Emigrant Trail

[Reedus]

Got bored Monday, so me and my buddy loaded up the bikes and headed for the emigrant trail down by halls crossingg. It is 40 miles of extremely steep terrain. It takes you all the way down to the Rincon on Lake Powell. I had never done it and neither had my buddy, so we decided to tackle it. It pretty much tackled us. The problem we ran inot was gas. Pete has a two stroke that maybe can get 80 on a tank. My bike, the YZF 426 is a four stroke that get around 120 to 130 on a tank. What we didn't realize that for 80% of the trail, you couldn't make it out of 1st or 2nd gear, which translates into shitty gas mileage. We got within 10 miles of the lake before we realized tha if we went further we would be walking back. It was a really fun ride though lots of scenery and sandstone. I snapped a few shots, and we stopped on the two bridges before you get to Hite and shot a couple. Man that lake is down! Hite is no more.

[Mtnman1830]

nice photos.

[accadacca]

Yeah, nice shots. Sorry to hear that the 426 is kickin' yer ass.

[fourtycal]

Man that looks like fun. Thanks for the pictures. When it starts beating you, remember, you OWN that bike, ride it hard and put it away dirty!

[Reedus]

The problem with the bike is that is doesn't really have a "crawl gear". The trail we were on was pretty brutal and I was constantly clutching the bastard in 1st gear to go slow enough that I wouldn't get thrown off over the boulders. That bike is meant to go balls to the wall in every gear. Not really a suitable trail bike, more of an 80-up-sand-mountain-type-of-bike.

[fourtycal]

The problem with the bike is that is doesn't really have a "crawl gear". The trail we were on was pretty brutal and I was constantly clutching the bastard in 1st gear to go slow enough that I wouldn't get thrown off over the boulders. That bike is meant to go balls to the wall in every gear. Not really a suitable trail bike, more of an 80-up-sand-mountain-type-of-bike.

I ride with a guy that has a yz450F and had the same issue. We put a (one tooth) smaller sprocket on the front (engine side), didn't even have to shorten the chain, and it made all the difference. It brought it to a manageable speed even on mountain singletrack. It sounds like just the ticket for your ride. the sprocket will have a number stamped on it or just count the teeth and get a step down. I think you will be pleased, the bike still has plenty of top end, and you can switch sprockets back easily if your at the dunes and feel the need.