Went for another solo ride on the 2nd. Covered about 70 miles again.  Started out cold, high 20's.  The pond in the pictures is partially iced over with a thin layer.  I also got photos of the only two color changing trees that I ran across.  Wildlife was not cooperative this ride.  I did see a deer, but it didn't hang around long enough for me to get a photo.  The lizard was the only creature that cooperated.  I'm hoping to get at least a couple more rides in before they close the forest area for the winter.  We'll see if it happens, it snowed in the mountains the 3rd and is snowing again today. 

[2015 Z Force 800 53/Trail EPS]

Great shots..again. Yeah with the snow starting it won't be long before they shut the gates.

Thanks. 

That's my thought, I'm hoping for at least 1 more decent ride.  I enjoy riding in the snow, so hopefully I can do it. 

Awesome views!  What kinda of precautions do you take when ridding solo?  Do you plan a route, tell someone your departure and expected arrival time?  What equipment do you bring with you?  Do you have cellphone services during the ride?

Awesome views!  What kinda of precautions do you take when ridding solo?  Do you plan a route, tell someone your departure and expected arrival time?  What equipment do you bring with you?  Do you have cellphone services during the ride?

I usually let my wife know the areas I'm going.  Most of the time there is decent cell service so I text her once in a while to let her know about where I'm at and where I'm going to try to head to next.  Usually just give her landmarks that we both know where they are.  I carry all the basic stuff, tool kit, tire plug kit and compressor, I don't really carry much in the way of spare parts for the CFMoto.  I had a fair amount of spare parts that I carried on my Polaris when I had it.  I had to do quite a few repairs on the Polaris on the trail.  The two most difficult repairs on the trail on the Polaris was a broken ball joint on mine, and my buddies, several years ago, had the bolt for the A-arm back out and collapsed right front.  Amazingly, we were able to walk back on the trail and the bolt and nut, but it was a chore to put that back together on the trail.  I used to carry a lot more equipment, but I also rode a lot more aggressively when I had a partner with me.  I try to take it easier when I'm alone. 

Oh wow seems like you have a ton of experience riding atv's.  That and the fact that you can communicate your plan and whereabouts seems pretty safe.  I never had to do major work on the field, come to think of it, the worst that ever happened to me was the machine overheating and there was nothing to fix it so all I did was drive it a short distance and spot until it cooled a bit.... there where a lot of stops before getting home hahaha.    Anyway, when can you go back to the spots of the pictures?  I bet it looks completely different covered in snow. 

Oh wow seems like you have a ton of experience riding atv's.  That and the fact that you can communicate your plan and whereabouts seems pretty safe.  I never had to do major work on the field, come to think of it, the worst that ever happened to me was the machine overheating and there was nothing to fix it so all I did was drive it a short distance and spot until it cooled a bit.... there where a lot of stops before getting home hahaha.    Anyway, when can you go back to the spots of the pictures?  I bet it looks completely different covered in snow.

I've had to do a few repairs on the trail, that's for sure.  Fortunately not on the CFMoto.  Here's a few photos of some of the areas in winter.  They normally open the area back up about mid April for the first turkey hunts. 

               

             



Here's a couple of being stuck.

             

  Many years ago on the Kawasaki.

Sometimes it's not always snow. 

That looks fantastic, pretty cool views.  Here in Ecuador we don't get snow so that's in my bucket list.....but maybe in a snowmobile hahaha. 
I see you have all the metallic skid plates for your machine.  Are they super heavy compared to the plastic ones that come stock?  I have manage to break pretty much all my plastic ones and was considering fabricating some metallic ones until I discover the material we have here are pretty heavy and not suitable for that application.

That looks fantastic, pretty cool views.  Here in Ecuador we don't get snow so that's in my bucket list.....but maybe in a snowmobile hahaha. 
I see you have all the metallic skid plates for your machine.  Are they super heavy compared to the plastic ones that come stock?  I have manage to break pretty much all my plastic ones and was considering fabricating some metallic ones until I discover the material we have here are pretty heavy and not suitable for that application.

I bought Ricochet skid plates, they are aluminum and are heavier than the stock plastic, but not overly heavy.  I was able to install them by myself. I found the plastic ones were destroyed pretty easily even without being rough on the machine. Here's photos of the skid plates after only a few rides, and the new ones. The Ricochet ones provide a lot more coverage, they do trap more dirt, mud and snow though.