The thirteen time Baja champion really began his legendary winning career with Husqvarna dating back to the late 70’s and early 80’s with his first Baja 1000 win, 1st gold at the I.S.D.E., and the first of his District Championships…all credited to this legendary motorcycle manufacturer.

When he is not winning on this exciting new Husky line-up, he is trail captain and guide with longtime trail buddy, Bruce Anderson, of Go Baja Riding Tours/Go Desert Adventures. Larry Roeseler goes on to say “Every trip and tour we do is a new adventure, and it’s truly exciting and fun just to be out there, it’s what we love to do”.

When his busy trophy truck sequence permits, Bruno and Mr. Roeseler can be found cutting trails down south, or blasting towards Vegas, Barstow, or lately their new top secret “Northern Loop” dual sport style with loads of single track that fits Larry Roeseler and his new Husky just fine. They have hit the (off road) real world rider with this new generation bike, and as you know, every trail needs a plated bike now, so Husky’s got that covered with this lightweight machine.

Go Baja Riding/Go Desert Adventures owner, “Bruno” Bruce Anderson, is very pleased to have Larry Roeseler on board for his trail expertise. In addition to looking forward to sharing these special California Larry Roeseler guided tours aboard the new Husky bikes, we have loads of new California adventures coming. Be hopeful for a speedy recovery economy-wise for everyone, so we can all get back to what we love, The Best Sport In The World!

(G.B.R./Go Desert Adventures)

Info Release

Hola! And greetings from down south! Bruno here, just in from another great ride. This time it was a loop around our own beautiful Big Bear Mountains, the jewel of Southern California. Located just 60 miles east of Los Angeles and 90 miles north of the Baja border, with miles of high elevation dual sport legal single track that is very challenging, but cool in these hot So. Cal. summer months; a great time was had by all.

After meeting up with some new clients, checking in with Larry Roeseler on his new superbad Husky, and talking about the importance of bike “set up”, I am now bringing you “Bruno’s Go Baja Bike Pre Ride Set Up Secrets”. As you know, the last thing you want to do is be “that guy”. You know…the guy who shows up for your group ride or race and his bike looks like he lost a tie down strap on the freeway that morning and his bike the last mile behind his truck. If you are that guy, do us all a favor and bring more tools in your fanny pack! And read my list of what to pack…as follows:

Go Baja Riding/Go Desert Tours

Survival Tool Pouch

• Start with a good quality and comfortable fanny pack. I use a M.S.R. Products oversized fanny pack, but I had to cut out a lot of the plastic inner pouches. I like to use smaller zip pouches that are removable; I find a lot of the right sized pouches in the women’s make-up section at WalMart. I know from experience that it is also a good place to meet women…for all you desperate single guys out there.
• Put some small combo wrenches in one pouch, 8/10 mm combo/12/14mm. You will need a wheel wrench front and rear axle. (Note: KTM Guys, B.Y.O.T. = Euro bikes take different size everything!) Trust me, we found out the hard way when we had one A.T.K. rider show up in Baja with no tools; something about how cool A.T.K.’s are. Well, after we got 100 miles from nowhere and he went through one quart of oil and flattened the rear, we had to borrow a pipe wrench from a local rancher to loosen the axle nut! New Tour Rule: no more A.T.K.’s or Harleys…just kidding about the Harleys!
• Next, I recommend the mini tool socket pouch kit from Motion Pro. Very compact and is self-contained in its own zip pouch, in metric of course. You could add one deep 10 mm socket to this kit for seat bolts, etc. and one 12 mm deep socket for your wheel lock.
• If you can a find an aluminum adjustable wrench that will go big enough to fit your axle nut, let me know where you got it as I have carried a 12” crescent (heavy) and it is no fun. But on our tours, we need sizes to fit bikes other than Honda’s. I recommend the “Motion Pro Wheel Wrench Combo” for your bike. This has you covered, front axle/rear axle combo. You will need a good 12 mm socket for your front pinch bolts on the lower forks. (Note: before your ride, check torque specs to these lower pinch bolts and do not over tighten. I also recommend anti-seize to threads and loads of axle grease. Trail repairs are hard enough without over torqued bolts locked in place from years of power-washer tune ups. (Note: K.T.M. guys…11 mm 13 mm open end and box combos needed for your chair adjustment, fork pinch and rim locks.)
• Now if you ride, you gonna have the F— word that spells FLAT! We don’t even say the word on our trips! But, trust us, it’s coming; pinch flats, rusty nails, stickers, cactus, wire, boards, screws, and the all-time-famous….Rock With Your Name On It.
• I pack two stop towels with my tire irons wrapped inside, one for my wheel to set on in the dirt to keep the bearings clean, and one to lay the tools and parts on. Someone will always try to kick your wheel spacer or valve stem into the next county while trying to show you how to use the tire irons!
• I have used the Moose tire irons in the shop and in my trail pack for hundreds of change outs; both trailside and during our extensive prep that we do in-house. They are called “tire spoons” and have bright orange handles, a little bulky; but trust us on this one, they are almost “dummy proof” when it comes to pinching the tube (more on that next week).
• Small bag parts needed:
  • Valve stem remover
  • Master link to fit your chain, they are different
  • Extra link clip and 1-1/2 links of your size chain (I usually order my chain two links too long and save that piece for my bag)
  • Black tape, ½ roll
  • Safety wire
  • Hose clamps
  • Fuel line – 2-1/2 feet, this can be used to siphon from your buddy’s IMS oversized tank because you think your bike goes farther than everyone else’s on a stock tank because you are a better rider! Yes, we have all heard that one before.
  • Motion 14” float bowl wrench, most newer 450’s have the drain nut so tight a regular wrench won’t get to it, you need to drain a lot in Baja; dirt will cause you not to run when you are farthest from home more times than not.
  • Miscellaneous bolts, we don’t get too crazy here, shifter bolt, clutch perch bolt, pipe, foot peg pin, etc.
  • Small file to roughen up the cases for epoxy or to file down a chain pin, works wonders.
  • Moose Quick Set Exopy (fresh) This stuff has bailed us out more times than I can count…holes up to silver-dollar size have gone 500 miles in Baja on this amazing stuff. Buy two and put new in your bag after use; it dries up quickly.
  • Spark plug: we like the tool kit spark plug socket. It is light, usually works with a 14 mm or 17 mm on the end to loosen. Check your bike for this set up. Note: even 4-stroke 450 can foul out, this has happened to us for a few reasons (1) bad/old gas on startup, (2) dirt in the carb, (3) low battery, and the biggest plug fouler (4) hauling the bike with the gas left on. This bounces the float bowl and sloshes fuel into the motor.
• We always pack a good combo screwdriver and a carb jet driver for the carb float bowl and pilot/main jets.
• If you don’t run wrap around hand guards, it’s a good idea to roll with an extra clutch and brake lever, with perch.
• World famous duct tape. I usually run with last of the roll, it’s not too much weight.
• Clear goggle lens, compass, marker (red)
• Good Leatherman. This is my personal choice, but I like Gerber, it fits outside my pack and hangs in its own pouch; really easy to get to, and it’s great for sawing or cutting wire that wraps in your wheel. And for all you KTM riders, they work good for your every-other-ride wheel bearing replacement! Just kidding…kinda….but seriously, if you are riding an orange bike you will need front and rear wheel bearing and a shifter seal in your gear bag at least.
• Motion Pro CO2 Air Filler Kit. I like this kit, as it comes with room for five CO2 bottles, a small patch kit (which I never use…never works anyway), a pick tool for pushing cactus through the tire—more on that next issue.
• One small back up filler
• One nice CO2 filler with manual pump.

This is about as complete a fanny pack as you can get. Yes, it’s a little heavy and yes, it takes a little getting used to, but you are now ready to conquer and ride with confidence and safety.

Now for our pick on a backpack. We always run the Moose Trail backpack. It is bigger than a camel back, but not any heavier. It has three outside zip pouches, which cover me for:

1. Saturday and cell phone, maps sealed in zip lock bags
2. Clean goggle towel, zip lock snake bite kit, batteries
3. Cheap lightweight rain poncho, wallet, bandages

In the main compartment I stash:

1. Front lightweight tube
2. Rear lightweight tube

This list is just about it for all you guys no matter what you are riding. However, you will still need a camel back water system. This is where you can stow your jacket, wallet, cell phone, snacks, etc.

Also inside the backpack we run with a first aid kit. This is a very hard thing to pack for; your good judgment works best here. Personally the kits that you see over the counter are fluffed up with loads of useless small “booboo” band aids. Real riders don’t even down shift for the small band aid stuff, so I roll through Rite Aid and overstock on the gauze wraps, tape, and patches. When in doubt, bring more duct tape I always say.

I go through this compartment before every ride. In summer months I lose the rain gear, cold weather gloves, and glove liners. Short day rides I lose the rear tube as the front will stuff into the rear in a pinch (no pun intended) and it is lighter, but the rear will not work in the front. Now slip in your camel back bladder and one extra liter of water on the long summer rides and you are 100% ready to rock and roll Go Baja Riding/Go Desert Adventures style!

Sometimes guys will want to share tools so everyone doesn’t have to carry the same stuff. But I have learned that doesn’t work, and have gotten used to riding this way. It gives me a feeling of safety and comfort knowing I’m okay, even if I get separated from the group.

If you and your group are thinking about bike to bike radios, stay tuned as I will have a complete story coming up on GPS/radio systems that will give you some great information.

Thanks for looking in and if you would like to see our team in action, log onto www.gobajaridingtours you will see our ride photos and scheduled state side tours as well.

Upcoming story: Ride with Roeseler from Reno, Tahoe, Mammoth, Randsburg and home…650 miles, 5 days of dual sport heaven…right after the demanding “Vegas to Reno” off road race. Scheduled for August 19^th.

Any questions on trail rides can be directed to www.gobajariding.com. See you on the trail!

Thanks,

Bruno

The Best Trail and Ride on the Planet!

This year was the first year that I did not race the Baja 1000 in the last 15 years. I supported 2 teams from Japan with a rent a racer and pre run bike package, they did well, it was a long race.

Go Baja Riding is now doing tours Stateside!, Vegas style. Go Baja Riding is offering our most popular 4 day Excursion with a twist, you can now explore the Beautiful California Desert with us on a 4 day turn around, taking in all the best highlights of the famous “Barstow to Vegas” Race Course! With stops along the way for some of our, early California Land Rush History, The Colorado River along with the Arizona/Nevada Border and into Vega! A Beautiful ride with loads of Adventure.

We just rolled in from our latest Baja Adventure with our very own Champion Mr. Larry Roeseler, The Man himself! Larry Roeseler is the overall Champion of Baja and a great Trail guide. He has brought to Go Baja Riding Tours, many great trails and single track that is known to only a select few. This Last adventure was just a blast we had our New Kawasaki Teryx buggies on the tour with us for that extra fun factor, these rigs are fully modded out with the latest long travel arm and schock conversion from “Dragon Fire Racing,” they are the leaders in Off Road Suspension, and build baja tough equipment. These buggies are really tough and are available to our non riding clients and are a great smooth ride four our “couples tours.”

We’ll see you next month! With some Handy Riding Gear and Tool pack tips for Baja!

Until our Next Adventure

Bruno