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Choosing the Bike
Myself and Craig had spent a long
time deciding on which bikes to buy.
We had originally considered the Africa Twin, but soon
realised that a bike like this would not fulfill our
requirements.
These were to obtain a bike that would
be:
· Relatively light, to improve offroad performance
and fuel consumption, yet not so light as to be difficult
to handle on long high speed roads.
· Low fuel consumption
· Ease of maintenance
· Proven reliability for overlanding
· Under £3000, including any modifications
and repairs required.
Some of the bikes we considered were
the BMW F650 Dakar, Kawasaki KLR 650, Honda XR650L,
and KTM Adventure.
Craig eventually settled on a 1999
Honda Dominator NX650 and myself a 1988 Yamaha XT600
Tenere.
Both 4-stroke engines, which fitted the criteria above.
I paid £1800 for my 'mint condition'
bike from FC Trott, a dealer in Harrow, North London
and christened it 'Roni'.
Unfortunately, Craig couldn't wait till March to set
off as he had to get to a wedding in Oz, so I'm going
alone.
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He Saw Me Coming!
Unfortunately, I was soon to discover that my
bike wasn't very 'mint' after all.
I was getting a lot of noise
from the top end, which I orignally thought was
just the tappits requiring a bit of adjustment.
After adjusting them twice, I realised that the
noise was more than just the tappits.
Discovering that the
cam-chain adjuster was at full stretch and
then some, Roni got sent to Chris at X-bikes to
have it replaced.
It didn't take long before Chris
was on the phone to me recommneding a top-end
overhaul.
The overstretched cam-chain had resulted in the
timing becoming extremely over-advanced, resulting
in damage to the piston, barrel, various bearings,
inlet manifold and carbs.
It's amazing that the engine was still running,
let alone running relatively well!
Naturally, I contacted the dealer,
FC Trott, about some compensation.At the time
of buying, he had re-assured me that the bike
would get me through Africa. Requiring nothing
but a major service.
Obviously his idea of a major service differs
drastically to mine.
Surprisingly, he refused to compensate
me at all!
Nice Bloke - NOT!
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Roni
and I during our Honeymoon period
- August 2002 |
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Other Repairs and Maintenance
- Tidy up electrical system, replace
old fuses and worn out wires, check and clean all
connections.
- Replace mains switch which was
dirty and rusted.
- Replace rusted front and rear brake
hoses with braided ones, new brake pads.
- Respoke front wheel, security bolts
on both rims, doubled up heavy duty tubes in each
tyre.
- Michelin Desert front tyre, Pirelli
MT21 rear
- Clean and service carburettor.
- Replace and lubricate throttle,
clutch, speedo and front brake cables.
- Replace fork oil, service and adjust
rear suspension.
- Fix main light mountings and
re-adjust
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Modifications
A. Rack and Panniers
A big thank you to Laura and her parents for their help
on this one. If it wasn't for Bob's help, I would never have
got the racks made, let alone to such a high standard.
Cheers to Sue for feeding us and Laura for painting
the finished product!
The objective was to have a light, strong rack, which
didn't interfere with any part of the bike whatsoever
when the rear suspension was under full load.
We achieved this by using premade 'hoops' brought from
Bracken as the central core. Attaching 20mm diameter,
2mm thick steel tubing for the support 'struts. With
20mmx3mm strapping providing lateral support between
the left and right hand side.
The end product
has turned out to be better than I was hoping, Not only
did we achieve our objectives, but I am still able to use
the pillion footrests, the side panels remain undamaged
and it is pleasing to the eye too!
B. Larger Oil Cooler
C. Engine Temperature
Gauge
Unfortunately, this doesn't seem
like it's going to happen any more. At least the oil
cooler is on though.
D. Electrical Socket
for GPS, Lamp, Mini-disc and Cell phone
I've got all the bits and pieces,
it's just a matter of putting it all together and wiring
it onto the bike without blowing it up.
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