This year has sure been a lucky packet. Some good, some really kak and some curve balls. I’d like to send the year off with a roost and welcome the new year with the front in the air...
So I’ve been thinking about doing a big trip, the type of trip “TRUE ADVENTURERS” dream of
. I’m thinking of spending about ~3 weeks over December going through Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozam and Swaziland. Geographically this makes sense seeing as though I could pass from one directly into the other and with enough time I don’t really have to just shoot straight through each destination. I want to ride an awesome route at each destination as opposed to just gunning through. That’s the idea at least.
Now there is obviously a LOT of detail behind this: Routes, booking accom beforehand, tyres, borders, is a week in each destination enough (besides Swazi), concerns about potentially going alone etc etc. Hopefully I can gather enough information about each destination and the trip as a whole to assess whether it can be done and would be fun, or whether I need eliminate one or more destinations or just drop everything and go to Oyster Box.
Then comes the bike - I do NOT want to fight a big and heavy bike especially since there will be so many unknowns (feshfesh, gnarly trails, gnarly climbs to get out of a valley and hectic river crossings etc). I also don’t want to worry about dropping the bike and so my “expensive” bikes are not really an option. I will for the most part try and stick to gnarly trails/one spoor where possible which leaves me with two choices with the above in mind:
2012-2016 KTM 500
Or
2012-2016 690
Now I obviously don’t want to go and spend R133k on a new 701 and go potentially trash it, but a 690/701 makes sense PURELY considering oil/service interval and to a lesser extent, comfort. Hopefully I can avoid gravel highways and stay on single track trails which favours the 500 ito comfort (Vastly superior suspension and geometry). This might make the 500 more comfortable on this specific trip given the riding requirements.
There are so many reasons NOT to take a 690 and less so for the 500. Adding extra fuel to a 500 involves an easy to source tank, the 690 is a whole other ballgame (underseat tank, more fuel line connections, raid tanks in front yada yada yada). Oil changes and airfilters are my biggest concerns with the 500. As for things to add to the 500, basics would probably be a tank, comfy seat if possible, rally pegs and slightly better headlight bulb, tubliss?? As far as lights, that can be a deep and dark rabbit hole and most don’t make it out alive. How CRITICAL would good lights be? And if so, what’s the simplest and cleanest solution ( I hate hom jobbies, but really don’t want to go the HDB ralllye lite route, just too much stuff that can go wrong).
Spares & Tools: Levers, spark plugs, tubes, patch kits/plug kits, FI modules, fuel filters and filter skins...
Accomodation: Now this will actually be the hardest decision. Do I book accomm in advance for each destination, for each night OR do I wing it (with preidentified milestones to stay) or do I wing it and take camping stuff. Now that latter option, I love nature and being in it, but the admin and extra weight of having to carry just the camping basics presents a probelm; especially given the limited space on a 500. I obviously don’t want a flipping village strapped to the bike which would defeat the the reason I chose a 500 in the first place, but I also think it would be stupid not to take the bare camping essentials. This is especially true when doing a trip like this because you never know what can happen ito making your milestones.
Team Mate: This would probably be the one thing that could put this trip on the backburner. I would likely not be able to get anyone I know to go on the trip of a lifetime (available leave, money etc) so unsure of whether it would be ok’ish to go it alone, or totally out of the question. I would like to have a team mate to embark on this with me, but I would not want to abandon it if no one should pop-up. I don’t mind being alone at all, in fact sometimes I prefer it, but theres also nothing better than chatting like highschool girls after the prom about the awesome riding!! Nevermind the safety that a second rider can offer.
Hopefully this thread will evolve into enough detail to both decide and subsequently plan it.
Looking forward to what some of the more seasoned adventurers have to say or just random chit-chat!
So I’ve been thinking about doing a big trip, the type of trip “TRUE ADVENTURERS” dream of
. I’m thinking of spending about ~3 weeks over December going through Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozam and Swaziland. Geographically this makes sense seeing as though I could pass from one directly into the other and with enough time I don’t really have to just shoot straight through each destination. I want to ride an awesome route at each destination as opposed to just gunning through. That’s the idea at least.Now there is obviously a LOT of detail behind this: Routes, booking accom beforehand, tyres, borders, is a week in each destination enough (besides Swazi), concerns about potentially going alone etc etc. Hopefully I can gather enough information about each destination and the trip as a whole to assess whether it can be done and would be fun, or whether I need eliminate one or more destinations or just drop everything and go to Oyster Box.
Then comes the bike - I do NOT want to fight a big and heavy bike especially since there will be so many unknowns (feshfesh, gnarly trails, gnarly climbs to get out of a valley and hectic river crossings etc). I also don’t want to worry about dropping the bike and so my “expensive” bikes are not really an option. I will for the most part try and stick to gnarly trails/one spoor where possible which leaves me with two choices with the above in mind:
2012-2016 KTM 500
Or
2012-2016 690
Now I obviously don’t want to go and spend R133k on a new 701 and go potentially trash it, but a 690/701 makes sense PURELY considering oil/service interval and to a lesser extent, comfort. Hopefully I can avoid gravel highways and stay on single track trails which favours the 500 ito comfort (Vastly superior suspension and geometry). This might make the 500 more comfortable on this specific trip given the riding requirements.
There are so many reasons NOT to take a 690 and less so for the 500. Adding extra fuel to a 500 involves an easy to source tank, the 690 is a whole other ballgame (underseat tank, more fuel line connections, raid tanks in front yada yada yada). Oil changes and airfilters are my biggest concerns with the 500. As for things to add to the 500, basics would probably be a tank, comfy seat if possible, rally pegs and slightly better headlight bulb, tubliss?? As far as lights, that can be a deep and dark rabbit hole and most don’t make it out alive. How CRITICAL would good lights be? And if so, what’s the simplest and cleanest solution ( I hate hom jobbies, but really don’t want to go the HDB ralllye lite route, just too much stuff that can go wrong).
Spares & Tools: Levers, spark plugs, tubes, patch kits/plug kits, FI modules, fuel filters and filter skins...
Accomodation: Now this will actually be the hardest decision. Do I book accomm in advance for each destination, for each night OR do I wing it (with preidentified milestones to stay) or do I wing it and take camping stuff. Now that latter option, I love nature and being in it, but the admin and extra weight of having to carry just the camping basics presents a probelm; especially given the limited space on a 500. I obviously don’t want a flipping village strapped to the bike which would defeat the the reason I chose a 500 in the first place, but I also think it would be stupid not to take the bare camping essentials. This is especially true when doing a trip like this because you never know what can happen ito making your milestones.
Team Mate: This would probably be the one thing that could put this trip on the backburner. I would likely not be able to get anyone I know to go on the trip of a lifetime (available leave, money etc) so unsure of whether it would be ok’ish to go it alone, or totally out of the question. I would like to have a team mate to embark on this with me, but I would not want to abandon it if no one should pop-up. I don’t mind being alone at all, in fact sometimes I prefer it, but theres also nothing better than chatting like highschool girls after the prom about the awesome riding!! Nevermind the safety that a second rider can offer.
Hopefully this thread will evolve into enough detail to both decide and subsequently plan it.
Looking forward to what some of the more seasoned adventurers have to say or just random chit-chat!
