I'm university stuednt in Japan. I'm looking for step-up bike from my Suzuki Gixxer150. Which bike costs aroud 7,500USD and around 90USD per month with 3years-loan. I purpose to explore forest load, and long trip.
This is on the Lost Coast BDR-X near Steamboat Rock. I'm traveling from Seattle to Phoenix and definitely had to check out some of the tracks along the way. It's hard to describe how huge everything was on this tiny little road.
Connected later with Usal Rd. There were so many big beasts out there, I would have believed there was an organized rally happening.
I am looking for a rugged tablet for navigation.
I want it to be bright, like 1000 NITS or more.
Have a recent Android Operating System, for example 14, 15 or 16.
Be unlocked with US cellular bands for AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.
Ideally, have a mount compatible with RAM ball mounts.
What are some of my better choices these days?
Great couple of days buzzing around Quebec. Didn’t find out until my ride home there was a big Adv Bike event in La Pêche. I was riding please close to there. I would have joined in had I known. Next year!
Hey guys, I’ve had a Motoz Tractionator Adventure Front tire on my bike since I bought it two years ago used. Do you know if this is normal wear or is something off? It’s hard to tell in the photos, but every other center knob is super short, almost flat with the rest of the tire. It seems odd but I’m not sure if it is normal or not.
Looking for your thoughts and feelings about these three bikes (in any displacement)
Suzuki Vstrom
Triumph Tiger
Yamaha Tenere
I currently have a Himalayan 450 but I’m preparing to sell it. This is a story for another day.
I want to buy a used bike 2013+ that fits into the adv touring category. I ride 60% on the highway, 20% local city, and 10% on gravel / dirt roads.
I’ve settled on the above three due my own research about their quality, durability, and of course - LOOKS!
I’d love to hear your thoughts. I see a lot of Tigers and Vstroms for sale with relatively low miles. Many of them come kitted with crash bars and panniers.
My experience prior to the Himalayan has been street bikes and cafe racers.
I just want something fast for the California freeways, comfortable, and able to handle a fire road during the zombie apocalypse. Thanks!
I bought the bike about two months before the trip and managed to get 550 miles on it before we left. The bike fired up, ran and finished with zero issues. It handled the water crossings, rough single track, back roads, mud, rocks and everything else. I’m very happy with my choice to switch to this bike.
Mine seem to be falling apart within weeks and haven’t been able to keep my puig windscreen on. I’ve been essentially riding on a naked Transalp for month.Any tips?
NOTE: I want to be honest right up front. I built this for myself, it worked way better than I expected, so I spent the last 6 months building it solo and I need beta testers. Also, it uses AI. Some people will not like that, and that is fair
Why I built it:
I love motorcycling and have been riding since I was 4. I'm 40 now. I used to rely on my dad's memory for which roads to take when I was a kid, and now that I'm an adult I don't really have many of my own. I've moved around a lot too, which doesn't help, because every new area means digging through forums just to start. I always find myself looking for that “holy grail” twisty dirt road and I keep ending up on the same old thing. I wanted a way to easily find new and fun routes, so I made TrackScout.netWhat it does:
You tell it something like "3 days through southern Utah, mostly dirt, fuel every 100 miles" and it plans the route, sticks it on a map, and hands you a GPX file. The routing actually respects dirt and gravel instead of trying to dump you on the interstate. Fuel and lodging get marked along the way.
TrackScout Free Beta:
You can sign up for this free open beta on the site (TrackScout.net). I’m humbly requesting your feedback (feel free to comment on this post). Please let me know if there’s anything you like, don’t like, or wish was different. I can fix the issues very quickly.
Eventually there will be paid subscriptions to cover costs and make a small profit, but I plan to offer some kind of reward for beta testers at launch. I haven't decided what yet.
All that said, I want to keep it affordable. I am a rider too and I get it.
Thanks!
Alex
Well, there it is. 250.000 kilometers! on the Tiger 800. Time for another write-up and maintence summary + costs breakdown!
The Tiger is my do-everything bike used year-round, though relatively less in summer when I ride my other bikes more. It was a replacement for my old Transalp, and I have a Speed Triple and an SMT on the side and I occasionally ride an Africa Twin and a few other bikes as well.
During the winter of 2019/2020 I was looking at several bikes as possible upgrade for the aforementioned Transalp: The Africa Twin (2019 model didn't have cruise control, 2020 models weren't available yet), the Vstrom 1050 (cheap build quality, bad suspension), KTM SA (too expensive and high mileage performance far from certain), and the Versys 1000 (too road-oriented, boring inline-4). The BMW's I sort of discarded offhandedly because they are crazy expensive around here (at the time: easy 25k for a decently kitted 1250GS, nowadays almost 35k for a 1300GS or 25k for a 900GS). A friend of mine pointed me to a Tiger for sale at a Triumph dealer just south of Amsterdam and after a test ride I was sold on the three-cylinder block, the excellent TFT screen and the snappy controls. Much to my luck the dealer was keen to get rid of it so I got a good deal on it. It was less than a year old and had just 4k on the odo. This was before the 'rona and inflation drove up prices, and I only paid €14.500 for it. List price for new was €17.900 + the panniers and a bunch of other stuff, so it was almost 5k or a quarter down from new.
2019 Tiger 800 XCA features:
I added numerous things like a RAM mount, Garmin mount, rear hugger, lower screen, bobbins, oil filter protector, upper crash bars, Denali horn, barkbusters, second set of wheels and a bunch of other stuff for about €1.500 total.
After 72 months the bike still looks OK from a little distance, even though it has seen six winters, several deserts, and has been kept outside rain or shine for most of its life. Up close however it is certainly well-worn. There's a lot of superficial rust and especially the crash bars have taken a beating. Brake calipers, rims and lower parts of the chassis have collected nearly impossible to remove dirt and grime.
By now I can confidently say that the Tiger is a decent if somewhat underpowered and overweight jack-of-all-trades. I've been impressed with the long-distance comfort, general reliability, and ease of maintenance. It does great in the dirt: one, two, three, four, five, although it's too heavy for serious offroading. It's not a terrible pick for track days either: one, two, three, four, five, though it won't win anything of course and the 21" front is a bitch to corner at speed.
Before I get into the maintenance and all the bits that broke over time, here's a list of things that didn't break and are still working perfectly:
The funny thing about doing 40-50k a year on a bike is that you really need to adjust your schedule, and some of the conventional wisdom goes right out the window. For example my chain/sprockets and tires last a long time because commute puts very little stress on these parts. Combined with the engine characteristics (smooth triple with decent torque throughout the range) and my riding habits (looking far ahead, using engine braking a lot) this means that my brake pads last a long time, and the rear wears faster than the front. I'm also still on the original battery for example, but I've gone through a dozen wheel bearings already (because of the offroading I guess, and I rough it around town a lot up and down stairs and kerbs). I keep an excel sheet with all my fuel-ups and maintenance which makes it easy to plan ahead, order parts, and book garage time. I tend to go to the local Triumph dealer only for the major service and for ordering specific parts, but I also have a (far cheaper) local mechanic that helps with tire changes and other things like fork services. I use Baboon.EU to buy second hand parts: I've got a huge box of parts and consumables ready at all time and order a bunch of stuff a few times a year to make sure I'm always stocked up in case something comes up. Parts commonality with the other Tiger 800's and even with the new 900's and the Speed/Street Triple is high, so second-hand availability is great.
Oil and filter: I used to change both every 10k as Triumph wants, or every 3-4 months in winter and a bit more often in summer. Ever since around 150.000km I've increased the oil interval to 15k and change the filter only every other oil change, with no noticable performance difference. I've gone from using Castrol 10W40 initially to making a bit of a blend of 10W40 and 20W50 from whatever brand is on sale at the time because it reduces oil consumption somewhat. The only annoying part of changing the oil is the fact that the belly plate needs to come off to change the filter, and the mounting system is absolute ass. Oil consuption has been slow and steady since the beginning (Triumph called it 'within limits'), but has increased notably since about 200.000km. By now it uses almost 1L every 2000km.
Brake pads and discs: Front brake pads last me 50 - 60k, rear 15 - 25k. Swapping them out is easy, and a good opportunity to check the wheel bearings and the brake calipers. The rear disc was replaced around 90k and again at 180k and 249k. Front discs were replaced around 90k and again at 249k. For brake pads I usually buy Brembo CC but have also tried some AliExpress replacements on the rear at a fraction of the cost, and the performance is identical. The rear brake caliper had gotten quite grimy and instead of servicing it I replaced it with an as-new second hand unit around 177k and again at 245k. An excellent second hand unit is less than the cost of a revision kit. The front brake still works fine but it has lost its 'bite' over time even with Brembo pads and discs, so at the moment of writing I have two new front calipers lying on my desk which I'll probably replace for the old ones at some point.
Tires: I've run Bridgestone A41 a number of times except for my trip to the Middle East when I used a pair of Karoo Street 3. Front usually lasts 30-50k, the rear 20-30k. The A41 are quite durable and decent in the rain and cold, even in snow. Perfect for gravel and packed sand, too. In 2021 I obtained an extra set of wheels that I use for offroading with a pair of AX41 knobbies on it. My next rear knobby is going to be a bit more agressive cause I still get stuck far too often. In more than ten years of riding I've only ever had two flat tires and both were in spring 2024, talk about random. The first time it was due for replacement any way and the second time we just replaced the tube.
Chain and sprocket: I grease the chain every week, sometimes more often, but never really clean it except after offroading and even then I only rinse it off. No brushes, no scrubbing, this'd only destroy the X rings. Most of the time I use 80w90 gear oil and a little brush, but when I'm lazy chain spray will do. I installed an automatic chain oiler at some point but removed it again after a few weeks because oil was spraying everywhere and it was more of a hassle than doing it manually. Chains last about 50k and I change the front sprocket 20-25k into it, before it goes fully shark-toothed and starts eating the chain, which really helps to extend the life of the chain saving money and a lot of effort. The rear sprocket usually goes two chains or 100 - 120k, they wear really slowly. When you know what you're doing the whole 'replace them as a set becomes' meaningless. I usually buy the DID gold plated kit, I made the mistake of cheaping out on an IRIS chain once and it only lasted half as long. Initially I had the chain done by a garage but after a while I got me some tools and switched to doing it myself.
Major service: fluids, filters, spark plugs, valves: Triumph wants it done every 20k which is nonsense of course. You can easily stretch this to 50-60k or longer with this kind of use. I did the first major service at 30k, then again at 96k, 173k, and 216k. Apart from a dirty air filter and complaints by the mechanic about dust and grime everywhere there was nothing wrong with the block even after the 85k interval.
Key and locks: I wore out the first key around 190.000km, it will still open all the locks but turning the ignition is a bit rough with it. I clean the ignition about once a year by applying a bit of light oil then blowing it through with an air compressor.
Suspension: Triumph wants this serviced every 40k, but the XCA model has quite a durable setup so I just service it when it starts leaking. Twice the rear shock started leaking, around 70k and again around 150k and I had it rebuilt both times. The front fork oil was changed around 140k and they were completely rebuilt after a leak around 190k and serviced again at 219k. I tend to ride sporty when I'm not commuting, so I run the suspension quite stiff. It's also easily adjusted for offroading.
Wheel bearings: Every time I take out the wheels for new tires or to swap for the offroad knobbies I check the wheel bearings and I've gotten quite good at replacing them. Triumph wants almost €40 a piece but I found excellent SKF replacements for about €7 a piece.
Starter relay housing Early 2022 the bike suddenly died on me, all electronics flat. Culprit was the starter relay housing, a bad contact had corroded around the main fuse and then melted the plastic somehow. Easy replacement, and it happened again around 210k and around 230k, after which I designed a custom cable extender and moved the relay to sit high and dry above the battery rather than under it.
Seat: Around 150k the seat had lost a good bit of comfort and started sagging somewhat, so I had it reupholstered by a specialist. They replaced the existing padding and added an extra layer on top of the heated seat arrangement, which made it a good half inch taller and also much more comfortable. This also means the heat comes through more gradually on the highest setting which is lovely in winter.
Cam chain: Triumph wanted this done around 80k but at the 96k major service the mechanic told me there was nothing to worry about, so it was instead replaced around 173k. Even then he wasn't quite sure whether it was necessary but of course you only hear that aftwards.
Clutch: The clutch plates and springs were replaced around 177k, Triumph also wanted to replace the clutch basket (€700 lmao) but I opted out of that. It's interesting how gradual a clutch will wear over the years and how big of a leap it is after having it replaced. Around 195k I noticed how the clutch cable was on its last strands so I replaced that myself.
Steering head bearing: Around 140k I discovered drag in the bearing while it was on the centerstand, but interestingly it was barely noticable while driving. I had my local mechanic replace it not long after.
ABS Sensor: In spring 2024 the whole christmas tree of warning lights lit up, and after toying around with the ride modes a bit I isolated the problem to the front ABS sensor. I ordered a second-hand one and replaced it myself.
Here's the timeline with all of the major service and repairs done so far:
| ODO KM | When | What | Approx cost (€) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18.000 | Summer 2020 | New tires (Bridgestone A41) | 300 |
| 30.000 | Summer 2020 | Major service | 600 |
| 46.000 | Fall 2020 | New tires and tubes (Bridgestone A41), new chain | 550 |
| 70.000 | Summer 2021 | Rear shock started leaking, rebuilt | 250 |
| 74.000 | Summer 2021 | New tires (Bridgestone A41) | 350 |
| 90.000 | Winter 2021 | New brake discs front and rear | 170 |
| 96.000 | Spring 2022 | Major service | 650 |
| 107.000 | Spring 2022 | New chain | 150 |
| 110.000 | Summer 2022 | Starter relay burned through, replaced | 40 |
| 116.000 | Summer 2022 | New tires and tubes (Karoo Street 3) | 350 |
| 141.000 | Spring 2023 | New rear tire (Bridgestone A41) | 150 |
| 144.000 | Spring 2023 | Front fork oil changed, steering head bearing replaced, rear suspension linkage bearings replaced | 350 |
| 150.000 | Spring 2023 | Seat re-upholstered, rear shock started leaking, rebuilt | 420 |
| 161.000 | Summer 2023 | New chain (cheaped out on an IRIS one, bad choice), new front tire (Bridgestone A41) | 290 |
| 173.000 | Fall 2023 | Major service, cam chain, reed valves, secondary air system replaced (and lots of internal cleaning) | 1600 |
| 177.000 | Fall 2023 | Clutch rebuilt, new rear tire (Bridgestone A41), rear brake caliper replaced | 650 |
| 179.000 | Winter 2023 | Front fork started leaking, rebuilt | 150 |
| 182.000 | Winter 2023 | New chain, new brake disc rear | 200 |
| 184.000 | Spring 2024 | Front ABS sensor failed, replaced with a second hand one | 30 |
| 190.000 | Spring 2024 | New rear tire (Bridgestone BT23), new front tire (Bridgestone A41) | 170 |
| 195.000 | Spring 2024 | Clutch cable started fraying, replaced | 15 |
| 197.000 | Spring 2024 | Exhaust header developed a crack, quick and dirty welding job | 75 |
| 201.000 | Summer 2024 | Replaced center strand as it was rusting a bit | 75 |
| 210.000 | Summer 2024 | Starter relay burned through, replaced | 40 |
| 216.000 | Fall 2024 | Major service, new rear tire (Bridgestone A41) | 750 |
| 219.000 | Winter 2024 | Front forks serviced, muffler seal replaced | 180 |
| 228.000 | Spring 2025 | New front tire (Pirelli Scorpion) | 220 |
| 230.000 | Summer 2025 | Replaced left handlebar grip cause it was worn through | 30 |
| 243000 | Fall 2025 | Replaced rear brake caliper, bolt got stuck and it was grimy as hell | 50 |
| 249500 | Spring 2026 | New brake discs front and rear | 200 |
Wear items (brake pads/discs, tires etc) have been remarkably consistent over time, but as you can see the frequency of nonscheduled maintenance and repairs has increased over the lifetime of the bike, which seems perfectly logical to me.
Depreciation: I reckon it's worth a few k still if I were to sell it, but for the sake of simplicity I've considered it a complete write-off since about 150k km. The total for the bike and accessories/upgrades is around €16.000.
Fuel: For the first 100k I used Euro 98 E0/E5 'premium' fuel whenever available, but since then I moved to just using 95E10, the cheapest here in Europe. I fueled up nearly 600 times for a total of 9969 liters giving an average consumption of 1L in 24.7km or 46MPG (US) / 52MPG (UK). Here in Western Europe petrol fluctuated between €1.20/L (early 'rona) up to a peak of almost double that recently. The cheapest I ever got was 5ct/L during my stay in Iran (the other Gulf states are somehow far more expensive at about €1/L). The Tiger is significantly more efficient on longer rides: there's a tipping point around 15 to 20 km after a cold start where it goes from 1 in 15 average to about 1 in 25+, which probably has to do with the temperature of the block. One time on the autobahn with a slight tail wind I managed to empty an entire tank in one sitting at no less than 1 in 28.5 (524km with a little gas left). Altogether, fuel cost is €18.642, so more than the cost of the entire bike by now :)
Road tax and insurance: Road tax for a motorbike in the Netherlands is approximately €11 per month. For the first year I had it insured all-risk which was a tad expensive (€60/month), since then I've only had basic coverage + a few things like vandalism and theft, at a cost of about €8/month. Grand total comes to €2.571.
Maintenance and repairs: The total sum of all maintenance, repairs and consumables is €10.866.
| Category | Total | € per km |
|---|---|---|
| Depreciation to zero | € 16.000 | € 0,065 |
| Fuel | € 18.642 | € 0,076 |
| Road tax and insurance | € 2.571 | € 0,010 |
| Maintenance and repairs | € 10.866 | € 0,044 |
| Total over 250k km | € 46.936 | € 0,195 |
Motorcycles can be a rather economical choice in the Netherlands, compared to cars. Road tax is about one-quarter that of an economy car (€11 vs. €50 a month) and a fraction of that of a large truck (upwards of €150 a month). Insurance is similarly cheap, about one half to one fifth of that of a typical car depending on experience and location. Gasoline on the other hand is expensive, which means that the fuel efficiency of a motorcycle pays off quickly. Filtering and lane splitting are legal, and most municipalities allow you to park pretty much anywhere on the kerb as long as you don't block the passage entirely. As such riding a bike around the Netherlands is not only economical, but also very practical. Except for the weather maybe, but there's Goretex(tm) for that.
With the work I do as cover teacher I get to commute a lot to different places, and depending on the contract I get between €0,19 and €0,35 in travel compensation per km, which pays for the entire bike and then some.
I plan to continue using it the way I have for at least another year or two, assuming it doesn't break catastrophically. There's a map on the wall of my study with my bike trips from the last ten years, and I'm looking forward to expanding it together with my gf who got into riding just last year. As for a replacement or upgrade, I've always been a fan of the Africa Twin but it might well be a Tiger 900 or even a Transalp 750 after all when Honda finally gets their shit together and adds cruise control. I must've tested over a dozen bikes in the last year alone, and I'm still not quite sure what to get next.
See you at 300k, in about a year and a half ;)
Bonus pic: I had /u/monkeysays_art commission a drawing based on how it looked during my trip through the Middle East.
I live in a very rural area with rough roads many little more than dirt any recommendations for etrikes with off road capabilities and decent range are appreciated
Tldr; Bike is nice. Desert is hot. Governments suck. People are cool!
This is a compilation of various bits I've written in the past few years.
Nearly four years ago in August 2022 I departed home in the Netherlands for a tour of the Middle East. I covered 22.000km in about four months, through desert and snow, across 22 countries, 15 of which were new to me. I met a large number of amazingly curious and kind people, had one of the worst days of my life struggling with Iraqi bureaucracy, and saw some of the most gorgeous landscapes the planet has to offer. The Tiger did well, with no problems whatsoever. It had a major service earlier this year, with a new chain and tires (Metzeler Karoo Street) at the start of this trip. I did two oil changes while on the road and that was it basically. I was carrying an assortment of tools and spare parts just in case, but I didn’t need any of it. Perhaps the lucky charm that one of my former coworkers knitted for me helped :)
Please forgive me for the meagre amount of photographs. It’s never been my strong suit, traveling alone I just don’t stop nearly often enough to take pictures.
Approximate route (red there, blue back)
Part 1: Netherlands to Naples
All of it was made for you and me / 'Cause it just belongs to you and me / So let's take a ride and see what's mine (Iggy Pop, 1977)
I left home in August, riding down through Germany to Switzerland and into the alps. I wanted to do a few hikes around the ski resorts that I normally only see in winter, and take some of the passes that I hadn’t so far, notably the Col Maddelena and the Col de la Bonnette. Also came across the town of Roubion perched high on a hilltop. I spent a few days in Milan chilling with friends, then headed back up into the Alps to go around the usual suspects, and some of my favorite passes: Albula, Stelvio, and Bernina. East through Austria on the Silvretta, then south through the Brenner, taking the local road this time instead of the motorway, and then south-east by Cortina d’Ampezzo towards Venice. I’d never been to the canal city before, and I was surprised at the size of it. I had imagined something smaller, more bunched up, but it was far larger and more typically Italian than I’d thought. Dirty abandoned alleys alongside romantic canal side restaurants, beggars and dogs alongside tourists from pretty much all over the world. A nice experience, but not nearly as spectacular as I was made to believe.
From there on I headed east to visit friends in Hungary, and I got absolutely soaked the last few hours towards Balaton. It was a warm kind of rainstorm thankfully, so not terribly uncomfortable. We spent two days hiking and sailing around Balaton, before I took off again back towards Venice, stopping around Trieste, Rimini, Florence, and Pisa, from where I took the ferry to Corsica. Northern Italy is quite flat and boring at times, but between San Marino and Florence there are some gorgeous low mountain passes through thick forests and quiet little villages.
Corsica is my first real recommendation to anyone reading this. It’s French, but don’t say that too loud, the Corsicans are fiercely independent and anti-French graffiti and posters are everywhere. The island is basically a mountain range rising from the sea, with scarcely a straight road around. The coast is mostly rocky hills, with innumerable bridges, tunnels, and little seaside villages. Inland is a bit greener, with scavenging pigs all around and sweet hiking trails and a few beautiful mountain passes. It's moderately priced too, with affordable BnB’s and hostels dotted around the cities, campsites throughout the interior, and a tasty twist on French Mediterranean cuisine. It’s quite small too, and easy to get around despite the curvy madness that is the roads. Whether you like riding, hiking, cycling or simply cruising around taking in the atmosphere, you can’t really go wrong with Corsica.
From Bonifacio in the south I took the ferry to Sardegna, which is much larger than Corsica, very Italian, but also culturally distinct from the mainland. The landscapes are a bit more varied, with gorgeous coastlines in the west, mountains in the east, and agricultural land and some larger cities in-between. There’s more to see than just nature though: fascinating megalithic ruins known as the Nuraghi dot the landscape. Considered ancient ruins already in Roman times, they may have been fortress, house, storage room or temple, their exact purpose remains unknown but there are thousands of them in varying sizes and states of repair all over the island. I found one close to Cagliari that offered a gorgeous view of the city and the harbor. Around Sassari I did a day-long guided horseback tour. Not having brought my equipment I had to ride in my shorts which seemed like a terrible idea at first, but in the end it didn’t bother me much. We had an awesome time, riding through farmland across old gravel roads, by ancient churches, and murky pools full of giant tadpoles and salamanders.
In Cagliari I took the ferry to Palermo; a few hours before boarding I came across a French couple in the harbor on a large KTM adventure bike which had battery problems. Together with the Italian AAA we managed to get the bike loaded on a trailer and brought to the ship in time for our sailing. The 12 hour boat ride offered a gorgeous sunset and subsequent sunrise again not long after. Once in Palermo the next morning we pushed their bike out the boat to the port where another AAA vehicle was waiting to take it to a garage.
Now Sicily I was not too impressed with. Palermo and Syracuse are decent enough cities with interesting sights, and here are some exceptional monuments around such as the Valley of the Temples, Taormina, Siracusa, and Piazza Armeria, but in between these highlights the island is poor and filthy. Infrastructure is in an abysmal state, the city peripheries are filthy and stifled with traffic, and lodging and food in the touristy areas is pretty expensive. Giant piles of garbage, plastic, and whatnot are everywhere, as are derelict buildings and abandoned farms and industry. I had a good time, especially the mosaics at Piazza Armeria are absolutely stunning, and climbing Etna was a unique experience but the entire island gave me a strong feeling of ‘lost potential’. With just a little more effort and investment it could be an absolutely great destination, but we all know why that isn’t happening.
From Sicily I took yet another ferry back to the Italian mainland, and slalomed through the nose of the boot towards Naples. Calabria is known for being under Mafia control to a huge degree, perhaps more so than Sicily. It’s a bit cleaner as well, and features many pretty mountaintop towns, even the odd ski resort, and huge forested hill ranges. Not an area of Italy I was very familiar with, it’s definitely on my list to go back to one day. In Naples I had an appointment with the local Triumph dealer for some maintenance and storage, as I had to fly home for a few days to attend a wedding.
Part 2: Naples to Kuwait
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command / Your old road is rapidly agin' (Bob Dylan, 1964)
While all of the above was happening, trouble broke out in Iran. I had my VISA pre-arranged for pickup in Ankara, but not wanting to wait for things to get out of control I decided to make my way there ASAP. The initial plan had been to spend 2-3 weeks going around Greece and Turkey, but that can wait for another time. From Naples again through southern Italy to Bari and Brindisi, and then the ferry to Igoumenitsa in Greece. Straight shot through Greece to Thessaloniki in the pouring rain, and then into Turkey to Gallipoli. The border was an interesting experience, it’s basically a long, low bridge with guardhouses every few meters. Border formalities themselves were peanuts, but the sight on the bridge was interesting. The Turks and Greeks have a troubling history, and the guardhouses on each side were manned in full, young lads on the Greek side in full tacticool looking like something out of Call of Duty, whereas the Turks were dressed more like WW1 soldiers, old brown ragged uniforms. As you enter Turkey the differences grow steadily. Donkey carts and ancient tractors on the motor way, but also flashy modern cars. Expensive toll roads and gas stations with WIFI, but also tiny villages with what can best be described as huts with sat TV dishes and rusty bicycles.
In Gallipoli harbor with a great view of the absolutely enormous bridge across the Dardanelles I came across a statue of Piri Reis, one of the first scholars to draw up detailed maps of the Mediterranean. I also got to chat with a shopkeeper and one of his sons, who were extremely critical of Erdogan and his ridiculous social and economic policies. The old man proudly showed me the app he had been using to learn English, and he didn’t mince words. Erdogan is a wannabe dictator, who’s using religion to control his people. And everywhere you go it’s there, even the tiniest 10-house village will have a shiny mosque, most likely built quite recently and subsidized by the government. Prayer call is everywhere, but the people in the cities are fed up with it. One of his sons was going off to Ankara to study civil engineering and he was already eyeing a job in Germany. According to them, the younger population is fed up with the conservative bullshit and dictatorial tendencies of the Erdogan and his cronies. They feel powerless however since he has strong support among the clergy and in the rural areas, so when they can they simply leave.
In Ankara I went to the Iranian embassy to pick up my visa, and everything there was working as usual. Pictures of Khamenei (the religious dictator) and Soleimani (the general assassinated at Baghdad airport by the CIA in January 2020) were all over the waiting room. As the visa had already been granted online there were no questions, just some waiting, payment (75 euros), and pickup.
From Ankara I went south, through Adana, Gaziantep, Mardin and eventually Yuksekova near the Iranian border. The highland around Ankara was cold and windy, the canyon down towards the coast was absolutely gorgeous. Orange trees and olive plantations were everywhere, little farming villages with people working the land and collecting fruits in the orchards. I felt like I had gone 50 years back in time. Heading east the landscape slowly turned desert, the border with first Syria and later Iraq reminding me of Berlin, with giant walls, guard posts, and large swathes of barbed-wire no-mans-land. Everywhere I went and stayed the people were extremely friendly, not all of them spoke English but with google translate as assistance we had many conversations. They echoed the same sentiments as the people in Gallipoli, then again I stayed mostly in the cities. With the collapse of the Turkish Lira (due to Erdogan being an idiot) everything was crazy cheap, and of course Turkish food has a reputation already, so I had a great and affordable time. South-Eastern Turkey between Cizre and Yuksekova felt desolate, but in a good way. There’s hardly any traffic, the road winds round and round the cliffs and gorges that form the border with Iraq. The landscape is beautiful brown/green (copper?) rocks with oases around the places where water collects. There’s occasional military bases and checkpoints on the hilltops and around the passes, but these soldiers were mostly bored and quite surprised to see a traveler come by. I got offered tea a lot, and they wanted to talk about football and other worldly affairs.
The border with Iran was surprisingly easy. No sign of increased security or anything. I got to use the Carnet (import/export document for vehicles) for the first time, which was interesting. Thankfully the customs officer knew exactly what to do with it so the entire crossing was barely a 30-minute affair. Once in Iran I rode into Urmia to try and find a place to change some money, but it was a Friday, the Muslim rest day, so I was SOL since everything was closed. In one of the shopping centers I approached a group of young-ish guys (20-somethings?) and asked if they could help me out, and lo and behold after a short google-translate mediated conversation they arranged for about 50 euro’s worth of Iranian Rials. Their currency is hilariously worthless, so it came down to about 25 million Rials, a stack the size of the LOTR single-volume.
Everywhere I went in Iran people warned me not to go to the big cities: Tabriz, Tehran et cetera were considered extremely dangerous, as the regime had resorted to outright shooting at the protesters by now. I ended up staying only 4 days in Iran which was a bloody shame, I basically followed the Iraqi border south towards Khorramshahr and then crossed into Iraq. Part of this was Iranian Kurdistan which has historically not been as closely aligned to Tehran (or Baghdad, or Istanbul for that matter) as the rest of the country. Out of dozens upon dozens of encounters with hotel employees, shopkeepers, students, even law enforcement, they all said the same thing more or less. They all want justice for Amini and the countless other killed or hurt by the regime, a lifting of the idiotic religious laws, and more freedoms and opportunities, especially the younger generation. One of the students installed a special VPN on my phone which allowed me to connect to the internet through his mobile hotspot, and at various restaurants and hotels through WIFI. Even then, the internet often went down for hours at a time. I also came across a rare sight, an Iranian Suzuki GSXR, a pretty decent racer. No plates, no helmet, no problem.
Walking around town, or just sitting in a restaurant I got latched on to by groups of younger people wanting to hear about the world and share their story. They feel trapped in their country by the regime, which is plundering the economy and enriching itself at the cost of the population. They don’t give a shit about Russia, Israel, or the USA, and many are quite moderate when it comes to religion. There weren’t nearly as many mosques around as in Turkey, and most of the students weren’t openly religious at all. It was shocking how eager they were to talk about these highly sensitive topics. It gave me a huge blocking feeling of helplessness, hearing these people lament their dictators, wishing, hoping, for a better future where they’d have a free life, work, be able to travel, be in touch with the world. Keep in mind though this was only in one particular area of the country, the west/northwest along the border with Iraq. I don’t know if this is representative for the population as a whole. The famous Arab hospitality is all around in Iran as well, multiple times in restaurants other guests stood up and wanted to pay for me, other times people bought me snacks and drinks just for talking to them for a while. I usually tried to accept gracefully and then sneak in payment any way.
In Sanandaj I asked my hotel if it was safe to walk into town to find a restaurant and the lady answered (in fluent English!) that it most certainly wasn’t, but she could call me a taxi and instruct him to take me by some restaurants? Which I happily agreed to. We drove around town for about two hours, conversing through google translate again. He showed me some monuments, and places were protests had escalated recently, burned out armored vehicles and cars lined the road. Around the main square there were 100+ police and soldiers with big guns (APCs and such) standing around, the giant roundabout next to them full of cars, honking incessantly as a provocation. Some of the drivers even yelled at the police, it was a frightening scene. We then went to a little restaurant to eat kebabs, and the driver showed me pictures of an older man from his neighborhood, who had been shot the week before during a protest. Some girl had lain injured in the street and the old guy (60, 70?) had ran out to help her and they’d just gunned down both of them. He told me that he didn’t expect these protests to die down easily, because so many people had been killed and hurt: every time they have a funeral, the victims friends and family gathers, and the anger flares up again. Same with the 40-day Shia mourning period, after which they meet again and the same thing happens. Later that night there were gunshots and explosions in town, about 1-2 miles from my hotel. My heart breaks for these people. It’s going to take a lot of bloodshed, but I hope they get the freedoms they so strongly desire, and are willing to die for.
As for the riding, Iran is absolutely huge, and has hugely varied landscapes and I’ve only been to a small part of it. The northwest is a high plateau dotted with hills, mountains to the west in Turkey, and with a large salt lake next to Urmia. Due to climate change the once enormous lake is now little more than a huge salt flat with some wet spots. Towards the south are beautiful hills and mountain ranges, canyons, dry riverbeds, and occasional agriculture. As I went further south the landscape slowly became flatter, with large-scale agriculture and huge irrigation projects around. Even further south around the Persian Gulf it becomes a proper desert, scorching hot during the day, cool in the nights. Giant oil refineries tower over enormous featureless deserts, long roads with barely any traffic going seemingly nowhere, vanishing into the horizon. Infrastructure is generally good, roads are decent and there’s even AAA around, trucks with towing equipment providing roadside assistance (indicative of a fairly sophisticated society, in my book). Gas is only about 5 cents a liter, and every time you stop people want to make conversation, you’re offered tea, baclava, snacks, people want to take pictures with you – but at the same time it maintains a certain kind of innocence. There aren’t a whole lot of tourists in Iran outside the main cities, and I had several people including gas station attendants come up to me shyly, asking in their best English where I was from, what I thought of their country, and if they could please take a photo with me? It was almost endearing at times. Gave me goosebumps, especially considering the international isolation, economic problems, and murderous dictatorship bullshit these people are going through. Not a single time did I feel unsafe, even the more serious looking Basiji/Revolutionary Guard checkpoints were generally courteous and speedy. One thing I’d like to add here is how forward-thinking the hospitality of many of these people was. From Turkey to Qatar all the way to Israel I got offered more than a dozen phone numbers, with the following reasoning: “Here, take my number. If you’re ever in front of someone who doesn’t speak English, call me, give them the phone, and I will translate for you”.
In Khorramabad I got spooked a bit, and decided not to stretch my luck and go straight to the Iraqi border and on to Kuwait the next day. Getting out of Iran was easy, but getting into Iraq ended up an exhausting struggle with bureaucracy. I recorded the story later that night in my hotel in Kuwait. It’s a bit of a long sit at 30 minutes, but if you want to hear a crazy tale of foreign border crossings it might be worth it.
From the audio story: this is what the Kuwaiti highway 80 looked like after the chaotic Iraqi withdrawal during the Gulf War, during which their columns got annihilated by the USAF. Also, the Kuwaiti customs officials that helped me so nicely.
Part 3: Kuwait to Jordan
You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name / It felt good to be out of the rain (America, 1971)
From Kuwait I went on through Saudi Arabia (KSA), to Bahrain and Qatar. Kuwait city wasn’t very appealing, the city is huge and nobody walks, everyone drives their giant fucking cars everywhere, even though gas isn’t particularly cheap at about 50 cents a liter. I spent some time around the water front and in the old markets, but walking around the city was a PITA because everything is designed around cars and cars only, they really took the wrong lessons from the Americans that stayed after the war. There are some monuments and minor other interesting buildings around, but apart from that it feels like the business district of any other major city. At least their money is very pretty. Two things happened in Kuwait that I want to describe in a little more detail.
When I pulled up to my hotel (City Tower Kuwait, at 80$ a night one of the cheapest hotels in town) a short man with a little black-and-white hat greets me enthusiastically, and gestures where he'd like me to park. Despite my best attempts to dissuade him he insists on carrying my bags to the elevator after I've checked in, and explains that I can use the wheelchair ramp to park the motorcycle right next to the entrance where the reception can keep an eye on it twenty-four-seven. Later, after I've showered the desert sand out of my hair I come across him taking note of the cars parked in front of the hotel in a little booklet. He's impressed with the motorcycle and brings me tea while I sit down to clean and grease the chain. His name is Bahad from Nepal, and he has been in Kuwait for five years now, working for the same hotel all that time. First as room service and cleaner, now as parking attendant and customer representative. The entire country runs on immigrant labor: native Kuwaiti people receive a handsome stipend from the government simply for existing, and as a result they tend not to do any labor. They own most of the businesses though, while people like Bahad do the actual work.
The next morning I went to the Yamaha dealership for an oil change. The service representative initially refuses because my bike is a Triumph and not a Yamaha, but since I got the new filter with me and oil is, well, oil, I convince him to call his boss for me. Essa, a Kuwaiti, raises his eyebrows after seeing my license plate, then shakes my hand warmly and assures me that everything will be alright. His mechanics will take good care of my bike he promises, and asks if I would prefer tea, coffee, or an iced beverage while I wait. I watch as the Indian mechanics roll the bike into the shop, and after receiving a mug of fresh coffee from the garage's bartender I follow them inside. The fully blind shop cat is purring away in the corner, while several machines are being worked on. A Yamaha racer stands gutted on one of the lifts, its engine being revised on the table next to it. Two workers are busy installing floodlights onto a shiny new dune buggy. After the oil change the Indian crew checks the tire pressure and fluids, then gives the bike a thorough wash outside in the courtyard, while I stroll around the showroom admiring all the latest motorcycles, generators, and golf carts that Yamaha has to offer. When it's finally time to leave I ask Essa if they accept VISA cards. "No", he says. "There's nothing to pay, this is a gift".
That night I meet Bahad again in the lobby. It's quiet, and he has time to chat. I ask him about his life in Nepal and his work here in Kuwait city, and he indulges my naivety with extreme politeness. He works five 10-hour shifts a week for 140 Kuwaiti Dinar or about 500 dollars a month. The hotel provides lodging and clothes, and the employees are allowed to take home any leftovers from the daily breakfast buffet. He much prefers the clean hotel environment over construction work, even though the latter pays better. Every day before heading to his little apartment he fills a jerrycan with drinking water from the giant filter in the hotel basement, greatly reducing his living expenses. He sends home most of his salary and the tips he receives. He's not married, but the money provides for his widowed sister and her three children. Nearly 5000 dollars in the past year he explains, beaming with pride.
Crossing from Kuwait into KSA was easy, Kuwait uses the Carnet but KSA has their own vehicle registration system. It took them a few minutes to correctly register my plate as the system kept trying to input it right-to-left the Arabic way, but overall it didn’t take long. I had my visa pre-arranged, the conditions of which were pretty awesome (140 dollars for a 12-month multiple entry visa including health insurance), and every KSA crossing I did had at least one person who spoke more than a bit of English. I got a lot of interested looks at these border posts, people wanting to take pictures, handing me water, and snacks. They only know my country as ‘Hulanda’ in Arabic, so I often had to explain what the NL on my plate stood for.
Bahrain is a fascinating place, a little island nation connected to KSA through a long causeway built in the 80’ies by Dutch company Ballast Nedam. Bahrain discovered long ago that oil revenues don’t last forever, and they started attracting business and tourists with a huge financial sector, giant malls, and the GP of course. Saudis refer to it as the Las Vegas of the Middle East. Despite it being essentially a Muslim Emirate there’s pork, alcohol, night clubs, weird souvenirs, and even prostitution. KSA prohibits most of these things, and as a result Bahrain is filled to the brim with Saudi tourists coming over for a few days to have their fill, then heading off into piety again. It appears that KSA has significant control over the Bahraini government, and both are mostly happy with the arrangement. Riyadh knows that it’s impossible to completely forbid these things, and they much prefer having them in a controlled environment just off the coast, behind a border, so they can keep up the pretense of purity for their own country.
As a result of all this tourism the KSA-Bahraini border is extremely efficient and speedy. It’s essentially a stop along the highway, which by definition means there’s no space or time for extended controls or they’ll just cause a massive traffic jam. Visa is on arrival, 5 bucks, and you can even pay by card lmao. The bike was a little more work, I had to walk into the customs office to get the Carnet stamped. An older officer pointed me to a desk with a very young girl in uniform behind it, she had never seen a Carnet before so me and the old guy talked her through it. Both spoke decent English and were very friendly, and I got the usual offerings of tea and bottled water.
The capital Manama is a strange place, it was murderously hot so walking around town I was ducking into air conditioned bus stops (!) and coffee shops to cool down. Everything is expensive but not terribly so, and at the same time there’s the same business-district-blandness to most of it. Except for the old town with numerous shops and markets, delicious food from all over the world, and lots of life in the street. I talked to some of the migrant workers in the restaurants and one of them told me loads of Saudis come to Manama to get wasted, then wreck their car drunk driving, but they just scrap it and buy a new one in Damman before heading back home. The scenes on the streets were more varied than in KSA or Kuwait, lots of families from different backgrounds. It was interesting to see that even Saudi men, wearing their Thawb, the formal white robe, have girlfriends or wives, and children that they show affection for when their environment allows for it. My stupid Western brain never really considered this. Dress for women ranged from all-covered for the pious Muslims to not covered at all for most tourists and migrant workers, and everything in between.
From Bahrain I rode back through KSA to Qatar. Too early for and not much to do with the World Cup, I just wanted to see the place I guess. It’s only a hundred miles as the crow flies from Manama to Doha, but there’s a huge bay in-between which means it took all day. KSA borders were friendly and efficient as before, but the Qatari customs messed with my Carnet, tore out an entire page and refused to elaborate. I took some pictures and a video and contacted ADAC that evening but they said it should be OK. The customs guys got really upset when while filming the Carnet, I lifted the camera up, and demanded I delete the footage. But they didn’t make me empty the recycle bin lol.
Qatar is largely similar to Kuwait, one single big city with not much around, cars everywhere. The Qataris themselves are rich, and migrants do all the work. You’ve seen the stories surrounding the world cup no doubt. Doha was also scorching hot, but thankfully a bit easier to walk around than Kuwait City. One month before the WC started there was construction going on everywhere, day and night. The stadiums were pretty much finished but they were still building hotels, walkways, parks, and god knows what else. I talked to some of the Indian workers and they confirmed pretty much everything the news has been saying about Qatar, but they also said they weren’t entirely unhappy with the situation. They make good money to send home, they get lots of breaks during the hottest parts of the day, and food and lodging is taken care of, depending on which company they work for. It’s hard work for (looking from the West) meagre pay, but they come here because it’s much better than what they’d get back home. Doha again is a pretty bland city, the old Souk Waaqif is interesting to walk around with loads of little shops and craftsmen, but it’s also extremely touristic and expensive. The best place to me was the Museum of Islamic Art, which had a lot of fascinating artefacts and stories from all over the Middle East. In Qatar I also came across a Saudi football fan who had been hiking through the desert for months to make it to Doha for the world cup. Even the police wanted to take pictures with him.
Now by the time I was in Doha I had started thinking of my return leg. I got some worrying messages that Ethiopia had pretty much closed its borders to foreign motor vehicles, demanding tens of thousands of dollars as collateral at the border. I had really wanted to go to Egypt, but that also was quite expensive to arrange, and then I’d have the problem of getting the bike out. Transport by air is crazy expensive (5000 to 7000 dollars, plus needs to be drained of all fluids), so I decided to dig into my contact list for an alternative option. Someone had suggested to me some time ago that it’s possible to ship vehicles from Israel to Greece on a RORO transport (meaning vehicles only, no passengers), which is far cheaper than flying. So I got in touch with Rosenfeld Shipping in Haifa, who informed me they had a weekly service to Lavrion in Greece, which for a motorcycle would only be about 700 dollars. That seemed mighty fine to me, so off towards Haifa I went.
From Doha to the Jordan border is nearly 2000km, straight through the desert. It took me three days, first to Riyadh, then Hail, and lastly Qurayyat. I was carrying about 3L of water and some food, and even though I was drinking a lot in the desert I never got in trouble in KSA, there’s always a bit of traffic around and it’s easy to stock up at gas stations. Although it was a similar desert to Western Sahara it felt much more ‘civilized’ because of this. I really wish I could’ve stayed a bit longer in KSA because it’s a fascinating place. Politically and religiously it’s obviously a disgusting mess, but the landscapes are spectacular, the people are almost crazy friendly, and riding through the desert for so long really is a boring yet also fascinating experience. Hours upon hours of nothingness, even gas stations are rare, with sometimes 200+ km between them. There is occasional traffic, and the truck drivers honk and wave back. Giant power lines follow the roads and camels are everywhere. Concrete husks of old gas stations, guard posts and other things are occasionally seen on the side of the road. But above all there is sand, silence, and asphalt. I got lucky with the weather. It was hot but not outrageously so, around 30 degrees during the day, and I even caught a speck of rain around Hail. Also a sandstorm just west of Riyadh which was surreal, everything around you dark yellow and brown, the road below and the sky above covered in streams of sand and dust.
People in the street looked at me with great interest and wanted to talk a lot. In Hail I met a group of Saudi and Chinese visitors who worked in some manufacturing industry who fawned over the bike and wanted to know all about my trip. I ran out of Saudi Riyals in Qurayyat on Thursday evening, and walked into town trying to find a place to get something to eat. On the way a Saudi driver hailed me, guy in a big Pajero, traditional dress. He asked if I was a tourist (yes), and how I was enjoying KSA so far (fine). He asked if I needed anything? So I said well, I need to change some euro’s for Riyals, about 50 euro’s worth? He got out his phone and worked out that would be about 175 Riyals. So he took out his wallet and handed me 350 Riyals in exchange for my 50 euros. I tried to convince him otherwise but he wasn’t having it, so he literally just gave me 50 euro’s for nothing. He just wanted me to have a good time and be able to buy food and pay for the fees at the border the next day. The hospitality of some of these people truly boggles the mind.
The border with Jordan was rather easy, if expensive. One Jordanian Dinar is about 1 euro 50, and it cost a small fortune to cross: visa (40JD), motorcycle (20JD), motorcycle insurance (36JD), SIM card (14JD). In Jordan I went down the length of the country towards Wadi Rum that same day, on highway 5 through the (Jordanian) Eastern Desert. Like KSA this part of the country was extremely sparsely populated, but at one point I randomly came across two dozen bikes parked on the side of the road and a bunch of guys having lunch. Turned out to be the Amman Motorcycle Club on their weekly tour. They even had a follow car with fuel, water, and a trailer for emergencies. As soon as I stopped I was swarmed by these jovial guys and they immediately handed me some water and snickers bars. We spent some time chatting and eating before going our separate ways.
Jordan is the second recommendation I'd like to make. The country is small, the parts worth visiting are relatively close together. Wadi Rum and Petra have long been famous and they are worth every second and every penny. It is truly a wonderful, elating feeling to ride around the desert between the colossal red mesa-like rocks in all sorts of fascinating shapes at Wadi Rum. Petra instead is human made, ‘the rose-colored city half as old as time itself’. Already famous in Roman times its location was ‘lost’ for a bit until being rediscovered last century. An entire city worth of buildings, caves, dwellings, temples carved out of red sandstone, with a fascinating water management system and a huge amphitheater to top it off. From Petra on I rode north following the Dead Sea. The roads across the central Jordanian mountain range were very pretty and very quiet. Further north there were lots of kitschy shops selling Dead Sea sand, mud, face masks, all that jazz. Closer to Amman there suddenly was a lot of traffic, and the city itself is massive and sprawling, there’s not a lot of high rise so with 4 million people it covers a mind-boggling area. I spent a few days there and around Jerash. Amman has loads of interesting sights as well as a pretty decent street and night life, I went to see the Jordan Museum which had some really nice exhibitions and historical artifacts, the original Hejaz railway station, as well as the Citadel which offers great views of the city center. Jerash has a huge archaeological park with a well preserved Roman street, and the surrounding hills are dotted with villages and olive orchards. Riding around this part of Jordan isn’t super interesting in an of itself, it was fairly wet and cold while I was there and the roads are super busy.
Good afternoon all. I need a pair of every day ride to work boots.
On long rides and off road I use a pair of fox mx boots, but driving to work they are a touch inconvenient, especially if I need to runs my errands. I broke my foot last year riding home, I was just wearing my cowboy boots. No foot protection against trees, who would have thought.
Any suggestions or recommendations?
Finally joined the T7 family. The 2026 Sky Blue really is a beautiful machine in person. Can’t wait to see where it takes me!!
Greeting, curious to know what folks are running over their armor up top in the summer? Just picked up the Alpinestars Bionic, and want a non-armored but abrasion resistant top. I've only found:
Anyone have other options? Ideally CE rated for riding to and from trails, etc.
Hey,
I'm currently doing my motorcycle course. Since I don't live in US it is mandatory for me to pass an exam not on my own bike to get my A license. I need to get my own gear before the practical part. I already decided on helmet, jacket, gloves, and pants but I struggle with boots. In the long term I want to pick up Alpinestars Toucans since I wanna do long distance rides. However, I'm thinking about getting a cheaper pair of street boots just for the sake of making it easier to ride a schools naked where I can't adjust levers. Since I don't have unlimited money, I wonder on what to do. What are your suggestions? What would you/have you done in this situation?
Had some vibrations once I got to around 45mph+ and decided to try balancing my wheels. It's pretty wild how much smoother it rides now. Definitely worth the ~$65 for the balancer and clamp on weights. Wish I'd have done it earlier. Just wanted to share with the fellow riders out there in hopes it helps others dealing with vibes.
Got up to 85mph on my plated CRF450X with knobby Trakmaster tires and it wasn't bad at all. I read some people only balance the front but I decided to do both while I was at it. Highly recommend!
First longish day on the 2 Tracks. The riding was great, pretty dry and 60ish % off road. I went counter clockwise from the eastern end of the loop putting the most technical parts right at the beginning. Nothin bad at all, just some rocky hills. I had jury duty cancelled so was able to take the day on Friday and was the only one out apparently. Total -240 mi, 8ish hours in the seat after playing around at Patchaug for a while in the morning. Excellent shakedown for the Bush Chicken in the fall.
On the tires, I got them figuring if they were that bad for my purposes I could throw them on when planning long dirt days. The jury is still out on the front as is developed a fairly odd whine after 400 miles or so. Not nearly as loud as the stock Karoo but it’s there. The rear is great especially considering the price. As another poster pointed out getting the rear off the rim on the side of the trail is going to be unlikely so slime for tubes is definitely in the bag. I needed an extra set of hands to mount it even with a rabaconda. Either way, it’s got great street manners and the set completely transformed the bike off-road.
