Winter Motorcycle Camping ~ Michigan Manistee Forest Trip × BMW G650GS Sertao Enduro

[@Tinker1837]

"It is time to be drunk! So as not to be the martyred slaves of time, be drunk, be continually drunk! On wine, on poetry, or on virtue as you wish." -Baudelaire 1869

[@Reaper4367]

lmao... i wass suffering from withdrawals! lol

[@zhepingwang4954]

I’m impressed that you choose to do motorcycle trip on this native way. In many people’s mind, bicyclists get to camp and stuff cause they don’t get to the next city in a day; so, motorcyclists go for a cozy hotel and enjoys the spring bed. Your way of motorcycling brings serenity in my heart. Living in this world, we need to be alone and stay in the wild and feel the most basic function of body, life, and nature. It’s not comfortable sleeping in a sleeping bag compared to the spring bed; it’s not the best time to ride compared to the summer, but it’s struggle that brings back to the fundamentals, the freedom, unfettered by the society. In general, being in the wild is really a good way to reflect what’s taken for granted when we are in the society. And it really brings more happiness in many ways

[@Tinker1837]

Thank you & very well said! I agree! The struggle makes these sort of trips that much more fullfilling :)

[@primooit]

Great video! I'm from Brazil, bough a Sertao few months ago, and you just inspired me to do a trip like that myself. Great color as well, love all the mods Best regards

[@Tinker1837]

It's so fun! Hopefully you didn't tip over as much I did haha!

[@kevinnashskitchen3517]

Lol.. Black Bear food bundle in tree😂. Love that tent. Nice place for storing gear out of sleeping area. I need to try that area sometime. From Michigan myself.👍

[@Tinker1837]

Ranger's had warned me of bear activity where I was heading so I thought I'd give that soft style bear bag a try, much prefer it to the big cans! That's the Marine Corp "combat tent".

[@JohnnyBGood-bl9tx]

Very awesome. I told myself id never get a motorcycle (too dangerous) but after this im rethinking.

[@Tinker1837]

It's a great time! And much less likely to get yourself in trouble with a smaller displacement "dual sport" like this one.

[@DonQuichotteLiberia]

This is complete madness. I love it, what an adventure!

[@Tinker1837]

For sure was! Very much did not expect anywhere near that much snow to still be on the trails.

[@YouMotorcycle]

Well this looks like it was a fun ride lol

[@Tinker1837]

Definitely was more fun after the ride looking back then in the moment... hell of a challenge haha!

[@kevinnashskitchen3517]

One good thing about moto camping in the colder weather, no worries about food storage temps 😂 Go in last part of April or in May and get some Morel mushrooms in that area perhaps.

[@Tinker1837]

Right! Great idea :)

[@jdman7170]

Nice video and really admire your skills. Stay safe!

[@Tinker1837]

Thanks! I still have plenty to learn, but the bumps 'n bruises to get there are well worth it.

[@nelsonvaz4165]

Well done !

[@Tinker1837]

Thanks!

[@AHMETIRMAK-u3f]

Merhaba güzel video. paylaşımın çok hoşuma gitti. motorsiklet ve kamp ayrı bir hobi. Ben de yeni bir G650 Gs sertao sahibi oldum motorsikletinde yaptığın modifiyeyi sevdim. yan çanta demiri ni nereden buldun burada temin etmek biraz zor. İyi günler dilerim

[@denibligh6186]

Well done! Winterriding is nothing without spikes. Perhaps an sidecar-bike with an 2wheel-drive makes winterriding easyer. Nowadis made by Ural, Dnepr..."covered" from the very old Zündapp and BMW who was the urfathers-models, wich the russians after WW 2 take for an example to build own bikes like the Germans.

[@jeremylucas6771]

This is fantastic! I'm new to dual sport/adventure biking and have been looking for info on dispersed camping through the Manistee Forest. Would love any help or resources. How did you go about planning your trip? I can't find anything specific to dispersed camping other than hiking.

[@Tinker1837]

Happy to help! Thankfully it's almost entirely open to you with the exception of a few rules involving extended stays in same place (16 days), & proximity to features such as water / campgrounds / private property buildings (200 feet away preferred), & of course there are restrictions from time to time involving firewood / wildlife / weather conditions etc. These are best found by looking up & contacting the nearest ranger station to the area you're interested in, with the added benefit of them often having tips on trail conditions & nice locations. In my opinion the biggest difficulty is dealing with the private property that is tangled in with public lands near the boundaries. I would either study maps before you go via a planned route, or if you prefer to explore as you go like I do then get a few apps (Gaia, Google, MyMaps, etc) to help you, since the property lines are pretty poorly marked (ranger stations can help with this too). LINKS: www.fs.usda.gov/activity/hmnf/recreation/camping-cabins/?recid=18536&actid=34 midnr.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Viewer/index.html?appid=1c46dfdb716042f7ad99866aa5d099bf www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79119_79148_80314---,00.html www.midnr.com/publications/pdfs/forestslandwater/ORV/Maps-Trail/orv_lp_for_web.pdf www.gaiagps.com www.google.com/maps/d/?hl=en

[@jeremylucas6771]

@@Tinker1837 Thanks for all the information. Looks like you stuck to "roads" rather than the motorcycle/ORV trails? Any other advice or wisdom?

[@Tinker1837]

@@jeremylucas6771 I entered the forest in dirt roads, but then transitioned into the seasonal 2-tracks, then the ORV trails, & last few miles (where I was getting stuck from deep snow & think ice) were moto trails. Well I learned the hard way that the snow & ice can take longer than you think to clear from trails under the canopy of trees... lots of going down haha! Other than that I'd recommend making sure if you go solo like I did that you make sure a few people know where/when you're venturing out in case you go missing longer than expected. Oh & I highly recommend a bear-bag for food, because at least during this trip there were quite a few black bear & coyotes getting into people's things according to rangers... don't want that kinda rude awakening at night in the tent!

[@michaelhite1433]

Where was this at? Looks really cool. The first big puddle, my short ass would of fallen in.😂 Know the feeling on the D2, my D1 is constantly throwing me curve balls. The electrical and ecu were hacked. So it will be a carburetor & distributor 4.0 ltr using a 3.9 timing cover and Buick 215 Edelbrock intake.

[@Tinker1837]

That was the north end of Michigan's Manistee national forest, and yeah those puddles got pretty squirrely that next morning with the crust of ice over top! The wiring sure can be funny on those trucks, mine had a number of odd electrical quirks before I started the swap.

[@nathanspalink5438]

You went rite by my house on red pine there.

[@alecgarcia963]

what did you do to your stock exhaust to make it sound good? love your setup

[@Tinker1837]

It has 2 mufflers, but one is just bypassed to the other so I just drilled out the bypass one's tip, so now both mufflers exhaust :D

[@jamiedamaral4011]

In a different video, you mentioned that your headlight and aux lights cost you about 100 dollars. What is the brand and model you are using?

[@Tinker1837]

"Cyclops" LED headlight & a set of "OZ-USA" combo area/distance auxiliary lights.

[@Koivisto147]

Heilung, hell ya

[@Tinker1837]

😎🤘

[@Reaper4367]

Bet you'll be glad to get the Disco dancin again mate. I could feel your frustration from here lol. Looks bloody cold, -4c, bugger that. Though the landy would make it so much more cozy :) . We just did a trip 1200 kilometers south of here and lost all the footage :( . What cameras do you use? Kindest regards, Brett.Cheers for sharing :)

[@Tinker1837]

Just gopro's, have an old "Session" and one of the new black edition Hero6

[@GavCritchley]

Nice video. Your heart beats jumps a bit when you drop them out by yourself. Do you still have the bike?

[@Tinker1837]

Thanks! Yeah that's no kidding, especially in that ice & snow. Made for one hell of a workout getting to camp after a dozen spills. I do & it's been very reliable. Only trail damage to a few cosmetic things, & a fork seal that just started leaking, but I think that was my fault for not keeping the fork shaft clean enough day to day.

[@GavCritchley]

@@Tinker1837 Fantastic. I've had mine for 6 months. really enjoying it. I look at bigger bikes but then think...hold on, there is nothing wrong with this one! Plus I'm not so worried when I drop it (which I do all the time!)

[@Tinker1837]

@@GavCritchley I often think the same. Mine's heavy enough as is with a full loadout, can only imagine what a 1300 might feel like to lift out of the muck... better start doing more deadlifts haha!

[@freemaysin5088]

what kind of tent is that? & how ya like it

[@Tinker1837]

That's a Eureka Combat Tent (2-person) that I do very much like because it's rugged & works in all 4 seasons... BUT it was all I had at the time that could hold up to a snow load, & in my opinion is too heavy for moto camping. It's much more suited to 4-wheel based camping, & I would recommend going with something more compact/lightweight, even something like what you would use for hiking or bicycle travel.

[@freemaysin5088]

@@Tinker1837 i've heard of them but never used, i been trying to find a tent thats light enough to moto-camp with it, but heavy duty enough for hunting season as well. Ima dig around on this one some more! ty

[@thinkingoutofthebox.9421]

Wrong tyres you are making it hard for yourself , you need at least Continental tkc 80's if not more extreme.

[@Tinker1837]

Thinking out of the box. You're not wrong, definitely wasn't expecting that level of snow cover clinging on up there! The Karoo tires are aggressive but no match for a proper dirt bike tire... or the tracks of a snowmobile for that matter hahaha

[@AceCarleton]

yeah, dunlop d606s are much better in the snow

[@thinkingoutofthebox.9421]

@@AceCarleton Yes I use D606 on the rear as its hard wearing and a softer Pirelli MT21 on the front, they wear out the same 5 000 Miles..