Sunrise photos

[JTBarlow]

Early morning is the only time cool enough to go out and ride where I live so we got up at 4:am and rode to the top of a Mesa to watch the sunrise.

 

[AZadv]

Great pics, rig looks killer. How are you liking the KM3s? I have a set of 32s waiting for my machine to come in. Are they 32s?

 

[JTBarlow]

Great pics, rig looks killer. How are you liking the KM3s? I have a set of 32s waiting for my machine to come in. Are they 32s?

The tires? They’re BFG Mud Terrain 30/15s on Raceline beadlocks. They’re great all-around tires. I put 3000 miles on them with my General and then swapped them on to this. Still 60% tread.

 

[Dragoon]

Beautiful photos!

 

[JTBarlow]

Great pics, rig looks killer. How are you liking the KM3s? I have a set of 32s waiting for my machine to come in. Are they 32s?

Oops! I didn’t even realize they were called KM3s til I just looked them up

But yeah, great all around tires. They don’t wear nearly as fast as the Maxxis Carnivores my brother prefers. Most of our riding is rocky desert trails, which these handle nicely and they’re not bad in sand either when we go to the dunes. The only place they haven’t fully performed the best was, ironically, in the mud.

Granted, I was pulling a trailer and this stuff was deep and slimy. I really wouldn’t hesitate to buy them again.

 

[Dragoon]

Oops! I didn’t even realize they were called KM3s til I just looked them up

But yeah, great all around tires. They don’t wear nearly as fast as the Maxxis Carnivores my brother prefers. Most of our riding is rocky desert trails, which these handle nicely and they’re not bad in sand either when we go to the dunes. The only place they haven’t fully performed the best was, ironically, in the mud.
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Granted, I was pulling a trailer and this stuff was deep and slimy. I really wouldn’t hesitate to buy them again.

That's some great real-world testing right there! I'm surprised those tires didn't clear out better, but that is some thick mud that looks really sticky. It almost seems like it has some clay in it.

 

[AZadv]

Oops! I didn’t even realize they were called KM3s til I just looked them up

But yeah, great all around tires. They don’t wear nearly as fast as the Maxxis Carnivores my brother prefers. Most of our riding is rocky desert trails, which these handle nicely and they’re not bad in sand either when we go to the dunes. The only place they haven’t fully performed the best was, ironically, in the mud.
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Granted, I was pulling a trailer and this stuff was deep and slimy. I really wouldn’t hesitate to buy them again.

That's great to hear. I was leery of them on my General XP4 just because theyre so much heavier than a Maxxis Carnivore or Rampage. I went with 32" rampages on the general and still eat belts - mostly because the gearing/clutching are terrible in that machine. Funny enough, my Maxxis tires aren't even rated to carry an empty ADV5 Northstar so i went with a heavier tire. Yes the KM3s are terrible in mud but us western riders dont get into trouble too often. Looking forward to little more tread life, I'll be lucky to get 2,200 miles out of my Rampages.

 

[JTBarlow]

There’s definitely some clay but it was a deep rut several others had been through before I got to it. Probably wouldn’t have gotten stuck if it wasn’t sitting on the skid plate. Only had to be pulled about 5 feet to get out.

Fun times anyway

 

[Dragoon]

There’s definitely some clay but it was a deep rut several others had been through before I got to it. Probably wouldn’t have gotten stuck if it wasn’t sitting on the skid plate. Only had to be pulled about 5 feet to get out.

Fun times anyway

Bottoming out on the skid plate definitely doesn't do even the best tires any favors. It can create a suction effect that can bog down any rig.

 

[JTBarlow]

That's great to hear. I was leery of them on my General XP4 just because theyre so much heavier than a Maxxis Carnivore or Rampage. I went with 32" rampages on the general and still eat belts - mostly because the gearing/clutching are terrible in that machine. Funny enough, my Maxxis tires aren't even rated to carry an empty ADV5 Northstar so i went with a heavier tire. Yes the KM3s are terrible in mud but us western riders dont get into trouble too often. Looking forward to little more tread life, I'll be lucky to get 2,200 miles out of my Rampages.

My brother got a little over 4000 miles on his Carnivores and they were pretty much slicks by the time we changed them. I wouldn’t be surprised to see these mud terrains get 7000-8000. Biggest difference is the tread is more closed on these so they pickup and throw more gravel. Otherwise I’ve been to the majority of the same places my brother has and haven’t had any trouble.

We're pretty much sticking with 30”s so it doesn’t add any more strain on the belt or clutches. We both ran up the pre-loads on the shocks to get the true 14” ground clearance they were advertised at and we both plan on doing tunes and clutch kits to open up the speed a bit.

 

[AZadv]

My brother got a little over 4000 miles on his Carnivores and they were pretty much slicks by the time we changed them. I wouldn’t be surprised to see these mud terrains get 7000-8000. Biggest difference is the tread is more closed on these so they pickup and throw more gravel. Otherwise I’ve been to the majority of the same places my brother has and haven’t had any trouble.

We're pretty much sticking with 30”s so it doesn’t add any more strain on the belt or clutches. We both ran up the pre-loads on the shocks to get the true 14” ground clearance they were advertised at and we both plan on doing tunes and clutch kits to open up the speed a bit.

Right on. Springs sound like classic OEM junk. I know shock therapy has an xpedition they are currently testing for springs and valving. I'll be getting at least new springs as soon as I see some reviews. It was the best thing I did to my General. More ground clearance and night and day better ride quality.

 

[JTBarlow]

Right on. Springs sound like classic OEM junk. I know shock therapy has an xpedition they are currently testing for springs and valving. I'll be getting at least new springs as soon as I see some reviews. It was the best thing I did to my General. More ground clearance and night and day better ride quality.

I definitely agree on re-springing them. I’d prefer to have it springed specifically for the weight I carry. Not sure I’d bother with tuning. These machines ride so well straight from the factory and I have it on setting 2, so I can go softer or firmer if I ever need.

Only problem with Shock Therapy is it takes ages to get in to them. The one car we did through them the earliest appointment was I think 9 or 10 months. They did a good job but there’s other suspension people who can get it done much quicker. We’ve used Fineline Suspension in St. George, Utah on pretty much all the rest of our machines with excellent results and much more reasonable times.

 

[AZadv]

I definitely agree on re-springing them. I’d prefer to have it springed specifically for the weight I carry. Not sure I’d bother with tuning. These machines ride so well straight from the factory and I have it on setting 2, so I can go softer or firmer if I ever need.

Only problem with Shock Therapy is it takes ages to get in to them. The one car we did through them the earliest appointment was I think 9 or 10 months. They did a good job but there’s other suspension people who can get it done much quicker. We’ve used Fineline Suspension in St. George, Utah on pretty much all the rest of our machines with excellent results and much more reasonable times.

I would say the biggest downside to ST is their spring dividers wear shock bodies quicker than others. I have used multiple other companies for prior shock work and always be happy - I just havent seen anyone else testing the Xpedition yet. I am not advocating for one company or another (besides, ST just got bought out by Fox this year). I'll see what the valving is like after mine gets built and go from there. But springs are always a must.

 

[JTBarlow]

I would say the biggest downside to ST is their spring dividers wear shock bodies quicker than others. I have used multiple other companies for prior shock work and always be happy - I just havent seen anyone else testing the Xpedition yet. I am not advocating for one company or another (besides, ST just got bought out by Fox this year). I'll see what the valving is like after mine gets built and go from there. But springs are always a must.

Shock Therapy is just the loudest . Everyone knows who they are lol.

Don’t really think there’s much to work out really. Fox QS3s have been around for quite a while so all the tuning is available as are springs. It’s just a matter of getting setup how you’ll normally ride weight wise so you can get the best ride for your specific machine and ride style. There may be a little to work out with the geometry on the Xpeditions but I doubt it’ll take much.

 

[AZadv]

Shock Therapy is just the loudest . Everyone knows who they are lol.

Don’t really think there’s much to work out really. Fox QS3s have been around for quite a while so all the tuning is available as are springs. It’s just a matter of getting setup how you’ll normally ride weight wise so you can get the best ride for your specific machine and ride style. There may be a little to work out with the geometry on the Xpeditions but I doubt it’ll take much.

These QS3s are different than the QS3s we've seen on a million different machines. In fact, the Xpedition is the first time the spiral bore/groove QS3s have been seen anywhere. While much of the shock remains the same, the valving is not only different but many parts are completely new.

 

[JTBarlow]

I

These QS3s are different than the QS3s we've seen on a million different machines. In fact, the Xpedition is the first time the spiral bore/groove QS3s have been seen anywhere. While much of the shock remains the same, the valving is not only different but many parts are completely new.

knew about the rifling but wasn’t aware they’d changed up that much!

Either way, this machine rides well enough I don’t think I’ll bother at all with the tuning. Only real complaint is I wish they’d have put 2.5”s on the front same as the back instead of the 2”s they went with. No issues this far but straight from the factory they’re only a little lighter on the front than the back.