Rhenosterkop trail ... LT in the dirt

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Colyn

Race Dog
Joined
Sep 4, 2007
Messages
1,295
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Location
Nelspruit
Bike
BMW R1200GS
Long distance riding is where I get my adventures on my bike. However, I live on a small farm and have the added thrill of traveling one kilometer on dirt every time I go out with my bike and then again one kilometer when I return.

This one kilometer dirt track is not a joke, that I can assure you and over the years I have had a few scary moments on it. This is also the the place where I took my one and only dive from a bike ... the GT hit a rock and flipped me over the bars.

Here is a collection of shots, taken by my friend Marcelle, of me negotiating the Rhenosterkop Trail.

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Leaving the safety of my paved driveway behind ... taking the first bend into Marula straight.
It is on this straight that I took quite a hard dive a while back.


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The end of Marula straight and approaching the long downhill section towards
the lowlevel bridge.


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Passing through The Poles, up to here it is usually not too difficult if you
maintain a decent speed and don't go crazy.


001_MG_1461.jpg

Into the ditch ... this is difficult on the LT because the bike is heavy
and wants to run away. Lots of loose gravel, sand and ruts here makes
it hard to break if you should need to. A few months ago I noticed a huge
Mamba on the bridge as I came down here and nearly dropped the bike in
the process of coming to a stand still against the incline. There was no
way that I was going to challenge a 4m Mamba on that bridge.


001_MG_1463.jpg

I call this Hell's Height for many reasons. My neighbours are in the construction
business and their big trucks churns this little hill up and digs nasty holes
in the process. The LT is a bitch to take up here but a full blasted terror
to take down here.


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Dodging holes, rocks and ruts up the hill makes you wonder about your sanity. The
LT is surely not the ideal bike for this type of terrain.

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Out of Hell's height and on the short straight towards The Sandpit. The Sandpit is
a ninety degree turn that is full of thick sand and once again not the best terrain
for a heavy tourer.


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Out of The Sandpit and into what I call Tin Pan Alley. This section is usually
brutally churned up by the trucks and I cannot relax for a second. I have to
aim well because the LT easily scrapes the undercarriage here on almost every ditch.


001_MG_1469.jpg

Out of Tin Pan Alley and up towards Mango Groove. Here I have some time to take
a few breaths before I negotiate the ruts in Mango Groove.


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Mango Groove ... not to rough but you need to take care to miss the rocks that
surfaces here and sometimes the trucks open the rocks up quite high and that
will be rough on the belly of the LT.


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Exiting Mango Groove.


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Approaching The Junction. Biggest problem here is ruts otherwise it is quite easy.


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The end of the trail.


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Well that is one kilometer of dirt behind me and I hope that you have enjoyed reading it.
 
Colyn.

You are a real WD after all, some of the DS bikes in Gauteng are taken off road a lot less than your LT. ^-^
 
EK dink ook so Skillie :) ... check daai lean angle in die eerste shot :)
 
Just keep at it!
We'll convert you to the dust side soon! ;D ;D ;D
:thumleft:
 
Ek sien so, maar ek moet vir jou vra hoekom jy nie staan nie, jy weet mos BMW ouens staan ALTYD op grondpaaie.
 
;) skillie, lyk my die ou kan beter skryf as ry ;D

wonner hoe lank dit vat om die km trippie te doen?

Ja-nee Colyn - staan soos dit 'n perdintlike Beemerman betaam en dit sal beter gaan ;)
 
This must be the best words&pics/km ratio of any report ever! You need some TKC's. And as someone else mentioned, stand up man!
 
Damn, a 1 km ride report
Bloody hell - imagine a two day ride report - have to get a new server and form a sub-site just for Colyn  ;D
 
Up on those pegs Colyn, it's the only way. As someone who likes long tours, I must say that looks like a seriously lekka bike you've got there. Some knobblies and a bashplate and off you go!
 
Stofstreep said:
Just keep at it!
We'll convert you to the dust side soon! ;D ;D ;D
:thumleft:

I am sure it will happen ... been thinking about it for a long time ;) and you guys makes "lus" to do it.
 
Avon said:
;) skillie, lyk my die ou kan beter skryf as ry ;D

wonner hoe lank dit vat om die km trippie te doen?

Ja-nee Colyn - staan soos dit 'n perdintlike Beemerman betaam en dit sal beter gaan ;)

Wel ek kan gou presies check hoe lank dit gevat het ;)

Ok die eerste shot is 10:59:25 gedoen en die laaste een 11:02:31 ... hmmm ... dis so 3 minute ... nie te vrot vir so groot skip op so paadjie nie sou ek dink ;)

O ja ... ek staan partykeer ... dis al hoe ek die ou bees onder bedwang kan hou as hy begin rondskuif op die los gruis. Ek sal bietjie vir Skillie vra om a shot van dit te kry :)
 
Plothond said:
Damn, a 1 km ride report
Bloody hell - imagine a two day ride report - have to get a new server and form a sub-site just for Colyn  ;D

Yep ... imagine that ... :)
 
Groenie said:
This must be the best words&pics/km ratio of any report ever! You need some TKC's. And as someone else mentioned, stand up man!

I deserve a medal for that :) ... sadly they dont have TKC that will handle the weight of the LT ;).

Watch this spot ... I will get some shots of me standing :)
 
CAPTAIN SLOW said:
Stadig oor die klippe ;D

For sure ... baie stadig. :)

Uncle said:
Up on those pegs Colyn, it's the only way. As someone who likes long tours, I must say that looks like a seriously lekka bike you've got there. Some knobblies and a bashplate and off you go!

Oh yes ... he is a killer on the open road.

BMWPE said:
And when the gravel road is wet
what do you do

Just take it extra careful :)
 
Colyn said:
Stofstreep said:
Just keep at it!
We'll convert you to the dust side soon! ;D ;D ;D
:thumleft:

I am sure it will happen ... been thinking about it for a long time ;) and you guys makes "lus" to do it.

You can have both. No need to get rid of the LT.

Just another bike in the garage! :razz: :cool:
 
After many months of considering the options I have decided that I will sell my GT and by a GS ... took me a long time to decide and I waited for the F800GS ... now that I have seen it, sat on it ... read what others say of it I am happy ... I don't want a chain and the GS is what I will go for.

I am busy getting confirmation that I can get a cruise control fitted and that is the last obstacle ... without it I wont take the bike because no cruise control means no Shooting from the Saddle for me and the combination of my two hobbies are vital to me.
 
The 800GS is chain driven. Or do I deduce that you will rather go 1200?
 
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