NAMIBIA uber alles - by POPFUNPLOT

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Day 6 â?? 4th June 2008 : E. Camp â?? Municipal Chalets (Swakopmund)
Route: E.Camp, D2303, D2303/C34 Split, C34, Hentiesbaai, C34, Swakopmund
Distance: 220km
Fuel: Hentiesbaai
Accomodation costs: R 375 for 4 bed unit

(Map - see previous day)

We were up before dawn. I had spent the previous evening reading through the manual and trying to establish from the possible error codes what the problem may be. The mood was somewhat quieter this morning and Dr Jameson was not to blame this time.

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Obviously concerned, I tried to be positive and somehow, deep down inside convinced myself that we would beat the problem.

We made some coffee and at first light I started stripping the bike down, checking every wire and cable that could be damaged. One thing I was convinced of, that this was not a â??bikeâ? problem. The problem was erratic and the fuse never blew at the same moment. Just moving the bike slightly changed the time it took for the fuse to go. After more than an hour, I had to concede defeat. We could not spend the whole day there as our water was just about finished and soon the sun would be beating down on us.

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Our unplanned campsite

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The prospect of towing in this thick sand was daunting, but it had to be done.
Poppipants was still concerned about his clutch, so Funacide became the tow vehicle

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It soon became patently obvious that this was not going to work. We were both too heavily loaded and the sand too loose.

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Next thing we tried was him towing and myself walking next to the bike, keeping it in line and upright. The only problem with this was, was that the KTMâ??s first gear was not walking speed and more like a slow jog.

After about two hundred meters I was literally FUBAR. Now this is just what I loved about my companions. They constantly remained positive in the face of insurmountable odds. The fact that we had more than 200km to go to Swakopmund was not even an issue for discussion.

Plan C â?? What if both bikes towed me ? This worked exceptionally well and after a few km the sand eventually turned into hard pack gravel.
With 65km to go to the coast, things were starting to look up a bit


We settled into a comfortable speed of about 60km/hour, although both riders had to be constantly vigilant as one bike had to be kept out of the loose stuff, it being constantly dragged into the treacherous stuff due to the towing geometry.

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It felt as if a mountain had been lifted off us when we reached the coast

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About 10km down the road we picked up a cellphone signal and I got hold of KTMâ??s number in Windhoek. We agreed to make contact once in Swakopmund, which was about 160km down the Salt road. The tow speed was upped to about 85km/h and the miles rolled by a little bit faster


The Salt Road is actually an amazing surface to ride on - when it's dry. It is very slippery when wet but today we were lucky

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What a difference to the area we had been in just 40 minutes earlier. Namibia is indeed a land of incredible contrast

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Still rather dehydrated, an "emergency" stop was made.

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The beer was frozen - literally. We asked for others. Then Funacide wanted to buy 3 packets of crisps, but they only had 1. We asked for a menu. There was only 1 item on the menu, so we all chose the Russian & Chips.  ;D
Once could see that this was a real upperclass establishment

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Entering Swakopmund was indeed a relief and an action plan was put into motion once we booked into the municipal restcamp

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I had purchased another 10 fuses in Hentiesbaai and Mike from KTM talked me through a fault finding process over the phone. We indentified the relay involved and through a process of elimination (and fuses) we knew that the relay was not faulty. It was now after 4 in the afternoon and a decision had to be reached. It was decided that the others would not cancel their trip on my behalf and Mike suggested I get the Bike to Windhoek, about 360km away

I spoke to Coastal Couriers and they quoted me R 575.00. I thought this was reasonable and we arranged for the KTM to be collected within the hour. The exceptionally friendly lady at the couriers then arranged for a shuttle company to pick me up early the next morning from the resort.

All in all, the day worked out fine

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...... oh and a postscrpit to this day -

Just check out these gay lads.....  ;D
obviously missing home cooking and comforts  :pot:

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Ah shucks man - pity about the bike troubles.  :'(
You guys coped admirably though.

Another question.
How did that collapsible braaigrid work out?
Time to assemble/dissemble plus cleaning?

I usually carry a small SS grid of which the handles slides away - it fits in a pannier.
Fairly easy to keep clean but still need to be cleaned..
 
Plothond said:
MrBig said:
How did that collapsible braaigrid work out?
Time to assemble/dissemble plus cleaning?

Very well actually. It belongs to Poppipants, so I'll let him answer the question

It worked well, but we only used it once. Almost all the campsites we stayed at had a braai grids.
I also carried Plotties small hiking grid, it was easier to use because no assembly required. But it does not have any legs.
I like the collapsible one because it is only used if there are no grids available and it uses very little space to carry.

But assemble it before opening the Jameson 
;D ;D ;D







 
Poppi,

I WAS going to ask, are you sure tha the smell was the clutch or not a rear brake, but decided I am a sad jealous old fart....

Great ride guys.

Welsh  O0

 
popipants said:
But assemble it before opening the Jameson 
;D ;D ;D

it seems all preperations should be done before openning the Jameson ;) ;D
 
Welsh said:
Poppi,

I WAS going to ask, are you sure tha the smell was the clutch or not a rear brake, but decided I am a sad jealous old fart....

Great ride guys.

Welsh  O0

Trust me Welsh the smoke was pouring out of the clutch and his clothes smelt like burnt clutch for the next 3 days....

 
Mark Hardy said:
popipants said:
But assemble it before opening the Jameson 
;D ;D ;D

it seems all preperations should be done before openning the Jameson ;) ;D

Funny you should mention this but yes you are correct, also take as much with as possible, I paid N$240 (R240) for a bottle in Swakop... ;D ;D ;D

Beers are ok though, N$9 everywhere, with the difference being at a Shabeen where you get a 750ml and at a bar you get dumpie size for N$9..
 
That's ZAR240, for those that were impressed by the dollar sign.  :rolleyes:  :mrgreen:

Drink brannewyn en bier, man.  :mrgreen:
 
Maybe a good idea is to buy 2 fuel bladders, one for the fuel and the other for the all important human fuel...Jamesons  ;D
 
All this talking of Jameson.. I will have to go and pour one.....

:drif: :drif: :drif: :drif:
 
Mark Hardy said:
Maybe a good idea is to buy 2 fuel bladders, one for the fuel and the other for the all important human fuel...Jamesons  ;D

Damn that is a good idea, next time!!
 
Welsh said:
Poppi,

I WAS going to ask, are you sure tha the smell was the clutch or not a rear brake, but decided I am a sad jealous old fart....

Great ride guys.

Welsh  O0

;D ;D ;D

You were invited!

Am I ever going to live brake escapades down?



 
JourneyMan said:
That's ZAR240, for those that were impressed by the dollar sign.  :rolleyes:  :mrgreen:

Drink brannewyn en bier, man.  :mrgreen:

I once paid R170 for a bottle of J&B.
They did not have Jamerson, don't even want to know what that would have cost!
 
popipants said:
Welsh said:
Poppi,

I WAS going to ask, are you sure tha the smell was the clutch or not a rear brake, but decided I am a sad jealous old fart....

Great ride guys.

Welsh  O0

;D ;D ;D

You were invited!

Am I ever going to live brake escapades down?

Yes I was, no you wont, just because it is freindly  ;D ;D
 
Welsh said:
popipants said:
Welsh said:
Poppi,

I WAS going to ask, are you sure tha the smell was the clutch or not a rear brake, but decided I am a sad jealous old fart....

Great ride guys.

Welsh  O0

;D ;D ;D

You were invited!

Am I ever going to live brake escapades down?

Yes I was, no you wont, just because it is freindly  ;D ;D

Now I am very glad there are no pics of the smoking clutch!!
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
When are you joining us for a ride again?

 
He needs to get a bike first  :pot: :pot: :pot: :pot:

Welsh seriously, I will call you. A bit of a ride Sunday??
 
funacide said:
He needs to get a bike first  :pot: :pot: :pot: :pot:

Welsh seriously, I will call you. A bit of a ride Sunday??


Come on Welsh.
I am sure if you ask Fun nicely he will pillion you!
>:D >:D >:D
 
funacide said:
He needs to get a bike first  :pot: :pot: :pot: :pot:

Welsh seriously, I will call you. A bit of a ride Sunday??

Not gonna be here, fly Saturday night to Europe, back on Friday?

Need to be in Wales in end July.

August in Tennessee, Vark this year is unpleasant.
 
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