20th Jersey Devil Ride Report

[avc8130]

Thanks Jaybird- I have heard about people engaging 2WD on the fly; happy to hear another report that it works! I've also heard that it's difficult to turn the bike in 2WD but it seems people managed here. Great stuff.

I used 2wd a lot on this JDH. I don't have a hand shifter so I was mostly shifting stopped or rolling very slowly. I found 2wd was more useful in the sugar sand than anywhere else. 99% of the puddles don't need 2wd. As Mike pointed out, being mid-pack you can't always control how fast you can rail a sandy section. 2wd makes it much easier to keep moving forward as the speed drops. I didn't find steering any more difficult really. In 2wd you have to treat it like a sport ATV and muscle the bars and use your weight shifting to turn. It was an absolute blast!

Anthony

[jaybird]

Thanks Jaybird- I have heard about people engaging 2WD on the fly; happy to hear another report that it works! I've also heard that it's difficult to turn the bike in 2WD but it seems people managed here. Great stuff.

Shifting on the fly is a non issue with a hand shifter.
These rigs really should come with the combo 2WD/Rev from new, it’s certainly the most useful and one of the first modifications for me.
If you’re wanting to buy a rig, you should seriously consider stagewex’s rig, it’s a great deal on a well kept and well farkled machine.

Happy trails,
Jaybird

[stagewex]

Shifting on the fly is a non issue with a hand shifter.
These rigs really should come with the combo 2WD/Rev from new, it’s certainly the most useful and one of the first modifications for me.

That's an absolute on the hand shifter. Mine is the simple Rev-Neutral type from Raceway. I think I bought and installed within the first or second week I owned the rig from new. I can't speak to the 2WD shifter option because I rarely go into 2WD that it would make a difference. But if you do (Jay actually lives "in" the Pine Barrens so-to-speak) and use it on and off all the time in the woods, makes sense as a mod.

I'm not sure if mine from Raceway is exactly the same as what they or others offer now? A most simple design from when Jim P. owned Raceway. An engineering and design innovator.

[ReCycled]

I don't mind going a bit off topic now that it seems all of the ride reporting is complete. Thanks for contributing photos, videos and stories.



My take on the 1wd/2wd thing based on ownership and use of four of the five drivetrain variations in Urals & Dneprs; that is 1wd, Ural locking 2wd, Dnepr fulltime 2wd, and the rare(and best) Dnepr fulltime 2wd with locker. But I will only discuss the Ural options here.

I love the 1wd system. Much simpler design with fewer moving parts, fewer failure points and less maintenance overall. With a knobby tire as pusher it will take you pretty far off road. 1wd rigs outnumbered the 2wd rigs for the first half dozen or more years of this ride.

But once I established my strong preference for riding dirt over pavement, I decided improve my bike's off-road capabilities by converting to 2wd. Even though I found a basket case 2wd which provided the parts essentially free, I seriously questioned my decision for a while after the conversion. There was no questioning the added traction but the practicality was lacking. The preplanning plus stopping to engage/disengage (which can sometimes be difficult when stopped) disrupted the flow of the ride and lost momentum. At Jay's strong recommendation I ponied up the bucks for the Raceway tank shifter.

What a game changer! The ability to shift in and out of 2wd on the fly and at a whim dramatically increased off-road performance. If you see something sketchy up ahead, keep up the speed and engage it before you get there. Some of the sand and mud water holes we encounter in the pines are deceptively deep with ruts created by 4wd vehicles with oversized tires deliberately trying to dig holes. The bike maybe comfortably riding through 6"-8" water when the sidecar drops into one of these ruts. That tends to grab the sidecar wheels and spin the whole bike around into it. If you are in 2wd when this begins to happen, you stand a good chance of simply pulling right through.

So if you have 2wd and plan to ride off-road, I highly recommend a modified 2wd shift lever. I've heard of simply extending the stock lever as an improvement but I see the big advantage when you can keep your right hand on the throttle while shifting with your left. The Raceway dual shifter is the only bolt on option of which I am aware. IMHO, to take full advantage of this shifter the easier to reach, top lever should be used for 2wd and the under tank lever for reverse.

[BigLarry]

I rarely used 2WD on the Devil Hunt this year. I think I engaged it 2-3 times and probably needed it once. And that's on street tires. It may help that I have a fair amount of mass over the drive wheel and no passenger in the sidecar. To each his/her own.

[jaybird]

A little recap of Saturday’s road ride;

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My contributions to the door prizes;

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Winslow Junction, New Jersey

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https://www.google.com/search?q=winslow ... afari#ip=1

A stop at famous “Nick’s”

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https://nickscustomcycles.com/

https://www.google.com/search?q=nicks+c ... NoP1Neg4As
By the way, Nick’s and Nick have been featured on “American Pickers” and he has his inventory for sale if anyone is inclined; his sales deal is $1 per part, but you must buy all.
I’ve been all through there, I’d say that even at $1 per piece you’re probably going to need more than a Million Dollars

A stop for hot dogs and ice cream at another South Jersey hidden gem

https://www.google.com/search?q=ice+cre ... IgAQ%3D%3D

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Not the actual hot dog, unfortunately they didn’t have these on the menu.


Back at camp;

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Happy trails,
Jaybird

[avc8130]

This JDH just cost me $350. Just ordered the hand shifters.

[stagewex]

This JDH just cost me $350. Just ordered the hand shifters.

You will be glad you did.

[jaybird]

You’ll find that if you do any kind of “Active” off road riding, the factory installed 2WD shifter is cumbersome and inadequate.

Happy trails,
Jaybird

[avc8130]

You’ll find that if you do any kind of “Active” off road riding, the factory installed 2WD shifter is cumbersome and inadequate.

Happy trails,
Jaybird

Jay,

Yeah, it was a royal pain on this JDH. With Dominick in the sidecar, being solidly mid pack in the riding order, I was in and out of 2wd quite a lot. When I can't control my own momentum/speed and have the extra heft in the sidecar, 2wd really makes the deep sand and climbs much more fun. I was also shifting in/out taking the "fun" lines through the mud puddles. My first thought was to teach Dominick to operate the stock lever from the sidecar, but then I decided I didn't want him reaching his hand down in that area while we are bouncing around. Wish Raceway just make a 2wd tank shifter, I'm not sure I want the Reverse shifting done by hand. I might leave that part off for now.

Anthony

[jaybird]

You’ll find that if you do any kind of “Active” off road riding, the factory installed 2WD shifter is cumbersome and inadequate.

Happy trails,
Jaybird

Jay,

Yeah, it was a royal pain on this JDH. With Dominick in the sidecar, being solidly mid pack in the riding order, I was in and out of 2wd quite a lot. When I can't control my own momentum/speed and have the extra heft in the sidecar, 2wd really makes the deep sand and climbs much more fun. I was also shifting in/out taking the "fun" lines through the mud puddles. My first thought was to teach Dominick to operate the stock lever from the sidecar, but then I decided I didn't want him reaching his hand down in that area while we are bouncing around. Wish Raceway just make a 2wd tank shifter, I'm not sure I want the Reverse shifting done by hand. I might leave that part off for now.

Anthony

As you may already know, reverse is also a neutral finder. Your rig probably has the reverse foot shifter, which is better than the hand lever that they used to come with, but still not as handy as the hand shifter.
You should give it a try before you decide, I think that you’ll find it to be much more convenient and useful.

Happy trails,
Jaybird

[avc8130]

Oh yeah, I always use that reverse foot shifter to find neutral. I'll hook it up when it comes, time will tell.

[tgtrotter]

For this video. 3.5 hours, 3 cameras, iphone video and stills reduced to 4+ minutes. A few hours of editing. Steve Forbert on harmonica for what I think is a very appropriate song:

Awesome vid Mike. You have no idea how much you'll be sorely missed. ( BTW I have a daughter who has the clever talent of making vids. So I got that )

To the rest of the JDH posts. Thank you very much. Again you have no idea how jelly I am here on the left coast. You got a good thing going.

[stagewex]

Thanks Tim. Appreciate it.

[greggercrackers]

I have been considering the Raceway Reverse/2WD kit for some time now, especially recently when I have found it quite difficult(impossible) to bend over backwards to engage 2WD on the fly. Concerns about some chatter I saw on older threads about vibration knocking the levers out of gear has held up my decision as the washboards and ruts are severe on the roads I travel. I do find this thread encouraging, and may just finally pull the trigger and cobble together some sort of detent for the lever if need be.