Sand? Don't you just love it!

[captinktm]

Dan, it's nothing to do with speed at all.

So? Go on then enlighten us.

[captinktm]

in soft sand , or slime, I deliberately waggle the bars so that the front doesn't have time to tuck one way or the other--makes it harder work but in the end the bike tracks true.

Yes a Ditch guy showed me this way as they have ruts that are very bad and very long, but it does not work with blown sand in lorry ruts. To be honest even if it did I would doubt I could have kept it up for 100kms.

[captinktm]

The general rule is the bigger or heavier the bike the faster you have to go. On my loaded XT600e, though I have to admit to being a bit of a minimalist luggage wise, I like to get it into 3rd gear whilst up on the pegs, steadily increasing the speed so as to lift the front through acceleration. Good throttle control is essential and in this the XT is perfect, it not being known for a punchy engine.

Then as you say steer through the pegs and enjoy!

And in answer to your headline, yes I love sand!

Dan

Yep I would agree with that, everything as to be very smooth.

[captinktm]

I hate sand!

I ride an 800GS two up and when I hit sand it means I'm travelling far and loaded up.

I understand the theory of gassing the bike to get the front end up but sooner or later you level off in terms of acceleration and the front comes down. I can't shift back as my wife is there.

Ruts in sand on on overloaded biggish bike is the worst. 'Get a smaller bike' someone will say but we go out for weeks/months at a time and love mountains so I need a mid sized bike at least.

I wired a tyre inflator lead onto the bike and now drop the front tyre pressure when I meet sand accidentally and blow it up again afterwards. The tiny inflator weigh nothing and pops back into any corner.

Yes agree, and I don't think a smaller bike would make any difference, well apart from picking it up! I big bike will carry your kit far better, and have the torque to pull a high gear, which in turn stops the bike pitching to and fro. I to have a built in air pump, and its has to be one of the best improvements I have made to the bike, I not sure letting your tyres down in sand makes a lot of difference though, but everywhere else off road it's a must.

[Mike54]

You can ride slowly in sand and not have an issue just as you can ride fast. As long as you have some torque going and some weight rearwards - it's not about speed per se.

[frenchy3]

You can ride slowly in sand and not have an issue just as you can ride fast. As long as you have some torque going and some weight rearwards - it's not about speed per se.

I agree,i was out yesterday in Norfolk and it was sandy ruts all the way. I headed for areas that had a little grass knowing the sand would not shift as much. I have a bad habit of sitting too far back on my seat which doesn,t work on most terrains but on sand it does help. I was trickling along in second with steady throttle and doing ok on my DRZ which is a sort of mid weight bike.

[captinktm]

You can ride slowly in sand and not have an issue just as you can ride fast. As long as you have some torque going and some weight rearwards - it's not about speed per se.

Uh? Have you read the rest of the posts? Because half the seat is covered with gear you can't get your weight back, and if you are riding continuously in soft wind blown sand then you must continue to accelerate or at least keep the bike driving forward which will means an ever increasing speed, which as everyone as said will become an issue eventually. So it is definitely about speed, the very fact that if you don't get on with it, then your 260kg bike plus rider will almost certainly stop and then the real fun starts.

[Mike54]

And I suggest you read the post to which I was referring, which was Dans comment "The general rule is the bigger or heavier the bike the faster you have to go". And my post, "its not about speed", which it isnt. Luggage or no.

[captinktm]

And I suggest you read the post to which I was referring, which was Dans comment "The general rule is the bigger or heavier the bike the faster you have to go". And my post, "its not about speed", which it isnt. Luggage or no.

Dan's correct. Trying to ride any bike in sand slowly will always result in a struggle. Momentum is everything. I'll tell you why, because if you are riding slowly and front washes the only thing you can do is open the throttle, if you are going too slow then you will simply dig in. But ignore all that, tell us how you ride in sand on a fully loaded ADV bike, simply saying it's not about speed is not much help to inexperienced riders.

[Griff097]

And I suggest you read the post to which I was referring, which was Dans comment "The general rule is the bigger or heavier the bike the faster you have to go". And my post, "its not about speed", which it isnt. Luggage or no.

Dan's correct. Trying to ride any bike in sand slowly will always result in a struggle. Momentum is everything. I'll tell you why, because if you are riding slowly and front washes the only thing you can do is open the throttle, if you are going too slow then you will simply dig in. But ignore all that, tell us how you ride in sand on a fully loaded ADV bike, simply saying it's not about speed is not much help to inexperienced riders.

It's always going to be more of a challenge on a bigger bike and the more weight and add a passenger into the mix and deep sand is going to be hard work even with a lot of experience.
Some general points for the less experienced look a long way ahead this helps your balance massively and also allows you to plot the easiest route.
You don't have to be constantly accelerating, but always having a constant throttle driving the bike will help to keep your balance and the drag of loose sand can be like having the brakes on so constant power is needed to maintain momentum.
With some momentum it's easier to balance, we all know that, also if you stand up you can use the ends of the handelbars and the footpegs to weight them instead of turning the bars left or right, this works especially well in ruts.
Adding spring preload and compression damping to both ends of the bike is beneficial in soft conditions, also if you are loaded up extra preload on the back will be required anyway to balance the bike.
Chances are a fully loaded bike is way to heavy for most standard suspension, so if you spend a lot of time like this or with a passenger, getting different springs installed will make a big difference to the handling