[OCL]

Here's my experience with riding on sand with my VStrom.

You CAN.
Stock tires can do it on hard packed sand. Soft sand, no. Rear tire will spin endlessly with TC off, or cut power with TC in #1 setting.
With more aggressive tires, it is entirely possible, even with TC on to a point. When the sand gets really soft, TC MUST be off or you just loose all momentum.

On soft sand (or any sand for that matter), air down. The single most effective tool you have at your disposal, regardless of tire type, is to air down at least 10 psi from street pressure. The difference in feel when you air down is almost night and day. Just be careful not to do big jumps or go over deep, square edged ruts or rocks when you're aired down.

 

[Improperly Torqued]

Steering damper.

I still don't know of one that will fit a Gen 3 Wee; do you?

 

[PeteW]

No, I have one on my Gen 1, moved it to my Gen 2 and if the mounts were available it likely would work on later models as well.

The only problem I've had on soft sand has been random and unwanted changes of direction and the damper fixed that. All that said, the stuff I was riding was generally road like and not bottomless sand. Tires and a shitload of power seemed to deal with any issues I had with smaller bikes.

 

[Bal]

Wilbers rear, Gold Valves or Intiminators up front (both worked), Scotts initially, replaced by one of the Chinese copies when the Scotts died on me (The copy was better made or at least worked and didn't ooze oil from day one). The mounts for the Scotts are the hard to find item.

Transformed the bike on dirt roads, no problems keeping up with KTM990's 1200GS's at all once that was done anywhere clearance wasn't an issue. Handled washboard corners a LOT better than either, I'd ride around without slowing then have to stop, go back and help pull the others out of the ditches they'd pogo'd off the outside of the corners into.

Edit: I moved most of the bits from my Gen 1 bike to my Gen 2, all except the Gold Valves which were replaced by Intiminators (easier install), those were harsher on seal but magic carpet on lumpy dirt roads.

Pete can you post a link to the suspension upgrades you used? This is something I would like to upgrade. Thanks

 

[PeteW]

Ricor intiminators up front.
Couple of issues with those - the actual company is really hard to deal with directly but the eBay seller is O.K.
They are harsher on road than the alternatives.
Pluses.
ALL you do is change the oil to the RECOMMENDED weight and install. No drilling.
Harsh on road becomes magic carpet on rutted dirt roads. I had Gold Valves in my earlier DL, the Ricors performed better.

Fork brace. (Rick on this site)

Wilbers rear shock and spring.

Scotts damper and mount (From SV racing I believe). The Scotts blew and I took a punt on the cheap Chinese copy because two of those were cheaper than rebuilding a Scotts - functionally identical in my use and didn't ooze oil from day one either.

There were areas where I was slower than the KTM990's and 1200GS's I was riding with but on the washboarded clay/gravel roads around here I was walking away from them, the reduced suspension travel of DL's isn't always a liability, on bad surfaces at speed I had far better stability and front/rear wheel grip which translates to far better acceleration and corner speeds. Eventually I stopped showing off because both those other bikes drifted wide on corners I could rail and it got annoying going back and pulling bikes out of ditches.

 

[Milan cz]

Ricor intiminators up front.
Couple of issues with those - the actual company is really hard to deal with directly but the eBay seller is O.K.
They are harsher on road than the alternatives.
Pluses.
ALL you do is change the oil to the RECOMMENDED weight and install. No drilling.
Harsh on road becomes magic carpet on rutted dirt roads. I had Gold Valves in my earlier DL, the Ricors performed better.

Fork brace. (Rick on this site)

Wilbers rear shock and spring.

Scotts damper and mount (From SV racing I believe). The Scotts blew and I took a punt on the cheap Chinese copy because two of those were cheaper than rebuilding a Scotts - functionally identical in my use and didn't ooze oil from day one either.

There were areas where I was slower than the KTM990's and 1200GS's I was riding with but on the washboarded clay/gravel roads around here I was walking away from them, the reduced suspension travel of DL's isn't always a liability, on bad surfaces at speed I had far better stability and front/rear wheel grip which translates to far better acceleration and corner speeds. Eventually I stopped showing off because both those other bikes drifted wide on corners I could rail and it got annoying going back and pulling bikes out of ditches.

Can you tell us more about the Chinese damper? Do you think it works same like the Scott's?

 

[PeteW]

For me yes, they turned up cheap on eBay when they first came out, I already had the mount, I'd checked the cost of getting the Scotts rebuilt (main seal was shot) and these were far less new than a rebuild. I didn't expect them to work that well but took a punt. They may not be identical to the Scotts internally but their QC was better as were the seals . And much to my surprise the bike behaved exactly the same as it had with the Scotts, deep sandy roads no longer an issue and it was also quite a lot more comfortable on seal.

I mean they may fail, rape your cat, whatever - but for me they worked better than the Scotts in the sense that the Scotts dampers oozed oil day one, the cheap copy has lasted longer now though admitted with less hard riding and has been trouble free. I know I was surprised and very pleased.

The catch will be finding the mounts, you can get mounts for some bikes now but I haven't seen them for DL's yet.

 

[Improperly Torqued]

The catch will be finding the mounts, you can get mounts for some bikes now but I haven't seen them for DL's yet.

Since Scotts has declined to make a mount for the Gen 3 Wee, I would have to consider one of the knockoffs if one were to exist for these bikes.

 

[PeteW]

There's a market there for them. Also for the 1000's.

Pete

 

[Charlie1982]

Absolutely possible. I had an opportunity to take my 2007 V-Strom to the Oregon dunes last year and in preparation, put on a set of Shinko 805s. We spent 3 days on the dunes, and the entire first day was a collection of tip-overs and digging trenches with the back tire. I had no steering dampener, no suspension adjustments and by day 2, I was hitting the sugar-sand rollers at speed with little fear that I would lose the front.

The same advice that everyone gives is crucial, weight back, keep the speed up (faster is easier), and eyes ahead. There is nothing you can do about the front wheel slipping and sliding in the moment, you just have to trust the physics that it'll keep going straight eventually.

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This may be one of the wildest posts I've seen on this site. (Admittedly I haven't been on here as long as a lot of members, though) Well done, that looks like an amazing amount of fun, once you mastered the technique! What was the sand like while you were there? Mostly dry or wet, mostly soft and powdery or moist and harder-packed? What tire pressures did you use?
Again, well done, and the pictures are great, too!

 

[Naltega]

This may be one of the wildest posts I've seen on this site. (Admittedly I haven't been on here as long as a lot of members, though) Well done, that looks like an amazing amount of fun, once you mastered the technique! What was the sand like while you were there? Mostly dry or wet, mostly soft and powdery or moist and harder-packed? What tire pressures did you use?
Again, well done, and the pictures are great, too!

I'm honored, especially since when these photos were taken, I was a mere 2 years into riding my first and only motorcycle. The sand was pretty dry up top, but of course down by the water, it was hard packed, and was honestly not much different than riding a dry forest service road. Had it not been for my concern of rust, I'd have spent more time tearing up the wet sand.

I was running around 15psi on both front and rear, but those Shinkos were so stubborn to get on, I'm sure I could have been down near 10 without any issue of the bead slipping off.

 

[PeteW]

A comment about beach riding. There are often streams running into the water under the sand and when I was young and foolish that did result in me lawn darting into the sand.
I hit one of those soft spots at speed, bike stopped instantly, I didn't.

No damage then, but it could have ended very badly.

 

[Rolex]

Sand ain't sand

Sand is different everywhere, the size if the grains and the amount of dirt plays a big part in how it behaves.

I remember when the Crusty Demons came down under to ride some of our dunes, they gave up.

Our sand was light, fluffy and full of air nothing like what they were used to, they couldn't land a jump without the bike coming to a instant stop.

When I was a kid we would holiday on a beach with our mini bikes, I loved to race the bigger bikes up the hills and along the beach, one day the guy I was racing crashed, his front forks bent back to the motor & he did a superman impression after hitting a soft spot, he was not in a good way and I was concerned they would blame me.

 

[rndlmn4]

I just did a two-day ride, in which it rained most of the first day. Our route took us through Sand Ridge State Forest, in Illinois. You can guess what the terrain was like. 😏 I’m running Shinko 804/805 tires at 24/28 psi. I have the Gold Valve emulators installed, but they’re not at the stiffest setting. In sand, the front end feels like I’m pushing a non-rotating wheel. Turning to climb out of a rut results in moving straight forward. I cheated to get through it by heading to the grass along side of the sand.

Just an observation about sand: even on my KTM 300 XCW, I can blitz across open sandy areas. But, get on deep sandy singletrack, and even a great off-road bike like that becomes a handful. I think it has a lot to do with having lattitude to wonder around Vs having to hold a tighter line.

Back to the V-Strom and the feeling of pushing the front wheel. I’m going to pull my brake calipers off and give the front wheel a good spin. The bearings aren’t loose feeling, so I’m not concerned about them being worn. But, I wonder if they’re stiff and not allowing the wheel to spin freely. ? No, I’m NOT going to ride it that way. Something else I may try is lowering the fork tubes in the triple clamps. This will raise the front end and slow down the steering slightly. The tubes are sticking up about 20mm above the top clamp, currently. Has anyone else tried this? What height are others running their fork tubes?

I get the same result in gooey mud. The front wants to swap and tuck. The bike handles gravel just fine. I stand and position myself forward. I even corner that way. Weight the outside peg, keep my body vertical, and lean the bike into the turn. It makes the side knobs of the 804 do what they’re supposed to do. Dry dirt is a treat as well.

 

[Rolex]

I went the other way with my fork tubes, I felt my front end was pushing so I dropped the front to speed up the steering.

That was the fix I was looking for, without that change I would not have kept the bike.

 

[Improperly Torqued]

I went the other way with my fork tubes, I felt my front end was pushing so I dropped the front to speed up the steering.

That was the fix I was looking for, without that change I would not have kept the bike.

In deep sand?

I think a steeper rake is quite the opposite of what the O.P. needs in his case, yes?

 

[Rolex]

I always thought I liked a slow turning bike until I got the Wee, it to me is far more comfortable to ride on all surfaces with quicker steering.

Before that the wheel always felt like it was off in the distance & pushing not under the bike where it should be.

Once I got turning as I wanted I added a scotts damper, after nearly loosing the best job in the world I fit scotts to all my major rides, cheap insurance.

 

[PeteW]

Steering damper has been the only "God, that's good" improvement I've ever found. That was mainly in response to some roads around here which get coarse sand dumped on top and graded when they get rutted. Not graded BEFORE they dump the sand on, after, fine for cars and trucks with wide tires but bike tires just cut straight through and the ruts under the sand would grab the steering randomly.

That went from very nervous paddling feet down to 90kph and laughing like a maniac.

Won't work on everything but it did improve my offroad riding everywhere I rode and it also made it a lot less tiring.

 

[Brockie]

Do not attempt to steer in soft sand. Keep the bars straight and use body weight to turn while always keeping the power on. You do not need brakes on soft sand - just close the throttle and you will stop real quick.
The worst soft sand is always just above the high tide mark. Even desert sand is not as boggy, except on well used tracks. Vehicle wheels seem to have the same effect as wave action.