at first. I have a few miles on them now. The steepest dirt road hill here. Today. I took it up it in first gear. The slowest I could. Walking speed. Over bumps, etc. In all the testing I have done. I am totally amazed. Even with gravel on pavement. My question is. Have you ever used the tire bland before, and what are your thoughts on it, if any? Thanks.
I ride a lot of gravel in New Zealand 2up and my worst feeling is when the front feels like it wants to drift off / wash out . What’s a tip to help reduce this ? More weight on the front?
Tarmac transitioning to gravel is fine, but one thing I fear is when gravel suddenly meets tarmac, especially during a turn. It doesn’t happen often, but it can be a tad . . . . disconcerting.
I don’t dislike riding gravel, but it can get tiresome in some of those deeper gravely roads. Great video and very direct with the concept of riding gravel.
Worst kind of a gravel is 0.5m of fresh gravel prepared for asphalt, but not covered yet. When packed dirt is, naturally, covered by half a meter of stones.
Downhill, off camber, deep drainage ditch to the side, and a truck comes the other way and puts you onto the marbles on the outside of the curve. Maximum pucker.
I'll be 55 next month and have a 7, and 9 yr boy. My wife is 40. Friends were all what were you thinking? Now I have an 1190 adventure R. Again what were you thinking? Navigate roads that are dangerous, wives that are unpredictable, and boys period by constantly tapping in to the readily available wisdom of those around me with far greater experience than I. Learn. Make a conscious effort to study. Apply what you learn , enjoy the fruit of the knowledge you've gained, and pray like the devil is coursing after you , gobbling your roost.
I have an R1200GS with ride modes. What mode do you suggest for gravel, sand, “baby head” rocks? Enduro modes allow you to lock up the rear tire but Rain has a softer throttle. Thanks
Side questions: Do ADV bike front fender (mudguard) designers / engineers ever ride actual gravelled roads and have a look at the stone blasting of the bike that takes place behind the wheel? And mud? And dust control calcium chloride mortar? Ya they look all stylin in the showroom and in the reviews... along with shitty stock seats... Yes I have holed a radiator with a stone going round the fan...
Loose gravel doesn’t bother me in fact it’s fun to ride on. I hate the really fine bull dust, when you’re riding in a group it makes visibility almost impossible.
Marblely gravel steep downhill off camber into a corner is on the list somewhere. That steep hill makes your rear tire want to slide as you try to slow your roll and front brakes seem like a bad option because how can you steer if both wheels a sliding under braking? For some reason coming into those a gear tall and maybe some clutch work seems to work for me but I’m not entirely sure why..
The worst is freshly graded roads when the gravel is 4'-5' inches deep and sort of fluffy.
In the Midwest I swear all the counties get kickbacks from the quarries because it is ridiculous in mid/late spring when they re-gravel most of the state.
I just returned from Northern Georgia, Western North Carolina, and Eastern Tennessee. In all three states, the Forest Service had recently put down a LOT of that grey gravel that ranges from maybe 1/4" to 1/2" in size, several inches deep in response to the heavy rains throughout May. On some of the roads, there was a decent cleared wheel track to ride in where it wasn't too bad. On other roads, there were no clear tracks, just deep gravel. I got caught out coming into a down hill corner a tad fast because I didn't start braking soon enough to allow for the rear sliding more than expected and didn't want to get to hard on the front because of worries about it washing out. I braked upright in a mostly clear wheel track as long as I could and then tried to turn as late as possible since I could see no one was coming the other way, ran a bit wide and hit the super deep stuff that covered the last 18" or so on the side of the road. Fortunately, by the time both tires washed out, I was almost completely through the corner and traveling straight, so I did not slide off the STEEP side of the mountain! The next day, we were on a different road, one with NO clear tracks. My son was commenting about how he really didn't care for the gravel but he'd just deal with it. A few corners later I heard the unmistakable sound of his bike going down in one of those U-turn corners so common out there. Like me, he was going down hill. It was the last day of the trip, we were all tired and I had just been telling him how important it was to stay focused. He hit a deep spot in the middle of the road and both tires just went out from under him. Fortunately for both of us, we were not running hot and had in fact dropped the pace considerably. Also, we were geared up appropriately. In both cases, no damage to rider or bike and we were able to continue without any issues. My son is only 17 and has been riding on the street for about a year. We rode for 10 days I was telling him every day how critical it was to keep the pace sane and not get overconfident. I think he got the message. Other than one other slow speed incident early in the trip, he did great the rest of the time. Here in East Texas were many of the roads used to be deep sand/silt, many counties have been putting down BIG gravel, like 1-3" in size. It can be quite deep as well. I'll take that any day over the little stuff!
Just finished a route like that today. They didn't even regrade the road, they simply dumped a bunch of gravel on top. So, the potholes and dips turned into gravel pits that gave me fits!
That's actually what I was hoping to see. Nobody has a video on that. That is all I come across where I live. Do you have any tips?
Perfect timing! I just did my first 100 miles on gravel today, just to practice. In the first mile I was kinda gripped, after 5 miles I was comfortable and enjoyed it quite alot! I noticed that my hips and knees were doing a lot of the steering, felt great! I live in Oregon in the middle of the Willamette national forest. 4600 miles of gravel roads! Stoked!!
That’s encouraging to hear….I’m trying to get comfortable in sand. But the gravel SUCKS
@@RyOnDrums I'd bet once you get comfy with sand, gravel will be no problem.
Excellent video. No fluff. I’m 76. Never left blacktop until two years ago when since I’ve spent eight months in the European mountain passes, Morocco, the UK and Isle of Man. I ride a Yamaha T700 there with tubeless tires on remanufactured wheels. I’ve been on all these surfaces including really challenging conditions in the Moroccan Sahara and the Atlas Mountains. With my heart in my mouth. I have come around blind turns when all of a sudden a Volkswagen, mini bus shoots up to the corner, and the only thing I can do is ride down into a ditch and make the turn in the ditch, and then ride out again, and somehow by the grace of God, it happens. In fact, in retrospect, the only bad moments I’ve had on motorcycles in 60 years has been on the street and in both cases, it was the same issue. A car to the right of me, and the head of me decides to make a U-turn. ironically, I’ve been more fearful of riding on dirt and gravel and sand, than blacktop. The people you meet on other bikes and vehicles are usually better drivers, and I don’t mean that in just a skill way. I have experienced very few wrong moves on the part of other riders and drivers in the mountains and in the desert. How you get on the high speed road in northern Italy, and you take your life in your hands. There the danger is from the rear. And then there are the Audis on the high speed roads in Portugal. These Audi drivers are homicidal maniacs, who simply passed you going 60 to 80 km an hour faster than you’re going and swerving to your lane for kicks.
This video was really helpful. Thank you.
You're welcome, Robert.
In Portugal every driver seems to think of themselves as a formula 1 racer for some reason. The passing is insane, and seemingly obligatory, blind curves on twisty narrow country roads be damned.
for me the worst gravel is the one in country road when the grader just pass and the loose gravel its 3 to 5in deep...i really dont know what is the best way to ride on these gravel road condition
I grew up on ATV's, dirtbikes, street bikes, and now an ADV. My dad always told us to putt around for the first hour to recognize hazards, even in places we went often, as each time we rode, something would change. After we re familiarized ourselves with the ride area, we could open up the throttle. I still use that advice when I ride.
Good commentary. Not all gravel roads are the same, not by far. I’m always on the alert for a rapid change to worse traction, and it can happen without notice. Learning to quickly understand available traction is a great skill to build. I like to listen closely to what I’m feeling through the bike.
Great video and you're spot on! I too call it a dance, where sometimes you lead, other times the road leads, just trust you have the moves to keep up. The deeper it is, the worse it gets.
Always brightens my day when a video comes out on this channel.
as a super novice adv rider, your content and approach is spot on. thanks for making it inviting and doable
Glad to help!
Those last roads are exactly like the ones around where I live in New Zealand. I get jealous whenever I watch videos of people riding though the outback of Australia on dry hard-pack dirt roads.
Don't worry we get plenty of pea gravel in Oz as well.
Hey Dusty, the worst kind of gravel road is what I encountered last week north of Weed on the New Mexico BDR. They have dumped untold cubic yards of 2 inch gravel all over the road. It is not compacted, just sitting on top. It cost me a broken hand and broken ankle. Just one moment of less than high concentration was all it took.
Sorry to hear that, F1.
Hey, F1. Boy, do I agree with you. My buddy and I rode the first half of the NMBDR three weeks ago. That gravel you mentioned was nerve-wracking to me. I went down on a nice clean area the day before, which then made me really nervous on that gravel the next 4 days. I made it through all the gravel, but had a hard time trying to suppress my fear.
In case people didn’t pick up on this, it’s best to do gravel standing on the pegs. I have done some whilst sitting, it is possible, but you’ll end up with brown racing stripes in the pants! I was terrified until I stood up and was able to let the bike do its thing while pressuring the pegs, phew!
Most of the mountain trails here in California, during the dry season, are that hard pan with variable-sized weathered gravel/rock on top. The toughest stuff is when the trail/road has off-cambered curves, yikes.
There's another type -- when the road is basically smooth, round river pebbles and stones with no hard surface underneath -- just more of the same.
I’m so glad you started creating videos again! I love Mototrek!! ❤
Gravels and sand are my favorit surfaces to drive.... best regards from France...!
Worst kind of gravel is the deep one like at 1:32 but with rounded rocks and in a steep uphill slope. Some places where I ride are mostly quads trails and they put those in slopes to prevent erosion but it's really hard on a motorcycle. If you spin out and stop or fall and lose your momentum, you often have to go back down and try again. I'll take big solid rocky steps anytime instead of deep river bed rocks.
Yes! There's a trail on the WABDR like that.
ua-cam.com/video/myP6iN44Z0I/v-deo.html
Yup! I agree with you there. More so than that last one that was labeled as “worst”.
thanks for you rvideos! you always put my mind at ease on my 1200GS. At 64 years old, I need all the help I can get, even after 50 years on two wheels!
Right on!
The worst kind of gravel is the really tiny gravel known as “sand”
LOL
LOL x 2
😂
Agreed I hate sand too.
😂
Thanks for the tips! I had my first long distance gravel road trip and it was very sketchy at times. I had some newly spread deep loose gravel and had a couple moments where the front tire almost steered me off the road. I definitely need to practice your tips.
There's some gnarly gravel when I go to my favorite camping spot it's always nerve-wracking when I first start out not going over 20 mph. Then about a mile down the road. I'm hitting 40 45 on the straightaways.
First time I dumped my GSA was playing around on loose gravel. Got a little too over confident. Thanks for the video
Did my first all day ride on gravel and “No Maintenance, drive at your own risk” roads. By the end of the day I had figured out most of what you’re saying here. (Wish I’d seen this before going, ha!) There we’re three spots where the road had washed out and they filled it with much much larger material. I wouldn’t even call it gravel, more like stones or even rocks. That was the worst. At the end of the day all three of us talked about that being the worst and all agreed that you had to find the sweet spot of speed, too slow was bad and too fast was bad. Each spot had a best speed and that was a little faster than I, as a newbie, thought it would be. Great video!
Yeah, I wrecked on that kind of small marbles on top of hardpack surface, totaled my Scrambler and injured my rotator cuff when I came up on a tight corner unexpectedly (New England forest - not much down-road visibility). Since then I've been practicing on exactly this kind of surface. I've also discovered that your specific traction control level/setting can make a ton of difference in this environment. Too much and you won't go anywhere. Too little and it is more likely you'll lose traction at the rear wheel when you want it most if you are pushing things a little too hard. Skill and practice is most important, of course, but TC on the marbl-ey stuff can change the ride entirely. Adding a GET ECU TC knob to my KTM 500 was a night and day difference in stability on this stuff when set to around level 6.
the hardest gravel I have ever ridden were in Harney county Oregon and the gravel was 3/8" minus about 5" deep so the tire tracks created 8-10" ridges. the ruts were still 2 to 3" rollers on rollers. You had to trust the bike and really lean the bike in the corners weighting the outside peg. Great little lesson Thank you for the post!
I have found in gravel speed is my friend. I used to ride really slow and the front end was unstable. Thanks for these tips. Ride Safe
Glad to help!
I normally have no issue in gravel, but I just ate in a deep section on the Dalton Highway, right before Deadhorse. Went into it at a pretty decent speed and got a bad tank slapper right away. Low sided and then high sided in the same crash! 🤣 (I'm fine, as was the bike)
Thanks for you valuable tipps and tricks, Dusty. Gravel isn't as bad as it seems, it's my home hunting ground for lack of sand or mud. Günter/Nürnberg
The worst "gravel" road I have ridden was in Baja. No sand, no small rocks, just rounded rocks the size of bowling balls all across the road and buldozed to piles on either side.
Great vid, I always remind myself to look ahead, and everything else falls into place
…and sometimes everything just FALLS 😂
Very helpful! Great instruction. Thanks!
Best off-road motorcycle channel, i always enjoy all uploads ❤
Thanks ✌️
In western Australia our gravel roads are covered in pea gravel, it is small clay marble's. And can get pretty out of hand real fast on a heavy bike
Just got back from a day trip. The worst gravel is going up hill in deep loose gravel with bolders stuck in the middle of a hair pin turn with ATV's coming from the other side. Then around the corner, ruts so deep, both pegs hit the ground. An adventure for sure!
Whoa! We need to make a video THERE!
@@MOTOTREK The Microwave trail in Telkwa, British Columbia
i would love that stuff too. I'm on the fence as to whether it should even be described as gravel.
try some australian red-gravel roads, spherical shaped rocks sized 1/2" to 1", sitting on a rock-hard dry clay surface, like marbles scattered all over a skating rink
I've come unstuck twice on loose gravel. First time I was going a too fast through a corner trying to keep up with mates, panicked, hit the front brake and fixated on the side of the road. Front end slid out and down I went. The next time was after replacing my battery and I forgot to reprogram the settings on my F850gs. Every time I touched the throttle the rear would spin. Again, going around a corner with three washout humps, I made it round and went to accelerate out of the corner just as the back tire hit the third ridge. It spun out and flipped me sideways. Figuring this out I removed the PRO plug for the rest of the ride until I could go back and change the throttle response to something more manageable. A few weeks later I took an off road course and the instructor likened going round a corner to carving a corner with skis, getting the sidewalls of your tires to bite in. This made sense and I went looking for the first corner where I came unstuck. With the extra weeks of practice and with more confidence I couldn't even recognize the corner. I did realize how badly I executed it the first time!
Excellent gravel tips! Thank you!
I learned how to ride on some of this, by accident, and on a sportster (of all motorcycles). I live on top of a hill with a gravel driveway, and that little microcosm seems to change with every rain storm. Stopping at the bottom is sometime "fun" or "entertaining." I have only dropped in once in three years, when my front wheel locked up while braking and I guess I hit a rock. Before my brain kicked in to release the brake (I dont have ABS) the forke already locked ot one side and over I went.
I hope to one day get an adventure bike, but my day to day travels in the Ozarks is slowly preparing me for it I think
After riding through 7 western states for 2 weeks, the gravel shown here is real nice.
The deeper stuff and pea gravel is much worse. You can see your own tire ruts even in the main tracks from 4 wheeled vehicles. Add a stiff cross-wind for more "fun".
I'll take raw doubletrack with deep erosion ruts, roots and embedded rock over most of the "improved" roads.
I hate the deep loose medium size rounded gravel with no hard packet bottom. The front wheel dig in more than in sand. I encountered that sh** on a cold war era mountain radar base I was exploring. Because of water erosion and off camber trails, I could not even ride with my feets on the pegs at some point.
I ran into that visiting a friend in Vermont. His farm was way up a hill and he'd *just* laid down a deep layer of that round rock. Not a problem for his truck, but I was on a CBR1100XX Blackbird, with my wife on the back too! The bike swam left and right, I was virtually unable to steer, but I just kept power on and hoped it would remain aimed uphill! We made it, but I was a nervous sweaty wreck by the time I reached his house.
I’ve ridden loads of big adventurer bikes off road and this is so true however a light dual sport (ktm 500exc is mine) this would be like a parking lot it’s to so easy. Too many people falling for the marketing hype seeing professional riders on big bikes.
Never had a problem on gravel, pretty much all I ride here in the northeast so maybe that’s why, but you can absolutely trail brake into a corner if you need too or want to carry some momentum. Brake Magazine did a great mini tip Monday on that technique.
Love seeing your vids, Dusty! Need to get back in the dirt.
The worst kind for me wouldn't be termed gravel, but loose rocks. I'm not sure when gravel becomes rocks but when I try to climb a steep hill with loose rocks, it never ends well. The rocks are several inches to almost a foot in size in all dimensions and irregular. Embedded rocks are nice by comparison but loose rocks are my nemesis.
Totally! This guy obviously has serious skill and excellent tips, but it seems that in every one of his videos that I watch I am at some point instinctively disagreeing with some fragment, even when on balance in sync with most everything else.
It’s hard to find gravel in my area but it’s there. My favorite is an 8 mile run through Hoosier national forest. Especially after enough rain to quell the dust. I hate dust!!
But 70 on good gravel is just one reason I gave up Harleys.
Africa Twin now
This stuff is PURE GOLD!!!
Thank you for the fantastic tips!
I love seeing the new content from you guys!
marbles of mayhem... however they have taught me how to replace handlebars, shifter and brake levers, mirrors, adjust tweaked forks, the importance of matched tires for terrain, and a solid appreciation for riding in full gear.
Right on!
Man.. you throw that big bike around like a pro! Gravel is so tricky because it varies in thickness and rock size. Just a small increase in depth or a rock, front tire washes-out one way, rear goes the other and down you go.. I find riding gravel is controlled chaos, you have to let the bike work & wiggle under you, standing up and weighting the pegs allows your bodies natural balance to smooth out the flow. For me, when the front washes out, my natural tendency is to lower my center of gravity by sitting on the seat, that’s wrong! I have to force myself to stand up on those pegs and everything smoothes out. I have a formula: Sitting + Gravel = Crash
“Steering with your weight on the pegs”, you nailed it!
He is a pro, though)
Got to drive 16km through some very bad gravel with uphills/downhills, hairpin turns and large rocks a couple of weeks ago. Most fun I’ve had on a bike in a while.
Always a little pucker factor going on when I hit gravel on the KLR the first mile or two. By then I've 'felt' how the gravel is and relax after I've figured what speed is best for the grade. (Wet grass in the morning however with a sprocket to give me more high end speed is another matter LOL.)
Nice tips.. Funny thing is…. I sold my Adventure bike and bought a Kawasaki W650.. in Japan most mountain roads are big gravel rocks.. I’m so used to standing up.. let the bike move.. I can do it on a heavy cruiser now..
Very nice!
Hi Dusty. I really like your videos. They are absolutely helpful for me.
Can you make a video about tires pressure and make some recommendations for us?
For me the worst gravel road ever was between the ferries on the Dempster HWY. the entire 70 miles was a fresh 2-4” of pea gravel. Just kept it at 50mph and kept my head and eyes up.
Yesterday while I was riding some unknown gravel roads I had this epiphany, speed and momentum is your friend. I hit some deep patches of just loose gravel and instead of sort of freaking out like I used to I just blipped the throttle and it straitened me right out. It's a little nerve wracking at first and goes against my better judgement but the results speak for themselves. I assume deep sand would be the same technique, hold momentum and let the front end just do what it wants. I will probably find out on my Baja trip.
Thanks for the tips.
Right on, Bernie!
The worst gravel is the shale on the road to Inuvik. I did NOT go that way because of the road. I did go to Prudhoe Bay. The gravel was fin crushed and good on a dry sort of day. Wet I have hearf is a mess and when you see road maintence watch out for the thick layer of loose gravel they are spreading. Also note that there are some places a spring runs water down the road, don't be hot footing it unless you can see ahead a long way.
I am scared of the tiny gravel on top of hard packed dirt and also the second type of gravel in this video. I am getting better at staying loose on the bike and keeping momentum in the deep stuff, but I have trouble forcing myself to stop being stiff and nervous in the third type.
For maximum pucker, try downhill hairpin curve with pea gravel over hard pan sitting down.😮
I just got to ride a gravel section where the gravel was around the size of your fist, very well rounded (think river rock) and sitting on top of a hard surface and spaced out just enough that each rock was free to move on its own, but the wheels could not get to the solid under surface. Like trying to ride on a bunch of fast balls. The front wheel literally slid off the side of every rock it tried to ride over. Turning was treacherous at best.
1:48 in this stuff I shift my weight back and let the front drift a bit. I pull back on the handlebars and steer with the rear.
After riding the Dempster, I’d say those gravel roads actually look pretty good!😂
So many gravel roads in Capital Forest that want to eat you up. Nice to discover some videos being made on my home course.
We love it there!
Hello, I've already taken a path with big pebbles and gravel on the road like at 1:42 , in addition to that going up a steep path, as you say and well it's keeping the momentum on the acceleration and letting the front of the wheel move freely. Unluckily I had to go back on the path, that is, going down the road I had the engine braking without success and even when braking the rear wheel I slipped over the gravel. It was a fun experience but I hope not to repeat it too many times😅. greetings from Portugal
On the motorcycle tour we adentured to go on a gravel path in Spain (Sotre to Espinama)...the video on the link below shows the gravel path:
ua-cam.com/video/6x-yNvDT_wM/v-deo.html
I tried doing a trail last month where they filled in the holes with deep loose gravel. Some spots it was 6" thick. It brought me to a screeching halt and I almost went down. It took some effort to dig out as the rear tire was dug in pretty deep. I'd say deep loose gravel is the worst but haven't done a lot with mud yet.
Personally? That last one was not the worst for me. Yes, I get what you are talking about with the “marbles” on hard pack. Ditto for same on pavement in a corner. But for me it’s the stuff with no bottom…inches of pea stone or beach rocks. It’s all alive. Yes, let her float…but directional changes and the thing wants to wash out.
Riverbed gravel is the worst, doesn't matter how fast you go, you will not get on top of it. Basically sand but worse.
Agreed - I guess we consider that more "rock" than gravel. Bret did a episode on that way back. It was impressive watching him ride that stuff. ua-cam.com/video/vWdFiGoTOBA/v-deo.html
Yeah, was scrolling to say the same. There was one road I used to ride that has a steep section covered in smooth baseball size river gravel mixed with basketball size river rocks. It was all loose and would roll if your wheels touched it. The worst thing I've ever tried to ride on.
heres a good one, fast electric scooter doing 45 half way through a corner it switches to a temporary repair patch that they have put gravel on but havent sprayed the oil on yet. (country road) Im drifting toward the side without enough traction to slow down. So i just look through the corner hit the power and countersteer the heck out of it. The rear slid hard but i made that corner. Stand up scoots are just plain weird. It scared me so bad i had to go back and do it again til i felt more in control.
The worst thing about gravel is that it absolutely eats tires.The tire on the rear of my c50 Suzuki Boulevard lasted less than 1000 kms.(620 miles).Lots of throttle and wheel spin is fun but expensive.
They just laid this yellow sandstone gravel on a grade near my place. It is wild how unstable it is. The bike just floats sideways at near a stop! Otherwise I love gravel roads just less than the fast flowy sand.
What tires are those? Look nice. Good advice thank you for making this video
The worst gravel roads I've found are near Deckers Colorado. ultra hard base with an even layer of tiny rounded loose granite bits.
sir, i love your content how you explain the basic to do things.
May i ask a how to do a down hill on gravel with 2 people in a motorcycle?
I often riding with my partner and i cant really do the weightless driver technique. thanks
Hey Dusty, how about washboard gravel roads? I had to go through it in Death Valley on a road they call the Race Track which takes you to the Moving Rocks.
Great advice. Thanks....
My 250cc dual sport came with off-road tires. On dirt roads and pavement. The bike was really unstable. I went into tire research. I decided to go with Kenda. I was very careful at first. I have a few miles on them now. The steepest dirt road hill here. Today. I took it up it in first gear. The slowest I could. Walking speed. Over bumps, etc. In all the testing I have done. I am totally amazed. Even with gravel on pavement. My question is. Have you ever used the tire bland before, and what are your thoughts on it, if any? Thanks.
Fresh pea gravel dumped on Orygun back roads... they usually dump about 2" of it !
Gravel roads are awesome! Especially Alberta gravel.. Deeper the better
I ride a lot of gravel in New Zealand 2up and my worst feeling is when the front feels like it wants to drift off / wash out . What’s a tip to help reduce this ? More weight on the front?
And then the log Truck came around the corner...
Is that a Motoz DV front tire! They work great in the loose stuff!
I dumped my XT250 on a road just like that last one last month. I was going slow luckily.
Tarmac transitioning to gravel is fine, but one thing I fear is when gravel suddenly meets tarmac, especially during a turn. It doesn’t happen often, but it can be a tad . . . . disconcerting.
I don’t dislike riding gravel, but it can get tiresome in some of those deeper gravely roads. Great video and very direct with the concept of riding gravel.
Thanks 👍
Thanks man. Awesome.
Worst kind of a gravel is 0.5m of fresh gravel prepared for asphalt, but not covered yet. When packed dirt is, naturally, covered by half a meter of stones.
Downhill, off camber, deep drainage ditch to the side, and a truck comes the other way and puts you onto the marbles on the outside of the curve. Maximum pucker.
Ive eat so much gravel crashing bicycles I'm wary of loading the front wheel on gravel.
In what mode do you put your GS in? And why? Thanks mate ☺️👍👍
Western Australia has what we call Pea Gravel. These are real round marble stones and lots of it. I'd say it's the most difficult gravel to ride 🤔
I'll be 55 next month and have a 7, and 9 yr boy. My wife is 40. Friends were all what were you thinking? Now I have an 1190 adventure R. Again what were you thinking? Navigate roads that are dangerous, wives that are unpredictable, and boys period by constantly tapping in to the readily available wisdom of those around me with far greater experience than I. Learn. Make a conscious effort to study. Apply what you learn , enjoy the fruit of the knowledge you've gained, and pray like the devil is coursing after you , gobbling your roost.
Great tips and spot on with my experience. I'm always happy to get to ride gravel. I wish I felt that way about sand...
Thank you.
I have an R1200GS with ride modes. What mode do you suggest for gravel, sand, “baby head” rocks?
Enduro modes allow you to lock up the rear tire but Rain has a softer throttle.
Thanks
I don't steer with my pegs. I steer with my knees (and some peg pressure when drifting).
My KLR650 is bad on gravel, I will try these tips but I am not sure how much difference it will make.
Side questions: Do ADV bike front fender (mudguard) designers / engineers ever ride actual gravelled roads and have a look at the stone blasting of the bike that takes place behind the wheel? And mud? And dust control calcium chloride mortar?
Ya they look all stylin in the showroom and in the reviews... along with shitty stock seats...
Yes I have holed a radiator with a stone going round the fan...
This is mild I love this just like you guys at Mototrek but I hate the deep stuff.
Loose gravel doesn’t bother me in fact it’s fun to ride on. I hate the really fine bull dust, when you’re riding in a group it makes visibility almost impossible.
Great tips. Thank u!
You are so welcome!
Marblely gravel steep downhill off camber into a corner is on the list somewhere. That steep hill makes your rear tire want to slide as you try to slow your roll and front brakes seem like a bad option because how can you steer if both wheels a sliding under braking? For some reason coming into those a gear tall and maybe some clutch work seems to work for me but I’m not entirely sure why..
I like the slow down approach advice 😅. Gravel can be tricky for sure especially when they have deep washouts to negotiate
Curious as to what "traction setting" if any, you have your bike set to for this kind of riding.