Ngola Kingdom: Motorcycle (mis)adventures in south-west Angola

[J-dog]

Things are eerily quiet on this here thread. Are we boring you poor people into a gentle coma??

NO!

We are all reading in fascinated ponderous silence  :thumleft:

 

[J-dog]

Holy Heng!  Loving this RR!   :notworthy:

Is The Midget going to comment at all....?
Would love to hear his version...

probably can't reach the keyboard?

 

[MechanicalCamel]

He can reach the keyboard when he's standing on his desk as he normally does.

Let's see if we can goad a response from him...

Calling all midgets!!!

 

[MaxThePanda]

He can reach the keyboard when he's standing on his desk as he normally does.

Let's see if we can goad a response from him...

Calling all midgets!!!

Nooooooooo!!!!! Are you out of your mind???

 

[MechanicalCamel]

Unfortunately the Midget was just stepping out when I went to ask for comment

Hopefully he wasn't off to fetch the Little Big Men or I'm in trouble....

 

[Wolzac]

Lekker  :ricky:

 

[Whyme]

1000km means around 45 litres, even on these economical rides. I'd just come off four years on a lovely BMW X-Challenge that had taken me on memorable trips all over the country. The X, with Touratech tank, carries 27 litters and that Rotax is the most economical engine known to humankind. I reckon it might have made those 700 with a light wrist... or an extra 5 litres somewhere. But my 690 only had the standard 12, so who you gonna call? Rally Raid, that's who. The downside of the X in that configuration is that it's really heavy on the front wheel, and quite top heavy when fully loaded. Part of the move to KTM was the decision that it was time to try something lighter and more nimble, so I went for the little 5 litre rear tank, which only gave me 18 or so, but in a tiny, slim package. So where is the extra 28 going, then?


My X was a fantastic bike - possibly the best rough road tourer on the market. Its forte is long, fast open dirt - it's better than the 690 hands down. When the 690 feels skittish, unstable and overexcited, jerking its head left and right like a lively untrained stallion trying to break free from its master (and that's WITH a steering damper) the X simply puts its head down and storms away at speed. But the 690 has an ace up its sleeve. In the tighter stuff it's simply the best, most exciting and racy off-road beast I've come across. I'd specifically set up the bike with all of the weight in front of the rear axle, and despite a slightly nervous start with the extremely light front wheel, after 3 days of the trip I was having the time of my life.

Great RR gents, great pics :thumleft: I have to say have been waiting for you to say something about Xchallenge ;D Well simply because I own one and fact that I too would like to own 690 in future.....so coming from man who have ridden both :thumleft:

They are both killa bikes, but bearing in mind that a great X is R40k, and the equivalent 690 is R75-R85k (don't be fooled by the cheapie ones), the X wins the value stakes hands down. Both of these need proper money spent on tanks etc. I'd say the X is a better tourer - it has more relaxed geometry and is MUCH more solid and planted on the road - particularly at speed. It is also more reliable, all round, more comfortable and a little more economical - and has a subframe if you want to carry proper weight. In addition, the engine pulls from lower revs with more torque, so it's better at 'chugging' in low speed stuff.

However, and it's a HUGE however if that's your flava... The 690 is significantly more powerful and a more exciting bike to ride fast. It snarls and bites and kicks. It hisses in your ear, and demands to be be wrung out. It has much better suspension out of the box, although both need work, but it's cheaper to fix - at least to a non rally-god level.

In my case, I'd simply come to time for a change. Life is too short to ride the same bike forever, unless you're in love with airheads. I figure if you've met a wonderful woman, and don't plan on changing her, then you may as well change bikes every now and again. Go scratch that itch!

690's should come with a bit of a warning sticker attached. Are you in control of the devil within... that is the question??

I hear you :thumleft: let me not derail this great RR

 

[J-dog]

I'm finding the midget strangely attractive with his blend of shortness and determination. Possibly quite a disproportional member as well.

078 799 5633 Call me midge  >

 

[MechanicalCamel]

Possibly quite a disproportional member as well.

You don't know the half of it. We had to modify his tank to make room

 

[J-dog]

Possibly quite a disproportional member as well.

You don't know the half of it. We had to modify his tank to make room

I knew it!

 

[Malibu]

The Midget just received very fast approval for membership...

 

[Midget]

hello ladies , sorry to keep you waiting

i run a global empire and between monkey triaining and push ups i dont have much time for forums

to answer your questions - no i am not all in proportion - in fact obsenely disproportionate

betsy - i know you ve been asking for more pics of me ill see what i can arrange with max and the camel - be patient...or perhaps i can send you some directly..

 

[Malibu]

Midge, Just a word of advise... Stay away from J-Dog... He's contagious... ;D

 

[MaxThePanda]

hello ladies , sorry to keep you waiting

i run a global empire and between monkey triaining and push ups i dont have much time for forums

to answer your questions - no i am not all in proportion - in fact obsenely disproportionate

betsy - i know you ve been asking for more pics of me ill see what i can arrange with max and the camel - be patient...or perhaps i can send you some directly..

By the way - that's a dogtag around his neck. He's ex-SAS (which is what we mean when we say "well 'ard" - not what you may be imagining, Betsy and Malibu).

 

[Malibu]

If he was SAS he'd have got over the falling thing days ago... And he's got no tats, although, he's got good legs...

 

[J-dog]

hello ladies , sorry to keep you waiting

i run a global empire and between monkey triaining and push ups i dont have much time for forums

to answer your questions - no i am not all in proportion - in fact obsenely disproportionate

betsy - i know you ve been asking for more pics of me ill see what i can arrange with max and the camel - be patient...or perhaps i can send you some directly..

By the way - that's a dogtag around his neck. He's ex-SAS (which is what we mean when we say "well 'ard" - not what you may be imagining, Betsy and Malibu).

"well fit"comes to kind  :drif:

 

[Malibu]

James, have you taken your pills today?  :

 

[Malibu]

Mark is the only guy around here allowed to be "in the pink"!

 

[J-dog]

James, have you taken your pills today?  :

yes but wearing off. you coming bash toe?

And the conversation carried on off-line....  :biggrin:

 

[MaxThePanda]

Let me quickly wrap up the day's ride so I can get some proper work done.

After a wicked ride through the dunes, we came within site of the legendary Foz do Cunene - the mouth of the Cunene (as they like to spell it) River. We'd done it!

You approach down a steep dune with a slalom-style track demarcated with fence posts, and I pulled up in front of a rough lean-to with a few fisherman eating. Within about 3 seconds a smiling policeman in a perfectly pressed uniform arrived for my papers. Now we'd got used to this, but it's still cause for amazement. Here we are, in an admittedly gorgeous place at the mouth of one of Africa's biggest rivers - but also in an utterly remote arse-end-of-the-universe, at least in terms of officialdom, and the policeman looked ready to welcome the president. Now I would be surprised if more than one vehicle a month gets here, so WHO is going to notice if the policeman goes to work in a pink, fluffy dressing gown with a blow-up penguin under his arm.

Anyway, I guess this is a hangover from their recent past as a police state. The gents were actually very friendly - as all the police in Angola were - but took their jobs quite seriously. This included copying down, long hand, all of the details on our papers into a notebook or scruffy piece of paper for god-alone-knows-who to look at.

But anyway, in came Camel, and then the Midge. Now, as I mentioned, the Midge is a novice. Arriving at a police outpost down a mineshaft covered in fine sand while negotiating a slalom course and trying to admire the scenery is not quite in his repertoire yet. "Air control! Air Control!!!!" He came in for the landing at about 60kph, fishtailing out of control, with his feet out to try slow the bike. Of course they don't reach the ground, so that didn't help, and after nearly taking out one of the fisherman he ran over the tail of one of their dogs and almost got bitten.

I waved it away as if nothing had happened and explained to the chief, in a language that he didn't understand, that the Midge suffers from sarcoidosis and that he should just ignore him.

Unfortunately, since we were still afraid of officialdom, no photos. Also we were angry with them that they didn't have any beer.