Collective RR - Namibia Tour June 2021 with Specialized Adventures

[Amsterdam]

You guys seem to have your share of troubles early on, and the more difficult parts are still to come.  You are the first one ever to admit that the KTM clutch o-ring trouble is due to incorrect fluid.  I mostly read that this is just another bit of rubbish KTM design.

Did you think it was a good decision to take the 500?  Wouldn't you rather have done this trip on the more comfy 701?

And a word of warning for the guy who properly fried his 701 clutch - there are one or two (can't remember exactly) plastic gears behind the clutch basket.  These drive the oil pump(s).  When you really cook your clutch these can get partly melted.  This can potentially lead to failure later on.  You have to remove the clutch basket to inspect these.

 

[Rickus]

You guys seem to have your share of troubles early on, and the more difficult parts are still to come.  You are the first one ever to admit that the KTM clutch o-ring trouble is due to incorrect fluid.  I mostly read that this is just another bit of rubbish KTM design.

Did you think it was a good decision to take the 500?  Wouldn't you rather have done this trip on the more comfy 701?

And a word of warning for the guy who properly fried his 701 clutch - there are one or two (can't remember exactly) plastic gears behind the clutch basket.  These drive the oil pump(s).  When you really cook your clutch these can get partly melted.  This can potentially lead to failure later on.  You have to remove the clutch basket to inspect these.

very GOOD ADVICE Ive never seen a clutch burned to this extent...I would put money on the fact that those gears will be shot

 

[BuRP]

You guys seem to have your share of troubles early on, and the more difficult parts are still to come.  You are the first one ever to admit that the KTM clutch o-ring trouble is due to incorrect fluid.  I mostly read that this is just another bit of rubbish KTM design.

Did you think it was a good decision to take the 500?  Wouldn't you rather have done this trip on the more comfy 701?

And a word of warning for the guy who properly fried his 701 clutch - there are one or two (can't remember exactly) plastic gears behind the clutch basket.  These drive the oil pump(s).  When you really cook your clutch these can get partly melted.  This can potentially lead to failure later on.  You have to remove the clutch basket to inspect these.

Hallo A'dam,

Thus far in this trip you're correct, a heavier bike (701 or 7/890) would be perfect.
But, the more technical bits are still to come.... and do keep in mind that the subtitle of this RR is "The 690 that would not die, ditto its Rider!"  8)
690/701's prove not to be too reliable bikes in practice, and, although Mark (rallyfied 701!) may argue with this statement he was the one schlepping a considerable spares quantity around!
Hindsight?
Yeah, I could do this on my 701 or perhaps even bigger/heavier, hell, with Runner & Noneking we've often done so, but, a real but.... I want to have fun! Manhandling something heavier is more work (and more comfy too yes, sometimes easier even) hence is more tiring, and I already have a big <before Kamanya kicks the door closed  > so I have nothing to prove - and a nimble light 500 IS more fun!  :thumleft:
Plus, zero luggage remember?
That's one of the reasons I decided to join this tour, you schlepp zero yourself around while you've got aaaaallllll the creature comforts to rely on!
Hey, everyone suits himself, and I choose the 500 because it allows me to play rather than fight - and no, no regrets whatsoever, I only will take a few more extra spares with the next time 

I hope Werner will read here because his Durbanite repair shop of choice (?) will have their work cut out - the engine has to be flushed also, to rid itself of the aluminium-based outer friction-plate shrapnel which will be everywhere.
I hope someone will post a few pics of this mess, I've never seen it this bad to be honest.
And yeah, that basket has to come off, but that's the least of his problems I think...



(Added later): Werner later commented on that his clutch upon releasing did not 'grab' immediately but did so a lil 'smoother' than normal. This would have been an immediate warning for someone more technically inclined than Werner as such indicates slippage but so be it, his 701's clutch apparently did slip a bit already before he hit that sand!
And, remember my 701 which did same, albeit when at high speeds only? I fixed that with a new set of plates plus some washers/spacers under the springs, but bottom line is that a 690/701's clutch is prone to playing up 

 

[Fuzzy Muzzy]

Hold on, hold on. I just saw this now, let me grab my popcorn.

Ive been to Spitzkoppe a few times but not much North of that .. cant wait to see this.  :sip:

 

[Rickus]

[member=10935]BuRP[/member] I still think the KTM9x0 is the best bike for this trip  ot: just ask Nick

 

[twister]

[member=10935]BuRP[/member] I still think the KTM9x0 is the best bike for this trip  ot: just ask Nick

But you two made it look like a 500 

 

[twister]

Days & Names of overnight camps......

I have a memory like a sieve for this kind of thing, and here my name-dyslexia refers, I'm simply lousy with it.
Will someone please list the campsites of the days to come - please?
Otherwise I'll either be vague if not anonymous about these or plainly wrong, neither helping anyone.

And, if you've got the (total) riding distances for the days also then this would come in handy too.
(Oh, NO, Hardy won't have these, the man has been there so often he drives without GPS  )



Much obliged in advance!

Arebusch Travel Lodge - Windhoek
Spitzkoppe
Palmwag
Mopane Camp
Epupa Falls
Van Zyl's Camp
Marble Camp
Puros
Puros
Palmwag
Aba Huab Campsite
Brandberg White Lady
Arebusch Travel Lodge - Windhoek

Sorry Bart - No idea of the distances (Definitely not long enough for someone with your energy reserves though) :thumleft:

Spitzkoppe  55km
Palmwag 322km
Opuwo 240km
Epupa 227km
Van Zyls Kamp 145km
Marble Camp 62.km
Purros 107km
Purros canyon 72km
Palmwag (full loop) 271km
Aba Huab Campsite 112km
Brandberg White Lady (full loop) 235km short 178km
Usakos 169km

 

[Hardy de Kock]

[member=10935]BuRP[/member] I still think the KTM9x0 is the best bike for this trip  ot: just ask Nick

But you two made it look like a 500 

Nick rode his 990 through Kaokoland & That 950 Tank rode Rickus through Kaokoland - Both equally impressive.

 

[Kamanya]

Another Day around the food trough.





Many hand make light work



Breifing.



A word about this. You get a GPS track for the day that follows the actual route to be ridden. The briefing will let you know where you should stop, refuel, alert you to dangers and scenery. From there, you ride how you want. If you feel like opening the route and sending it or just chilling and getting photo’s in, that’s your choice.



Getting further north, the scenery becomes magical



Obligatory beers at Manchester





Lunch on the hill



Many’s first time seesing a Baobab



Then after the unlovely mess of Opuwo, a new and truly lovely camp run by Gerrit and his wife called Kaoko Mopani Camp. It really is a fabulous place to watch the sun down after a ride. I HIGHLY recommend the place.










With some characters installed too…



The group





The briefing and camp.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuyMurKfMt8

 

[hartebees]

Bart fiddling with his clutch.

 

[hartebees]

Rickus taking the 701’s clutch apart. It was fried like nothing I’ve seen before. One of the plates had completely disintegrated.

 

[hartebees]

Rob gingerly got into the cruiser. You could tell he was hurt as he hardly glanced at the Himbas who were flocking around the bakkie to see what the commotion was about.

 

[hartebees]

The monument of the Dorslandtrekkers is at Swartbooisdrift.

The place is called after the Nama chief Petrus Swartbooi whose bloodthirsty path also crossed there.

 

[2StrokeDan]

A bit of a working holiday for the KTM boys! :ricky:

Hardy, you'll have to look at rigging out a trailer as a Katoom workshop, complete with spares. ot:

How did that WR450 go?? eepwall:

 

[teebag]

and the CRF450L and the 300L [emoji848]

 

[hartebees]

Some more Epupa pics.

 

[hartebees]

There were two WR450s. I rode one. Not a moment's issue. The other WR chewed up a sprocket but it was due to incorrect wheel assembly. Any objective person will also tell you that is way more lively than a KTM 500 which makes it better on the long riverbed sections and dunes.

The 300L made the trip with no problems. From not wanting to ride it all at Epupa, Werner turned around and at the end he admitted that he was very glad he could ride it for the rest of the trip. I rode it down the step at Van Zyls and I'm quite sure it was the easiest bike to ride in that technical terrain. It also has more than enough grunt to get on top of the sand. Man, that bike impressed me.

Kevin can tell us how he experienced the 450L. I believe he has the Vortex ECU installed.

 

[Hardy de Kock]

My take on the different bikes used on this trip after some general comments

I believe in preparation. Jaco's bike did not give a moment's issues because him and I serviced, balanced, lubed, torqued and double checked everything prior to the trip. Ets told me himself that he did not check his sprocket prior to the trip. Knowing what he had to go through to get to Namibia, I fully understand.
I also believe that you should not just trust anyone to work on your bike prior to a tough tour like this. NO ONE cares about your bike as much as you do. 
Werner bought a bike with an already cooked clutch in my opinion. That is why he struggled to get away in the sand, as he did. From a distance it might have looked like he was killing the clutch himself, but I suspect it was the reason he struggled. He will admit to not being the most mechanical minded rider around and that he thought that it is how the clutch should feel. I have no idea who the dealer is who sold him the bike, but I would have a lengthy conversation with them if I was him.
Doing a bit of research in terms of common issues and the spares required to fix these issues can save you a lot of money, and keeps you out of the Cruiser, as Bart mentioned earlier. If I haven't had the same issues with 500's in the past I probably never would have had the o-ring he required.
I also think that Werner never should have bought a 701. The bike is too advanced and too mechanical for a beginner like himself. (I can already hear the 701 riders chocking and swearing).

The bikes - From big to small

- KTM 990 Adv. - Nick made it look easy and there is nothing more beautiful than the sound of that Twin eating up a riverbed, or a dune. No issues apart from bolts shaking loose. Too big and powerful for the average rider - perfect for Nick.
- KTM 950 Adv - Rickus fitted these massive Safari tanks which sorted his fuel requirements but added bulk to an already massive machine. I am not kidding if I say I swear I saw a small sand dune in the Hoarusib river make way as Rickus came past. I can fully understand why he rides that bike. Everything is sorted and he knows everything about that bike.
- 701 Husky - Mark Johnstone's 701 was sorted and he carried plenty spares. He is one hell of a rider with Malle Moto ambitions and mechanical aptitude to match.
He had serious bad luck with punctures though. As far as I know his bike gave no issues. If you ask him (I did not) he will probably confess to checking everything prior to the tour. Werner's 701 became the donor bike after the clutch went to heaven. Up untill then it seemed as if Werner enjoyed the open sections.
- KTM 690 - By far the bike with the most issues on our tours, despite it being one of the nicest bikes to ride. Even Rickus liked it's power when he stormed the Bastille with it.
Honda XR650L - My opinion will sound bias, so let's leave it there.
- KTM 525 - I love the bloody thing even more after this trip. No stupid electronical issues, no clutch issues, nothing. It just powers on and weighed against the money I paid for it, it was a bargain.
- KTM 500 - Their owners love them, and if you consider the power they produce, you have to expect the one or two mechanical trade offs they have. You could not get Twister, Bart or ETS of those 500's even if Samantha Fox was tanning nude at the lodge in Puros.
- WR450 - I think these bikes surprised everyone - In the dunes, riverbeds, and in the mountains they did exactly what was expected of them. I believe that that is the difference between the 500 and the WR. You just know the Yamie will not have issues. Kamanya rode Jaco's WR in the riverbed at Van Zyl's Camp and called it a missile when he stopped. I highly rate the WR's with a 14-47 sprocket set up
- KTM 450 - Feels too twitchy and too nervous for me. Almost as if the bike wants to die if not ridden as if it was stolen. 
- Honda CRF450L (with one nut in tact) The de-tuned, re-tuned 450 of Kevin Knoop did everything with a smile and never had any issues. Not once. It is clear that Mark and Kevin believes in preparation too.
- KTM 350 - Same as the KTM 450
- Honda CRF 300L. I agree with Hartebees's summary and believe that more people should ride these bikes. That little bike (with a suspension set up for a 70kg person) carried a 121kg man through this whole trip without any issues.

 

[2StrokeDan]

My take on the different bikes used on this trip after some general comments

I believe in preparation. Jaco's bike did not give a moment's issues because him and I serviced, balanced, lubed, torqued and double checked everything prior to the trip. Ets told me himself that he did not check his sprocket prior to the trip. Knowing what he had to go through to get to Namibia, I fully understand.
I also believe that you should not just trust anyone to work on your bike prior to a tough tour like this. NO ONE cares about your bike as much as you do. 
Werner bought a bike with an already cooked clutch in my opinion. That is why he struggled to get away in the sand, as he did. From a distance it might have looked like he was killing the clutch himself, but I suspect it was the reason he struggled. He will admit to not being the most mechanical minded rider around and that he thought that it is how the clutch should feel. I have no idea who the dealer is who sold him the bike, but I would have a lengthy conversation with them if I was him.
Doing a bit of research in terms of common issues and the spares required to fix these issues can save you a lot of money, and keeps you out of the Cruiser, as Bart mentioned earlier. If I haven't had the same issues with 500's in the past I probably never would have had the o-ring he required.
I also think that Werner never should have bought a 701. The bike is too advanced and too mechanical for a beginner like himself. (I can already hear the 701 riders chocking and swearing).

The bikes - From big to small

- KTM 990 Adv. - Nick made it look easy and there is nothing more beautiful than the sound of that Twin eating up a riverbed, or a dune. No issues apart from bolts shaking loose. Too big and powerful for the average rider - perfect for Nick.
- KTM 950 Adv - Rickus fitted these massive Safari tanks which sorted his fuel requirements but added bulk to an already massive machine. I am not kidding if I say I swear I saw a small sand dune in the Hoarusib river make way as Rickus came past. I can fully understand why he rides that bike. Everything is sorted and he knows everything about that bike.
- 701 Husky - Mark Johnstone's 701 was sorted and he carried plenty spares. He is one hell of a rider with Malle Moto ambitions and mechanical aptitude to match.
He had serious bad luck with punctures though. As far as I know his bike gave no issues. If you ask him (I did not) he will probably confess to checking everything prior to the tour. Werner's 701 became the donor bike after the clutch went to heaven. Up untill then it seemed as if Werner enjoyed the open sections.
- KTM 690 - By far the bike with the most issues on our tours, despite it being one of the nicest bikes to ride. Even Rickus likes it's power when he stormed the Bastille with it.
Honda XR650L - My opinion will sound bias, so let's leave it there.
- KTM 525 - I love the bloody thing even more after this trip. No stupid electronical issues, no clutch issues, nothing. It just powers on and weighed against the moneyy I paid for it, it was a bargain.
- KTM 500 - Their owners love them, and if you consider the power they produce, you have to expect the one or two mechanical trade offs they have. You could not get Twister, Bart or ETS of those 500's even if Samantha Fox was tanning nude at the lodge in Puros.
- WR450 - I think these bikes surprised everyone - In the dunes, riverbeds, and in the mountains the did exactly what was expected of them. I believe that that is the difference between the 500 and the WR. You just know the Yamie will not have issues. Kamanya rodeJaco's WR in the riverbed at Van Zyl's Camp and called it a missile when he stopped.
- KTM 450 - Feels too twitchy for me. Almost as if the bike wants to die if not ridden as if it was stolen. 
- Honda CRF450L (with one nut in tact) The de-tuned, re-tuned 450 of Kevin Knoop did everything with a smile and never had any issues. Not once. It is clear that Mark and Kevin believes in preparation too.
- Honda CRF 300L. I agree with Hartebees's summary and believe that more people should ride these bikes. That little bike (with a suspension set up for a 70kg person) carried a 121kg man through this whole trip without any issues.

Very, very valuable post, fitting in perfectly with this RR, which by the way, I am enjoying tremendously. :thumleft:

 

[ETS]

My take on the different bikes used on this trip after some general comments

I believe in preparation. Jaco's bike did not give a moment's issues because him and I serviced, balanced, lubed, torqued and double checked everything prior to the trip. Ets told me himself that he did not check his sprocket prior to the trip. Knowing what he had to go through to get to Namibia, I fully understand.
I also believe that you should not just trust anyone to work on your bike prior to a tough tour like this. NO ONE cares about your bike as much as you do. 
Werner bought a bike with an already cooked clutch in my opinion. That is why he struggled to get away in the sand, as he did. From a distance it might have looked like he was killing the clutch himself, but I suspect it was the reason he struggled. He will admit to not being the most mechanical minded rider around and that he thought that it is how the clutch should feel. I have no idea who the dealer is who sold him the bike, but I would have a lengthy conversation with them if I was him.
Doing a bit of research in terms of common issues and the spares required to fix these issues can save you a lot of money, and keeps you out of the Cruiser, as Bart mentioned earlier. If I haven't had the same issues with 500's in the past I probably never would have had the o-ring he required.
I also think that Werner never should have bought a 701. The bike is too advanced and too mechanical for a beginner like himself. (I can already hear the 701 riders chocking and swearing).

The bikes - From big to small

- KTM 990 Adv. - Nick made it look easy and there is nothing more beautiful than the sound of that Twin eating up a riverbed, or a dune. No issues apart from bolts shaking loose. Too big and powerful for the average rider - perfect for Nick.
- KTM 950 Adv - Rickus fitted these massive Safari tanks which sorted his fuel requirements but added bulk to an already massive machine. I am not kidding if I say I swear I saw a small sand dune in the Hoarusib river make way as Rickus came past. I can fully understand why he rides that bike. Everything is sorted and he knows everything about that bike.
- 701 Husky - Mark Johnstone's 701 was sorted and he carried plenty spares. He is one hell of a rider with Malle Moto ambitions and mechanical aptitude to match.
He had serious bad luck with punctures though. As far as I know his bike gave no issues. If you ask him (I did not) he will probably confess to checking everything prior to the tour. Werner's 701 became the donor bike after the clutch went to heaven. Up untill then it seemed as if Werner enjoyed the open sections.
- KTM 690 - By far the bike with the most issues on our tours, despite it being one of the nicest bikes to ride. Even Rickus likes it's power when he stormed the Bastille with it.
Honda XR650L - My opinion will sound bias, so let's leave it there.
- KTM 525 - I love the bloody thing even more after this trip. No stupid electronical issues, no clutch issues, nothing. It just powers on and weighed against the moneyy I paid for it, it was a bargain.
- KTM 500 - Their owners love them, and if you consider the power they produce, you have to expect the one or two mechanical trade offs they have. You could not get Twister, Bart or ETS of those 500's even if Samantha Fox was tanning nude at the lodge in Puros.
- WR450 - I think these bikes surprised everyone - In the dunes, riverbeds, and in the mountains the did exactly what was expected of them. I believe that that is the difference between the 500 and the WR. You just know the Yamie will not have issues. Kamanya rodeJaco's WR in the riverbed at Van Zyl's Camp and called it a missile when he stopped.
- KTM 450 - Feels too twitchy for me. Almost as if the bike wants to die if not ridden as if it was stolen. 
- Honda CRF450L (with one nut in tact) The de-tuned, re-tuned 450 of Kevin Knoop did everything with a smile and never had any issues. Not once. It is clear that Mark and Kevin believes in preparation too.
- Honda CRF 300L. I agree with Hartebees's summary and believe that more people should ride these bikes. That little bike (with a suspension set up for a 70kg person) carried a 121kg man through this whole trip without any issues.

Very, very valuable post, fitting in perfectly with this RR, which by the way, I am enjoying tremendously. :thumleft:

Flippit i was there and i am enjoying it all over!