Africa Twin owners and wannabes thread

**buggsubique** · 15th September 2009, 13:01

nice work hombre!

**Underground** · 15th September 2009, 18:53

Originally Posted by NordieBoy

Screen background.....

Thanks Nordie,
Thats stevebill's bike ,said he was going to tidy it up for the show.

**NordieBoy** · 15th September 2009, 19:12

I think they needed a couple of mud encrusted bikes on display.

**stevebill** · 18th September 2009, 06:33

Yep, that's my bike. It looks like several unsuccesssful repairs have been done on that crack.Glue gun, Araldite, chewing gum.... I shud see to it, but the exhaust/screen and speedo come first. I put some new H4 bulbs in last night which are supposed to give 50% extra light. Oh yeah, so let me try them before I part with cash - OK go ahead. The result? They do, they work, brilliant.I'll go and pay today, thanks Tahuna Auto Electrics. The bike show at Founders Park had all the ingredients i.e. hundreds of all sorts of bikes.However- it was a missed opportunity.No cheap gear- only saw 1 T shirt for sale, and I didnt spend owt all day apart from coffee. Should have been all the winter gear on a huge sale. I mean, if the expense is related to the bike, it isn't money is it? Not real money, the stuff you pay phone bills with thats real hard to earn.Its a different money, the type you cant spend fast enough and yet you can still grin. Try getting me to smile when Im buying a new carpet....

**stevebill** · 18th September 2009, 06:52

Anyone seen the 1998@ on Trademe for $7800 ? I very sincerely hope he gets more.. 'cos its the same one as mine. I now have a used correct speedo head on its way from Oz of all places.Didnt realise there wer so many At's over there. This comes off a UK bike ridden UK to Sydney via almost everywhere you could name. Has anyone come across the South Island TT2000 idea? I saw it yesterday on t'internet. 2000ks in 2 days, March 2010. No prizes, just fun. Im off on the Ulysses 1000ks in November, that's a good day.

**dino3310** · 18th September 2009, 13:01

saw that one on there, looks like a minta

**buggsubique** · 26th October 2009, 19:16

Where it should be I guess! But anyway, we'll get to that in a second. Took her from Wellington down to Waiau (near Hanmer) on Thurs night, and back up today. Kinda loving the 3G network on my netbook right now as I sit on the ferry....

Bike was great. Had a couple of small bags on the engine bars and the top box on the back. Not a lot to speak of over the weekend as that was spent hunting, spending time with the kids and drinking beer.

The real fun came on the way home when I dropped off the highway just north of Kekerengu and belted it along the beach. Belting it is actually an overstatement cos the twin was working its arse off in the fine shingle. It took a lot ot get up and semi-planing on the stuff. Its the only time I have ever tested the bike like that - it was really making use of the torque at 5000rpm. Anyone who's ridden along a beach knows what it's like getting airborne over those mini dunes. Fricken awesome fun. Coulda done with a steering damper though - got a bit twitchy at times. Kept her below 80km/h though and she was fine.

Thought to myself "man this must be merely a taste of what these things were like in the desert". The God of Dakar musta heard my thoughts. About 5-6km up the beach there was a cut through a rocky outcrop which suggested I drop my speed off a bit. It was a choke point that saw several of the 4wd track marks converge to one very soft point to get through the rocks. Very twitchy so kept buttoning off...but slowed too much and started sledging through the sand, getting slower and slower.

I kept enough speed up to get through the rocks and a subsequent creek but couldn't get enough speed up again to get on top of the shingle. With around 300kg trying to get driven by the rear wheel she was heating up so I had to pull over. I aimed for the nearest bit of hard-ish looking ground up by a fence...but got stuck on the exit. (see photo)

The only way I could get her going again was to aim her downhill a little towards the water...fatal fucken error that was. I couldn't hold the speed one I got on the flat and she bogged again. I wish I had taken more photos but I was not in the mood and with the tide getting too close for comfort I resorted to crabbing the bike sideways back up to higher ground. That took an hour. I had got about 100m. I was fucked. Enough said.

I've seen pictures of those poor c*nts in the desert with the sand roost going, trying to get out of the soft stuff. Thanks to the God of Dakar for that little reminder of my "wanna-be" status.

To cut a long story short, a bloke on a horse gave me a push another 150m to get out of the shit. I fanged it back up the main drag to Blenheim, drank some serious liquids, scoffed some food, washed & sprayed the bike and made it to the ferry.

ANyways, not a very exciting story, but I guess if anyone has done a similar thing on a big bike you know how fucked you can get trying to get out of it.

Peace out, Buggs

**junkmanjoe** · 26th October 2009, 19:39

it always turns to shit, when you are trying to get some where before time runs out....

JMJ

**Woodman** · 26th October 2009, 19:59

Good one Buggs,

Did you have one of those "why the fcuk did I go down there" moments?

if you did, thats adventuring

**Box'a'bits** · 26th October 2009, 20:44

Getting stuck doesn't have to happen far from home either. I went for a quick fang round Red Rocks two weeks ago. Got stuck in the shingle following 4WD tracks. Took an age to get the KTM out of that. Also brought home the perils of over gearing, and only having a centre stand.

Bought new tyres pretty much the next day....

**Underground** · 26th October 2009, 21:14

The guy on the horse had it sussed Buggs , they weigh heaps , only one horsepower ,and I've never seen one get stuck in the sand.

**buggsubique** · 27th October 2009, 09:15

Ha, too right mate. He said when he pulled up: "man that looked like awesome fun when you passed us back down the beach". Obviously I replied as humbly as I could that his mode of transport is the tried and tested method...

**Eddieb** · 27th October 2009, 09:42

haha, beached az Bro.

Had a similiar moment on Waitarere Beach near north of Welly. Dug the rear wheel in and couldn't get it out.

A guy in a 4x4 stoppped to give me a hand and about 2 minutes after getting it out a wave came in and filled the hole where the wheels had been the 2 minutes earlier. A bit too close.

**buggsubique** · 27th October 2009, 11:12

Yeah it was pucker factor for a bit. The wave wash was within half a metre of the bike at one point.

Need me a little 12V winch on the bottom fork clamp or something...