Transamerica Trail - planning phaze

[vegeman]

Nice bit of kit. adds 4.5L plus new rack included....17L total,

[10bikekid]

Nice mod, would be keen to join ya on the journey but am to responsible

Glad to see you using a 690, have some friends over there at the moment who bought DR's just for the trip ) one even had a 690 in his garage but was concerned about be so far from home on a KTM

Am reading at the moment a report in Kiwi Rider April 2013 where 6 kiwi's did the Colorado to California section, 4800Ks on 690's no sweat, best bikes they reckoned

[vegeman]

Yes, the 690 should be awesome...fuel injected for altitude changes, horsepower always helps, it carrys stuff well, I'm still strong enough to pick the dumb thing up if it decides to lie down ..plus I've got one, so best I use it! - there is no 'saving for best', use the darn thing and ride it till the wheels fall off.

I've maintained it pretty well, and replaced or addressed all the known issues including new rocker arms, manual timing chain adjuster, tank bolts, billet sprocket cover, billet fuel adapter, muffler, fuel maps, air cleaner just to to name a few...just hitting 45K's on it so by the time I get there, I'm expecting it to have another 10K's...before I start. I should have most of the other normal items all sorted before then ie bearings/chain etc and will also carry spare fuel pump/filter for it...as without that, buggered.

But...if things turn to shit, I've ordered one of this Sat hot spots from Iridium so I can at least make a call, send a message

http://www.iridium.com/Products/Irid...tCategoryID=29.

[Night Falcon]

Tank looks great Veg and sounds like you've got the 690 pretty sorted for the trip.

Grit and sand getting into the tank clogging the pump filter which cooks the pump seems to be one of more common causes of pump failure - the standard 690 fuel cap wouldn't help that so ya billet one is a great piece of kit! Read some guys filter their petrol when filling up out in the boonies. Keeping ya air filter fresh also good practice - plus carry a roll of duct tape and some zip ties and you can pretty much fix anything as we all know.

[vegeman]

Tank looks great Veg and sounds like you've got the 690 pretty sorted for the trip.

Grit and sand getting into the tank clogging the pump filter which cooks the pump seems to be one of more common causes of pump failure - the standard 690 fuel cap wouldn't help that so ya billet one is a great piece of kit! Read some guys filter their petrol when filling up out in the boonies. Keeping ya air filter fresh also good practice - plus carry a roll of duct tape and some zip ties and you can pretty much fix anything as we all know.

yup...have the rally raid sprocket kit to protect the case/slave cylinder...I also upgraded the slave unit to a twin o-ring unit from some german dude years ago...so I;m fully blinged on that front

you got a new machine yet?

[Night Falcon]

yup...have the rally raid sprocket kit to protect the case/slave cylinder...I also upgraded the slave unit to a twin o-ring unit from some german dude years ago...so I;m fully blinged on that front

you got a new machine yet?

not yet, had narrowed selection down to 5 or 6 bikes but got the hots for another 690 of late

[Crim]

not yet, had narrowed selection down to 5 or 6 bikes but got the hots for another 690 of late

Can't get the bloody things for love nor money, maybe some 2nd hand ones come available when the '15s arrive in Feb

[mattsdakar]

Can't get the bloody things for love nor money, maybe some 2nd hand ones come available when the '15s arrive in Feb

What r u riding now Crim?, saw you had your 450 up for sale

[Crim]

What r u riding now Crim?, saw you had your 450 up for sale

pushbike, Matt bugger it all next time I will buy before I sell!

[vegeman]

With JC (umopom) doing it backwards, and then talking with Festy who is keen to do it the wrong way for weather and shipping reasons...it does seems like a viable option. If we then consider us from downunder and things are backwards anyway...what does it matter to us

With the official route being east to West, there is more and more riders wanting to do it the other way (so more information available)....and while Sam has route sheets for one way...it seems most people are really using the route sheets, and just use the GPS to following the trail. Route sheets seem to the thing to read the night before to get an idea of the day ahead. It's Certainly not hard to reverse the trail in the software and We've just got onto GPS Kevins route...so options are clearly there.

https://sites.google.com/site/gpskev...-america-trail

Discussing with Festy yesterday, riding Oregon first seems logical as it will be warmer there initially and then as the weeks progress it continues to get warmer the further south we ride. Otherwise going East to West...its hotter initially, and then we riding into the colder weather just as the seasons are getting worse...Plus arriving in CA or Oregon means we can just get the bikes and ride

Also..feedback on that auxillary tank from RR is bloody awesome. Such a good peice of kit, and went ride on Sunday with more focus on distance than hooning..and managed 290K's before fueling, it used 14.5 litres so I would still have 2l in reserve...thats so good now.

Next mod is an improved windscreen/headlight protector with options to clamp on accessories...

[Muzz67]

Probably be a lot easier to pick up a set up bike from The Cal/Oregon end, when the visitors try to sell theirs after travelling the 'normal' direction.

[vegeman]

I know the guys on the other thread regarding communication in the outback and I have just bought, received and setup one of the new Inreach Explorer

http://www.inreachdelorme.com/produc...h-explorer.php



All part of the trip planning...as it's a great way to have communications when no cellphone available. I like these units because

Small, rugged IPX7 rated.
100 hours on 10 minute send intervals
Has a GPS function (so handy as a backup)
Connects to smartphone so can type messages and use all the contacts stored on the phone
BUT, can send messages from inreach should phone be knackered (preset or type it)
Sends email, SMS with position info and message.

$599 and can go on cheap plans now...I've gone for the $32/month plan.

[ducatijim]

$599 and can go on cheap plans now...I've gone for the $32/month plan.

And I know how to do it waaay cheaper than that and cut out the robbing buggers called Pivotel, in Oz.

Anyone interested, pm me and I can save you a shitload off the above!!!!

[vegeman]

Ok,
Still planning and prepping so have called Jeff to understand the latest on shipping costs/times and process.

Cost for shipping seems to be related to USD, so the price has gone up (at this point in time) to around $3500. This is based on bike/crate size so as PhreakyPhil suggested...get the smallest crate I can find.

Shipping time to LA is 5 weeks...which I think will be the hardest thing as I won't have the katoom around for any more playing or checking...but thats just the speed of the bike ol' boat.

As for making the bike legal in the USA, this seems to be more of a form based system, more than anything to do with the bike. We can ride with NZ plates, NZ WOF and Rego as long as it has 6 months min of validity....so thats cool.

We really can on ship to and from LA...so any other on-shipping or departure points changes the process a lot - I think I mentioned before we will ride up from LA to Oregon an then jump on the TAT and head South and East...I think that once we get to Akansas, we will likely start heading south and head back via Texas for Alligator hunting, via New mexico, Alberquque ...

Well thats the current plan.

Next step for me is riding to the Far South Adventure Ride organised by Mike and Angela Britton. From Welly to there and back plus their ride, I'll probably do some 4000K's so will be a good test for the gear and see how we get on.

I'm going to ride with the Mitas E09 Dakar on the rear and see how that works. Seems to be a good dirt that seems to last better than most....so I think with real offroading plus some boring tarmac, I should get an good idea of its performance.

[GPS MAN]

Sounds like a Great Trip!

If you make it through Mississippi say hello to Sam ~ the founder of the TAT...

You can contact him via email and he will give you his address...a good fellow and friend!