westfrogger
Race Dog
:thumleft:
Looking forward to the rest.
Hurry will you. :ricky:
Looking forward to the rest.
Hurry will you. :ricky:
Bonova's RR - AMAGEZA 2014
- Thread starter bonova
- Start date
:sip:
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2008
- Messages
- 9,475
- Reaction score
- 2,560
- Location
- Out of Africa
- Bike
- KTM 950 Adventure S
C'mon, Peter - don't worry about work - get cracking on the RR :thumleft:
I wanna know what life was like at the front of the pack - coz at the back, it was chaos
I wanna know what life was like at the front of the pack - coz at the back, it was chaos
Peter, it was great to meet you at last. Pity we had no time to chat.
Cool report so far, that video is lekker! I heard all about it, but missed your lap because I was busy sorting out my missing exhaust!
Looking forward to the rest!
Cool report so far, that video is lekker! I heard all about it, but missed your lap because I was busy sorting out my missing exhaust!
Looking forward to the rest!
adamktm
Race Dog
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2012
- Messages
- 1,187
- Reaction score
- 336
- Location
- Sunningdale, Cape Town
- Bike
- KTM 790 Adventure R
:sip:
bonova
Race Dog
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2008
- Messages
- 3,139
- Reaction score
- 0
- Bike
- KTM 950 Adventure S
DAY 1
To say I was looking forward to this was a massive understatement!!!! I bounced out of bed, having slept well.... got my kit on and was given an awesome cooked breakfast by Claude’s folks
I was sitting at 23rd to start....respectable, but by no means good. I think the jostling for a place between Me Kobus and Willem slowed us all down some. But I was happy there - no pressure start time.
We left our kit with Claude’s folks and headed off to the start...at the show grounds in Upington. The excitement was tangible, and there was a lot of smiles all round....some nervous faces too.
I walked down the start queue and greeted all my mates and wished them all good luck. And before I knew it I was getting counted down by Alex.
Ear plugs in - CHECK
The weather was actually really cool.....with the odd drop of rain as I started off on the 1st liaison....perfect for the sand which I knew awaited I thought.
But things turned south a bit.... Within 1-2 km...before I even hit the dirt, the bike was surging, cutting out and then running again, only to die and run rough a few min later....
Claudes Folks stopped when they saw me on the side of the road but there was nothing they could do
I was distraught! I thought well this is it. I haven’t even made the 1st special and I’m out cause of that damn dirty fuel. I pulled over and gave the fuel pump some knocks, and just checked all the fuel lines were ok and nothing silly was wrong.....
After that I just tried to keep going. When the bike was going I floored it (this resulted in some hefty penalties on day one for me) and then it would die down to 30-40km/hr or even down to a standstill once or twice. Bikes flew passed me but no one could help. I was crying silently in my helmet......you know that saying..... I wasn't angry...I was just disappointed…… well I was epically disappointed.
Anyway - I focussed on just getting to the SS start. By the time I got there the bike was running a bit better and cutting out much less, so I though well - I'll just try and get through this day....baby steps hey.
I think I was pretty flustered, because I can't remember who even started us off.... But I started with the 690 rally bike #108.
I gunned it off the start but the bike just had nothing to give.... He dropped me in the 1st 1km and I settled into riding fast when the bike allowed and just keeping it moving when it was struggling. There were a few times when I really needed power and it let me down as I gassed it.....that wasn't fun, and I nose dived into sandy holes and sections that needed a light front end. I got passed by a good few bikes, but I also passed some, and I took great solace in the fact that I got passed the can-am on a sandy section so I didn't have to worry about him again (he was VERY nice and pulled over as soon as I was behind him....so thanks to those 2!!!)
The SS consisted of a sandy track....2 spoor that meandered through farm lands. There were no particularly technical sections really, but you had to stay awake and watch out for fences, gates and one or 2 tricky navigation sections.
I had the throttle absolutely on the stop at times and the bike could only manage 100-110 km/hr in the sand.
At one gate stopped to close, waving the guy in front onwards, and the bike just died. It would not start again and I feared draining the battery. So I took off my helmet, opened the gate for the other riders and blew into the front tank, pressurizing it to fill the rear tank (which I opened) this filled the rear a bit more and after 10 min or so she started up again. Not long after that there was a hard 90 degree left after a gate and I know a few people missed that turn and got a bit lost - I saw the tracks heading straight..... I also went about 500 m straight and then realized my mistake and turned around. The road book was accurate and a pleasure to navigate as I’d come to expect from Alex
The only tricky section of the day was a steep-ish dune to get over.... Jan (N[]VA) was at the top filming and it was marked as steep on the roadbook. As I turned and gunned it the bike just faltered. It didn’t die, but had no power and I got stuck about 3/4 up. I had the push a little and managed to get up like that. The sand was not that deep. I dare not allow the bike to die though, so there was no stopping and a few dunes later I found my subtech teammates on top of a dune. Roger had run out of fuel and Greg was helping him. I stopped to check on them, but they were ready to roll again and they took off at a hectic pace. (Greg had started behind me and caught me in the 1st 1/4 of the SS. That Rally bike is a pleasure to watch in the sand!!! It just flies when I’m all over the place. I think a dampener would be a great idea in sections like that and you’ll see from the vid what I have to put up with at speed for lack of one. Unfortunately.... my bike died as they left and I was left behind to push my bike down the dune so it was not in the middle of the track. Some swearing and more blowing and waiting and she fired up again....... please just make it to the end I pleaded!!! You’ve come so far already!
She listened and not far from there I came to the SS end. I didn't allow the bike to stop and headed directly to the fuel stop. There I found some people to go back and give Roger and Greg fuel, and I filled the rear tank just enough to get to the Askam bivouac, knowing I had a lot of work ahead of me today and that removing the tank was essential.
There was massive relief though….wow. I had made it, and now I was in with a chance of continuing!!!
I pulled in and didn’t even take off my gear….. still in my pants, knee guards and boots I frantically started stripping the bike. It’s not easy to get to the fuel pump – you have to be a Japanese gynaecologist to even touch it! So front tank off, sub frame off, rear shock out and a bit of wiggling and swearing and the tank was out! I removed the fuel pump, and then went in search of something to clean the FILTHY… BLACK….MUCKY horrible looking filter. I was very impressed that the bike was still running at all! Respect.
This pic is after I'd cleaned it..... that tea bag filter was pitch black before
The guys at Pirelli were super kind enough to give me some carb cleaner and I set about using the whole can (they said I could ) on that filter till it was looking adequately clean. There were positive comments for many passer by’s. Anton from our Subtech team was frantically sorting out the KTM rally bikes, but he gave some wise words and held the odd thing when I was struggling. I felt positive and in a good space…. I like challenges to a point…when there is light at the end of the tunnel I’m generally very positive…. HOWEVER…
Probably now 3 hours after starting work on the bike, greasy and oily, and just putting the LAST 4 bolts in, I look under the bike and it has suddenly started absolutely PISSING fuel out the fuel pump seal.
Now was the time for that negative stress.
The O-ring had somehow expanded and now didn’t seal properly (I was sure I’d done a good job of putting it in, and it had held for a good 45 min while I assembled the bike). I swore a lot and allowed the tank to drain by loosening all the bolts on the fuel pump and then set about trying to get the o-ring back in with the help of Marc Campbell. It was to no avail though and I’d have to take the whole damn thing apart again – I was losing the will to live – seriously this wasn’t fun for me anymore! Claude’s folks brought me some food but I struggled to eat it.
Long story short – removed it again and could not get the o-ring to fit – it was too big for the groove now. No one in camp had anything close. Koos and His friend lent me their advice and an o-ring that was too small but it did help in a way. I cut the old o-ring at a tangent and super glued it to the right size. I then covered the thing in gasket maker used Koos’s o-ring as a second sealer, and put it together. There was no other option, so I figured – Put it together and hope for the best. I missed riders briefing but Claude went to see what the story was, and I was finishing putting the last bolts in in the dark.
After a while I held my breath and filled it with fuel, zip tied all the bits and wires, checked the fuel lines and fired her up – she ran well! By now I was pretty negative though and extremely tired from the stress and bending over the whole time. I had been working solidly on the bike for almost 8 hours now.
We quickly did our roadbooks for the next day and Claude was awesome in the way that he sorted my waypoints on my GPS. Having someone that always has your back is amazing.
I kept going back to the bike and checking for leaks…. None so far.
Oh – I almost forgot. When I pulled into the bivouac that day, one of our team mates was standing there with a sling on his arm and a VERY swollen shoulder. Toti was flying and had hit a fence (I’d imaging the fence came off second best)… the man is from Iceland an kills and eats polar bears with his bare hands….for fun…. Haha – jokes, but he’s one tough dude. His collar bone broken in 4 places, and also some broken ribs….. he doesn’t say die though…noooooo – he rides to the end! In that sand! Insane. He then got taken to upington, and flown back to KZN for surgery the next day. Shame man my heart went out to the man – that sucks balls. At least he was alive tho.
Toti
I have some cool vid of day 1 and will post soon as I've edited it asap.....
I was offered Toti’s bed that night which was a godsend and I crashed properly. Not before standing in a hole of ankle deep mud that smelled like sewage on the way to the room…..you know…just to keep my spirits up. I threw those shoes away.
Not my finest day of Amageza….. but tomorrow my luck would change I hoped and I was ready for that.
And tomorrow there would be sand dunes.......oh be still me racing heart! I was looking forward to that like a kid the night before xmas :biggrin:
To say I was looking forward to this was a massive understatement!!!! I bounced out of bed, having slept well.... got my kit on and was given an awesome cooked breakfast by Claude’s folks
I was sitting at 23rd to start....respectable, but by no means good. I think the jostling for a place between Me Kobus and Willem slowed us all down some. But I was happy there - no pressure start time.
We left our kit with Claude’s folks and headed off to the start...at the show grounds in Upington. The excitement was tangible, and there was a lot of smiles all round....some nervous faces too.
I walked down the start queue and greeted all my mates and wished them all good luck. And before I knew it I was getting counted down by Alex.
Ear plugs in - CHECK
The weather was actually really cool.....with the odd drop of rain as I started off on the 1st liaison....perfect for the sand which I knew awaited I thought.
But things turned south a bit.... Within 1-2 km...before I even hit the dirt, the bike was surging, cutting out and then running again, only to die and run rough a few min later....
Claudes Folks stopped when they saw me on the side of the road but there was nothing they could do
I was distraught! I thought well this is it. I haven’t even made the 1st special and I’m out cause of that damn dirty fuel. I pulled over and gave the fuel pump some knocks, and just checked all the fuel lines were ok and nothing silly was wrong.....
After that I just tried to keep going. When the bike was going I floored it (this resulted in some hefty penalties on day one for me) and then it would die down to 30-40km/hr or even down to a standstill once or twice. Bikes flew passed me but no one could help. I was crying silently in my helmet......you know that saying..... I wasn't angry...I was just disappointed…… well I was epically disappointed.
Anyway - I focussed on just getting to the SS start. By the time I got there the bike was running a bit better and cutting out much less, so I though well - I'll just try and get through this day....baby steps hey.
I think I was pretty flustered, because I can't remember who even started us off.... But I started with the 690 rally bike #108.
I gunned it off the start but the bike just had nothing to give.... He dropped me in the 1st 1km and I settled into riding fast when the bike allowed and just keeping it moving when it was struggling. There were a few times when I really needed power and it let me down as I gassed it.....that wasn't fun, and I nose dived into sandy holes and sections that needed a light front end. I got passed by a good few bikes, but I also passed some, and I took great solace in the fact that I got passed the can-am on a sandy section so I didn't have to worry about him again (he was VERY nice and pulled over as soon as I was behind him....so thanks to those 2!!!)
The SS consisted of a sandy track....2 spoor that meandered through farm lands. There were no particularly technical sections really, but you had to stay awake and watch out for fences, gates and one or 2 tricky navigation sections.
I had the throttle absolutely on the stop at times and the bike could only manage 100-110 km/hr in the sand.
At one gate stopped to close, waving the guy in front onwards, and the bike just died. It would not start again and I feared draining the battery. So I took off my helmet, opened the gate for the other riders and blew into the front tank, pressurizing it to fill the rear tank (which I opened) this filled the rear a bit more and after 10 min or so she started up again. Not long after that there was a hard 90 degree left after a gate and I know a few people missed that turn and got a bit lost - I saw the tracks heading straight..... I also went about 500 m straight and then realized my mistake and turned around. The road book was accurate and a pleasure to navigate as I’d come to expect from Alex
The only tricky section of the day was a steep-ish dune to get over.... Jan (N[]VA) was at the top filming and it was marked as steep on the roadbook. As I turned and gunned it the bike just faltered. It didn’t die, but had no power and I got stuck about 3/4 up. I had the push a little and managed to get up like that. The sand was not that deep. I dare not allow the bike to die though, so there was no stopping and a few dunes later I found my subtech teammates on top of a dune. Roger had run out of fuel and Greg was helping him. I stopped to check on them, but they were ready to roll again and they took off at a hectic pace. (Greg had started behind me and caught me in the 1st 1/4 of the SS. That Rally bike is a pleasure to watch in the sand!!! It just flies when I’m all over the place. I think a dampener would be a great idea in sections like that and you’ll see from the vid what I have to put up with at speed for lack of one. Unfortunately.... my bike died as they left and I was left behind to push my bike down the dune so it was not in the middle of the track. Some swearing and more blowing and waiting and she fired up again....... please just make it to the end I pleaded!!! You’ve come so far already!
She listened and not far from there I came to the SS end. I didn't allow the bike to stop and headed directly to the fuel stop. There I found some people to go back and give Roger and Greg fuel, and I filled the rear tank just enough to get to the Askam bivouac, knowing I had a lot of work ahead of me today and that removing the tank was essential.
There was massive relief though….wow. I had made it, and now I was in with a chance of continuing!!!
I pulled in and didn’t even take off my gear….. still in my pants, knee guards and boots I frantically started stripping the bike. It’s not easy to get to the fuel pump – you have to be a Japanese gynaecologist to even touch it! So front tank off, sub frame off, rear shock out and a bit of wiggling and swearing and the tank was out! I removed the fuel pump, and then went in search of something to clean the FILTHY… BLACK….MUCKY horrible looking filter. I was very impressed that the bike was still running at all! Respect.
This pic is after I'd cleaned it..... that tea bag filter was pitch black before
The guys at Pirelli were super kind enough to give me some carb cleaner and I set about using the whole can (they said I could
) on that filter till it was looking adequately clean. There were positive comments for many passer by’s. Anton from our Subtech team was frantically sorting out the KTM rally bikes, but he gave some wise words and held the odd thing when I was struggling. I felt positive and in a good space…. I like challenges to a point…when there is light at the end of the tunnel I’m generally very positive…. HOWEVER…
Probably now 3 hours after starting work on the bike, greasy and oily, and just putting the LAST 4 bolts in, I look under the bike and it has suddenly started absolutely PISSING fuel out the fuel pump seal.
Now was the time for that negative stress.
The O-ring had somehow expanded and now didn’t seal properly (I was sure I’d done a good job of putting it in, and it had held for a good 45 min while I assembled the bike). I swore a lot and allowed the tank to drain by loosening all the bolts on the fuel pump and then set about trying to get the o-ring back in with the help of Marc Campbell. It was to no avail though and I’d have to take the whole damn thing apart again – I was losing the will to live – seriously this wasn’t fun for me anymore! Claude’s folks brought me some food but I struggled to eat it.
Long story short – removed it again and could not get the o-ring to fit – it was too big for the groove now. No one in camp had anything close. Koos and His friend lent me their advice and an o-ring that was too small but it did help in a way. I cut the old o-ring at a tangent and super glued it to the right size. I then covered the thing in gasket maker used Koos’s o-ring as a second sealer, and put it together. There was no other option, so I figured – Put it together and hope for the best. I missed riders briefing but Claude went to see what the story was, and I was finishing putting the last bolts in in the dark.
After a while I held my breath and filled it with fuel, zip tied all the bits and wires, checked the fuel lines and fired her up – she ran well! By now I was pretty negative though and extremely tired from the stress and bending over the whole time. I had been working solidly on the bike for almost 8 hours now.
We quickly did our roadbooks for the next day and Claude was awesome in the way that he sorted my waypoints on my GPS. Having someone that always has your back is amazing.
I kept going back to the bike and checking for leaks…. None so far.
Oh – I almost forgot. When I pulled into the bivouac that day, one of our team mates was standing there with a sling on his arm and a VERY swollen shoulder. Toti was flying and had hit a fence (I’d imaging the fence came off second best)… the man is from Iceland an kills and eats polar bears with his bare hands….for fun…. Haha – jokes, but he’s one tough dude. His collar bone broken in 4 places, and also some broken ribs….. he doesn’t say die though…noooooo – he rides to the end! In that sand! Insane. He then got taken to upington, and flown back to KZN for surgery the next day. Shame man my heart went out to the man – that sucks balls. At least he was alive tho.
Toti
I have some cool vid of day 1 and will post soon as I've edited it asap.....
I was offered Toti’s bed that night which was a godsend and I crashed properly. Not before standing in a hole of ankle deep mud that smelled like sewage on the way to the room…..you know…just to keep my spirits up. I threw those shoes away.
Not my finest day of Amageza….. but tomorrow my luck would change I hoped and I was ready for that.
And tomorrow there would be sand dunes.......oh be still me racing heart! I was looking forward to that like a kid the night before xmas :biggrin:
LoopSoosStroop
Race Dog
Good stuff, keep it up!
Crossed-up
Pangaman
Fantastic write up!
Well done for making it through Day 1. It was a torrid time alright.
Can't wait for Day 2.
Well done for making it through Day 1. It was a torrid time alright.
Can't wait for Day 2.
bud500 (R.I.P)
Grey Hound
Luving it!
Great prologue vid. :thumleft:
Great prologue vid. :thumleft:
:sip:
Snafu
Grey Hound
Something not to be missed, looking forward to he rest
**** Peter, thats hectic bru! Kudo´s to you for holding it all together.
wayneh
Race Dog
I'm hooked :spitcoffee:
![N[]vA](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/39fc70600d70a0afa40b682c3a695dc0?s=96){kind=avatar}
Marvin
Race Dog
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2012
- Messages
- 943
- Reaction score
- 39
- Location
- Stellenbosch
- Bike
- Honda CRF-1100L Africa Twin
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