Sym NHT200 Ownership Experience

[TheBear]

I have watched the winch videos Maddy and I must confess, the idea does not compute for me. Maybe if I mull it over a bit longer.

Like the crash bars you posted. They look nice darn nice and if my bike, they would definitely be on my bucket list.

About that, I doubt any crash bar will properly protect the levers, not without possibly impeding lean angle. Of course, I could be wrong.

 

[TimLeChuckZA]

Cheaper and lighter than a winch...

 

[Tom van Brits]

Cheaper and lighter than a winch...

View attachment 806969

Look Maddy you have taught me something, at first I though you a making a joke wrt the winch till you posted the videos.

For the love of it (and honestly no sarcasm here since I admire your sense of adventure and as a WD friend) I cannot see as a 99% solo adventure rider the need for a winch other than on maybe a ‘side by side or 4 x 4 quad.

First of all in order to use a winch you need an anchor point and trees we have seen only moves in the unfortunate even of an accident.

When I was a field medical orderly we have done a 4 x 4 course and they taught us how ro ‘make an anchor point’ and one of the methods was to dig a hole and burry your vehicle’s spare wheel and use that which only helps in soft sand and is pretty useless in general.

I have been in gnarly situations with adventure bikes all by myself and I am not a very physically strong man but never needed a winch.
Noneking’s recent ‘stuck in the mud’ episode is not where you will take your Sym for that natter, it was in a river bead and regardless how remote you think you are in Africa you will be surprised where the locals pops out of nowhere.
Sometimes scared the crab out of me, think you are alone in ‘valley of desolation’ nogal and after picking my bike up two guys appeared out of nowhere wanting to help.

But if you are still not convinced get a ratchet strap like above, you will ‘girl handle’ any size of adventure bike ‘out of whatever’

 

[Dwerg]

Maddy is getting that damn winch ok!
If for nothing else it’ll be unique and who knows, her first big RR might just feature a story about how it saved the day

 

[Dwerg]

But I agree. There is a balance to be struck between feeling confident in preperation, confident to venture a little further but also not to try solve every concievable scenario before it happens. If you find yourself with a repeated problem, find the solution

 

[TimLeChuckZA]

But I agree. There is a balance to be struck between feeling confident in preperation, confident to venture a little further but also not to try solve every concievable scenario before it happens. If you find yourself with a repeated problem, find the solution

Solid advice this, thanks. As someone who is very new to riding, what would you say are the absolute musts to have in your "toolkit" before you decide to embark on your solo adventures? And by "toolkit" I mean physical tools, accessories, etc, as well as physical skills.

You can watch all the YouTube videos you like, but there is information overload.

I am currently trying to gather information to help me decide on soft pannier bags. Somehow that search took me down the rabbit hole and I ended up looking at portable compressors and tyre levers and how to do roadside tube changes. That rabbit hole is a nasty place. However at the same time, no one wants to end up stranded out there alone.

 

[Dwerg]

Fixing a tyre is a must. Practice it too. My first tube change took nearly 3 hours but it was in my garage with a beer in hand, friends laughing and giving ‘pointers’, not in the bush with fading daylight. I still dislike tube changes. Bought a tubeless bike but even then you have to have tubes in case of a cut

 

[Dwerg]

Look I am actually a really bad person to listen to. I lean very hard to putting my fingers in my ears when it comes to preparation and let my credit card do the stressing part. Tools must have is obviously the ability to change and inflate a tube, whetever that requires on your bike. If you have that and know how to use it, you’re already ahead of the game.

 

[Tom van Brits]

A front and rear spare tube
A beat breaker if you are not familiar with a side stand beat breaking method
If no centre stand on the bike a ‘crutch’ (flying brick sells them)
Wrenches to remove the bolts and nuts of the axle
The smallest sunlight liquid bottle you can find - this helps tremendously with getting the tyre off and on the rim
3 x tyre levers (yes 3 makes the job way easier)
Small compressor - Dust rider sells them, mine is probably already 10years old and works 100.
Cable ties (zip ties)
Prutley putty steel (never go nowhere without, it can plug a leaking radiator or sump)

I use Enduristan Monsoon soft saddle bags and Enduristan Blizzards. Both also available from Dustriders aka ChrisL on the forum

Leatherman or similar always on my belt
Fuses
Headlamp and spare battries
A small emergency kit - some bandages, buscopan for cramps, loparamide for the shits, brufen or cateflamD for pain and inflamation.
Cell charger
Enough water and fuel
Raincoat
Emergency blanket

Medical aid card if you have hanging around your neck because your wallet is the first thing that disappears in case of an accident

My list will differ from yours and anyone other
Just named a fee things I always have on me

 

[Dwerg]

Tom I’ll add a valve puller but good list

Here’s tips if you go for C02 bombs from my mistakes. 1. Remeber the to pack the adaptor. Kind of important. 2. Don’t hold on to the C02 bomb with your bare hand when you open the adaptor valve

 

[stcomza]

All good and solid advice, thank you for sharing as it helps all of us.

Wife and I will be leaving on our back roads adventure to Graaff-Reinet on the 19th of December. We are tasking Thomas the Sym to create incredible memories again.

This time we will be taking half of what we did on our first trip. I feel that we were over prepared and wanted to be ready for every single "what if". The more you ride, the "smarter" you become.

 

[MaddyS]

Look Maddy you have taught me something, at first I though you a making a joke wrt the winch till you posted the videos.

For the love of it (and honestly no sarcasm here since I admire your sense of adventure and as a WD friend) I cannot see as a 99% solo adventure rider the need for a winch other than on maybe a ‘side by side or 4 x 4 quad.

First of all in order to use a winch you need an anchor point and trees we have seen only moves in the unfortunate even of an accident.

When I was a field medical orderly we have done a 4 x 4 course and they taught us how ro ‘make an anchor point’ and one of the methods was to dig a hole and burry your vehicle’s spare wheel and use that which only helps in soft sand and is pretty useless in general.

I have been in gnarly situations with adventure bikes all by myself and I am not a very physically strong man but never needed a winch.
Noneking’s recent ‘stuck in the mud’ episode is not where you will take your Sym for that natter, it was in a river bead and regardless how remote you think you are in Africa you will be surprised where the locals pops out of nowhere.
Sometimes scared the crab out of me, think you are alone in ‘valley of desolation’ nogal and after picking my bike up two guys appeared out of nowhere wanting to help.

But if you are still not convinced get a ratchet strap like above, you will ‘girl handle’ any size of adventure bike ‘out of whatever’

Skip to 15 minutes in the video and think of a solo rider (PS look for locals). I guess you are right, a ratchet would work better. It'll be easy to balance the bike and ratchet the bike uphill instead of pushing a button
And again, you're right, small bikes never go into riverbeds and can always get uphill. Dumb dumb me

 

[BullSmit]

They are discussing rear brake and gear lever.

We have a bad habit of referring to pedals as levers.

Gear pedal and brake pedal.

 

[Tom van Brits]

Skip to 15 minutes in the video and think of a solo rider (PS look for locals). I guess you are right, a ratchet would work better. It'll be easy to balance the bike and ratchet the bike uphill instead of pushing a button
And again, you're right, small bikes never go into riverbeds and can always get uphill. Dumb dumb me

I rest my case
Go buy your winch

 

[MaddyS]

I rest my case
Go buy your winch

Go sleep

 

[stcomza]

Skip to 15 minutes in the video and think of a solo rider (PS look for locals). I guess you are right, a ratchet would work better. It'll be easy to balance the bike and ratchet the bike uphill instead of pushing a button
And again, you're right, small bikes never go into riverbeds and can always get uphill. Dumb dumb me

Ok, from my perspective as a owner of an NHT - I will never ever take my bike on routes/trials like that.
To be perfectly honest, it was not designed for that type of adventure in mind.

 

[MaddyS]

Ok, from my perspective as a owner of an NHT - I will never ever take my bike on routes/trials like that.
To be perfectly honest, it was not designed for that type of adventure in mind.

I'm planning on taking mine anywhere I can

 

[TimLeChuckZA]

Ok, from my perspective as a owner of an NHT - I will never ever take my bike on routes/trials like that.
To be perfectly honest, it was not designed for that type of adventure in mind.

Someone needs to mention this to the Brazilians

 

[TimLeChuckZA]

All good and solid advice, thank you for sharing as it helps all of us.

Wife and I will be leaving on our back roads adventure to Graaff-Reinet on the 19th of December. We are tasking Thomas the Sym to create incredible memories again.

This time we will be taking half of what we did on our first trip. I feel that we were over prepared and wanted to be ready for every single "what if". The more you ride, the "smarter" you become.

Sounds like an epic trip. Looking forward to the ride report Enjoy it. Ride safe!

 

[stcomza]

Someone needs to mention this to the Brazilians

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I have too much mechanical sympathy for the Sym
With the CTX 200 I do not mind...