Trying to conquer Hell's Gate on a Hayabusa is, in a word, audacious. So, the fact that it didn't go exactly to plan the first time isn't completely a surprise, even though enduro rider Matt Spears' riding skills in sketchy situations gave us hope.
You can't keep a good bike down for long, though. That's why Spears, his 'Busa, and his buddy Kevin decided to go back out and do some adventure camping in beautiful Canyonlands National Park in Utah. At the beginning of the journey, the Hayabusa is back to full health and looking quite defiant with its cage.
It's also been modified even further this time around, with a full set of Mosko Moto Reckless luggage. For those not familiar, this is a luggage system that doesn't require any additional racks to mount, so it's comparatively easy to stick on a multitude of bikes. Even bikes that don't usually carry luggage, such as a Hayabusa.
It's not clear how much extra weight this luggage puts on the back of the bike, but we do get to see just how much stuff Spears has packed when they get to the camp site. Kevin's on a GasGas, and he has one big backpack on his back and one big bag strapped to the front of his bike, where a windscreen might be on a different machine.
Inside of Spears' packs is a plethora of camping necessities for both riders. There are two tent and sleeping setups, a JetBoil camp stove to cook food (no fires allowed where they're going), packs of camping food to rehydrate with water heated in the JetBoil, and more. Spears even has some toasty slippers, and his buddy has quilted Frogg Toggs overalls and toasty slippers to mitigate the chill overnight.
Speaking of which, we haven't talked about the weather. You can see a bit of snow and ice on the ground in some spots in the video. How cold does it get in winter in southeast Utah, where the park is located? High temps range between 30 degrees Fahrenheit/-1 Celsius to 50 F/10 C. Low temps range from zero to 20 F (or -17 to -6 C). It's doable, but only if you're prepared for some cold nights.
After a night spent sleeping under the stars, Spears' plan is to try to take the 'Busa back to Hell's Gate for a good old fashioned run at redemption. Unfortunately, this time he's thwarted not by a crash, but by the rim on his rear wheel cracking in two places. Since he's running a tubeless tire, it just can't hold all the air in. Pretty soon, it's unseated itself completely and the Slime inside is on full display.
A Daring Rescue
In any other video, that might have been the end of the story. However, in this case, they're on the dirt bike trail, not far from where it meets up with the 4WD trail. Even though Spears says that his Toyota Tundra with a bazillion miles on it isn't really set up to do hardcore stuff, he sees that there's not much choice if he wants to get the 'Busa back home to get a new rear wheel put on.
This video is really three videos in one. You get some Hayabusa ADV riding, some motocamping, and even a little 4WD Tundra action in at the end. How does it all pan out? That, friends, is why you should watch the video and see.
