Motorcycles and climbing - photos and stories

A conversation in a different thread about loading motorcycles down with climbing gear got me super interested in other people's experiences with combining two of my passions, motorcycles and rock climbing. I ride but I have never taken any climbing trips on my motorcycle, but I am sure that some of you have some great stories that involve both.

I figured I would start this thread to; give you a place to post pictures of your bike, tell stories, and ask questions of people with experience on the subject. Super points if you post with both.
To start, below are some bikes I have ridden. The Ducati was not mine, but a rental in Vegas. I really want to take a climbing/touring trip with the BMW, but I am worried about crappy gravel access roads. Maybe at some point I will get a more adventure style bike to scratch that itch. 

Doug Emmett wrote: I really want to take a climbing/touring trip with the BMW, but I am worried about crappy gravel access roads.

Ural is how Russians spell BMW. Available, I  think, with TWO WHEEL DRIVE!

I can't believe they rent Ducatis in Vegas!

Ural quality assurance on youtube - ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUZOzT4F0DI​​​

Haven't taken it climbing... I can't really see all the gear fitting in the saddle bags I added since this picture was taken. I'd love to get an idea of how you guys would load it all up without a sidecar.

amarius wrote:

Ural is how Russians spell BMW. Available, I  think, with TWO WHEEL DRIVE!

I can't believe they rent Ducatis in Vegas!

Ural quality assurance on youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUZOzT4F0DI

A Ural would be sick, plus I have always wanted a side-car for my dogs to ride with me. 

Brandon White wrote: Haven't taken it climbing... I can't really see all the gear fitting in the saddle bags I added since this picture was taken. I'd love to get an idea of how you guys would load it all up without a sidecar.

I have panniers for the bmw which I loaded down and then strapped my osprey 65L pack cross-ways on top of the panniers. It wasn't full of climbing gear, but it seemed to work pretty well. 

Last time I was up at the RRG I was talking to these guys who would bring their bikes down from Chicago in a cargo van and use them to get to all the access roads. They would split the gear evenly between them and strap a stick clip to the side of one of the bikes. They both had sport touring bikes and said that they worked just fine getting to PMRP and the North Gorge. seemed like a decent way to go about it. I may try something similar in the future at my local spot.

Haven’t taken a rack and rope yet, but my friends and I have been using dirt bikes to shorten approaches (where legal and appropriate) in the Eastern Sierra. Two weeks ago, we used them to get to an easy Cl 2 peak I never would have climbed if I had to drive a car out to it.

also, nothing like ripping up to the Buttermilk’s on a dirtbike with nothing but shoes and a chalk bag.

After a day of climbing at Index, heading out for some ski touring!

Totally doable. It's been years but I've done alpine climbs in Japan with a motorcycle. It was a big 1100cc Suziki GSX-ST equiped with hard side saddles. I could fit plenty of camping and climbing gear on there and in a backpack I wore while driving.

The skis are next level. Nice. Would love to rent a Ducati, will have to look into that next time I’m in Vegas.

The late, great, Niels Tietze would famously show up in the valley at the start of each season on two wheels and rocking a full sized haul bag.

I’ve been riding a lot of my life. Haven’t done a full on trip on a bike but here was a fun alpine start party. 

William Thiry wrote: Totally doable. It's been years but I've done alpine climbs in Japan with a motorcycle. It was a big 1100cc Suziki GSX-ST equiped with hard side saddles. I could fit plenty of camping and climbing gear on there and in a backpack I wore while driving.

I am not familiar with the GSX-ST. Is that a Japan only bike? It looks like the clutch cover of the classic gsxr1100 oil cooled beast. If that's so, I have the same engine in my Bandit, and its a blast. 

My bike was just delivered by lift gate truck. It has been sitting under trees for years, but at least shaded so the tires are good. Look at that sap on the windscreen!

Tim Stich wrote: My bike was just delivered by lift gate truck. It has been sitting under trees for years, but at least shaded so the tires are good. Look at that sap on the windscreen!

Wd-40 will cut pine sap off and not damage the clear coat. If that doesn't work try wiping it down with gasoline and a rag. Gas cuts through pine sap super well, but it sucks getting it on your hands. Stuff like goo-gone is marketed for pine sap, but can melt plastics and take off the clear coat.
Also, motorcyle covers are 25 doll hairs on Amazon..
Also, also, it would be very risky to ride on those tires. Even though they might look good, they may have started to rot. If the back blows maybe you could stop without wrecking, but if the front goes you're going to eat shit and the semi driver behind you will be in therapy for a couple of years. 

1st Gen KLR 650 with rare "Barbie" paint job. Ultimate crag bike

Doug Emmett wrote: Also, also, it would be very risky to ride on those tires. 

Tires look like the cheap and ez part to me.  That whole situation looks like a money pit with a death trap at the bottom - hope you know what you're doing.

Tree droppings are coming off with just some soap so far. Will use alcohol for any spots that are resistant. I will examine the tires thoroughly for cracking. Since it was not sun exposed, they are looking pretty good. I plan to do part of the work and then have my dealership take a look at the finished product and do additional maintenance.

That Barbie KLR is about the vintage I had. This is my old bike:

Since it had multiple plastic colors, I painted the panels a dull metalic Krylon plastic paint. It turned out pretty well.

Bill Schick wrote:Tires look like the cheap and ez part to me.  That whole situation looks like a money pit with a death trap at the bottom - hope you know what you're doing.

The friend that sent me the bike put $4000 into it back in 2015, so other than weathering the internals are very good. The overheating issue is the main reason he stopped riding it. I'm expecting to replace the water pump, thermostat, and radiator cap and any hoses that might be leaking. But one thing at a time. I need to find where it is leaking coolant. It was "streaming out" when he last warmed it up and would overheat on the road at random.

I don't do any back country travel on this bike, but I take it to crags all of the time. Here she is loaded down when I moved from California to Colorado.

to open people's minds to new possibilities: pretty impressive bike+ski adventures in the alps:

In college, I used my KLR to go to my ice hockey beer league games since it was my only vehicle. I imagine a climbing trip would be much more manageable. Might have to work this into my future plans.

My motorcycle hobby didn’t overlap my climbing but here is me back in the day ( 2010 )

This selfie was taken in 1969, during a ride on and off of the Flagstaff Road. Did some bouldering along the way. Huh? What helmet? Viva Montesa!