Daily Driving - the cheapskate build edition

Number 3!

 

Camp #4, our last night out on this trip.

 

Lots of fun stuff been going on getting ready for the next trip. I’m joining the Venture Unknown crew again as we camp our way across North Carolina and end with a few days on Cape Lookout.

Updates to make the rig just a bit more convenient:

- Found a good deal on a used set of 8” rise Billie Bars.
- Used Hooke Road tailgate panel
- Got a roll-up tonneau off Amazon
- DIY kitchen drawer cabinet



I built the drawer unit from cabinet doors that were going to be discarded. Just had to buy several cans of urethane and spend a weekend building and a week sanding and sealing. I'm super proud of how this project turned out.

 

Loaded up and ready to roll for the next adventure!

 

Man, this last trip was a totally different experience than anything I've had before. Words and pictures simply just can't do it justice if you haven't met any of the people. The group does an annual ride called Peaks to Shore, where the first 3 days is basically a cannonball run across North Carolina and the last 3 days are spent camping on Cape Lookout National Seashore. The first full day, we rode the Goat Trail, Buzzards Roost, and Hurricane Creek before travelling a good portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway and setting up camp. The next day, we made our way to Uhwarrie National Forest where we split into two teams. I'm in no way ready for Dicky Bell yet, so I rode tail for the other team as we checked out Rocky Mount, Sawmill, Wolf Den, and Dutch John. The rest of the day was spent with a resupply and making our way the rest of the way across the state so we could all be on time for our ferry reservations to the island the next day.


Buzzard Roost




Hurricane creek



Sunset on the Blue Ridge Parkway



Friday night's set-up



the Venture Unknown tent city





Cape Point



the view from my inside tent the last morning



the Cape Lookout lighthouse

 

Spent a couple days riding some parts of the GA Travers this weekend. Managed to pack up my phone in the tent for our first day, so I took approximately 2 videos and 4 pictures the whole time. Thankfully the homies are always looking out for a good snapshot.

 

One of the guys on the North Carolina trip is a professional photographer and he got some pretty great shots of some of us. If you’re looking to book an awesome dude, look up bridged_studio on instagram.


crossing the Linn Cove Viaduct


coming up the hill climbs on Dutch John

 

Had a get together with my club down in Florida, so I made a little impromptu solo trip this weekend that was well past due.

 

https://youtu.be/rHV_NGWBLiY?si=9ve2-rZ0MbUfLtLV

Awww - I was hoping it was a CDB Tribute!

 

Love the build! The custom drawer setup is awesome, always enjoy seeing what people build on their own vs buying from a company. Not knocking that, as I have done my fair share of purchasing from companies, but always more rewarding when you build it yourself. Tires are solid, looking at getting a pair of the same Yokohama's.

 

Thank you sir. I’m definitely proud of how it turned out, but of course I learned things I would do different for round two. I have taken it out lately and been using a Husky waterproof tote again. The 3/4 cabinet plywood just added so much weight and my poor AALs just didn’t appreciate it. One day I hope to rectify that and put it back in.

 

Made a quick trip up to South Carolina to join some of the folks from Venture Unknown for an overnighter. Perfect weather for sleeping in the outdoors!

 

Our second annual Sweep Up the Southeast event with Venture Unknown was hugely successful. The teams are still totaling the final pounds of trash hauled out of public lands over the weekend, but it looks like we cleaned up over 40,000 pounds of garbage that had been littered. Down in Talladega NF, we had a good showing of wonderful folks to make the weekend a solid adventure (with a special appearance by a couple of volunteers from the local Starbucks.) Our team alone dealt with 14 tractor trailer tires and a trailer full of other rubbish. After a rainy night at camp, I rode the extent of the Alabama Rubicon back home while the rest of the gang jumped off after the big rut.

 

I don’t think I want to try to keep up with another thread, and since I’ve already called this a Daily Driving thread, guess I’ll start posting the new member of the stable over here.

 

I’ve been hanging around @gixxerphil too much. Got lots of goodies either on the way or already at the house for the KLX. Been pretty darn rough on it learning how to ride a motorcycle and learning how to ride on gravel/dirt/mud all at the same time, so I needed to show it I care. Gonna be a fun day getting stuff installed on Saturday it seems.

Double Take adventure mirrors (put these on last week)

$145 Doubletake Adventure Mirror Kit, Universal Fit Folding Motorcycle Mirrors, Guaranteed for Life. (Adventure 1.0)

https://www.amazon.com/Doubletake-Mirror-Indestructible-Motorcycle-Adventure/dp/B07BHVYK3J

Noco Genius 1 charger
https://www.walmart.com/ip/NOCO-GENIUS1-6V-12V-1A-Smart-Battery-Charger-and-Maintainer/892271517

Zip-on seal savers
https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/parts/seal-savers-zip-on-fork-covers-p

TST Industries tail-tidy
https://tstindustries.com/tst-led-i...tor-system-kawasaki-klx300-klx300sm-2024.html

TST Industries license plate light
https://tstindustries.com/tst-led-low-profile-universal-fit-license-plate-light.html

TST Industries front LED turn signals in the Echo flavor
https://tstindustries.com/tst-led-front-pod-turn-signal-bundle-kawasaki-klx300-2024.html

TST Industries flasher relay
https://tstindustries.com/tst-2-pin-led-flasher-relay-gen2-f.html

MZS folding brake and clutch levers in green

$40 MZS Green Dirt Bike Brake Clutch Levers Pivot Adjustable CNC Compatible with KLX125 10-16 / KLX250 KLX250S KLX250SF 08-20 / KLX230 20-22 / KLX230R 20-23 / KLX300 KLX300SM 22-23 / KLE300 Z125 17-22

https://www.amazon.com/MZS-Levers-Adjustable-Compatible-KLX250SF/dp/B0957C9DRH

And I already need to replace the plastics over the exhaust coz they’re pretty smashed.

 

You need to post a pic of the bike they're for

 

Took a couple fun snapshots riding around New Years.

New Year’s Eve - this is an old fire tower in Talladega National Forest. I’ve hiked to it before, but it was a fun little ride to it on the bike.


Sunset on New Year’s Day

 

New parts are all on now. The levers are just meh. For $40, they’ll do. But if you’re particular about your mods, don’t get these. The mounting assembly section of mine are two different colors. I’ll probably see if I can get them to send me a replacement. All the TST stuff went on super easy. I can’t recommend their parts enough!

Before:





After: