Plothond
Race Dog
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2006
- Messages
- 4,929
- Reaction score
- 10
- Location
- Pretoria East - Home of Jameson
- Bike
- KTM 1090 Adventure R
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.
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.
Our unplanned campsite
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
It soon became patently obvious that this was not going to work. We were both too heavily loaded and the sand too loose.
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.
It felt as if a mountain had been lifted off us when we reached the coast
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
What a difference to the area we had been in just 40 minutes earlier. Namibia is indeed a land of incredible contrast
Still rather dehydrated, an "emergency" stop was made.
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
Entering Swakopmund was indeed a relief and an action plan was put into motion once we booked into the municipal restcamp
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
...... oh and a postscrpit to this day -
Just check out these gay lads..... ;D
obviously missing home cooking and comforts
ot:
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.
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.
Our unplanned campsite
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
It soon became patently obvious that this was not going to work. We were both too heavily loaded and the sand too loose.
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.
It felt as if a mountain had been lifted off us when we reached the coast
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
What a difference to the area we had been in just 40 minutes earlier. Namibia is indeed a land of incredible contrast
Still rather dehydrated, an "emergency" stop was made.
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
Entering Swakopmund was indeed a relief and an action plan was put into motion once we booked into the municipal restcamp
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
...... oh and a postscrpit to this day -
Just check out these gay lads..... ;D
obviously missing home cooking and comforts
ot:
