patches

I'd also go with Dakar. *flame-suit on* I know some Epic participants may take massive exception to this, but I would say the technical ability required for even the bottom tier riders to complete a Dakar is far above that required to complete an Epic. I know it's not apples and apples and the Epic requires loads of training (mostly fitness). But if one were to rank the average Dakar rider's ability against let's say the average adventure/offroad biker and do the same with the average Epic rider vs average MTBer, I would say the Dakar riders would find themselves in a higher percentile. Also, as mazambaan mentioned, the danger element. Sadly there is at least 1 fatality during nearly every Dakar. Even some of the most talented riders have lost their lives. Plus the navigation element (Dakar does require riders to successfully complete a rally raid event before gaining entry). Anyway, as the comparison can't be direct it will always be a matter of opinion, and in my opinion I know who would get mu kudos 😅

Does the 701LR come with the ABS dongle as standard, or does one still need to buy it separately? Or is it a completely different ABS control setup to the original 701's (based on the fact that it has traction control etc)? I've heard from a number of 701 owners that the dongle is their first purchase after buying the bike. It takes them just 1 or 2 times, forgetting to turn the ABS off (when offroad) to convince them. Regarding ABS in general, it will be interesting to see what happens here in NZ with the law now stating that new or used bikes MUST have ABS in order to be road registered. There are some exemptions like classic bikes and "trail bikes" (which they are very vague about and sounds like it's more enduro bikes that need road registration for liaison stages more than dual-sports), but basically it means no more EXC500 and FE501's being used as ultimate light weight adventure bikes, and the Suzuki dealers were flogging their DR650 stock for dirt cheap to get rid of them before the law kicked in (1 Nov 2021). Hopefully re-registering my FE350 will be possible (as it was previously registered), and now that "plated dirt bikes" are a rarity, I may get a few more gold coins when I sell it 😅 Has SA moved to make ABS mandatory?

Yup, those pressures are on the Tubliss system, and as you stated, the Motoz tyres are pretty heavy duty. Once (pre-Tubliss) I got a front snakebite puncture riding some rocky back-country trails. The casing/sidewalls on the Motoz Tractionator Desert HT's (that I used to run) is so rigid and the Husky 350 is so light that I didn't notice the flat until I was back on tarmac and had to brake hard from 90kph down to 30kph to cross a one-lane bridge. I just about pooped myself when that tyre folded and squirmed. It was after that trip that I went Tubliss, and snakebite is one of the things they apparently reduce the risk of due to the high pressure inner chamber acting as a "bumper". They claim that one could end ride at 0Psi in the outter chamber in emergency situations, and I believe the hard enduro lads & lasses that run it (as opposed to mousses) run as low as 6Psi (0.4 Bar), terrain dependant. My only issues with them have been: Tricky to install when using with heavy-duty typres like the Motoz rallZ or Desert HT's (although still easier than wrestling lubed-up bib-mousses) Tricky to get seated/sealed properly if instructions aren't followed to the T.

Well, it came down to cost. that extra "E" in concreEte stands for "Extreme" and and everyone knows that if you call your product "Extreme" you can charge double for it (triple if it's just "Xtreme" and quadruple if you add "Factory" or "Team"). But yeah, next time I'll try the wood-block and sander trick or similar as well as mix it extra slushy!

with scenery like that, it's understandable that you have not felt the need to explore too far away. It also puts into perspective the decent percentage of Auckland born kiwis, who have also never ventured across the Cook Straight (or they have but only for Queenstown ski trips). With the beauty of the Hauraki Gulf and the convenience of a "big" city, and short drives into the countryside, it's pretty easy to be content in the AKL.

So after our little December road trip and my poor wife never hearing the end of how beautiful and amazing the South Island is, I decided to make a more concerted effort to notice the beauty in my Auckland suburban neighbourhood. After all, whilst I dream of living in Canterbury or Central Otago, I do realise that living there may dull the lustre one experiences while visiting such places. Here are some pics from a recent afternoon walk, appreciating the "good in the hood" Views from Kennedy Park Castor Bay Beach

Most of my "fun-money" purchases these days feature on the "Post Your Woodwork" thread, however a recent roadtrip down to Christchurch and Queenstown gave me a serious case of the fomos when seeing all the bling MTB's, riders cruising through the town for a bite to eat after a day on the trails, and not to mention the dozens of bike shops packed within less than 1km². So I bit and bought myself a Mons Royale merino wool top. The style is like 3 seasons old, but that means it was half price (65 NZD or approx. R680). I still can't justify full price, even if merino wool has magical properties. Now to actually get out on the bike while it's still summer 😅

Hahaha, that is lucky! I've been telling my wife I'll sell one of my Huskies for over 2yrs. For the most part she doesn't mind as it's my garage space that it chews up. The only time it comes up is when I complain that I don't have enough fun money for some silly extravagant purchase, then she'll remind me that I have a dirt bike gathering dust in the garage that I promised to sell 😅 Back to your 690 though, and your earlier mention of tyre pressure, are you considering putting a tubliss setup on it in stead of the rim locks (which I assume it has)? Although a pain to mount, I'm a huge fan of the tubliss system and you can run some really low tyre pressures (for dunes etc.). Better yet is if you have a 12V DC outlet on the dash to hookup one of those pocket compressors to, allowing you to fluctuate between 8 and 20 *Psi with relative ease. On my 450 with rally kit I run roughly the following pressures (when I remember to check and change, haha * forgive my use of imperial units. I used to work in Bar on my MTB, but with dirt bike tyres and the low pressures I find Psi a little easier.

Looking good! Do you know who makes the rally tower and screen on your bike? I ask because it looks very much like the one used on the 2014-18 KTM & Husky 450 Rally Replica's, but with a few distinct differences. My Husky runs the Nomad ADV kit which used the OEM KTM Rally part, which is good news should I need to replace, however, I prefer the angle of the screen on your bike (steeper), looks more like the 2019+ KTM's. Speaking of which, I'd love to do a Husky 701 with the newer Omega Rally kit, but sadly that's a little too rich for my blood Anyway, great bike you have there and many happy miles!

Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but we recently started watching The Great and are currently on Season 2 Loosely based on Catherine the Great, its witty, funny and very entertaining. Explicit language warning though.

Was pretty watchable. We did watch concurrently The Witcher, which does overshadow it by contrast. But still worth a watch.

Great pics! Looks like you got really close! I've only been to/through Kaikoura twice. Once pre-quake and once post. That drive in is pretty awesome (although not for the easily car-sick). Did you try some of the seafood whilst there?

Back in the office and procrastinating clearing my inbox, so I'd rather reminisce over the fleeting December break... This road-trip took roughly this route Christchurch > Dunedin > Riverton > Doubtful Sound > Queenstown > Christchurch Aaand some snaps... Old timey street in Oamaru Nugget Point (the Catlans) Random shop in Invercargill Dropping down towards Doubtful Sound (after ferry and bus ride) Cruising out on the sound (technically a fjord, but ya know) Kayaking in my socks Cant go past Lake Pukaki on a clear day and not stop for a pic! The entrance to Lyttelton harbour as seen from the Godley Head loop track. (FYI London Street Lyttelton is a pretty cool Saturday morning out). aaand the Christchurch Wizard's parking spot All-in-all, great holiday! Spent a fair amount of it in Christchurch. The city has transformed a lot since I lived there, we really enjoyed it... still working on convincing the wife to move 😅

After residing on my wish list for a while, but being almost impossible to find locally, I finally found and purchased a "Scott Brown hammer" Vaughan Dalluge 16Oz Titanium Framing Hammer. So far I've only used it for knocking some loose decking nails back into place, as well as tapping some drawer bottoms into dados (with a wood block to protect the drawer pieces of course. 16Oz is pretty light for a framing hammer. Most are 20-24Oz. The lighter head and simplistic handle makes it kinda versatile. One can choke up on it and use it for finer/finishing work. Or take advantage of the handles length and drive home framing nails with power. For a pro-sumer like myself though... I just like the "vintage ice climbing pick" look.

Well, Makita does make one, but its probably not available in most adult stores

Been squeezing in a different type of "woodwork"... this time a concrete form for the concreeeete counter-top (patent pending). Finally got to use the 3m rail to quickly knock up a simple box out of formply Then said form was placed onto the outdoor dining table (flattest, most level surface I could find), with a stern warning from my better half that the table better not be damaged. The plan was to mix up about 100kg of multi-crete in a big plastic tub, 20kg batches at a time. (pretty tiring!) spray the form with silicone as a releasing agent and hopefully the un-boxing will go smoothly. scoop in about 3/5 batches into the form, leveling out between and tapping the edges between each batch to release bubbles add reinforcement, in the form of 5mm mesh at 100mm centres (I didn't feel like using seats or convoluted suspending wires etc) fill in the remaining 2 batches, once again vibrating/tapping the form screed off the top gently float with a trowel cover with the tarp then wait! Although I do have delicate office-job hands, the hands in this picture are of the wife loading in the first spade-fulls of concrete mix. Filled, reinforced, screeded and some dodgy trowel-work. Fortunately this will be the underside of the counter-top and the top should (in theory) be smooth from the formply. After a couple of days it was time for the big reveal! (the underside) (the top side) Despite all my tapping (probably about 1hr total), there were still numerous voids caused by bubbles. Next time I may deviate from the concrete mixture directions (as I don't need the full 28 MPa strength) and water it down a little more. This mix only required 2L water per 20kg. I could go full slump test (which takes me back to university material science class, the last time I actually paid attention to concrete, haha) So to fix the voids, I made a slurry and worked it into the gaps. It was messy work, but it came out alright Then half a dozen coats of sealer... Free-handing some sketchy drip-grooves on the underside with the angle-grinder and a tile-cutting disk And finally, lifting the 100kg slap into place... All in all, and considering I have not mixed concrete since uni experiments 13 years ago, I think this turned out pretty well. Now I need to finish off the actual woodwork on this cabinet!

Do it! A number of places to rent Katooms from, then there's annual KTM Adventure Rally, and while you're at it, throw in a course (or private lesson) with the king of Katoom adventure bikes, Mr Chris Birch https://www.chrisbirch.co.nz/coaching/2015/9/10/adventure-coaching-clinic

Pester away! Hopefully the January 16th date for opening up a little more with Aus will hold. I've heard from an Aussie or 2 that fly fishing on the South Island is world class. I can also have a colleague that spent 3 months fly-fishing all over the South Island. He should have some good info.

Yeah, we we reinstated an existing manual door closer whilst waiting for the spindles on an automatically actuated one, so existing fasteners and hardware were used. And yeah, the guys have been pulling crazy hours. But yeah, a box of torx self tappers could have saved the day. Anyway, enough about doors... back onto bikes (and even Hairy-esque)... A couple of Kea's sitting on a Fat Boy overlooking the Southern Alps. (Kea's are the worlds only Alpine Parrot. Extremely smart, but naughty buggers. They like stealing the rubber linings from car windscreens etc. No doubt they're plotting something with that Harley).

Aaah, the old slotted screws... in brass... 'tis a brave man/woman that attempts to firmly tighten those. *side note regarding fasteners: this past weekend we were commissioning 2 negative pressure paediatric ICU rooms. After having rapidly (4 weeks) building CDC grade HEPA filtered air extract plant rooms, all the engineering, construction, controls programming, blood, sweat and tears involved, it was 2 stupid little screws on a door closer that nearly did us in. If the door doesn't close properly, the room doesn't seal and can't achieve negative pressure. and the 2 silly little phillips screws fastening the closer to the frame had stripped heads so we couldn't reposition the closer arm. TWO EFFING SCREWS!

You'll have to upgrade to one of those family sized tens with the various rooms... just for the next 5 or so years, then the kids can be in their own tent and you can dust off the 2x2m My dirt-bike adventure tent only weight 1.8kg, but is like a coffin. I basiclly end up spooning my backpack and boots. Then we have the "car-camping" tent which is a monstrous overkill, with separate rooms etc, but it takes up most of the car boot, and I don't think it's worth pitching for anything less than 3 days. So the middle-ground is a Quechua pop-up tent from Decathlon. So quick to put up (2 seconds according to the name. Realistically about 3min including pegs). Pretty spacious (2.85m x 2.3m, but may still be a little tight for a family of 4), and it has a black-out/reflective coating, so stays cooler in the heat, and doesn't wake light-sensitive sleepers up at the crack of dawn. Only downside is it's odd shape. Can highly recommend though! https://www.decathlon.com/collections/camping-tents/products/camping-tent-2-seconds-3-person-fresh-and-dark?variant=39370553557054 The tribe has spoken! I'm sure many memorable summer memories will be had in said spa-pool! One of the things I'm really looking forward to (weather dependant) is an overnight cruise in Doubtful Sound. I've done Milford Sound a couple of times (never had brilliant weather though), but I believe Doubtful Sound is supposed to be better... just harder to access... or maybe people just say it's better to justify the hassle of accessing it.

Love how the Herald makes this seem like some form of refugee exodus Isn't this the scene nearly every year?! Aucklanders are like the Vaalies of NZ... only difference being is that Vaalies are landlocked so their obsession with the seaside is understandable 😅 *said as both an ex-Vaalie and a current Aucklander* But anyway, who here is planning their escape from Aukkies this holiday season? It's South Island for us! Fly to Chch then road trip our way down to Fjordland and Southland.

Sure! I'll be going away in a little over a week. If you could "acquire" my Husky FE350 enduro bike, you'd be doing me a great service... ...I've been meaning to sell the damn thing, but get lethargic every time I think about the schlep to get it road registered again.

I live in a house without a front gate. I often forget to lock the car (which parks in the driveway) or sometimes even the front door. Once (while away over a long weekend) some contractors forgot to close my garage properly when leaving the property, exposing it and it's contents (bicycles, dirt bikes, tools etc) to the street and any passers by for 3 days. To date I have not had any incidents *touch wood*... BUT like many ex-pats on here have said, bike-crime seems to be somewhat "acceptable" (or at least tolerated) in even the most law-abiding countries. One often sees "STOLEN" posts on the New Zealand MTB sales pages. I'm note sure why this mentality exists? Is bicycle crime a little more "innocent" in the criminal's eyes? I'd bet that most bike thieves here would not steal a car, but in NZ many cyclists have bikes worth more than their cars, so value cannot be the justification. Maybe the punishment doesn't quite match the crime? Who knows?!

Just over 2 weeks until Dakar kicks off. Gonna be interesting to see if KTM can get top spot again after honda marred their 18yr record with 2 back-to-back wins. They have a strong team with Mathias and Toby, plus bribing over last years winner Kevin Benavides to ride for the big-money team. I'm also intrigued to see how Sam Sunderland goes on the GasGas (essentially a KTM), as he leads that team. Wonder how Pablo Quintanilla is going to do on the red machines. I was bummeb when he parted Husky and I was so hoping he'd take a win with them, one of these years. But yeah, such is life!