Dirt Road Riding Considerations

[goog]

So - I have moved to a new home, and it is surrounded by about a mile of dusty, dirty, sandy road all around.  (The riding technique issues will be placed in another post in that forum!)  I am noticing a few things - my chain gets dry and gummed up pretty quickly, I get lots of pebbles stuck in tire tread, and I imagine that I will need a new air filter, and some check of my gearing done.  The sandy dust stays on my tire a lot longer than I would like, and I'm not sure if it is compromising the grip.  I imagine that I will need to change the oil a little more frequently....

I am curious what other issues I should look for - making sure that I don't allow any other unforeseen issues creep in from this type of exposure.  Anyone with similar dirt road experience?
Thanks.

[Dirty Duc]

What tires are you running?

I ride on dirt/gravel roads with the S2R a little, and I don't seem to get pebbles stuck. As far as the dust staying on your tire... it is likely compromising your grip to the same extent that a layer of dust the same thickness on the road would do. Dust only stays on my tires for a couple of miles.

I'm not a good enough rider to notice a change in grip going from a set of ContiMotions to Scorpion Trails or back, on pavement or on dirt/gravel.

My father rides his 1st gen on dirt/gravel more than me, and he recently switched to the newly released Shinko 705 radials in 170/60R17 and 120/70R17. He feels much more confident on the dirt now.
http://www.chaparral-racing.com/product/shinko-705-series-dual-sport-radial-rear-tire/369-874536.aspx