This was an adv ride where the goal was to take dirt roads into Yosemite. I did some research on Advrider and mapped out a route into Yosemite, with a stop at Pilot’s Peak. Akshay was on his (new) Husqvarna Norden 901, Mahesh on his Ducati Scrambler 110 and me on my Yamaha Tenere 700.
We met at the intersection of Tesla and Mines in Livermore and took the usual twisty roads out of the Bay Area. We stopped for a big & heavy breakfast at Hula’s in Escalon. The longish breakfast delayed us a bit, but we enjoyed the awesome meal. After the usual Oakdale bypass, we turned off Hwy 108 on to Hwy 120 towards Yosemite. We turned off Hwy 49 at Coulterville and took Greeley Hill Road towards Yosemite. If you keep going straight, the road becomes Old Yosemite Road and turns to dirt.
The dirt road was relatively easy at the beginning and a lot of fun on the Tenere. It became a little rocky and steep in a few miles, but it was still manageable. We turned off to Pilot Peak and got to the locked gate. The lookout cabin was just a short walk up from the locked gate.
It was getting late at this point (see the clouds) and we decided to not continue further into the park but instead explore a few dirt roads nearby. The first option was “Smith Peak Lookout” another Forest Service lookout in the area, but the access roads were closed on both ends.
Next we took Forest Route 1N10 from Ferretti Road and went on to explore the area North of Hwy 120. We took a break along the trail and at this point Mahesh noticed that the bolt holding his rear shock to the swingarm was loose.
The bolt was being held by a couple of threads at the most and would have fallen off, for sure, in a mile or two.
Akshay and I pulled out our tools and got to fixing it. The lower shock mount was not accessible due to the rear footpeg, so we had to remove the top mount, rotate the swingarm and install the shock.
Akshay’s idea worked well and the trail-side repair was successful.
We then had a late lunch (early dinner) at the Iron Door Saloon. They had NA beer – yay! And the ride back home was uneventful. Fixing a bike on the side of the trail – always a fun adventure!
Sujit Kirpekar 