Trailrider
Bachelor Dog
My Honda CTX 200 Bushlander - from then till now
This bike is designed as an Agricultural bike. Off the showroom floor, in my opinion, the bike is ugly. It has HUGE HUGE mud flaps front and rear and protector bars all over (typical for a farm bike). There are so many protectors that you can literally kick the bike over and it will not get a scratch. The bike is however very practical.
I made some changes:
I took off all the mud flaps and crash bars. I added better looking black hand guards, rear foot pegs, a tank protector and mirrors.
Next I had the rear carrier painted black. This way I could keep it on the bike but you donâ??t see it so prominently.
The carrier is VERY useful as it is huge (it carries 20kgâ??s as opposed to 10kgâ??s on most bikes) and itâ??s wide enough to hang panniers from. I used spacers behind the little cover over the exhaust to keep the pannier clear from the heat. It worked like a charm.
I bought a â??cigarette lighterâ? socket which I connected the battery. This is useful to charge a Cell phone, inflate a mattress etc.
I also replaced the tubes in the tyres with thicker â??Enduroâ? tubes. I cut the old tubes in itâ??s length on the inside and wrapped them around the Enduro tubes before fitting the tyres, effectively making the tubes even thicker.
I am in the process of replacing all bolts with stainless steel Allan key bolts. Allen keys are smaller and easier to carry in your toolkit.
The seemingly low 200ccâ??s is no problem either. It's a farm bike with a VERY low 1st gear - a low range if you like. It idles up any uphill (with me and my luggage) and itâ??s also very useful for slow speed steep descents. Another practical aspect is the side stands on each side with "big feet" which works well in mud and sand. The seat is low and the seating position upright. It has an electric start with a kick start backup.
This bike is close to perfect for trail riding and exploring, but for long distance flat stretches the top speed is to low. It is not a long distance touring bike (although that hasn't stopped me ;D). If you want to explore every nook & cranny of the Garden Route itâ??s perfect. If you have to ride 1000km of dirt highway stretches to get here itâ??s not.
Next I wanted to change the fuel tank. This bike currently carries 8,5 liters of fuel and has a range of 170 - 180km. :-\ I wanted to fit a long range fuel tank (22 liters) which would then extend the range to ± 480km, but it turns out such a tank costs more than 10% of the price of a new bike and has to be imported from the US.
Since 22 liters is heavy and (in my opinion) overkill anyway I started looking for a smaller 5 liter auxiliary tank. Eventually I found this little tank which fitted on my front rack perfectly. This would bump up my range to a much more reasonable 280km.
Next I painted the front rack black and had a custom bag made for the auxiliary tank.
On top of the bag I had clear PVC installed where I could keep my maps. This works nicely because the rack is high and in front of the handles. Much better than on a tank bag where you have to look down all the time. A "heads up display" if you want. ;D
I also needed a solution for my panniers. The previous set I had just did not cut it. They did not have enough space, did not have the necessary support and could not take the abuse. So I started looking for luggage that would fit the exact measurements of the rear luggage rack. I found a big bag with matching smaller bags that would be the panniers. Since these bags aren't bike luggage I needed a custom bracket for protection and support.
I had a alluminium bracket made that would carry the weight of the pannier bags (as well as protect them) with spaces I could use for the supporting straps. This bracket also keeps the luggage well clear of the wheel and exhaust and the rear light and flickers are well protected and unobstructed.
The finished result:
With the new luggage I have more space on the back seat (I can even take my young son as pillion) AND more packing space. I still keep weight to a minimum but now have the space to take big (but light) luxuries like a duvet.
The three new bags, alluminium bracket, custom made front bag, auxiliary tank and labour cost the same as the the shitty Oxfort panniers I had to begin with. What a bargain! ;D
This "TR luggage solution prototype 1" will be tested on the upcoming 7 day trip to Hogsback. The next step is custom made rain covers for the new luggage and having the front and rear racks and the alluminuim bracket powder coated black.
I'll keep you posted! 8)
PS. If you had to buy a CTX200 of the showroom floor and do all the modifications I have done it will still cost you less than R26 500. ;D And you thought KLR owners were cheap.
This bike is designed as an Agricultural bike. Off the showroom floor, in my opinion, the bike is ugly. It has HUGE HUGE mud flaps front and rear and protector bars all over (typical for a farm bike). There are so many protectors that you can literally kick the bike over and it will not get a scratch. The bike is however very practical.
I made some changes:
I took off all the mud flaps and crash bars. I added better looking black hand guards, rear foot pegs, a tank protector and mirrors.
Next I had the rear carrier painted black. This way I could keep it on the bike but you donâ??t see it so prominently.
The carrier is VERY useful as it is huge (it carries 20kgâ??s as opposed to 10kgâ??s on most bikes) and itâ??s wide enough to hang panniers from. I used spacers behind the little cover over the exhaust to keep the pannier clear from the heat. It worked like a charm.
I bought a â??cigarette lighterâ? socket which I connected the battery. This is useful to charge a Cell phone, inflate a mattress etc.
I also replaced the tubes in the tyres with thicker â??Enduroâ? tubes. I cut the old tubes in itâ??s length on the inside and wrapped them around the Enduro tubes before fitting the tyres, effectively making the tubes even thicker.
I am in the process of replacing all bolts with stainless steel Allan key bolts. Allen keys are smaller and easier to carry in your toolkit.
The seemingly low 200ccâ??s is no problem either. It's a farm bike with a VERY low 1st gear - a low range if you like. It idles up any uphill (with me and my luggage) and itâ??s also very useful for slow speed steep descents. Another practical aspect is the side stands on each side with "big feet" which works well in mud and sand. The seat is low and the seating position upright. It has an electric start with a kick start backup.
This bike is close to perfect for trail riding and exploring, but for long distance flat stretches the top speed is to low. It is not a long distance touring bike (although that hasn't stopped me ;D). If you want to explore every nook & cranny of the Garden Route itâ??s perfect. If you have to ride 1000km of dirt highway stretches to get here itâ??s not.
Next I wanted to change the fuel tank. This bike currently carries 8,5 liters of fuel and has a range of 170 - 180km. :-\ I wanted to fit a long range fuel tank (22 liters) which would then extend the range to ± 480km, but it turns out such a tank costs more than 10% of the price of a new bike and has to be imported from the US.
Since 22 liters is heavy and (in my opinion) overkill anyway I started looking for a smaller 5 liter auxiliary tank. Eventually I found this little tank which fitted on my front rack perfectly. This would bump up my range to a much more reasonable 280km.
Next I painted the front rack black and had a custom bag made for the auxiliary tank.
On top of the bag I had clear PVC installed where I could keep my maps. This works nicely because the rack is high and in front of the handles. Much better than on a tank bag where you have to look down all the time. A "heads up display" if you want. ;D
I also needed a solution for my panniers. The previous set I had just did not cut it. They did not have enough space, did not have the necessary support and could not take the abuse. So I started looking for luggage that would fit the exact measurements of the rear luggage rack. I found a big bag with matching smaller bags that would be the panniers. Since these bags aren't bike luggage I needed a custom bracket for protection and support.
I had a alluminium bracket made that would carry the weight of the pannier bags (as well as protect them) with spaces I could use for the supporting straps. This bracket also keeps the luggage well clear of the wheel and exhaust and the rear light and flickers are well protected and unobstructed.
The finished result:
With the new luggage I have more space on the back seat (I can even take my young son as pillion) AND more packing space. I still keep weight to a minimum but now have the space to take big (but light) luxuries like a duvet.
The three new bags, alluminium bracket, custom made front bag, auxiliary tank and labour cost the same as the the shitty Oxfort panniers I had to begin with. What a bargain! ;D
This "TR luggage solution prototype 1" will be tested on the upcoming 7 day trip to Hogsback. The next step is custom made rain covers for the new luggage and having the front and rear racks and the alluminuim bracket powder coated black.
I'll keep you posted! 8)
PS. If you had to buy a CTX200 of the showroom floor and do all the modifications I have done it will still cost you less than R26 500. ;D And you thought KLR owners were cheap.
