Virgin Sand In Kaokoland (a post lockdown adventure)

[RrP]

Epic ride and report thank you for sharing.

 

[wobbler]

Wow!
Just, WOW!
Epic!
It has me really contemplating getting a smaller, lighter bike to really get out onto the roads less traveled.
I love my 990, but its thirsty! 250km range is limiting.

 

[8 min Mark]

Thanks for the awesome ride report Bruce. Kaokoland on two wheels is a truly special place.


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[Ian in Great Brak River]

Just what I needed in these busy times, thank you.

8)

 

[ALLEN I]

Bloody good RR mate thanks for the  :ricky: :ricky: :ricky:

 

[BoskakBruce]

Just do it! You will not regret it. I've had more grins on smaller bikes than I ever had in bigger bikes.

IMO, the only things that big bikes do better are speed, comfort and distance.

Offroad, I'm never going more than 100km/h, so I don't need speed.

With a soft seat, the 500 is comfortable enough. It will never be a GS, but I'm certainly not in agony riding it.

As far as long distance is concerned, I have just gotten used to it taking longer. That means I take in more of the scenery and look for creative back road routes I stead of highway.

If you can afford to keep the 990 and buy a smaller bike, you've got the best of both worlds.

If I had to choose only one bike to live with for the rest of my life, it would be the 500 all day long.

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[BoskakBruce]

Thanks for the awesome ride report Bruce. Kaokoland on two wheels is a truly special place.


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Pleasure, Mark. Glad you dug it

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[Dacquiri]

Thanks for a great RR Bruce!! The Kaokoveld never seems to disappoint. Now I just need to find a good marriage councillor to convince my wife that such a trip would be an excellent tonic!!  Btw how did that new seat hold out for the trip? Any mods to make to it as I am keen to pad mine up a bit as well?

 

[BoskakBruce]

Thanks for a great RR Bruce!! The Kaokoveld never seems to disappoint. Now I just need to find a good marriage councillor to convince my wife that such a trip would be an excellent tonic!!  Btw how did that new seat hold out for the trip? Any mods to make to it as I am keen to pad mine up a bit as well?

The seat was a winner. The only thing I would have changed was to make the foam a little softer.

I had asked Flying Brick to tell their guy to use a harder foam so that the "wings" of the seat don't flop. He did use a harder foam, but it was a bit too hard for my ass.

Also, don't get a seat like mine with "wings" if you are using giant loop luggage. The luggage bent the wings. In retrospect, I would have had it made thinner had I known this beforehand. Without luggage, the wings make it a super comfy seat.

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[Dacquiri]

Thanks Bruce

 

[XTJoe]

maybe sounding like a stuck record but Wow is in order(thanks 8m Mark for tip)- Thanks Bruce-definitely  Roll of honor material and "Boskak Bruce" would be appropriate - so  descriptive not only on that subject but so many others one could almost smell and as well as experience this ride. Some of these bits could maybe be a hectic for the average Joe among us but shit Nam has always just been the bucket list ride for 99% of the inmates here. Having such a camaraderie with between three amigos just made it even more enjoyable. Cheers

 

[m0lt3n]

I am late! Had this report open for a while to read and finally got to it!

flippen excellent RR! Thanks for all the effort and good info in general, and in the smelly specifics!

And while I am late, a question on the tube patching discussion...
why not use UHD tubes with slime from the get go and take the thin lightweight backup tube with.
if it fails then fit the backup tube which can be patched to one's heart's content?  25% of the times the valves sheer off anyhow so you really dont want the flat in the first place.

Did you change tubes and slime for your Namakwa 4x4 trip? Any ride report for that?

 

[BoskakBruce]

I am late! Had this report open for a while to read and finally got to it!

flippen excellent RR! Thanks for all the effort and good info in general, and in the smelly specifics!

Did you change tubes and slime for your Namakwa 4x4 trip? Any ride report for that?

Thanks man. I'm never using UHD tubes again - mostly becasue of how much they throw out the wheel balancing and becasue of what a pain in the ass they are to remove and install.

For my Namakwa trip, I bought some Michelin Enduro 2mm tubes. The bike felt a lot better. I recently had the wheels trued and balanced and that's made an even bigger difference.

The Namakwa 4x4 trail was epic, but I don't have it in me to spend another 10 nights writing the ride report. I'm thinking that in future I may narrate a slideshow instead. Less interesting, but much faster I suspect.

Thanks for following along.

 

[OomD]

Have you ever considered tubeliss, Bruce?

 

[BoskakBruce]

Have you ever considered tubeliss, Bruce?

Hi OomD. Yes, I have Tubliss on my  Husky 300. It's great for enduro, but is not designed for long distance high speed riding. The system heats up and can fail. Also, on a long distance trip, I'd still have to carry tubes in case of a Tubliss failure (of which I've had a few). Tubes are just a more reliable option IMO.

Lyndon Poskitt wrote a brilliant article on it here: https://advrider.com/tubes-tubeless-or-mousses-for-adventure-riding/

 

[2StrokeDan]

I do agree that tubes are the most reliable option out there, however I got so tired of fixing punctures that I fitted Tubliss 4 years ago, and while I still got punctures, they are a pleasure to repair on the

Tubliss system, and zero trouble from the system over 4 years.

Lots of problems arise from installation of Tubliss, you have to know what you're doing.  Every time I change tyres, the Tubliss system gets a fresh, liberal coat of red rubber grease.

One of my buddies did destroy his Tubliss through a clumsy repair effort......he put the hole reamer right into the Tubliss high pressure body. :eek7: :eek7: :eek7:

But, yes, into remote places I still have to carry the wheel removal toolkit and puncture repair and tubes.

Yes, "roadbike" type of conventional tubeless has no place offroad. It is dangerous.

 

[Mikie]

Thanks for an excellent ride report, Bruce.  :ricky:

 

[Damaraland]

Hey Bruce,

Finally got round to reading the full RR - brilliantly well written and I loved the pics and video snapshots, just blindingly obvious that you lot had an epic adventure. 

To me, adventures like this is what it's about and of course also compliments on fantastic choice of motorcycle :ricky:  As you demonstrated, with the right attitude one can still explore and have magical perhaps even life-changing experiences, even in this sheltered and "safe" age.  I really regret not being able to meet you guys on your way up, but I have no doubts that you will be back :thumleft:

Cheers,
Ruan

 

[BoskakBruce]

I really regret not being able to meet you guys on your way up, but I have no doubts that you will be back :thumleft:

Cheers,
Ruan

Thanks for being so willing to share your advice on the area so freely and please thank your wife for the border situation reports.

I will definitely be back, next time with my wife, and we will definitely look you guys up.

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[BoskakBruce]

Boskak Bruce, this rates among the best ride reports on here.

Yes, I vote for him changing his forum name :imaposer:

And thanks to you two, BoskakBruce is now my official forum name!

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