Silver Canyon near Mammoth

[jimfix93675]

Last month, myself and three other riders did the Mammoth area and my favorite part of the trip was Silver Canyon. It is a dirt rode that snakes down Silver Canyon with spectacular views and many water crossings. On a big adventure touring bike, I would suggest going down the canyon only. Two riders of our group on BMW GS's did not attempt this part of the ride. Myself on a KLR and another rider on a V-Strom finished the ride and had a great adventure. Enjoy the pics.
Jim

[kluts]

Very cool, but I can't understand why GS' wouldn't take this, just by looking at your pix. The water crossing doesn't look bad and the road is doable. Are there bigger obstacles? Deeper water? Single trax on shale? Mindless curiouses want to know.

Tanks!

[jimfix93675]

I think GS's would do just fine. There is one deep water crossing and that was in July. There was one difficult down hill section that really taxed the guy in the V-Strom, loose and steep.
Jim

[2on2off]

Originally Posted by kluts

Very cool, but I can't understand why GS' wouldn't take this, just by looking at your pix. The water crossing doesn't look bad and the road is doable. Are there bigger obstacles? Deeper water? Single trax on shale? Mindless curiouses want to know.

Tanks!

There have been some who have made it up Silver Canyon on BMW 1200 GS's but also others on 1150GS that did not make it through the second water crossing at the bottom. The guy on the 1150GS got water in his snorkel and engine because he rode too fast through the 24" deep water. He did $1,600 damage to his engine, starter and piston rings. The R1200GS and GSA have an air intake snorkel just below the right side of the gas tank that can suck water into your air box and motor.

Why some can go through water crossings and not get water in their GS 1200 motors is an unknown to me. My buddy Ray and I didn't want to take a chance of getting water into our motors until we could learn more about the water crossing abilities of the 1200 GS.

I wouldn't hesitate taking my XR650L through any of those water crossings on Silver Canyon Road. But a bike that is 180 lbs heavier is a different matter. If you hit a rock in the water you can't see and go down on the right side with the motor running, water could possibly get into your motor and it isn't worth it to me to take the chance until I get more hours in the saddle off-road on the big GS.

Kluts: What is the deepest water you have crossed on your 1200GS and how fast did you go through it?

[kluts]

Originally Posted by 2on2off

...others on 1150GS that did not make it through the second water crossing at the bottom. ... 24" deep ..... Kluts: What is the deepest water you have crossed on your 1200GS and how fast did you go through it?

The pics didn't show 24" water... at least it doesn't look like that. Is it that deep now?

I went through 12" on my old RT and I've done up to about the rockpan on the GS or about 10", at about 8mph. I'm not a gnarly adventurer yet, just getting my feet wet, so to speak...

The R12's snorkel is no higher than the 1150's from what I know, but there is a fording kit you can buy.

[2on2off]

Originally Posted by kluts

The pics didn't show 24" water... at least it doesn't look like that. Is it that deep now?

I went through 12" on my old RT and I've done up to about the rockpan on the GS or about 10", at about 8mph. I'm not a gnarly adventurer yet, just getting my feet wet, so to speak...

The R12's snorkel is no higher than the 1150's from what I know, but there is a fording kit you can buy.

There are 8 water crossings on Silver Canyon Road. The second one, as you are going uphill, is the deepest, about 24" deep. They didn't get a picture going through that one.

Apparently there is always water in these spots because there are water breaks set up so the road doesn't wash out. So no matter what time of year you ride Silver Canyon Road, there will always be water crossings.

Where can I buy the "fording kit"? That would be something good to carry with the bike at the very least if you don't install it. Not sure if a snorkle would restrict air flow to the motor so you may not want to leave it installed all the time, but I'm sure there will be times when you would want to install it to be on the safe side when going through deep water.

The air intake for most off-road bikes is under the seat but on the R1200GS it is a snorkle under the gas tank which could get water in it even from splashing through shallow water. Any water crossing I will do on my GSA will be very slow so as not to kick up too much of a splash.

[kluts]

Originally Posted by 2on2off

....

Where can I buy the "fording kit"? That would be something good to carry with the bike at the very least if you don't install it.

Yup, not sure if it restricts flows.

...The air intake for most off-road bikes is under the seat but on the R1200GS it is a snorkle under the gas tank which could get water in it even from splashing through shallow water. ....

Right. I think the Touratech catalog lists the part. If not, a friendly query/search or a question post in "GSPOT" threads on the ADVrider forum will get you quick answers. That forum is CHOCK FULL of great information on GS'. I've seen adventure pictures with the snorkel in use and it looks like you can ford all the way up to mid-tank. Still I'd be a bit concerned if I water-locked a GS out in the middle of Ecuador or Western Brazil..... So I don't think I will ever use a snorkel that deep. But 24" would certainly be a concern for the stock setup.