Abel
Pack Dog
fantastic
A spoon of cement with your Richtersveld?
- Thread starter Kamanya
- Start date
Brakenjan
Race Dog
Great stuff A, thanks :thumleft: :thumleft:
Can't wait to do a bit of riding over there :ricky:
Can't wait to do a bit of riding over there :ricky:
oo7
Race Dog
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What a place!
Cool report Mr Kamanya - and good job with the videos - smooth operator 8)
Cool report Mr Kamanya - and good job with the videos - smooth operator 8)
JustBendIt
Grey Hound
Excellent fantastic amazing report Andrew !!!
I have thoroughly enjoyed every word, pic and video - even though I was there for it
Keep it coming
I think your new name should be Dr Forsythe Spielberg ........
I have thoroughly enjoyed every word, pic and video - even though I was there for it
Keep it coming
I think your new name should be Dr Forsythe Spielberg ........
Slaaiblaar
Race Dog
Julle maak my mal...sit hier by die werk en lees te lekker.
IS DIT n ROOI vuvuzela agter op die een bike?
IS DIT n ROOI vuvuzela agter op die een bike?
N[]vA said:Always a joy to read these reports, nice one Andrew
eeeeeish fok those videos make me miss the 990 :-\
Haha funny I was also going to say watching those vids almost makes me want to buy a KTM but then I controlled myself :imaposer:
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Slaaiblaar said:
Of Course!
Patriotism knew no bounds!
![N[]vA](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/39fc70600d70a0afa40b682c3a695dc0?s=96){kind=avatar}
N[]vA
Grey Hound
I'v never been very good at controling myselfRynet said:N[]vA said:Always a joy to read these reports, nice one Andrew
eeeeeish fok those videos make me miss the 990 :-\
Haha funny I was also going to say watching those vids almost makes me want to buy a KTM but then I controlled myself :imaposer:
Ama ride ride
Grey Hound
Cool RR Kam and friends. :thumleft:
And now you switched on my memory lane build in DVD series in my head.
And now you switched on my memory lane build in DVD series in my head.
TerrorSA
Race Dog
Enjoyed watching the videos, thanks :thumleft:
fat b
Race Dog
Flippen nice RR ! That KTM of yours is really a great looking bike ! Best looking KTM I have ever seen ! And man you know how to ride her ! That sand will have me concentrating so much I would not really see any scenery ! You lucky dog that you can ride and observe ! Respect :thumleft:
- Joined
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Next up, the last instalment, my trip home...
Video 5 is a bit self indulgent, but I think it has some of the better footage from some unique angles. Starts slow and gets quicker and quicker.
I have been burning to ride up a river bed in 5 Mylpoort a few k’s from the South African border post at Vioolsdrif. It starts in the poort then snakes its way up a big valley and seemed to pop out on the plain north of Steinkopf. Google Earth seemed to show promise that it was possible. The only issue would be if it was navigable then once out of it, getting out of the fenced area bordering the N7.
I told people where I was going and what time to expect a call in case it all went a bit wrong and then headed off. I was right, there is a faint trail of sorts, it has some serious challenges as far as sand go. But other than that it was very special to be alone.
I enjoy riding in groups, but, also find solo stuff just as rewarding. There are some serious risks to riding solo, especially when the terrain is difficult and remote. I am reminded of a really wise piece of advice by a rider called Riceless on ADVrider.com “on a bike, you can cover in 10 minutes what will take you a day to walk”. I have come to trust my bike and its competencies, I enjoy the ability it has to take me to some of the more remote and beautiful parts in a certain style. When on my own I also ride well within my abilities and try to suppress the pull of the inner hooligan.
This next few days were to be a great example of the kind of solo that I really like.
Diving off the N7 into the river bed, it was great to see that there was a bit of a track. This still didn’t mean that I was home safe as the route I wanted would take a left up one of the tributaries later in the valley.
At a certain point at the part of the river bed that I was most concerned about when scouting by Google Earth, I had by coincidence an acoustic guitarists’ take on an aboriginal initiation playing in my ipod. His name is Tommy Emmanuel do yourself a favour and Youtube his highest viewed stuff – (Angelina and Amazing Grace).
[flash=480,385]https://www.youtube.com/v/OxKjg6Yy23Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&[/flash]
Anyway, the invite to stop and do a bit of listening to the earth and the past and pay some respect seemed perfect.
My perch whilst doing this....
There are some amazing amphitheatres along the way that would serve up a great concert venue or tented camp.
This is where the road pops out.
I got some good footage from mounting the camera here. I am amazed at how much work those shocks put in. There is a risk mounting it here, but hell, it only toys. You can see on the video I did misjudge some of the flora.
From Springbok, Hondeklip Baai was the destination, so after a quick refuel and as it was getting a bit chilly a few more items of clothing on,
I dived off the N7 just after Springbok and headed to Soebatsfontein along a magic road that I was nearly tempted to turn around and do twice, just because it was so much fun. It has the rare combination of surface and corners that are just right for a 950.
The big LC8’s even when loaded are very stable. They’ve got the combination of excellent suspension and addictive power delivery just right and long may they continue to keep it that way. This bit of road was an hours worth of corners and straights that were just perfect for this bike.
It was over and over again; jump on the brakes, kick down a gear or two, dial a little more front brake to load off the back more, use compression and dab of back brake to bring the back around a bit, slide in, see the apex, look through to judge the options, feed the power in trying to keep the angle, aim for the next corner leaving the last one signed with some LC8 abstract art. Nothing was over cooked, it was stunning. The massive cold front had been and gone and the road was just the right amount of damp.
It was only once I was nearly through it all that I remembered to fit my video camera back onto the bike. As mentioned, if it wasn’t getting so late, I was sorely tempted to turn around and do it again.
Oh well, one day I’ll have an excuse to go back there again.
I was racing the sun, Sadly, within 28k’s of the bay, I came across a locked gate. On the maps it is a public road.
Nothing for it but to back track 40 k’s. Not a bad 40k’s though.
I had no idea where I was going to sleep. The prospect of a tent was not my idea of fun. At one prospective place, a moments inattention to the perils of letting a big dual sport past its balance point caught me out.
At last,
The winner for the evening was the Honnehok.
File stolen from the web somewhere.
Attie was more than welcoming. There were two guys on Suzuki DZ’s with girlfriends driving backup that I had a chin wag with...
...before I headed over to the restaurant.
The Fishermans restaurant only serves one meal unless pre-ordered a few days in advance. Tonight, as most nights, it was fish and chips with home backed bread.
I am not a fan of fish and even less of snoek. My luck was not running and snoek it was.
Well, I have never tasted snoek so good, I was amazed that I enjoyed it. I sent an SMS to my wife about the event so much was it a surprise. Hats off to Stanley!
If you need a great meal;
www.fishermancottage.co.za
0726462145
Up early to do the West Coast Eco trail,
Ahhh! ****! I discovered why my charging system had failed, something had burnt out and was rattling around. It still had the lights come on to say it was charging, but it was Kaput. That’s why my video camera was playing up. Normally I can get 6 hours of recording, now it was switching itself off early due to low batteries.
Then, I couldn’t help myself and I thought I could spare a bit of maintenance time and cleaned out the fork seal that had just started to weep, but it was only a temporary fix, it carried on leaking later. With that done, as I was loading the bike, I had noticed a rattle in the left exhaust can. It also seemed a smidge loose. I should have left it till I got home, it would have lasted. A quick look turned into a bit of a project.
Looks like I need new pipes.
I had enough tools to sort it out but not the kind of tools that make a 3 hour job more like 40 minutes.
I rolled out of Hondeklip baai headed to Koiingnaas and left the pumps there at 11.44. It would be a tough ask to make Cape Town a mere 575k’s by sundown.
I gave it a good go though.
Previously when I did the trail with Jacko, Eric and Nardus, we skipped the bit between Groen River and Hondeklip Baai. It was said to be tougher than the southern bit.
It is. It is definitely sandier.
The sand this time was a bit damp from all the rain, but I found this to be more of a nuisance than a help. It helps in some respects but also creates some others. Dampness helps with traction, but it also preserves sharper edges of the sand from the 4x4’s tracks. This makes the bike tramline more in the ruts, a bit of an issue if going faster than 1st gear. Also it makes it less easy to cross the middlemannetjie. With my tanks pretty full and all the gear, I only came off twice and both times pretty slowly at least.
It still is a beautiful part of the world, except where the damn mines have been.
On the first stretch I caught up to an Ostridge that instead of heading off the road, ran along it. He was in the left lane so I thought I would come up on his right. Oh for my camera to have been working then!
He hadn’t read the script and just as I was drawing level with him, he zagged when logic would tell you he should have zigged. Instead of heading off into the bush on the left he stepped to the right and for a brief moment his legs were either side of my front wheel. I was so close up his arse he could have sat on my fairing. I am surprised I don’t have his pucker mark on it. I could have reached out and taken his temperature. What a stupid thing to have done! But then again, I only have a std 4 wiff maths.
My left shocks’ seal was starting to go again.
At one point I was sure the front had a flat, on looking it was fine but I must have had about 10kg’s of mud stuck to the bash plate, this is some of it.
I made a point of trying to stay as close to the coast on the smaller tracks as the main track was deeply sand rutted.
I got to Lutzville at 16.20 and only left after this luxurious meal at 17.05.
The goal now was to make Pikinierskloof Pass by sundown. It was flipping cold.
The big twin was effortlessly munching the miles. I had sent the bike to Julian at superbike solutions the week before to put the jetting and air filter back to standard. After 50 000k’s the leakdown was less than 10% and pumping out 98rwhp. It’s a brute of an engine.
Yeeha!
According to the GPS I was going to be pulling into my garage by 8pm. Edward unfortunately put a spanner in the works. I was just out of Malmsbury when I saw a chap pushing his bike. He had what I thought was a Think Bike jacket on so naturally I turned around to find Edward. He’d taken his wife to Malmsbury and was heading back to DeNoon when he ran out of fuel. The Engen one stop was closest so I towed him there,
He didn’t have any money as he had been hoping his fuel would last, so I filled his tank for him as he couldn’t and left saying pay it forward to the next person in need.
I pulled into the garage at 8.03pm.
Cold and tired, the Richtersveld had delivered again.
Well that’s it!
This is one of the rides that I will do over and over again.
Can’t wait for the next time.
And the TKC 150?...
I am not a fan of the TKC 140’s. I have had 3 of them. The longest lasted 4000k’s of careful and considerate riding. The least was 1400k’s of thrashing. I didn’t go out of my way to destroy it, just rode at a really quick pace for an event I had attended. There isn't much positive I have to say about them. So, it was with trepidation that I was forced to try a 150 TKC.
Well after 2500k’s of fairly spirited riding I am a convert. If only their price would come down to match the competitors’.
Video 5 is a bit self indulgent, but I think it has some of the better footage from some unique angles. Starts slow and gets quicker and quicker.
I have been burning to ride up a river bed in 5 Mylpoort a few k’s from the South African border post at Vioolsdrif. It starts in the poort then snakes its way up a big valley and seemed to pop out on the plain north of Steinkopf. Google Earth seemed to show promise that it was possible. The only issue would be if it was navigable then once out of it, getting out of the fenced area bordering the N7.
I told people where I was going and what time to expect a call in case it all went a bit wrong and then headed off. I was right, there is a faint trail of sorts, it has some serious challenges as far as sand go. But other than that it was very special to be alone.
I enjoy riding in groups, but, also find solo stuff just as rewarding. There are some serious risks to riding solo, especially when the terrain is difficult and remote. I am reminded of a really wise piece of advice by a rider called Riceless on ADVrider.com “on a bike, you can cover in 10 minutes what will take you a day to walk”. I have come to trust my bike and its competencies, I enjoy the ability it has to take me to some of the more remote and beautiful parts in a certain style. When on my own I also ride well within my abilities and try to suppress the pull of the inner hooligan.
This next few days were to be a great example of the kind of solo that I really like.
Diving off the N7 into the river bed, it was great to see that there was a bit of a track. This still didn’t mean that I was home safe as the route I wanted would take a left up one of the tributaries later in the valley.
At a certain point at the part of the river bed that I was most concerned about when scouting by Google Earth, I had by coincidence an acoustic guitarists’ take on an aboriginal initiation playing in my ipod. His name is Tommy Emmanuel do yourself a favour and Youtube his highest viewed stuff – (Angelina and Amazing Grace).
[flash=480,385]https://www.youtube.com/v/OxKjg6Yy23Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&[/flash]
Anyway, the invite to stop and do a bit of listening to the earth and the past and pay some respect seemed perfect.
My perch whilst doing this....
There are some amazing amphitheatres along the way that would serve up a great concert venue or tented camp.
This is where the road pops out.
I got some good footage from mounting the camera here. I am amazed at how much work those shocks put in. There is a risk mounting it here, but hell, it only toys. You can see on the video I did misjudge some of the flora.
From Springbok, Hondeklip Baai was the destination, so after a quick refuel and as it was getting a bit chilly a few more items of clothing on,
I dived off the N7 just after Springbok and headed to Soebatsfontein along a magic road that I was nearly tempted to turn around and do twice, just because it was so much fun. It has the rare combination of surface and corners that are just right for a 950.
The big LC8’s even when loaded are very stable. They’ve got the combination of excellent suspension and addictive power delivery just right and long may they continue to keep it that way. This bit of road was an hours worth of corners and straights that were just perfect for this bike.
It was over and over again; jump on the brakes, kick down a gear or two, dial a little more front brake to load off the back more, use compression and dab of back brake to bring the back around a bit, slide in, see the apex, look through to judge the options, feed the power in trying to keep the angle, aim for the next corner leaving the last one signed with some LC8 abstract art. Nothing was over cooked, it was stunning. The massive cold front had been and gone and the road was just the right amount of damp.
It was only once I was nearly through it all that I remembered to fit my video camera back onto the bike. As mentioned, if it wasn’t getting so late, I was sorely tempted to turn around and do it again.
Oh well, one day I’ll have an excuse to go back there again.
I was racing the sun, Sadly, within 28k’s of the bay, I came across a locked gate. On the maps it is a public road.
Nothing for it but to back track 40 k’s. Not a bad 40k’s though.
I had no idea where I was going to sleep. The prospect of a tent was not my idea of fun. At one prospective place, a moments inattention to the perils of letting a big dual sport past its balance point caught me out.
At last,
The winner for the evening was the Honnehok.
File stolen from the web somewhere.
Attie was more than welcoming. There were two guys on Suzuki DZ’s with girlfriends driving backup that I had a chin wag with...
...before I headed over to the restaurant.
The Fishermans restaurant only serves one meal unless pre-ordered a few days in advance. Tonight, as most nights, it was fish and chips with home backed bread.
I am not a fan of fish and even less of snoek. My luck was not running and snoek it was.
Well, I have never tasted snoek so good, I was amazed that I enjoyed it. I sent an SMS to my wife about the event so much was it a surprise. Hats off to Stanley!
If you need a great meal;
www.fishermancottage.co.za
0726462145
Up early to do the West Coast Eco trail,
Ahhh! ****! I discovered why my charging system had failed, something had burnt out and was rattling around. It still had the lights come on to say it was charging, but it was Kaput. That’s why my video camera was playing up. Normally I can get 6 hours of recording, now it was switching itself off early due to low batteries.
Then, I couldn’t help myself and I thought I could spare a bit of maintenance time and cleaned out the fork seal that had just started to weep, but it was only a temporary fix, it carried on leaking later. With that done, as I was loading the bike, I had noticed a rattle in the left exhaust can. It also seemed a smidge loose. I should have left it till I got home, it would have lasted. A quick look turned into a bit of a project.
Looks like I need new pipes.
I had enough tools to sort it out but not the kind of tools that make a 3 hour job more like 40 minutes.
I rolled out of Hondeklip baai headed to Koiingnaas and left the pumps there at 11.44. It would be a tough ask to make Cape Town a mere 575k’s by sundown.
I gave it a good go though.
Previously when I did the trail with Jacko, Eric and Nardus, we skipped the bit between Groen River and Hondeklip Baai. It was said to be tougher than the southern bit.
It is. It is definitely sandier.
The sand this time was a bit damp from all the rain, but I found this to be more of a nuisance than a help. It helps in some respects but also creates some others. Dampness helps with traction, but it also preserves sharper edges of the sand from the 4x4’s tracks. This makes the bike tramline more in the ruts, a bit of an issue if going faster than 1st gear. Also it makes it less easy to cross the middlemannetjie. With my tanks pretty full and all the gear, I only came off twice and both times pretty slowly at least.
It still is a beautiful part of the world, except where the damn mines have been.
On the first stretch I caught up to an Ostridge that instead of heading off the road, ran along it. He was in the left lane so I thought I would come up on his right. Oh for my camera to have been working then!
He hadn’t read the script and just as I was drawing level with him, he zagged when logic would tell you he should have zigged. Instead of heading off into the bush on the left he stepped to the right and for a brief moment his legs were either side of my front wheel. I was so close up his arse he could have sat on my fairing. I am surprised I don’t have his pucker mark on it. I could have reached out and taken his temperature. What a stupid thing to have done! But then again, I only have a std 4 wiff maths.
My left shocks’ seal was starting to go again.
At one point I was sure the front had a flat, on looking it was fine but I must have had about 10kg’s of mud stuck to the bash plate, this is some of it.
I made a point of trying to stay as close to the coast on the smaller tracks as the main track was deeply sand rutted.
I got to Lutzville at 16.20 and only left after this luxurious meal at 17.05.
The goal now was to make Pikinierskloof Pass by sundown. It was flipping cold.
The big twin was effortlessly munching the miles. I had sent the bike to Julian at superbike solutions the week before to put the jetting and air filter back to standard. After 50 000k’s the leakdown was less than 10% and pumping out 98rwhp. It’s a brute of an engine.
Yeeha!
According to the GPS I was going to be pulling into my garage by 8pm. Edward unfortunately put a spanner in the works. I was just out of Malmsbury when I saw a chap pushing his bike. He had what I thought was a Think Bike jacket on so naturally I turned around to find Edward. He’d taken his wife to Malmsbury and was heading back to DeNoon when he ran out of fuel. The Engen one stop was closest so I towed him there,
He didn’t have any money as he had been hoping his fuel would last, so I filled his tank for him as he couldn’t and left saying pay it forward to the next person in need.
I pulled into the garage at 8.03pm.
Cold and tired, the Richtersveld had delivered again.
Well that’s it!
This is one of the rides that I will do over and over again.
Can’t wait for the next time.
And the TKC 150?...
I am not a fan of the TKC 140’s. I have had 3 of them. The longest lasted 4000k’s of careful and considerate riding. The least was 1400k’s of thrashing. I didn’t go out of my way to destroy it, just rode at a really quick pace for an event I had attended. There isn't much positive I have to say about them. So, it was with trepidation that I was forced to try a 150 TKC.
Well after 2500k’s of fairly spirited riding I am a convert. If only their price would come down to match the competitors’.
SandMan
Race Dog
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2007
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- 911
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- Gaborone, Botswana
- Bike
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Sweet ride Bud!!! :thumleft:
I am so sorry I missed out on the Richtersveld in April when I had tyre probs. It is on my very soon to do list tho.
I am so sorry I missed out on the Richtersveld in April when I had tyre probs. It is on my very soon to do list tho.
- Joined
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- Bike
- KTM 990 Adventure
Rynet said:
The bike seems to want to follow the tracks more that when the sand is looser.
When you rode with me on the sand, you learnt that you could confidently cross tracks at small angles without the bike wanting to follow the track. It is not as easy on wet sand.
Kamanya said:
Ok thanks K :thumleft:, and that sounds like what we had in the mud going in to Baviaans: the mud had dried some and it sometimes held your tyres in a vice grip and then suddenly released you . I quite enjoyed the feeling of being out of control , but in sand I would have hated it , respect to you
oo7
Race Dog
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