Is motorcycling allowed?

[mazambaan]

3 hours ago, patches said:

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.

 

Agree and I think a big factor may well have been the seat height (and she mentioned service intervals). If you are under 1.8m standard 500/501, even the 701 is a bit of a challenge, particularly with luggages.  I am considering getting my 501 lowered and I am 1.78m. No so much to get on and off but to paddle in the technical (to me) bits.

The Honda Dakar bike is unobtanium as I understand it, much more so than even the KTM etc Rally Replicas and I heard a podcast with Chris Evans (long history with the Dakar) where he said he thought they were slightly better than even the factory KTMs. The real rally bikes are quite heavy and built for rally; very stable and reliable at speed over rough terrain, elsewhere maybe a handful; not that I have ridden one.

[Hairy]

3 minutes ago, mazambaan said:

Agree and I think a big factor may well have been the seat height (and she mentioned service intervals). If you are under 1.8m standard 500/501, even the 701 is a bit of a challenge, particularly with luggages.  I am considering getting my 501 lowered and I am 1.78m. No so much to get on and off but to paddle in the technical (to me) bits.

The Honda Dakar bike is unobtanium as I understand it, much more so than even the KTM etc Rally Replicas and I heard a podcast with Chris Evans (long history with the Dakar) where he said he thought they were slightly better than even the factory KTMs. The real rally bikes are quite heavy and built for rally; very stable and reliable at speed over rough terrain, elsewhere maybe a handful; not that I have ridden one.

Do you not have an option of a lowered seat before you lower the suspension?

[patches]

9 minutes ago, mazambaan said:

The Honda Dakar bike is unobtanium as I understand it, much more so than even the KTM etc Rally Replicas and I heard a podcast with Chris Evans (long history with the Dakar) where he said he thought they were slightly better than even the factory KTMs. The real rally bikes are quite heavy and built for rally; very stable and reliable at speed over rough terrain, elsewhere maybe a handful; not that I have ridden one.

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.

9 minutes ago, mazambaan said:

Agree and I think a big factor may well have been the seat height (and she mentioned service intervals). If you are under 1.8m standard 500/501, even the 701 is a bit of a challenge, particularly with luggages.  I am considering getting my 501 lowered and I am 1.78m. No so much to get on and off but to paddle in the technical (to me) bits.

4 minutes ago, Hairy said:

Do you not have an option of a lowered seat before you lower the suspension?

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.

 

[Andrew_Smith]

Beautiful Paarl Nature Reserve. Sadly the roads got some heavy damage due to the rain, resulting in some very technical terrain. It was quite a daunting experience for me. Nonetheless a good day on the bike with some bruised egos.

 

 

Edited December 6, 2021 by Andrew_Smith

[Hairy]

Those spoked BMW rims are really sexy
 

 

[IceCreamMan]

19 minutes ago, Hairy said:

Those spoked BMW rims are really sexy
 

 

I prefer spoke wheels on an adventure kinda bike. Just looks hornier. 
 

my Vstrom from 2002 had mag wheels, rode all over Southern Africa on it, never had an issue with smileys or anything so they were robust enough but spokes would have looked so much cooler. 

Edited December 7, 2021 by IceCreamMan

[Thug]

Do those spoked Adventure bike rims use tubes or not?

My Triumph has spoked rims but uses tubes.

I'm going to investigate the conversion to tubeless which seems to have been successfully done

[IceCreamMan]

9 minutes ago, Thug said:

Do those spoked Adventure bike rims use tubes or not?

My Triumph has spoked rims but uses tubes.

I'm going to investigate the conversion to tubeless which seems to have been successfully done

GS is tubeless. Most spoked wheels now are tubeless I believe on big adventure bikes, 

 

worth converting I reckon. And it’s simple enough to do too. You going to use tubeless tyres anyway might was well save the rolling mass of tubes. And I guess tubes increase heat which is not a good thing either. 

Edited December 7, 2021 by IceCreamMan

[Hairy]

They may as well make all new spoked rims tubeless, just makes sense. You can always default to a tube if the poo poo really hits the fan on the tyre and you need a gator and tube to get out of the bush at a limp?

[Thug]

3M make a tape that has been successfully used.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40068325/

Just a question of making sure the spokes have some type of thread locker on them and that the ends are nice and smooth.

[Hairy]

awesome couple of ladies

 

[Spokey]

The Big Orange enjoyed a quick jol to Swartburg Pass at the weekend. Was nice to get out. So much rain in the Garden Route over the last 2 weeks. I had an unscheduled few days at home with the aeroplane in maintenance and only took the Katoom out. Road bikes stayed well wrapped up against the weather! The last pic is the Lategansvlei road, the turn off is just passed the Swartburg Private Game Lodge on the road to Kruisrivier from Kobus se Gat at the foot of the Swartburg Pass. I forgot what a lekker ride that is. Narrow and winding through the hills over low drift river crossings…..then opening out to a wide fast road where the Orange exercised her “ponies” at a fair gallop!

[patches]

14 hours ago, Thug said:

Do those spoked Adventure bike rims use tubes or not?

My Triumph has spoked rims but uses tubes.

I'm going to investigate the conversion to tubeless which seems to have been successfully done

 

14 hours ago, IceCreamMan said:

GS is tubeless. Most spoked wheels now are tubeless I believe on big adventure bikes, 

 

worth converting I reckon. And it’s simple enough to do too. You going to use tubeless tyres anyway might was well save the rolling mass of tubes. And I guess tubes increase heat which is not a good thing either. 

 

13 hours ago, Thug said:

3M make a tape that has been successfully used.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40068325/

Just a question of making sure the spokes have some type of thread locker on them and that the ends are nice and smooth.

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

[Thug]

This system seems to be a popular option.

http://www.outex.jp/tubelesskitenglishlist.htm

 

[mazambaan]

Tubliss is a reasonable option if you run lower pressures and do not want to risk a pinch flat on the tube IMHO. I run hot and cold on it and still have a front wheel set up in my roof (figuring the front to be the most likely victim) and should fit it. Only slight downside is if a nail, thorn, wire etc punctures the bladder (more likely on an adventure bike than enduro, particularly in Africa I think) so you still need a tube, levers etc.

[GrahamS2]

On 12/7/2021 at 8:56 PM, Thug said:

3M make a tape that has been successfully used.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40068325/

Just a question of making sure the spokes have some type of thread locker on them and that the ends are nice and smooth.

Quite a few guys I know have done it by painting bakkie liner instead of tape. Much tougher too.