Awesome Atlantis on Sat - DS bikes: 990, 990R, XLR650, Triumph 800XC

[jpcussen]

Great mornings riding in Atlantis, until the rain and the wind suddenly picked up... First time with GoPro on 990 and came out great in some sections. This is why we love riding in Cape Town... We only saw a few 4X4's in the place, other than that we had the the dunes to ourselves - perfect.  :ricky:

[flash=480,385]https://www.youtube.com/v/nQLHKMCYzno[/flash]

another one

[flash=480,385]https://www.youtube.com/v/Q_RKfEqg6NI[/flash]

 

[hayleyscomet]

Great Go Pro

Well done Bud

 

[jpcussen]

Thanks Wayne - have you taken the beast in there recently?  :thumleft:

Perhaps you could come and do a photo shoot in there!... make us look good : )

take care

 

[Eish]

Great Video - thanks, clearly you have done this before!

What speed were you doing and what tyres do you have/recommend? I have just done a sand riding course and am keen to get into the dunes but need to know what to expect.

 

[jpcussen]

Howzit Eish - Glad you like the clips

I am no pro but bottom line is practice, but its really not that hard. Atlantis can be quite a battle if you are just starting but there are some sandy areas you can practice - opposite Zone 7 there are some nice flat sand areas in parts and you can get to grips with your bike and sand there. I also practiced in Phillip Sand mine

Tyres - I have MITAS e-10's on - I am running about 1 bar in the tyre ( front and back ). Nice thing about Atlantis is that there are some great Open Bowl play areas where you can just cruise around and then you can do some inclines and dunes when you feel like it. Getting into the play area from the main road can be more of a battle when you just start riding sand, than actually being in the dunes themselves as its a twee spoor sand track if you go in the back way like most.

Speed wise, anywhere from 5kmh up to probably about 85kmh at some points - you'll probably find that you average about 35kmh or so - didn't have my GPS for ave speed. Generally the faster you ride the easier it is - within reason, and bearing in mind you never really know whats coming unless you have absolute clear line of sight in the dunes.

Thats only the second time I have ridden my 990 in Atlantis actually, and it was ALOT better than the first time when I went in with Kamanya - he gave me some great tips and I practiced mainly in Phillipi sand mine - I was pleasantly surprised when I went back into Atlantis.

I can let you know next time we go if you want to join. What are you riding?

 

[AMALOTZI]

Nice vid looks like lots of fun! A GoPro is on the shopping list.

 

[rohann]

Eish, maak seker jy het knoblies as jy gaan.  Ons ry met die 2T's daar en jong jy raak noggal lekker moeg.  Ek haal my hoed af vir julle manne wat met jul swaar adventure bikes daar gaan ry.  Het gedink ek wou my GS vat maar toe ek noudie dag daar gery het met die KDX was ek gaar so ek los maar my groot perd by die huis. hehe

 

[Mark Hardy]

Nice play ground that area...played there a couple of time.

I enjoyed the videos  :thumleft:

 

[Buff]

I went in just behind you guys in my bakkie and noticed a few tracks zigzagging going from left to right and into the bushes on that tweespoor. Clearly someone in the group was having a hard time keeping it upright  ;D
I had a good chuckle to myself because I'm pretty sure that's how I'd be in that sand on the ST 

 

[jpcussen]

Eish, maak seker jy het knoblies as jy gaan.  Ons ry met die 2T's daar en jong jy raak noggal lekker moeg.  Ek haal my hoed af vir julle manne wat met jul swaar adventure bikes daar gaan ry.  Het gedink ek wou my GS vat maar toe ek noudie dag daar gery het met die KDX was ek gaar so ek los maar my groot perd by die huis. hehe

Rohann - I agree, definitely easier on the enduro bike, I also ride a 250 in the single track stuff in Atlantis. I am a great believer in "horse for courses" and if I had a choice between the two of what to ride all day in sand it would be the 250. However, there is no bike for all trips and so the "main" reason I wanted to attack sand on the 990 was:

1. To get my head around sand and build confidence on the bigger bike, and once you do its MUCH easier than when you first start.
2. So that when I am on long DS rides, perhaps up in Nam or West Coast of SA and I come across thick sand, which you will, there is no utter fear of it and you can attack it with confidence - there is nothing worse than hitting a 1km sand patch at 150kmh and you start to freak out, or battling across a sand river bed in the searing heat when you could just cruise across it and "enjoy" the experience.

With those two points in mind I started taking the beast into sand - and it has paid off in terms of shaking that fear of sand, but still having plenty of respect for it! I have been pleasantly surprised that how, with some serious practice, one can start to improve in sand.

Get that GS in the sand china!

later

 

[jpcussen]

I went in just behind you guys in my bakkie and noticed a few tracks zigzagging going from left to right and into the bushes on that tweespoor. Clearly someone in the group was having a hard time keeping it upright  ;D
I had a good chuckle to myself because I'm pretty sure that's how I'd be in that sand on the ST 

Ha ha - Yep, one of the guys was on an 800XC Triumph and he battled a bit at the start, but was well into the swing of things after a while. Funnily enough, when I was riding back out that same way later I was chuckling as I could see the tracks snaking for miles - I realized how tired he must have been when he reach the dunes  :biggrin:

 

[Mark Hardy]

Eish, maak seker jy het knoblies as jy gaan.  Ons ry met die 2T's daar en jong jy raak noggal lekker moeg.  Ek haal my hoed af vir julle manne wat met jul swaar adventure bikes daar gaan ry.  Het gedink ek wou my GS vat maar toe ek noudie dag daar gery het met die KDX was ek gaar so ek los maar my groot perd by die huis. hehe

Rohann - I agree, definitely easier on the enduro bike, I also ride a 250 in the single track stuff in Atlantis. I am a great believer in "horse for courses" and if I had a choice between the two of what to ride all day in sand it would be the 250. However, there is no bike for all trips and so the "main" reason I wanted to attack sand on the 990 was:

1. To get my head around sand and build confidence on the bigger bike, and once you do its MUCH easier than when you first start.
2. So that when I am on long DS rides, perhaps up in Nam or West Coast of SA and I come across thick sand, which you will, there is no utter fear of it and you can attack it with confidence - there is nothing worse than hitting a 1km sand patch at 150kmh and you start to freak out, or battling across a sand river bed in the searing heat when you could just cruise across it and "enjoy" the experience.

With those two points in mind I started taking the beast into sand - and it has paid off in terms of shaking that fear of sand, but still having plenty of respect for it! I have been pleasantly surprised that how, with some serious practice, one can start to improve in sand.

Get that GS in the sand china!

later

excellent commets there.  :thumleft:

 

[rohann]

JPcussen, I must say riding with the enduro has given me a lot of confidence on the GS riding off road.  I have not done much off road with the GS but after getting more experience in off road wise I am not scared taking the GS places.

Just need to get better tires when doing Atlantis with the GS.

 

[Eish]

Howzit Eish - Glad you like the clips

I am no pro but bottom line is practice, but its really not that hard. Atlantis can be quite a battle if you are just starting but there are some sandy areas you can practice - opposite Zone 7 there are some nice flat sand areas in parts and you can get to grips with your bike and sand there. I also practiced in Phillip Sand mine

Tyres - I have MITAS e-10's on - I am running about 1 bar in the tyre ( front and back ). Nice thing about Atlantis is that there are some great Open Bowl play areas where you can just cruise around and then you can do some inclines and dunes when you feel like it. Getting into the play area from the main road can be more of a battle when you just start riding sand, than actually being in the dunes themselves as its a twee spoor sand track if you go in the back way like most.

Speed wise, anywhere from 5kmh up to probably about 85kmh at some points - you'll probably find that you average about 35kmh or so - didn't have my GPS for ave speed. Generally the faster you ride the easier it is - within reason, and bearing in mind you never really know whats coming unless you have absolute clear line of sight in the dunes.

Thats only the second time I have ridden my 990 in Atlantis actually, and it was ALOT better than the first time when I went in with Kamanya - he gave me some great tips and I practiced mainly in Phillipi sand mine - I was pleasantly surprised when I went back into Atlantis.

I can let you know next time we go if you want to join. What are you riding?

Thanks for all the great advice. I am riding a KLR, since I bought in 2009 I have dropped it 6 times, 5 of the 6 were on the sand riding course 2 weeks ago and once in the mud doing the alternative route!

I will give the KLR a bash, it looks so awesome on the 990 though and I have been looking for an excuse for an upgrade ;D

Please let me know when next you go, I am happy to go the legal route with a permit so maybe the tweespoor will not be a problem?

 

[jpcussen]

Mate - KLR will cook in there, and a great bike to get to grips with sand all round. Its lighter and more nimble but has low end torque. One of the guys riding on Sat was on his KLR and the lower weight of the bike is an advantage. 990 has a very gutsy engine and is well balanced even for a litre bike of its size and I am really enjoying the growl and power of that engine, its more like a BIG enduro bike than a DS bike - you can't go wrong if you upgrade on day  :laughing4:

Will let you know when we go next. PM me and send me your email. This weekend I am 4X4ing in there and next week is the malmesbury off-road so perhaps the week after that. I agree with getting a permit for the 4X4 but its not always easy to get to the damn place in town to buy the permit every time AND it can piss it down on the weekend which makes it hard on a bike to go on the spur of the moment if the weather is good. They should allow payment via Card at the main entrance and they would make much more money.

 

[mcpan]

hi-jack on... I wanna view the video on my galaxy tab but it says 'need plugin, or something like that..." what can i do or download to make this video viewable..... sorry. hi-jack off

 

[jpcussen]

You probably need to make sure that you have the latest version of the Adobe Flash plug-in installed - or go view the clips direct in YouTube

 

[Shaun]

Nice videos,.. :thumleft: :thumleft:

thanks for sharing it.