Can anyone tell me about the black sand dunes in AZ(about 4 hours from vegas). What is the weather like there now and what elevation are they? Will I need to rejet a 2stroke? Is it all sand? Places to camp? LOts of questions because I can't find any info online. If you know of a website about them please tell me. We might be going there this weekend.
Thanks

 

Your referring to the "Cinders" near Flagstaff AZ. Check out www.ridingarizona.com for more info.

 

You can find a lot of pics here. If you have one, I would suggest running a foam filter (preferably dual-stage) because it looks very dusty out there. Use a good bottled filter oil because the stuff in spray cans doesn't penetrate the filter very good and has a lot of solvents in it that evaporate and leave the oil very thin. Therefor, the filter doesn't protect your engine much. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the help..

 

Oil your filters well, and take paddle tires!!! I went last year, and when I got home, I found cinder dust on the intake side of my carb!!! I was running a Uni foam filter, and had it oiled well, but that cinder dust is so fine it still made it's way in. Be prepared to run some HUGE hills. I've been going to Glamis, etc for years, and have ridden some big dunes. They don't even come close to how big the Cinders are. Our jaws were in our laps when we drove up..... I made the mistake of taking my 400EX, instead of my Banshee, without paddle tires too. I had several near death experiences..... I can't wait to go back, this time with the DS. We're scheduling a trip for mid august if anyone would like to join us.
By the way, it's not sand, but Cinders (lava rock) from the nearby volcanoes.

 

How are they compared to Dumont? I have never been to Glamis but have been told that glamis is small compared to Dumont(Size of hills not area). We goto Dumont all the time but looking for new places. Is this lava rock hard on the paddles?

 

looks cool. is this place nice on haulers? all i saw was molded paddles in the pics.

 

Unfortunately I've never been to Dumont, so I have nothing to compare them too. I'd say that some have to be at the very least 800 feet long, and super steep, since the cinders stick together unlike sand. I watched blown rails, and jeeps that couldn't make it up some of the hills there, that's how steep they are!!!
The cinders wreak havoc on paddle tires!!! The cinders are super abrasive, so your tires will definately take on some wear. Have you ever run on a track around a football field that has cinders on it? That's what you'll be riding on. I've got an old set I'm gonna put on the DS when I go back.

 

The biggest hill there is called Hundred Dollar Hill and it’s about 900 vertical feet. WAY bigger than anything at Glamis. The cinders are steeper than the sand dunes too. You’re also at about 7500 feet elevation, so you lose a lot of hp. My old Banshee (mild mods) barely pulled me to the top of that hill and I had to drop to second gear to get all the way up. It’s simply brutal. The best part of the area is the forest trails. You can do some fast woods riding and during the July – September monsoon season, it’s great after the rains take the dust out of the equation. Paddles are highly recommended but I wouldn’t use the vulcanized paddle types like Skat-Trak or light duty rims. There’s too many tree roots and bigger rocks that you’ll run over occasionally. I’ve bent many a rim hitting roots at speed and I’ve shredded a couple of paddles before switching to Sand Skates. It’s the best summer place to ride in the southwest, unless you trek to Pismo.