Hi everyone. Well it's been a month and a half since leaving NZ and finally I have a bike (well sort of!). After asking the locals, it turns out their chinese 125s are around $US800-1000, which seems really odd as there is not a lot of money in this economy yet every mofo has one of these bikes. There are a few Jappas around, and yesterday's treasure hunt landed me a Honda XL200. It has been laying around parked up in the UN compound for what looks like a very long time. There were bird nests in behind the headlight, spider eggs under the seat...the tyres were flat, fuel gone, low on oil, no key... and so begins the project!
We are doing a lot of airborne patrols and getting around various parts of the country. But after hours there is not a lot to do but drink beer, watch the odd movie, check emails and that sort of stuff. So now I have this project to crack on with...
The real killer so far is a combination of the electrics being in a real bad way, and no ignition key. I dropped the barrel out of the ignition (the steering lock had not been used) so I can turn the connector rotor at the bottom now with no need for a key. The battery is fully dead so that is on the solar charger now to see if it will hold anything...not expecting it to! No kick start which is a bugger. Spent yesterday trying to jump it off one of the Nissan Patrols but there is nothing in the electrics at all... replaced the 15A main fuse (it had been bypassed with wire). So this last fact is probably my biggest concern - if the fuse was burnt out and they then bypassed it there's a good chance the same thing that cooked the fuse has now caused electrical damage somewhere else. I'll see what else I can find but for now, slowly slowly. Might get the wife to send a multimeter from home for a bit of testing. I'll now go through all the connections one by one.
Aside from that, its just really hot (high 40's - we did reach 51 one day). The roads are like rainbow station on a bad day, with some the Kaimai Ranges' Thompsons Track thrown in for good measure...
There are two kinds of adventurers: those who go truly hoping to find adventure and those who go secretly hoping they won't. We should come home from our adventures having faced their perils and uncertainties, endured their discomfort and beaten the odds, with a sly acknowledgment and revitalised solidarity of character.
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Will be looking forward to heaps of reports. Keep safe mate 
....wherezz that track go 
. Means of procrastination have included taking the kids to the local fair on Saturday which was good fun, although my youngest is still a bit miffed about being encouraged into the Haunted House. Also bought a Kindle Touch the other day and have been searching for quality reading material to keep the brain going and fill any gaps and evenings in the long days ahead.
Originally Posted by buggsubique
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