Hunting access via dirt bike.
- Thread starter jvanhoy
- Start date
Slm864
Well-known member
I have considered this many times as well. I too raced and rode from when I was a kid until almost 30.
Most of the single track trails I have hiked in the units I hunted would have taken all of my efforts focused purely on riding and probably not having my hunting stuff. They were pretty brutal and poorly maintained to the point I think the bike might have made it more difficult. I’m sure there are plenty of trails that would work though.
You can put dirt bike panniers on the back with a rack attached to the sub frame. My friend has that and the weight limit is 100 lbs I think.
A couple years ago my buddy didn’t want to hunt but wanted to come out to CO just to ride instead. Brought his ktm 690 and he would do a couple hundred miles a day, no single track though. He was riding regular roads since it was licensed.
I packed my elk to dead end road that was horribly maintained that you couldn’t get a truck to and actually made a trip out the 6 mile road on his bike. It was sketchy but I was glad he had it. It’s tough riding with heavy weight on your back.
Most of the single track trails I have hiked in the units I hunted would have taken all of my efforts focused purely on riding and probably not having my hunting stuff. They were pretty brutal and poorly maintained to the point I think the bike might have made it more difficult. I’m sure there are plenty of trails that would work though.
You can put dirt bike panniers on the back with a rack attached to the sub frame. My friend has that and the weight limit is 100 lbs I think.
A couple years ago my buddy didn’t want to hunt but wanted to come out to CO just to ride instead. Brought his ktm 690 and he would do a couple hundred miles a day, no single track though. He was riding regular roads since it was licensed.
I packed my elk to dead end road that was horribly maintained that you couldn’t get a truck to and actually made a trip out the 6 mile road on his bike. It was sketchy but I was glad he had it. It’s tough riding with heavy weight on your back.
Slm864
Well-known member
I will openly admit though that I’d be just as happy if bikes/atv were banned from everything except vehicle roads.
I was into a good herd of elk one morning working a bull and a bike came roaring up the drainage and completely screwed it up. I didn’t even know the trail was there. He wasn’t hunting, just riding so I can’t fault the guy for that. Different strokes for different folks.
I guess I could also be deemed a hypocrite because I’ve used bikes and an atv before but I only stick to the same roads as the vehicles.
I was into a good herd of elk one morning working a bull and a bike came roaring up the drainage and completely screwed it up. I didn’t even know the trail was there. He wasn’t hunting, just riding so I can’t fault the guy for that. Different strokes for different folks.
I guess I could also be deemed a hypocrite because I’ve used bikes and an atv before but I only stick to the same roads as the vehicles.
Talk2elk
Active member
I would put the meat perferably in a meat sack in my backpack and ride out and if you have a rear fender rack some of the meat can be put on there.
I can’t stress enough how much putting meat or anything heavy in your backpack will throw off your center of gravity. I do think racks of some kind would be way better.
Another thing I had to do (after my first trip out, filled with ass-clenching terror) was gear the bike down with a different sprocket. You will want to really go slow and probably have your legs out for balance. Crawling along rocks, deadfalled trees, etc is way easier if you’re not constantly clutching/braking.
jvanhoy that is a sweet looking bike though. Makes me miss mine. A good bike is unbeatable for getting around in the hills on roads and trails. I would unload mine out of the pickup whenever the road got shitty and would buzz along at 20-40mph where my truck was getting beat to death at 5-10.
The truck wins all day though for sitting on my ass, drinking coffee, and looking through a window-mount scope
Another thing I had to do (after my first trip out, filled with ass-clenching terror) was gear the bike down with a different sprocket. You will want to really go slow and probably have your legs out for balance. Crawling along rocks, deadfalled trees, etc is way easier if you’re not constantly clutching/braking.
jvanhoy that is a sweet looking bike though. Makes me miss mine. A good bike is unbeatable for getting around in the hills on roads and trails. I would unload mine out of the pickup whenever the road got shitty and would buzz along at 20-40mph where my truck was getting beat to death at 5-10.
The truck wins all day though for sitting on my ass, drinking coffee, and looking through a window-mount scope
300stw
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 839
i have put an elk rear quarter and a front quarter on the bigwheel, numerous times, on some pretty nasty un tamed trails, with all that weight you run out of brains before you run out of traction, its surprising how nasty the trail has to be before a lightweight bike will stop, that kawasaki wouldnt be my choice of lightweight low center of gravity bike, and i have wrecked too many tw200 in bad spots with meat, xr200 with a rear rack ,geared way down, or a big wheel geared way down, is what i like best, i have a few mules i like alot better now, but they cant cover the good trails near as fast,,,,,
Thanks a bunch for all the replies. I’m not going to lie I was real hesitant to post this thread knowing how it could possibly go but glad I did. I think I’m going to go ahead and order this rear rack and also rig up a strap or bungee under the seat and play around with laying the back pack down and strapping to the bike with some weight in it. Seems like that would be the best way to distribute the Weight and I can go ahead and practice some this summer with it. Thanks again. Hopefully I can update this fall with how it goes.
elkduds
Well-known member
Don't cook the meat on the exhaust during packout.
DouglasR
Well-known member
Before I bought the most capable vehicle on the forum (2020 gladiator) I seriously considered getting one of those 1 wheel trailers and an enduro bike to pull behind my Jetta.
Im thinking HT moto club?? We could really piss off the bear hunting bro pack haha
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geetar
Well-known member
In all seriousness every time I see one of those guys on a bike I think it looks pretty fun.
JustinsDad
Well-known member
First deer I ever got was on my TT500 back in the 1970s way in the back of an area called Ballanger Canyon. I was so tired by the time we carried the deer up to where our bikes were, I could hardly walk. It was about midnight. At that time I hadn’t learned anything about deboning. I strapped the field dressed buck onto the back of my bike and rode back into camp at 2:00 in the morning. The muffler had ruined one hind quarter but I did it. Dang that’s a good memory now. Seemed like a pain in the butt at the time. Use your dirt bike and enjoy the adventure!
millerkiller77
Well-known member
How did you not smell that?
FairWeather
Well-known member
JustinsDad
Well-known member
Rough trail, I was 15. I did actually smell it a few times. I thought it was just burning the hide. The deer kept shifting in rough sections so I would pull it back up where it was supposed to stay but I was too tired/lazy to re-strap it right. In fast sections I wouldn’t smell anything. It almost fell all the way off a few times. To make matters worse I had put a couple extra rounds in him after he was down to “make sure”. That wasted some of the front quarters. I learned a lot of lessons that trip.
