Moto Adventure on the Oregon Coos Bay Wagon Road (back to page 1)
We continue on the Coos Bay Wagon Road. I’m riding a KLR 650 New Edition. My GPS is always on. It’s easier for me to avoid wrong turns and to stay on track when I have my GPS mounted on my handlebar. I use it on all my trips and you can read about it here. But definitely take along your trusty paper maps, especially when travelling off the beaten path.
The Corner Store at Fairview, it’s at the cross roads that goes to Coquille, OR
Heading east out of Sitkum
It turns to dirt again, heading over the hills toward Lookingglass
You can stop along the Coquille river in many areas. I stop and treat myself to a snack next to one of the waterfalls. Don’t hurry or you’ll miss more than you’ll see.
This waterfall is an excellent wayside stop
In the valley is Lookingglass, OR
The KLR 650 has 42 horses on tap, and I can live with that. It likes to be in the middle. Not too fast, not too slow, not all on pavement, and not all on dirt. It’s actually perfectly suited to this twisty adventure. The wagon road includes a couple of low passes, about 25 miles of nicely graded dirt roads; but mostly it’s smooth country pavement connecting the major townships. Lookingglass is the end of the Coos Bay Wagon Road. It’s been 2 hours and I still have ¾ tank of fuel. I’m ready to explore more and I’m only 10 miles from the Interstate. Yet, who wants to ride the Interstate? Not me… not when you can literally go in any direction from here and find yourself on exceptionally fun motorcycle pavement!
The Lookingglass Store seems to always have motorcycles closeby…
The area motorcycle roads and the accompanying views are simply amazing
This ride was amazing; but it was my first major ride on the KLR650. The big question on my mind was if the KLR New Edition stock suspension was enough of an upgrade from previous models. The KLR is outfitted with two panniers, a top case, USB plug ins, heated gear outlets. I have a large dry bag strapped to the seat weighing about 30 additional pounds. My weight is about 190 lbs with gear. I have lots of experience on dirt riding both off-road only and Enduro bikes. On pavement, the rear seems a bit weak. It doesn’t cause any issues though. But as I hit the dirt portions, I realize that the 2014 KLR 650 New Edition suspension is really not quite up to the task. And that’s being generous. The forks weren’t all that bad, yet I’ll be doing a rear spring upgrade before my next ride. I’ve already ordered the 6.7 lb. spring and installation kit. You can do a full shock upgrade, but my plan is to do any changes incrementally. I’m almost expecting to need front springs too, but I’m hoping the New Edition front springs are sufficient. Crossing my fingers and will report back after upgrades.
Thanks for riding along!
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