Using motorcycle to hunt

[Tech]

From yesterday scouting trip I thought it would be a good idea to use a dualsport motorcycle to access the remote off road area.
Of course it would be a challenge to fabricate something to hold the rifle case, and gears.

Have anyone done this? Would you do it again on the motorcycle ?

 

[OPAH]

No place left to ride legally in So Ca.

 

[canamrider07]

All the National Forests in SoCal (that are open) have designated OHV (Off highway vehicle) trails/roads. If you have a licensed vehicle or a green sticker on your motorcycle/atv it is legal to ride on them. No doubt these are they are great way to get out scout and hunt from. I probably put nearly 20k miles on this system on my ATV's. I could ride 120 miles a day and never see anyone,,,Here are the maps

http://www.ctuc.info/ctuc/index.php/maps

 

[Stevehazard]

Depends on the area, what your hunting, your weapon, road and trail restrictions, weather, legalities of carry over certain lands, etc. All those different things are going to dictate what the best mode of transport is for what your doing. If I had a motorcycle now I absolutely would for certain areas. You can just cover so much more ground in a shorter amount of time, get to areas a truck or quad can't. And personally I end up taking my truck on some terrifying 4x4 roads on the side of scary mountains... I end up doing it sometimes to get where I want to go and then sometimes I don't... but I absolutely hate those roads in the truck. On a bike I might actually enjoy the view for a change.

That being said a lot of areas, roads, etc are just flat out closed to motorized vehicles. I started using a mountain bike to get in deeper behind the locked gates, just cross slung the weapon behind me and went. Little awkward with my shotgun but it works. You could also put the gun on handle bar mounts but then don't fall. If the elevation gains are not that bad it's a good way to get in a quick 2 to 5 miles in more before you start hunting. You also have to be realistic in what you can get. Can you ride all your stuff in and what you may get out out of there too?

 

[Stevehazard]

I think he is in Central CA? What areas are you going?

 

[imperial valley hunter]

My buddy has one of them smaller 4 stroke Honda's maybe a 120c and we went scouting down here in my zone. He wasn't to happy going down rocky washes and good thing he didn't bring his rifle, he went down over 4 times. I wasn't tired at all after our trip but he was exhausted.

 

[Frank X. Morris]

Howdy Tech,
It isn't dual sport but check out Rocon.

 

[Tech]

I think I forgot to add a good bit of info. I am going for pig.
I am in the bay area. It's a dualsport. It can ride on freeway. I think this gets a green sticker too(pls confirm if you know for sure).
Planning to sell my sport bike and get an upright bike within several months, if a dualsport would work I think I can just get this so I could commute on it and hunt.

http://www.suzukicycles.com/Product Lines/Cycles/Products/DR650SE/2018/DR650S.aspx

 

[OPAH]

Street legal Enduros work mighty fine, for the scouting part. Most the Trails I have seen are to narrow for Quads and most trails wide enough for Quads are closed

 

[Tech]

I also want to hunt/scout in FHL when it opens. Should be a blast to go over those hill if it's allowed.

 

[cjack]

That being said a lot of areas, roads, etc are just flat out closed to motorized vehicles. I started using a mountain bike to get in deeper behind the locked gates, just cross slung the weapon behind me and went. Little awkward with my shotgun but it works. You could also put the gun on handle bar mounts but then don't fall. If the elevation gains are not that bad it's a good way to get in a quick 2 to 5 miles in more before you start hunting. You also have to be realistic in what you can get. Can you ride all your stuff in and what you may get out out of there too?

This is the best old picture I could find of a fork mounted PVC "Scabbard" that my brother fashioned for his mountain bike.

 

[Stevehazard]

Are you intending to truck/trailer the bike the general area and then hunt off the bike or bike it the whole way?

 

[Stevehazard]

This is the best old picture I could find of a fork mounted PVC "Scabbard" that my brother fashioned for his mountain bike. View attachment 90610

Not a bad idea. Was that mounted to the forks only? Depending on the suspension of a bike I wonder how that may have to be set up.

 

[Tech]

Are you intending to truck/trailer the bike the general area and then hunt off the bike or bike it the whole way?

I plan to ride the whole way. The tricky part is where to mount the rifle case and gears.
If I am lucky to bag one I'd likely strap the whole pig to the rear seat and ride the whole way back home. Definitely will get some unwanted attention from tree huggers.

 

[Bankrunner]

Well it looks doable?
https://www.amtproductions.com/Images/Cambodia/48/

 

[TheGDog]

I think I forgot to add a good bit of info. I am going for pig.
I am in the bay area. It's a dualsport. It can ride on freeway. I think this gets a green sticker too(pls confirm if you know for sure).
Planning to sell my sport bike and get an upright bike within several months, if a dualsport would work I think I can just get this so I could commute on it and hunt.

http://www.suzukicycles.com/Product Lines/Cycles/Products/DR650SE/2018/DR650S.aspx

You DO NOT want a heavy pig like a 650 if you're riding far away far back in somewhere. You want lightweight. The DRZ400S is a proven platform. I personally owned one and rode it balls out across Hungry Valley all the time. It's at the upper weight limit of what you'd want for offroad. The 650's like Honda's XR650L and the DR650... are pigs. They are more for folks who are looking for a 60/40 offroad bike. Wheres the DRZ400S would be more like 90/10 Offroad vs street.

And the Dunlop D606's are "alright" but the Pirelli MT21's seemed a little better for the soft stuff. The D606 wore a little better on street, but was scary on hardpack that got wet and turned into snotty slick mud. Make sure to do the 3x3 Airbod mod. And the stock can on 'em is heavy as heck. replace with a lighter can that'll give ya a little more oomph. OH... and look into disabling and looping the kickstand kill-switch on your DRZ400S That damn thing is dangerous if you're jammin' over the whoops at speed. It can temporarily disengage from the pounding of the whoops and thus exerts compression breaking on the rear wheel for a few microsends. Really no bueno.

 

[TheGDog]

I plan to ride the whole way. The tricky part is where to mount the rifle case and gears.
If I am lucky to bag one I'd likely strap the whole pig to the rear seat and ride the whole way back home. Definitely will get some unwanted attention from tree huggers.

Get you a nice big hunting pack, like a bigger model from Kifaru. Once you through a leg over your bike the rear of hte bakcpack will rest upon the bikes seat and alleviate much of the force bearing down on your lower back and the the shoulders a lil bit. I would NOT want to try it with the weight bound to the bike AT ALL. The weight out back would create a pendulum like effect when executing cornering. To counter act the effect of more weight being strapped onto your body when it comes to decelerating and more weight/force being pushed onto your triceps in your arms... you counteract that by learning to grip the tank with your knees to help out your arms in the weight-bearing. Also... if you want to be extra sure against flats you'd can run these inner tubes that are not air-filled, but a foam thru-and thru so they CAN'T go flat. They just add mass to the wheels though so your turning ability and flick-ability of the the bike are affected more by the gyroscopic effect of the greater mass around the perimeter of the tires. But shouldn't be an issue as you'd have to be an idiot to be riding and pushing it all kindsa far back in there.

If you have a dualsport that's already plated, you do not have to also get that bike green-stickered. Plate Trumps sticker.

*May* be good idea to put on a disc brake rotor guard cover as well for a little more piece of mind. Especially if you end up navigating thru any rocky/stoney areas. Such as creek crossings or riverbed crossings.

DRZ400S's do not come standard with rim-locks... if you go offroading at all.. you NEED to put Rimlocks holding the tire to the rim... otherwise when running offroad the valve-stem in the inner tube will end up getting sheared-off as the rim eventually slips and rotates slightly inside the mounting bead on the tire.

 

[Stevehazard]

I plan to ride the whole way. The tricky part is where to mount the rifle case and gears.
If I am lucky to bag one I'd likely strap the whole pig to the rear seat and ride the whole way back home. Definitely will get some unwanted attention from tree huggers.

What kind of rifle were you going to be using? This is the sort of situation where having an AR or something that one can separate the upper and lower to store for the ride would be really helpful.

 

[cjack]

Not a bad idea. Was that mounted to the forks only? Depending on the suspension of a bike I wonder how that may have to be set up.

Yes it was mounted to the forks but his bike had no shocks, front or rear. He also had a motor mounted on the rear for those long climbs out of deep canyons

 

[TheGDog]

I plan to ride the whole way. The tricky part is where to mount the rifle case and gears.
If I am lucky to bag one I'd likely strap the whole pig to the rear seat and ride the whole way back home. Definitely will get some unwanted attention from tree huggers.

For safety... I'd HIGHLY recommend against riding the whole way if you can help it. If you do ride the whole way. You better make DAMN sure you're capable of changing out a tube on either tire out in the field. (Which means you'll need to take some lightweight mini tire-spoons in your tool-kit) Check spoke nipples for proper tension before every ride. Always bring a lightweight Nylon webbing tow strap. I'd bring a Leatherman Multi-Tool so in case you run thru some Cholla Cactus you can extract the needles... they are thick enough and strong enough to pierce thru a 6-ply rated Metzeler desert tire! Make sure you have a Personal Locator Beacon. Ride at speeds well below what you know you're capable of. Do NOT take any unnecessary risks when it comes to line choice while you're riding out solo. And the very moment you feel thirsty or fatigue a little bit at all.. STOP... take a break and hydrate/eat. Riding fatigued will get you freakin' HURT... QUICK! Definitely make sure you wear a Kidney belt while you're riding. For solo adventure riding like that... I'd make sure to have gloves with the hard finger-knuckle protection cups sewn into them. Get a helmet that has adjustable venting where you can close it off during the colder temps. Always carry a spare spark plug, and make sure it's gapped properly beforehand! If you get an enduro jacket... try to find one that at least has the Bio foam padding in elbows, shoulders and upper spine. And they have this foam tape nowadays you can find at Drugstores... that stuff is great for wrapping a few times lightly around your lefthand palm and thumb to prevent blistering on the non-throttle-hand side.