I’ll pass on the traction control. Old school for me

I appreciate this. so many instructors say to stand all the time in situations like that but I think almost all of us mortals sometimes have to sit and paddle

I take a honda with me. Never fails

wet boots suck, drowned bike sucks a lot more

xr500r then klr650

Good, informative videos are few and far between. This is one - thank you Eric!

This is great stuff. Thank you sir! Ride safely, greetings from Athens Greece

Great video! Thanks guys.

소무ㅏㄴ 랙 솓 ㅑㅜ래, ㅣㅐㅐㅏㅑㅜㅎ ㅁㅅ ㅠㅕㅛㅑㅜㅎ ㅁ 2025 ㅆ7

Awesome video! I’m looking at early model year AT’s to replace a 20yr old Aprilia capo and this was very insightful.

Put a magnetic tank bag with phone pocket in it. Any phone holder on handle bars will kill your phone's camera.

RAM grip is so hard gripping that the vibration caused camera damage in my Samsung phone. Will do a magnetic bag on tank with phone pocket in it. No phone belong on handle bars due to harsh potholes impact.

See you all on Oregon in 2025 !

lofting blips

Any phone holder without a specific vibration dampener mechanism WILL damage your phone camera. Don't ask how I know...

Unfortunately for some people, including myself, quick grip holds the phone so secure and firm that it doesn't soften the potholes impact on the phone at all. That resulted in camera damage on my phone and some other people in my group. Had to buy a new phone...

I had the same problem the datolock service helped me

I have one rule, and I ride all the time, daily, mornings, noon, night. I never ride unless I have had sex . That way I am super calm, relaxed, and in the moment. But seriously, distractions are killing people. My one rule, minimize the distractions.

I've used the X-Grip for years and love it. I am sure the quad lock is great. One of the things I don't want to do is change the case on my phone to match the lock. I understand that the phone cover doesn't sit flat when on a surface. I'm sure both will do the job for what they are intended. I'll stick with the X-grip.

The main reason Yamaha build this bike whas for travelling and exploring the countrie site. If you start jumping with a 210 kilo heavy bike you will find that your suspension will fail your chassis can not handle this if it will be abused. If you wan't a hard core off road bike we use the WR450F series they are build for it. I cannot understand people are making these mistakes over and over again. Yes you can do hard core off road with it bud than you will have to upgrade this 10.000 dollar bike into a 15000 dollar bike. The biggest problem is marketing. Yamaha build a cheap travel bike but they put Pol Tarres on it to prove it's capable to do what he can with any bike. I travelled for 50.000 km on a XT660Z Tenere around europe and did it on a basic bike and oh yes i did go offroad but on every bike where fits luggage on when it becomes a 250 kilo bike it is far from an enduro. So the bike is perfect to explore but not more than that. I think Yamaha should do something about his marketing and not putting Pol Tarres on a bike to jump but someone how is travel the world and explore your countrie. Other than that they should build a different bike for Hard core offroading.

I heard a salesman in this video , stuff for ADVENTURE RIDING to Starbucks.

I want a tire that is good on grass and mud and still sticks to dry roads. don't care about miles want that traction, any recommendations 😅

I rode dirt bikes in the late 60's and early 70's. I never heard of crash protection items for the bikes. I crashed a lot and picked up the bike and kept going. Are the new bikes full of delicate items that breake easily?

Thanks for the shout-out, Eric! The ol TWAT always seems like a good way to get some practice for adventure riding and help get you ready for future trips. Great interview Eric and Damon!

Also found coming into a gravel corner hot, standing and pushing on the outside peg can slide you around the corner....something i had to learn.

Wabeno rider here too! Need to work on my vstrom 800 sand skills.. Definitely more work/harder than my husky501. Oddly I did the cheese trail on my Victory Cross Country...

The video Ben did of his weekend of training with Ride Adventures was the first time I found out that training like this existed. I knew I wanted to attend this training even before I bought my bike. I just signed up for ADV 1 training in May of 2025, can’t wait !

That's the dumbest thing iv ever heard an adventure bike is something u can ride on and off road that's the hole point of it

Never mentioned and water pump issues? Waiting on the new model (is it NX)? To be released in Aus.

I can completely agree that front tire ABS has a place in the off-pavement toolbox. Being able to defeat the rear, yet maintain the front is really a good way to go. Loud exhaust. Why? Really, give me a reason why louder is better? And please don't pull that loud exhausts save lives. I'm on trails frequented by horses, dogs, where the trails go by homes. Why would I want to startle horses, dogs, people, or piss off those allowing us to use their private land? To me, loud exhausts are a caveman mentality thing that is detrimental to ADV rides.

Great video of some of the wonderful places Colombia has to offer. : )

I just cleared out a bike that went into a marsh. I took off the gas tank, exhaust, the air box and plugs, essentially leaving the engine bare. Hand cranked the engine with a lever strapped to the wheel, used the clutch to reset so I didn't have to unstrap the lever. I did this until most of the water was out, then used the starter. Next step was to reassemble, new fuel, add a stabilizer to help pass water through the engine. Then I did an oil change soon after reusing the filter by washing it with oil. In a few kilometers I'll be changing the oil again with a new filter.

Lost me @ 1:10 in when you you started talking like a lawyer. A mounting bracket broke. Not the frame.

Good advice

Can't wait for March 2025!

Massive thank you!

just a brilliant video thank you

Baja 🌴was the hot place for KZbinrs and podcasters in 2024. Where is everyone going in 2025?

This was an excellent teaching video. It's even more important for a short rider.

too late, we are a nation of scared people.

Great tips especially the tires. I went down at Giant Loop and blamed it on the tires when I really knew it was the rider. I had Dunlop Trailmax Mission tires and thought they were not enough for dirt trails. Come to find out, I adjusted the handlebars and the bike is totally different. Not sure you need aggressive knobby tires for trail riding.

I started at 4 yrs old riding dirt bikes 1974 and transitioning to ADV riding even though I do ride a XR but now with luggage tents etc. Totally a learning curve . And now with 3 blown discs in my back I HAVE to use a softer seat I use seat concepts with seat beads . And the type of peg you use makes a huge difference I use Pivot Pegz.

Excellent topics, guys, thanks for this! Regarding helmets....mine has a great visor and ventilation but it really could use the 'cool' sun peak on it! Regardless, it has taken me over 11,000 miles on my T7 to some pretty awesome destinations and I plan to keep using it until it's truly time for a replacement!🤘

One thing about zippers is not all are created equal. I have a Klim Dakar jacket which is slightly long in the arms on me. The bicep zipper is on one of the really meshy parts of the jacket and I can't zip it up when riding, even when I'm just standing with it on it's a pain in the butt. It just flops around and then widens the zipper, which makes it hard to zip. Same with the sleeve zipper, I find it very difficult to zip up over my gloves because of the soft material, though it could be something else. If I try to zip it up, it pushes the sleeve down and it bunches up on my hand and only zips up 1/4 of the way unless I pull the sleeve up and zip at the same time, which isn't easy. Yes that is partially because the sleeve is too long, but I'm just saying you can't always depend on it working.The only way that works for me is to keep the sleeve zipper fully zipped up, but then it's harder to put on my gloves since they have a bit of a gauntlet to them. That being said, I have no problems with my Carlsbad, so it's not across the range.

I ride Baja every year . People always ask if I'm scared to ride to ride in Mexico ? Absolutely, riding through California to get there is terrifying.

Even full length looking 'Adventure' boots from name brands....go for a lugged sole motocross booth with pivoting/hinged ankle.

I want to ride in sand and more aggressive makes a difference. But yeah, I've ridden my Victory Cross Country on gravel roads and trails so wear out those factory tires as much as you can.

There are "lots " of misunderstandings that i have seen. The fact is if you like what you are doing, your comfortable with it and it dosen't put you in the "statistics "section of safety and reason of broken bones then ride on

I love this video series! Great tidbit on polarized sunglasses. I found that out the expensive way.... 😆😁😂

Baja is fabulous… San Diego, on the other hand, is less than desirable simply because it’s in Kalifornia…