patches

I run the Tubliss system on my Huskies and its great! For those who don't know, it's similar to Schwalbe's Procore system with a high pressure bead-lock chamber and a low pressure outer chamber. Now as bigger adventure bikes typically don't run 21F/18R wheel sizes, the full Tubliss system may not be an option... ...however, when installing the system, one is required to seal up the spoke holes on the rim with the provided tape and specified methodology. This tape is available on its own, so may be a good bet for the conversion you're thinking of. Just bear in mind that without a beadlock system (like Rimlock or Tubliss) low pressures may have the tyre shifting round the rim. https://www.acesports.co.za/collections/tubliss/products/nuetech-tubliss-rim-tape https://www.acesports.co.za/collections/tubliss

Yeah, non-KTM & Husky factory teams like to produce bikes solely for their sponsored riders. KTM and Husky seem to be about the only ones where anyone (with enough money) can jump onto the list and if they're lucky enough, can snap up one of the 70-odd bikes released each yeah. Heck if Honda, Yamaha and heck, even Hero sold rally replicas, I'd be keen. Here's the factory Hero rally bike... and this is the closest to it one can get from their production line... pretty far stretch! At least the Honda CRF450 and Yamaha WR450F form the rough basis of their rally bikes. As for the weight, that's an interesting one, because they're not as heavy as one would think. A KTM450 Rally Replica is just under 140kg dry (so lighter than a Honda CRF 300 Rally. The Honda 450 Rally is around 180kg wet (so 150-ish dry), and the Yamaha tips the scales at 142kg dry... all of which are not too bad in my books. It's the 30+ litres of fuel that are killer. Yeah good point, I didn't take into account the seat height, and some people's struggle with the tall enduro bikes. As for seat options, there is the Seat Concepts Low Comfort option for Huskies. That's drop the height by about 15mm. I run the regular Seat Concepts comfort on my 450 and love it! So much more comfortable than the OEM. I bought the kit and used the OEM pan and just re-foamed and upholstered myself. Took about 45min.

I've always liked the look of the Honda 250 (and now 300) rally. However the part that has always put me off is that the "go" doesn't match the "show". (both on paper and from reviews I've watched or read, they're a little pap). eg. (not apples and apples comparison, but it's my point of reference) Honda CRF300 Rally: 130kW/tonne My 2015 Husky FE350 with Long Range Tank & Rally Kit: 264kW/tonne My 2016 Husky FE450 with same setup as above: 300kW/tonne So even a rally kitted Husky FE250 would have around a 70% increase in power-to-weight over the Honda CRF300 Rally. I know for Itchy, touring and longevity are the aim but Adam Reiman and Aaron Steinmann have both proven that a KTM 500 EXC-F is a pretty reliable machine (Steinmann doing over 140,000km on his in just 3 years), and would weight less and has more than double the power of the CRF Rally. So maybe it's a question of budget... but then in the grand scheme of things, a few thousand extra on a better bike for an intercontinental motorcycle adventure is easily justifiable and almost negligible. Or it's a question of maintenance intervals, in which case it's proven that the intervals can be stretched, and changing oil is a 15min job. Anyway, easy for me to comment when its not me planning such an adventure 😅 If only Honda merged the 300 Rally and 450L to make a down-tuned, publicly available, and more affordable version of their Dakar bike. When they (or Yamaha) make THAT bike, I may be swayed away from the Austrians.

I miss my little panel van (Citroen Berlingo). Had two Saris Traps Triple racks which hold the bikes securely in an array of configurations. I could comfortably fit 4 of my bikes in... unless the pupper decided she wanted to come along for the ride One day I'll have a van again... one day! But yeah, congrats and many happy miles! Any cool fit-out ideas planned?

A fair amount of working with wood was the order this weekend. Whether it took the form of chopping wood for the pizza oven... Or making brackets from offcuts to store the 3m guide rail... or continuing work on the outdoor kitchen bench... (Cabinet internals installed. It was a slog adding the 4 coats of marine varnish, each requiring 6hrs dry time between. Not fun!) (Outer cladding added. It's 18mm ply with 3 coats of Dulux Weathershield . Was going to use marine grade hoop-pine, but at over $300/sheet, I took my chances on the Weathershield). (The rough idea) So yeah, busy weekend. Next steps will be making drawers and doors, then trying my hand at casting a concrete (or "concreete" as they say in the biz) countertop.

That's the plan! and with average house prices in Auckland being about $1.3m (R14m equiv.), a bigger house might require a move to the South Island (my not-so-secret agenda) ???? Side Note: Last year Feb we went and looked at a 4ha plot of land about 45min from Queenstown. The vendor had built a new 250sqm garage/workshop on it and had architectural plans, services and foundations in place for the main house, but decided to sell before building. The garage had a bathroom so was habitable while one is constructing. They were asking around $450k. I was sold! The wife, less so. I'll convince her yet!

Black Friday sales got the better of me and I ended up with one of the big-boy rails... At 3m it would have been perfect for all the sheets of ply I was breaking down last week... haha oh well, it's here for next time. Now I just need to find somewhere to store it in my already cluttered garage. Might try do something like this, one of my garage doors is juuust wide enough.

A couple of years ago I did one of the RideForever day-long rider instruction courses and the instructor had half a dozen Cardo PackTalks to lend out to each participant. They were great, and an awesome way to learn with the instructor giving instant advice and feedback whilst on the ride. Shortly after I bought the integrated intercom unit (by Sena) for my Nexx helmet, with a cable adaptor so I can use my in-ears in stead of the speakers. Works pretty well... ...for music and phone calls anyway.... I have no friends to talk to while I ride, hahaha But yeah, I believe the Cardo's are better all round to the Sena's. Nexx X.Wed adventure helmet with integrated spaces for their proprietary X.Com system. I run the helmet with goggles instead of a visor (because it looks cooler ???? and from what I have heard when answering calls, the sound quality is still pretty decent.

Stop it! I know it's not blue and yellow, but I'd "settle" for that

Funny how things work... A while ago I was working for the breweries and you were working in healthcare, now it's the other way around. I still miss the utilities & process engineering side of things, and would seriously consider getting back into it. It would be interesting to know the difference in scale between the SA industry (obviously dominated by SAB/AB-Inbev) and NZ. Like SAB were building "starter" breweries in smaller African countries like Botwswana and Namibia, and a "starter" brewery was 500,000 HL/year. I think The bigger breweries in SA (Alrode and Rosslyn) are over 6 million HL/year, if I recall correctly. Anyway, best of luck in the new role, and if you ever need some Saffers with experience working for the breweries, I know of at least 3 who made it over to Auckland

Concreete is what one gets when they get too carried away on the keyboard. Glad to see I'm not the only offender...

Measure twice, cut once, the old saying goes. In my latest project, I measured once, committed that measurement to memory (in stead of writing it down), fished it out of the memory bank a day or so later to do some mind-maths on it, then used it (the most critical measurement of all), to design and construct the framework for an outdoor kitchen counter. Needless to say, I got the measurement wrong and the whole thing is about 100mm short, hahaha *face palm* Fortunately I caught it now, before I start prepping for a concrete counter-top pour, Anyway, here's where it's at... Decided to design this one in Fusion360 (not my 1st language, quick and easy, AutoCAD). Why Fusion360, partly to keep my skills sharp, partly for the ease at which it creates drawings and BOQ's (or in my case, "cut-lists", based on the way I named the parts in the assembly) Here's the back view of the bench (hence the obstructive cross brace). This is just the frame, and the finished unit will be clad with marine-ply and have cupboard doors etc. Braai base is for a Weber Q3200 (which I have to "convert" into bench mountable). The Weber will be sitting on Hardie Board (fibre cement sheets) to protect the wood from the heat. The concrete counter top will be cast in place using the Z-form system (plastic "snap-away" forms, eliminating the need for extensive building). The frame is built from 90x45mm (two-by-four) H3.2 treated structural timber (currently the rare stuff here in NZ), and fixed together the quickest and easiest way... 90mm galv framing nails in a nail gun. So freakin easy! It will also sit on 4x lockable casters. I think I went a bit overboard on the frame design, concerned with my calculated concrete weight of around 100kg (another reason I want to cast in situ). I am likely going to remove the cross brace from the construction, even though it is there to prevent racking, so far this thing feels super solid! Anyway, with about 2hrs of messing about in Fusion 360, I produced a cut-list, took a pic with my phone (no printer at home) and hit the mitre saw... Then after about 30min of cutting and another 45min of assembling, there was this... something that resembles a dodgy soap-box cart You can see the Weber that needs "converting" in the background. Still need to add the outer legs to transfer top load down to bottom beam (taking load off nails). Also adding adjustable rubber feet on outer corners to add stability when cart is stationary, as casters are pretty close together (to keep them invisible within the cladding) and cart rocks front-to-back. And here you can see where I built it about 100mm short... The plan is for it to fit pretty snugly between those 2 rear uprights (even with the 18mm ply cladding and 35mm counter-top overhang) I have an idea or 2 for a fix, so will extend it out by about 90mm for a better fit. So once again, measure twice... cut once.

I know it's part of the retro appeal and all, but those forks look super el-cheapo with the spindley chrome uppers and gaiters. They remind me of these bad boys found on Makro bikes and the like, haha

If you're referring to Michael Alm's work, then yeah! Some amazing pieces, and great videos too! So much table sawing So much patience So much glue! haha!

Once upon a time I had 5 Morewoods... at once. In total I had 7 of the beauties (2x Izimu, 2x Ndiza, 1x Makulu, 1x Sukuma and 1x "Zuliza 4X prototype). When I moved to NZ I had grand plans to bring 3 of them across. 2 made it over. Only 1 remains. There are very few brands I have been passionate about. Morewood was one of them. It's kinda sad how they faded out. I know business decision, key people parting ways, and (in my mind at least) the slow uptake of 27.5" for trail & enduro bikes, led them down that path. But yeah, most of my best cycling memories were on a Morewood bike, and I'll always keep my little "Zuliza" 4X prototype (only 2 in existence). My little van packed full of Morewood The Makulu covered in mud on a French & Swiss alps downhill trip The Zuliza prototype (L) and my attempt at custom graphics on the Sukuma (R) The purple peril! (Ndiza No. 2) And of course, Scout Hall dirt jump sessions, Friday after work (on Ndiza No. 1). A few years on and I don't get much airtime anymore, haha Thanks for this thread taking me on a little trip down memory lane and thanks to Morewood for making some amazing proudly South African bikes!...

As I don't have a 3m rail (yet) I had to do a slightly sketchy setup to trim all the legs to even lengths and a 13deg angle. The rail square was a life saver. Neat feet! Then it was time to peanut the top and frame Assemble, apply a coat of Briwax, and... Tadaah!

Troy Lee Sprint pants are pretty good. Bicycle specific, so lighter and breezier than MX pants. I have a pair that I bought for slow techy stuff on the dirt bike and they are super comfy, they just don't like hot exhausts ????

That would be Marc Spagnuolo (the Wood Whisperer). He has kids, haha!

Yeah, the portable little Bora Centipede bench I have does not like lateral movement at all. Even sanding and routing have it shifting slightly. I did recently come into possession of an older Festool MFT (funny story in and of itself which I will share below), although the MFT will be a step up from the Bora, I have heard they are pretty shifty. Whilst it won't quite be a roubo and nearly not as elegant as your creations, I do plan on building the MFT into more of a workstation/cart to store systainers, shop vac, etc below. Something like this, but with my own take on the functionality based on my tools and needs. Folding up the spindly legs with stop blocks under MFT to prevent shifting, and getting some decent stopping for the base (maybe more of the Rockler type wheels that lift up, as opposed to locking casters). I thought of making it a height that allows for the MFT to be half propped off the side if one needs more workspace. The lower section should offer a more comfortable height for hand-tool operations. I've heard the rough guideline for benches is something like: Handtools: level with knuckles/mid fingers, when standing with arms at side Powertools: level with wrists, when standing with arms at side I also plan to get a new MFT top CNC'd out of Valchromat (fancy colourful MDF), as the one on my MFT has seen better days and the dog holes are a little loose. I'm working on a design that allows for angles from 0-100deg (from either side of the bench) in 1 degree increments by either angling the rail in 5 degree increments (magenta holes), finer tuning by angling work piece from 1-4deg (cyan holes) or super fine tuning by using the slots and a locking type dog. So, as for how I came into an MFT by mistake... There was an MFT 1080 (bench only) on $1 reserve auction. I often add things like that to my watch-list, out of curiosity. I barely ever buy. Anyway, the app sends a notification 5min before the auction closes. I was on the "thinking-seat" when the notification came through, and somehow between trying to unlock my phone by pin code because the face recognition was having hick-ups, then the face recognition kicking in and me accidentally clicking on the "BID" for the app and raised the previous bid by the min ($5), I suddenly found myself winning the auction. (true story, not just the one I tell my wife). Bids are legally binding and cannot be retracted without the seller's involvement. For the next 5min I was sweating bullets, hoping the other bidders would come to the party and beat me. To my dismay they did not, and I left the think-tank with a slightly sick feeling. Anyway, over the next day or so I looked for opportunities to turn my buyers-remorse into excitement, and I think my mishap was actually a blessing in disguise ????

Ummm... I don't know how to admit this, but despite my apparent addition to arming my weeked-warrior self with all manner of tools, a hand-plane has yet to find its way into my garage ???? hahaha It's not that I'm anti them, I'm just more easily distracted by things that go whirrr and buzzz, hahaha. But yeah, at the very least I have a block plane and jack plane on my procurement list. @carrera4s undoubtedly has some sage advice on handplane essentials uses etc. Also, having almost no handplane experience (apart from as a kid when my father told me never to store them sole down, which I believe is now a myth), how well do they perform on ply? I have heard that planes and end-grain don't always like each other and every alternate layer of the play would be end-grain. As for angling the router, by little Makita trim router has an angled base, but I fear I would either stuff it up relying solely on that, or the creation of a fool-proof jig would be so time consuming I may as well but a dedicated bit like this: Another option (if I didn't have the rounded corners) would be a simple table saw jig to safely cut boards in the vertical. Chris Salamone does this faily often. Something like this. Something to try on the next one! Thanks! As for timber shortages, they're still an issue, but it's mostly construction lumber. This project was made from off-the-shelf "decorative" ply. The kinda stuff the big hardware stores sell for people to attach make shelves out of or attach some table legs to. As for wastage, it wasn't too bad. I uses 2 sheets of 2200L x 600W x 25 thick oak veneered ply (@ $80 each). I laid out the cutting in AutoCAD first and got the top on 1 sheet with some usable-sized off-cuts and all base pieces out of the other sheet. So $160 (excluding fasteners, finish and time) for a 1800mm long bench, is not too bad... provided it doesn't fall apart, haha!

Yeah I did initially plan a bigger bevel, perhaps at a shallower angle too, but that would require a specialist router bit. The bench top is only 350mm wide and, with the base being 300mm. So a 20mm chamfer only leaves a 5mm reveal on the underside. Think I'm currently at 15mm. I may push it another few mm.

With limited weekend entertainment options available, I embarked on another mini-project. Modelled up a simple design, based on 25mm thick oak veneered ply, mitres and peanut connectors. Brought the ply sheets into the study to do the set-out of the parts. Cutting on the straight set-out lines, perfect job for the track saw. Curves cut roughly with the jigsaw. Knocked templates for the various curves, out of 6mm MDF, and routed with a pattern bit. Flipped the router upside down to create a make-shift router table for routing curves on smaller pieces, After cutting the Peanuts, chamfering some bevels, adding some round-overs, sanding and dry fitting. It was time to do the glue up. Next steps are to is to burl the mitres closed and add finish and rubber feet. Then hopefully it'll hold 2-3 adults ????

@Hairy tuck like Toby KTM 500 EXC-F (albeit well tuned), averaging over 120kph across a 480km round trip in the Finke desert race.

Google Photos just came up and reminded me of some South Island solo-adventuring I did 4 years ago... And of course when i was a little too optimistic about riding down a flooded trail, which only got deeper and deeper and siltier and siltier, until I nearly drowned the bike.

Technically a work-related purchase. It would be a waste if was riding related, as I already have 2 GoPro's gathering dust due to the fact that filming my riding only reminds me how unremarkable my skills are ???? The idea is that I wear it on my hard-hat and walk around my construction sites (3 currently on the go at the hospital) to capture daily progress and create a 360 degree environment for raising issues, health & safety, coordination and snag listing. The platform I use (Openspace.ai) uses a super-smart algorithm to turn a passively captured 360 video into a stitched 360 photo environment automatically aligned to the floorplans. The green is the route I walked, capturing the better part of a ward in under 5min. Anyway, enough about work, I believe the Insta360's have some awesome cycling related uses, as Matt Jones demonstrates