tankwa rally - 1; 990 - 0

[ETS]

Mmmmmmmmmmm--- Twister kom ons ry op 500's

 

[Offroad2]

Hi Martin,
Great to meet you, must say you are made of steel, you showed a lot of calm determination with that beast - super well done !!!
We love to read and receive feed back, from our side this was with out a doubt the toughest Tankwa XC.  Just to give readers an idea of the orga reasoning's during a race, we look at riders position on the track vs time left, we also consider how fast a competitor is moving, maybe he/she stopped for a mechanical and is moving well/fast again but catching up or slowing down with a mechanical or injury, also considering temperature and day light etc.
Great read, keep it up, if we host a training camp 2022 it is worth it for everyone to sharpen up and get a real taste.
Love the pictures but do think it is a good idea to stay moving   
Kind regards

 

[Offroad2]

Doing Tankwa Rally on a 990 is madness!! :imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer:

But I might just join you on my 950 next year :ricky: (I've already ridden it around the block twice in preparation...)

Seriously, looks like there might be a few big bikes in 2022, and I am keen :thumleft:  Training starts with bike maintenance this week...

  Super Enduro - 2019 (before covid) we had around four Honda 650 enter - they did very well, BUT this year was tough as advertised ...

 

[Pietsjiet]

Martin. Jy is 'n yster! 
Dit was jou eerste "race" .  Dit gedoen met jou  Adventure  mindset.
Dit kan net verbeter ...
8)

 

[mike gs]

Well done meneer. Big respect!

Sent from my SM-G980F using Tapatalk

 

[Kaboef]

Well done.

Taking a 220kg bike into 110kg bike territory takes balls.

 

[m0lt3n]

Well done on at least giving it a bash. As anyone who's ever done a Rally before will attest, half the battle is just getting to that start line  :thumleft:

I knew you were going to be in for a very hard time on that big girl but I didn't want to dampen your spirit before you got there. I think the event is totally doable on a big bike but then the rider and the bike need to be very well prepared. I watched Rudi attempt it on his KTM950 and even as a very experienced big bike rider, he took a beating, as did his bike.

Now that you know what to expect, you can come back and slay the beast next year. The Tankwa sure gets into your blood  :thumleft:

Haha I had a good idea that it will be near impossible for me on the other thread, and actually thought you were very "politically correct" in your tips!

But indeed. I will be much better prepared for the next one. Not only the riding, but understanding the setup will also make for more confident riding.

 

[m0lt3n]

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys.


I am very very undecided whether I should do it again, and if I do, if it should be on the 990 or just buy a dedicated 250 kind of thing to get it done, or 500 to get a lot of things done.
I am also longing for a modern bike again, and if I havent spend so much on the 990 already, it would have been gone already. So undecided/uncertain and deurmekaar does not begin to explain my thought on my bike setup...


but
if a number of 990 class bikes do decide to go, I will definitely do my utmost to also be there again on the 990.

my wife would actually prefer me to go on the 990, as with something smaller racing becomes an option and not just finishing.

 

[Chrisl]

Jy het guts Martin, en gawe geskrewe report ook. Jy kan maar volgende jaar weer doen. Die tipe ding byt soos n gogga mens kom elke jaar weer terug. Dit gaan oor die ry, maar ook die interaksie tussen die mense deur die naweek. :thumleft:

 

[Noneking]

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys.


I am very very undecided whether I should do it again, and if I do, if it should be on the 990 or just buy a dedicated 250 kind of thing to get it done, or 500 to get a lot of things done.
I am also longing for a modern bike again, and if I havent spend so much on the 990 already, it would have been gone already. So undecided/uncertain and deurmekaar does not begin to explain my thought on my bike setup...


but
if a number of 990 class bikes do decide to go, I will definitely do my utmost to also be there again on the 990.

my wife would actually prefer me to go on the 990, as with something smaller racing becomes an option and not just finishing.

I would be keen to do it on a big bike with a bunch of like minded guys…….[emoji48][emoji48][emoji48]

 

[Offroad2]

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys.


I am very very undecided whether I should do it again, and if I do, if it should be on the 990 or just buy a dedicated 250 kind of thing to get it done, or 500 to get a lot of things done.
I am also longing for a modern bike again, and if I havent spend so much on the 990 already, it would have been gone already. So undecided/uncertain and deurmekaar does not begin to explain my thought on my bike setup...


but
if a number of 990 class bikes do decide to go, I will definitely do my utmost to also be there again on the 990.

my wife would actually prefer me to go on the 990, as with something smaller racing becomes an option and not just finishing.

Martin you will more fun on a 450 or 500 (even 350) half way between DSP3 & DSP4 there was some serious tech stuff to link two valleys

 

[XTJoe]

Well done on at least giving it a bash. As anyone who's ever done a Rally before will attest, half the battle is just getting to that start line  :thumleft:

Now that you know what to expect, you can come back and slay the beast next year. The Tankwa sure gets into your blood  :thumleft:

Agreed-just giving it a bash and on a monster 950 as well-bucket list stuff!!

 

[uyster]

Well done, respect  :thumright:

 

[JACOVV]

Respect.  :deal:

Thanks for sharing.

 

[51Mobile]

Huge respect! Well done.

[member=13184]Noneking[/member] - keep me posted on your plans. With a lot of fitness work and some riding lessons from you, this could be interesting.

 

[Frannarossi]

Well done man! Lekker report ook  :thumleft:

 

[m0lt3n]

Thanks for the feedback all.

still havent fixed my flat rear, actually struggled my arse off to get it on the centre stand. Other than the flat tyre the rally wasnt to hard on the bike (probably again highlighting how I was the weak link and not the bike)

 

[JacoM]

May I add my 2c's on the topic of a heavy bike doiing Tankwa race.

It is a bad idea.
Even if you are <30 years old and an exceptional, competitive and capable rider.
The surface you have to ride is the most extreme of rocks ever encountered. Sharp edges.
Even on higher speed stretches the rocks never disappears.
On heavier bikes, even with the best suspension, you will damage tyres / rims/ tubes/ mousses much easier than on proper offroad bike.
When (not if) you have a damaged wheel set, you will disrupt the sweepers and/or the emergency crew and/or yourself or other competitors, never mind injury to yourself.
The race takes you to very remote areas -  If you have to take a walk (or crawl) you might not see anybody for 24 hrs....
So, I say it is a bad idea to do it on a big bike

 

[Noneking]

May I add my 2c's on the topic of a heavy bike doiing Tankwa race.

It is a bad idea.
Even if you are <30 years old and an exceptional, competitive and capable rider.
The surface you have to ride is the most extreme of rocks ever encountered. Sharp edges.
Even on higher speed stretches the rocks never disappears.
On heavier bikes, even with the best suspension, you will damage tyres / rims/ tubes/ mousses much easier than on proper offroad bike.
When (not if) you have a damaged wheel set, you will disrupt the sweepers and/or the emergency crew and/or yourself or other competitors, never mind injury to yourself.
The race takes you to very remote areas -  If you have to take a walk (or crawl) you might not see anybody for 24 hrs....
So, I say it is a bad idea to do it on a big bike

Often a good reason to do something..... someone saying that you shouldn't  ;D eepwall:

Hear what you saying Jaco. Would be interesting to hear from someone like [member=11438]detour[/member] who's done it on GS?

 

[detour]

I’ve been keeping an eye on this thread, but wasn’t planning on commenting [emoji3]

It is possible to do Tankwa on a big adventure bike, but it is an extreme challenge.

The terrain is VERY rocky, very sandy, steep in places and VERY remote. Basically everything that has been mentioned here…

The biggest challenges on a big adventure bike are:
1) You have to conquer the obstacles alone - on most extreme adventure rides we have buddies who can help when the bikes are stuck.
2) You have to ride consistently fast to have any chance of finishing at a reasonable time. This means taking a lot of risks.

It might be best to attempt it as a team of two riders who can assist each other if you get stuck, but you will have to take care to not waste time. Even as a single rider I finished well after dark on the Saturday. I did spend about an hour assisting other riders that day, but otherwise I rode fast and didn’t rest or waste time anywhere. Even without having spent that hour helping others, I would still have finished just after sunset. I’m fairly confident that a team of more than two will just be too slow to finish. And the two riders have to fit and fast [emoji3]

It is also true that it is tough on the bikes… I didn’t have any big offs - only small ones [emoji23] - but had to replace both rims after the Rally. It’s hard to describe just how many rocks there are - EVERYWHERE - and there isn’t enough time to ride slow enough to protect the rims.

I’ll understand if the organizers won’t allow it in future. It is borderline stupid and will in most cases affect other riders and the organizers negatively.

So… it can be done. BUT… it is very hard and it is risky. Do Kaokoland’s rocky passes and sandy riverbeds first - unsupported with full luggage on the bike. Finishing Tankwa on a big bike is a fair bit harder than that… 

PS I’m referring to riding the longer routes of the Rally class in this post. There might be less time pressure with the shorter off-road classes.