Xplode
Puppy
Firstly, I am a student in Potch and with my grant (after paying the landlord) this year I have "invested" in a brand spanking new Bashan Xplode 250. Firstly the fuel efficiency for commuting but secondly and most important is having some fun over weekends!
I Bought her on a Monday and commuted as planned the rest of the week. Grinding my teeth in anticipation for the weekend, Saturday eventually arrived! With ~60km's on the clock it was time to dig some knobblies in the ground! So the morning early (with a dry mouth resulting from late Friday evening) I set off...
I decided to explore the dirt roads stretching between Ventersdorp and Klerksdorp. Pulling away from the last robot out of Potchefstroom I soon realised that I would not be going faster than 80km/h on this hog. Just a couple of km's on the Eleazar road behind the army base I spotted the cemetery. With the grass so neatly cut I just had to stop for a photo. It was around this time that the sun really started to heat up. After the short stop, still amped with my new toy, I started for the gravel roads.
One after the other the gravel roads were eaten up by the "fearsome" roar of my all powerfull Bashan! Eleazar, Rietfontein, small stretch of tar between Ventersdorp and Klerksdorp, Bulfontein, Palmietfontein, Wildebeeslaagte... By this time the sun was sitting high, I had passed plenty of "-fontein" places, but alas, no water! With my tongue permanently stuck and lost inside my Sahara of a mouth I decided to head back home. I took the nearest gravel road I could find and headed in the direction of Potch estimating I reach an oasis within 30min.
But some thick sand first presented itself, lucky the speed I am capable of going did not put me in any danger. Finally I saw the tar road and some traffic in the distance. When I FINALLY got there I was baffled. I was still 20 km's outside of Ventersdorp...on the opposite side!
Sometimes a man has just got do do what a man has got to do, so I took the busy tar road back to Potch, and let me tell you, driving at full throttle (80km/h) with the traffic (luck no trucks) overtacking you is not fun
180 km's later back in Potch with a sip of water, I can honestly say that this was the most fun I have had in a long time. The Xplode does not have a great top speed, but this is sufficient for blind turns, eroded gravel roads and sandy patches. The power output is enough to get you up all reasonable hills allowing you time to enjoy the scenery.
Next stop Parys
PS Did some investigating, the intakemanifold had rubberising in the center, It seems a deep groove was cut in the middle by the the factory, and they just filled it up. I tried to polish it and make it as smooth as possible, but no noticeable change in power.
I Bought her on a Monday and commuted as planned the rest of the week. Grinding my teeth in anticipation for the weekend, Saturday eventually arrived! With ~60km's on the clock it was time to dig some knobblies in the ground! So the morning early (with a dry mouth resulting from late Friday evening) I set off...
I decided to explore the dirt roads stretching between Ventersdorp and Klerksdorp. Pulling away from the last robot out of Potchefstroom I soon realised that I would not be going faster than 80km/h on this hog. Just a couple of km's on the Eleazar road behind the army base I spotted the cemetery. With the grass so neatly cut I just had to stop for a photo. It was around this time that the sun really started to heat up. After the short stop, still amped with my new toy, I started for the gravel roads.
One after the other the gravel roads were eaten up by the "fearsome" roar of my all powerfull Bashan! Eleazar, Rietfontein, small stretch of tar between Ventersdorp and Klerksdorp, Bulfontein, Palmietfontein, Wildebeeslaagte... By this time the sun was sitting high, I had passed plenty of "-fontein" places, but alas, no water! With my tongue permanently stuck and lost inside my Sahara of a mouth I decided to head back home. I took the nearest gravel road I could find and headed in the direction of Potch estimating I reach an oasis within 30min.
But some thick sand first presented itself, lucky the speed I am capable of going did not put me in any danger. Finally I saw the tar road and some traffic in the distance. When I FINALLY got there I was baffled. I was still 20 km's outside of Ventersdorp...on the opposite side!
Sometimes a man has just got do do what a man has got to do, so I took the busy tar road back to Potch, and let me tell you, driving at full throttle (80km/h) with the traffic (luck no trucks) overtacking you is not fun
180 km's later back in Potch with a sip of water, I can honestly say that this was the most fun I have had in a long time. The Xplode does not have a great top speed, but this is sufficient for blind turns, eroded gravel roads and sandy patches. The power output is enough to get you up all reasonable hills allowing you time to enjoy the scenery.
Next stop Parys
PS Did some investigating, the intakemanifold had rubberising in the center, It seems a deep groove was cut in the middle by the the factory, and they just filled it up. I tried to polish it and make it as smooth as possible, but no noticeable change in power.
