Dual Sport is Dangerous - Exhaust Notes

Think Enduro is risky? Dual sport, ADV riding and boring old street riding is waaay more dangerous.
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[@TractioneRag]

Love, love, love all the well thought out comments. Bravo. 🎉

[@dznnf7]

Two bone breakers for me: One on single track - a severe tib fib with hardware and months of rehab. One on a rural dirt road; a deer slammed into me from the side. Something like 15 broken bones. Ribs, shoulder blade, clavicle, pelvic loops, ankle. What still scares me is drunk side-by-side drivers.

[@TractioneRag]

Yeow. 😳

[@ka4172]

"Always count on the stupidity of others"! The first law if you make your driver license in germany!

[@DavidDacaro]

Agree, well said. Always ride blind corners as far to the right as possible and assume some large, heavy, wide vehicle is coming around the corner partly at least in your lane. There is no sane way to ride on gravel other than this because we all have had close calls confirming this.

[@thepcguy007]

Yep. You can also be as safe as possible, slowing a bit, hugging your side of the corners and all that, but we ain't the only people on those roads. I clearly remember a forest road up north, going uphill with a right bend at about 40kph, suddenly coming face to face with 3 riders going side by side and cutting that (blind)corner. I squeezed between two guys and I swear there was less than an inch between our handlebars. The combined speeds would have been over 100kph and a face to face would have been extremely serious. My underpants never recovered, but at least I was able to replace those.

[@TractioneRag]

Great story. We've seen this lots on FSRs in B.C. with life changing outcomes.

[@geoffjukema]

The complacency after hours of “nothing” is very real. From going a bit quick and not seeing how loose or sharp that corner is, to dogs, wildlife and of coarse oncoming vehicles. This is a great reminder to “check-in” with yourself while riding these backroads on motorcycles to make sure you are paying attention. One of my bad habits is looking around a lot at the scenery and not realizing how quick a corner comes up (or the already mentioned hazards).

[@tomarcher7520]

Thanks for the sober reminder. Keep the material comin!

[@NorthWestMotos]

Dual sporter here, 10/10 can confirm. There was a big dump truck coming my way a few weeks back on the dual sport while going around a blind corner. I was going slow enough to get around just barely, but it was still a butt hole pucker factor ten. And that's going slow in the woods. Let's not forget all the people that don't see you while texting and driving on paved roads between trails/forest service roads. I'll take exposure on a single track over interstate riding any day.

[@justincoleman2740]

Alot of rolling gravel roads around me and I'm always conscious of what unexpected thing could suddenly appear when cresting a hill.

[@TractioneRag]

Stay safe!

[@JBean_COCR]

Glad I found your channel. As an older rider, sometimes I just think it is my age and experience (bad crashes) that makes me think the same, don't ride too fast for conditions, ride right, ATGATT, etc. One of the reasons I usually prefer to ride alone as I've seen folks get hurt riding over their heads when in groups. I want to keep riding as long as I can. I could often ride faster but choose not to. I did that when I was younger. Also, I was out of riding for several years then came back into ADV riding with too big of a bike (was great until I had to pick it up). And I just keep moving smaller. Doing adventure I'm always on roads and tracks I don't know, which I like, but that also adds the danger factor. I enjoy the scenery and still try to improve my skills, don't care to go fast and typically go to 80% at most.

[@cobrin6437]

Agreed, and great idea mentioning corners. It's one thing, to reduce your risk with being off-road, so reduced exposure to car/trucks. It's another thing, to eliminate them entirely. Blind tight corners are cringe worthy for all the reasons you've covered, In those moments, even being cautious, that one time near miss/incident still haunts me. That's my brain still trying to protect me decades later.

[@ShoestringADV]

I dunno how I’ve missed this channel for so long being a bc boy . Great perspective Dallas . I ride dual sport simply because of budget . I cannot swing multiple toys . I want to ride everywhere sand anywhere . There are obviously limitations on both on and off-road with a budget friendly dualsport but I make it work . I will echo some other comments, the ride home is definitely way more dangerous for me and I often make more mistakes like missed shifts on the last 10 km or so . On a side note I had a chance to chat with Ben “Dork” in Sept and the first question I asked was “how was Grizzbait” he sold it well and I’ve put it on my bucket list . Cheers

[@seansteede]

Wow, here I am sitting with a Tib/Fib break and a newly minted titanium rod in my leg pondering how it all went pear shaped so fast, eating up all the dirt biking and dual sporting videos I can, chomping to get back riding....and then I see your video. Frankly, I can't agree more. Even as I sit here recovering, I know I was not close to "risking my life" when my toe dug into the trail and twisted my lower leg as I laid the bike down. Hell, I thought I was going to get back up and ride away till I saw my foot going the totally wrong direction! But, I also know I was paying too much attention to my GPS as opposed to the trail.......so yeah, focusing on the road and trail conditions is key over all else whether it be a blind corner looking for oncoming traffic, or being a dumbass like me and watching silly little lines on a screen!!!!! Lesson learned.... 🙂

[@crosstrainingadventure]

Great points. Great scenery!

[@TractioneRag]

Hi There Fine Sir 😎

[@crosstrainingadventure]

Riding technique on gravel? I highly recommend standing on the footpegs, you can see in the vid how sketchy it can be sliding around when seated. Obviously this is difficult for riders new to off-road but it's a skill worth learning as soon as possible.

[@bellyacre1]

I lost a friend who had a head on while riding a dirt bike in the woods. It is always on my mind. Blind corners anywhere are dangerous. Excessive speed anywhere is dangerous. But, my dual sport friends agree. We stay off the asphalt as much as possible.

[@TractioneRag]

Yep, I have seen enough to always expect something around every corner. It gets monotonous but someday it may save my life.

[@BigBergJohnson]

Definitely agree, closest calls with death have been on public roads and not single tracks

[@TractioneRag]

Was out yesterday and it reminded me what a DS crash would look like. Yikes.

[@BigBergJohnson]

@@TractioneRag I've not ridden dual sport In about 15 years now. The most unsafe I feel on a motorbike is city traffic. It's definitely something to consider and the video makes a great point

[@Outbackmotortek]

Speed can indeed be a big factor and the size of the vehicle coming at you head on. Single track FTW?

[@burhaninsel7332]

Big city street riding is more dangerous than dual sport.

[@JohnCunningham-sy5ug]

Not true I have been riding both since I was a teenager I'm 68 now gave up dirt when I was 48 all my serious injuries came in the dirt. I've covered over one half million on pavement with one serious crash that left me with abrasions and broken collar bone. You learn to ride defensively. I'm retired from truck driving with over 3 million crash free miles. Defensive driving. And luck. Have a friend who has been in hospital with a brain injury for three months now and will be in rehab for months to come from a endover crash on Dual sport. So never be surprised what comes your way. It's a chyt happens word. Ride safe.

[@TractioneRag]

Thank you for the comment John.

[@justincoleman2740]

Wise words. Thank you for the reminder.

[@TractioneRag]

Thanks for listening

[@FonicsSuck]

Dual sport rider here. Absolutely correct on many points. Once you add the element of speed and vehicle traffic into the mix, the chances of increased bodily injury go up. I'd argue that the most dangerous riding is strictly street riding. I have fallen off my bike, dropped my bike, whatever, all over single track trails and never injured myself. But I've had some butt pucker moments on gravel roads and paved roads that could have been life altering. I stress to everyone considering doing dual sport riding to not skip on doing the MSF course.

[@NorthWestMotos]

Agree. Take some street style riding courses to understand lane position and ways to keep you the safest while riding the paved roads.

[@luwkseam]

Yeah, I entirely agree with you. Especially the return trip after a good day or weekend out is terribly dangerous. I feel tired and elated at the same time. 100 km/h feels _so_ _slow_ on smooth open tarmac. People around you are not your friends but suddently are fighting you from all sides... Still, I envy your forrest single-tracks and large open spaces, we don't have such here.

[@TractioneRag]

Come visit! 😁

[@ianboggs9211]

Yep; that's exactly my experience. Lots of empty corners then once in a blue moon, heart in mouth, poo in riding pants then sit under a tree until I stop shaking. 😛

[@davidrsmith2417]

Those of us who love off-road riding here in SW Virginia, at the intersection of the Appalachian Mountains / National Forests with the flat and rolling farm lands to our east have little choice but to dual-sport. 95-% of off-road riding here is US Forest Service / Hunter Access roads which are on huge swaths of land, millions of acres across thousands of mountains peaks and valleys. Only fully licensed and road-legal motorcycles and vehicles are allowed. There is precious little single track in these national forests that are Legal to ride on - they are reserved for hunters, hikers and some allow bicyclists. Thus us dual-sport riders use maintained, public access (4x4 vehicles are usually recommended) fire roads. To get to this amazingly vast number of fire roads, we must use the highways. And since we need licensed vehicles to be legal on the forest fire roads, we might as well ride the bikes on the highways and by-ways to get to these dirt marvels. The other 5% of off-road riding is on private lands, on which we can ride pure dirt bikes - if we get permission which is rare since dirt bike riders are not known for their land conservation efforts - and, to be realistic, farm lands on the east coast are getting smaller and smaller as development inevitably occurs. Over the years, most dual-sport and now Adv riders cultivate twin skill sets of dirt riding prowess and fine road riding skills. And we are left with (or blessed with) the challenge to modify and enhance our bikes to be better and safer at both. We want light, quick bikes, but not too light lest we get blown off of interstates. We want more power too, too much power is useless on most dirt trails. And all (95%) of our bikes are street legal on both tarmac and for US Forest dirt roads. We ride smart and wrench smart and even on far away dirt fire roads we abide the BDR warning to "Ride Right" because you never know what's just around the bend on our mountain fire roads.

[@cruzzer2003]

Had several close calls ds riding mainly with trucks and side by sides.

[@oldgeezersendurochannel8487]

Agree with you Dallas, and street riding obviously even more so. I much prefer trail riding that leans to the more technical but unfortunately that type of riding is limited where I live. Much more opportunity for dual sporting here so the 5 hundo gets more attention than my 300. 😕

[@Dom-nt4gn]

Both me and my brother have broken bones on access roads. Singletrack virtually no injuries.

[@TractioneRag]

Speed compounds injuries.

[@shingod700]

Also riding off pavement, trucks will often ride in the middle of the road, not on their side of the road which gives even less space in a blind corner.

[@TractioneRag]

Yes sir. Dangerous (but screaming good fun!)

[@drevil4454]

dude you literally covered everything. Nice work. and then there are the dangers of homestead owners/farmers sabotaging the roads (i.e. cables and or rock piles). I always ask around if I am on private land or not. Oh and if you are allowed to pass through private land close the cattle gates behind you and keep the place clean.

[@Fred-mv8fx]

When I ride I imagine the world ends where I can't see so I only go as fast as I can stop before reaching the edge of my vision (left-hand curves) or the edge of my imaginary lane (right-hand curves), whichever comes first. I've survived so far but there have been a couple times where I met a pickup or side-by-side that was already traveling near the limit of traction. When they realized they were sharing the road with me, correcting their lane position caused them to start fishtailing or sliding more. Those were definitely sketchy encounters.

[@TractioneRag]

Scary stuff.

[@rotorhead5000]

Absolutely. When you are off road, the single biggest threat to your safety is yourself, and you can control that by wearing the gear, and knowing your limits. Any place on the road, the biggest threat to your safety is typically the other vehicles, and thats something you cant control, at best you can plan ahead to mitigate that risk best you can, but it never goes away. As i think of it, crashes on the dirtbike you will pretty much always limp away from, crashes on the road, there's a good chance you are just dead.

[@dirtrider17]

I agree 100%. I can remember ripping my GasGas EC 450 along on a cottage road at the Cord about 20 years ago and meeting a car over a blind crest. I managed to stop before we hit but it was some close. Full butt pucker for sure! I can still see the poor drivers face. She was white as a ghost. That put a real scare into me. I think of it often riding the dual sport and adventure bikes now. It's like a mini me always standing on my shoulder reminding me of the danger that lurks around the corner or over the rise. You would think it would slow me down some, but no..... :/

[@timothydrake1030]

That sounds like a good reason not to do a '24 BC BDR type event but, I would guess it would fill up faster than the single track events.

[@TractioneRag]

Hold that thought... 😎

[@brianmartindale2221]

God save the Spline! Coming from decades of riding practically naked on a MTB (um, I rode a big downhill naked once and found bike shorts do more than pad the seat :-), I oddly feel comfortable being encased in protection and I'm glad I do. Some tumbles are actually fun! When I got back into motorcycling I went straight to the NTSB and the statistics (research freak) since I am the King of MTB Pain and Rehab and dirt travel/enduro is my style. Off-road motorcyclists get hurt, not as often as motocross, but die at a rate about seven times as much as a car, which isn't as bad as it sounds. Riders tend to wear protection, rarely ride without a helmet, don't ride drunk, and are not around cars as much. Road moto folks die at a rate five times that because autos are involved, the speeds, alcohol, and lots of no helmet deaths. ATVs seem to just flat-out rise up and kill people in their sleep.

[@TractioneRag]

Thank you for the great reply. 🙏🏻 Interesting read.

[@dmelson7502]

I'm sorry but danger stirs the soul. We evolved hunting mammoths while tigers hunted us. And bears hunted everything. To ride is to live a warrior's life in modern times.

[@willmcgregor7184]

The Most dangerous place for a motorcycle is a public road. Far more issues to anticipate and deal with. I ride a dirt bike and a street bike. On roads others create virtually all the problems I encounter. In the bush/on trails I CREATE ALL MY PROBLEMS 🤣

[@TractioneRag]

Exactly. 👍🏻

[@AS-dc8tb]

I'm too chicken to ride on the roads. I feel safe riding single tracks in the woods. Second gear is safer than sixth.

[@TractioneRag]

Weirdly, that makes perfect sense.

[@goodtimesadventuremoto9878]

Awhhhh. Its just different hazard to manage. And dual sport doesnt mean no single track. Just rode the whole length if Ifaho from Nevada to my house in the kootenays! That was dual sporting at its best! You aint doing that on a 300 smoker…. I love it all but real dual sport you just forget about using the truck and link up with the bike all the amazing mtn rides! Plus you can camp along the way! Explorer style! Come in the koots i will make you change your mind!!

[@TractioneRag]

What is your DS steed?

[@goodtimesadventuremoto9878]

Ktm350 exc-f. Fitted with a big 4.5 gallon tank for bigger trips!