The Point Rosie trail is pretty much regarded as the ultimate off road two wheel adventure, by those folks who do a lot of off road riding in Eastern Newfoundland. With it's extremely varied terrain, and it's infamously long and difficult pebble beaches, I often get asked whether I think it can be accomplished on heavier, 350 to 400 pound, dual-sport bikes, like KLR650s and DR650s. And my answer is usually "it depends". It depends mostly on tire choice, and rider skill and determination. Despite being only 56 kms in total, it's a tough trip, even on a 250 pound dedicated off road bike, like my KLX450R, yet it's also one of the most scenically spectacular routes on the island. But as this ride report will show, the question of whether bigger bikes can ride the route, has been definitively answered by my good buddy Tony Roberts.
Tony recently picked up a used BMW F650GS, which weighs in at about 385 lbs dry. He slapped a new Dunlop D606 on the back, and went with the already installed Continental TKC80 on the front hoop. Pretty respectable tires for covering dirt road routes, like the TLH or Red Indian Lake, but would they be enough to get him through the rigours of the Point Rosie trail? With a lot of brute determination, use of his childhood skills learned from riding mini-bikes on the sandy beaches of the Southwest coast, and the toughness to survive a handful of slow-speed crashes and tip-overs, he proved the answer to be a resounding "yes".
I had the pleasure of being the 'camera bike' guy, for Tony's ground-breaking (literally
) ride. Here's a YouTube video (Be sure to select HD), and a bunch of photos…
Point Rosie Trail, Sept 25th 2014 (Video)
Tony recently picked up a used BMW F650GS, which weighs in at about 385 lbs dry. He slapped a new Dunlop D606 on the back, and went with the already installed Continental TKC80 on the front hoop. Pretty respectable tires for covering dirt road routes, like the TLH or Red Indian Lake, but would they be enough to get him through the rigours of the Point Rosie trail? With a lot of brute determination, use of his childhood skills learned from riding mini-bikes on the sandy beaches of the Southwest coast, and the toughness to survive a handful of slow-speed crashes and tip-overs, he proved the answer to be a resounding "yes".
I had the pleasure of being the 'camera bike' guy, for Tony's ground-breaking (literally
) ride. Here's a YouTube video (Be sure to select HD), and a bunch of photos…Point Rosie Trail, Sept 25th 2014 (Video)
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