Andrew_Smith

If I may add to this, I wish my bike's brake light would go on when I roll of the throttle (the newer bikes probably has the feature).

That inline-four sounds beautiful!

Nice @Hairy You don't see a lot of Moto Guzzi bikes out in the wild. So will definitely be unique.

@Hairy harley.mp4

Thanks, I need to work on my off-road skills to fully experience the potential of this bike because it is way more capable than the rider. Need to watch my Chris Birch Say No To Slow videos... I took it to MP since he last serviced the shock, also it was ordered from them originally since the G650X comes stock with a lumpy air shock. The shock is sadly in a bad condition, leaking oil and not keeping pressure, so a complete overhaul needs to be done. I presume there is another place other than MP that works on C2P shocks as well?

Biked stripped thanks to my good friend giving me a hand and shock dropped off at MP Suspension this morning. Hopefully it won't be too long of a wait... Eager to go do a long trip. The bike was surprisingly easy to work on to remove the shock.

I use the app Fuelio to keep track of my fuel consumption and the maintenance cost of the bike. I average 4L/100km (combination of urban + open road). So not complaining about that at all. I also weigh nothing, which also helps with fuel consumption.

9.5L tank, this is due to the bike being so light - wet weight of 156kg. Haha, well this is basically a glorified scrambler that is roadworthy, typical veld bike. Won't be so smooth as your boxer engine from the 1200/1250GS.

Some moments from the weekend, a short trip to Paarl and back, searching for the gravel backroads.

@Spokey you are truly blessed to have the best of both worlds but you deserve it since you use them for what they are meant for! I must surely get out there with my G650X. Sadly I need first to do a shock overhaul, see it started leaking (lack of maintenance sadly). Will stop at Martin (MP Suspension) since it is one of his shocks to get it sorted. How do you find the vibrations and wind on your 690? My Beemer vibrations over 120kph get a bit uncomfortable, so it is a bit tricky to keep at a higher cruising speed but then again I am being a bit unfair to the bike - highway cruising wasn't the main focal point when they designed this bike. The range on yours? If I don't ride like an idiot, I will probably get 200km on my tank. I see you have the trusty Desert Fox cells attached to your bike. You are lucky to have such nice dirt roads/scenery right on your doorstep. Here in Durbanville, you should head quite out in search of some gravel - which means a lot of highway/tar riding to get there.

Balls of steel. Hats off to these riders - different breed of humans completely.

If someone fancies restoring the DR800: http://www.wilddog.za.net/forum/index.php?topic=266289.0

Saw it over on the Wild Dog Forum: https://www.ktm.com/en-fi/brabus-1300-r.html This will be interesting.

Sadly you need a permit which you get outside of the camping grounds. That was the first question we asked since we arrived, we wanted to take a dip in the dam - we had our swimming pants in the tank bag/top boxes.

Only a day trip, for now, the plan is to stay over at nice green camping ground with the bikes. Still a work-in-progress organising it, since everyone is busy most weekends.

📍Wemmershoek

Ouch, it is for that reason I always try and wear full gear.

Don't know the Cape so well, rarely come to that side of the world but close to Cecilia Table Mountain side?

Selling my jacket for those that might be interested. Should work perfect for the missus as well, since I am on the smaller side of things. Arlen Ness Mesh Textile Jacket (Small) http://www.wilddog.za.net/forum/index.php?topic=265442.msg4781571#msg4781571

True, leather is the best protection hands down. I wouldn't mind the Club Leather Jacket from BMW later on: http://www.bavarianmc.co.za/online-shop/rider-gear/jackets/club-leather-jacket-men-18358 I invested in the BMW Rallye Suit and I feel 'safer' while travelling on the highway or going off-road. I might be mistaken but the armour in the pants and jacket is CE2 rated.

Glad everyone is OK (and for wearing gear), things can quickly go wrong on motorcycling, they are not forgiving at all. This is something I hope to never come across on our WhatsApp group of friends, see one of our mates on the side of the road. Keep safe out there. On my first crash (wasn't a driver's fault - wet tar or oil on the road) going around a circle, I just realised yet again how quickly an accident can happen.

Proper beast that, enjoy!

The best medicine!