Adventure Magazine Issue 11 by adventure magazine

Arabian Knight

Contents Industry news Gear feature Promoto Rack-It Arabian knight Super Tenere 1200z Dessert Slave Super Tenere 750Z Swiss Army KNives Building a pocket size adventure bike

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Issue Eleven Wow, the last month has been pretty hot in the western parts of South Africa. I recall some days the tempreture was up to the mid 40 degrees..

1000 days. Check out the thread. The photoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really are amazing. Whats more, if you are planning a big ride, why not come tell us about it in our discussion forums. www.adventuremagazing.co.za/forum.

I have not done much riding this month. But I know there have been some great rides going on. One in particular is a couple going around Enjoy the issue guys, theres more later this the world and blogging their photos and trip month. on Advrider.com http://www.advrider.com/ forums/showthread.php?t=480532 Please submit your stories to The plan is to go around the world in about info@adventuremagazine.co.za For more information and sales visit www.hexdiagnostics.co.za or call +27 21 880 1433

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Industry News

Yamaha provides engines for new Lexus models Flemming and Strydom take honours in Bloemfontein With the opening round of the 2010 National Motocross season getting under way in Bloemfontein this past weekend, all the top competitors were keen to get their championship hopes off to a good start. Lots of unknowns about new bikes and equipment, and riders off season preparations, could eventually be tested against speculation at the muddy and deeply rutted Bloemfontein track. And so it was for Team Red Yamaha riders Damon Strydom and Brendon Fleming who opened their championship accounts on Saturday will overall wins in the MX2 and 125cc Highschool classes respectively. Strydom entered a Red Yamaha YZ250 into the MX2 class and showed that the competitiveness of a two stroke machine is still very much a force to be reckoned with by

taking the overall win for the day. Brendon Fleming also stood the two stroke brigade proud by taking the overall win the 125cc Highschool class on his Red Yamaha YZ125. Ekerold Yamaha’s Matthew Malan, a new entrant for the 2010 season in the Pro Mini class after his promotion from the junior motocross ranks dint of his age, rode his Ekerold Yamaha YZ85 into a very impressive second overall, beating some more seasoned and experienced Pro Mini riders in the process. Team Red Yamaha’s Wesley De Jager entered the all new Yamaha YZ450F into the premier MX1 class, which boasts a deep and talented field for 2010. De Jager managed to secure a solid fourth overall result against some of the country’s best motocross riders. A well organised season opening National Championship event and solid performances by Yamaha mounted riders bodes well for a thrilling season for the Yamaha crew. The next round of the National Motocross Championship will take place in the deep sand of the Rover Club in Port Elizabeth on the 21st March.

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So, Yamaha are famous for making motorcycles – and musical instruments, generators, lawn mowers and golf carts. But did you know that Yamaha technology and expertise is also highly regarded by motor car manufacturers? Lexus, the “exclusive” brand of Toyota, one of the leading motor vehicle manufacturers in the world, have partnered with Yamaha for the supply of engines and technological expertise for their all new Lexus IS F. The IS F is the Lexus IS on steroids, much like a BMW M3 or a Mercedes AMG. The Lexus IS F is powered by a Yamaha tuned and hand built 5l V8 that puts out 311Kw at 505Nm, and has a claimed 0-100km/h time of 4,6sec. Race bred technology is highly evident in the motor with items such as titanium intake valves, high flow cylinder heads, direct injection and variable valve timing all coming together to produce gut wrenching performance. This power is delivered to the wheels via an 8 speed Sport Shift aluminium transmission, which is claimed to be the fasted shifting gearbox in the world - 10th of a second per gear shift. The car has recently landed on our shores and retails for a very competitive R776 900.00, when compared to its competition. Lexus has also spent the better part of a decade developing their Lexus LFA Super Car, which was recently unveiled to an international audience. This car is powered by a 1LR-GUE V10, thanks to Yamaha, which helped develop the engine for Toyota. But this collaboration didn’t just net 552 horsepower at 8,700 RPM and 480Nm of torque at 6,800 RPM. Yamaha tapped its musical department to tune the intake and exhaust tracts, resulting in a decidedly un-V10 soundtrack. It’s not quite an F1 scream, but it’s not far off, and below 3,000 RPM, there’s no hint of the potential underneath the bonnet. Yamaha owners around the world can take pride in the fact that the effort put in by Yamaha’s R & D department into the technological developments of their motorcycle is considered to be of such a high standard that car and super car manufacturers like Toyota and Lexus are willing to collaborate with Yamaha to ensure that the very best and latest engine technology adorns their products. Adventure Magazine

Featured Gear

were not that easy to understand, but everything made sense in the end with a little bit of working out. We did need to enlarge a hole for the one bolt to go through though. I had to run down to the hardware store and get an 8mm drill bit as my previous attempt ruined it. In the end I kind of followed my own path with some extra washers and nuts that I picked up. What seemed like a 30 minute job probably took about an hour longer, but in the end, after everything was assembled and the nuts treated to some LockTite *a must do*, the rack was on and works like a charm. I don’t know how I ever thought I would carry luggage without it. I immediately packed my rear tail-pack with my tools and strapped it to my newly acquired Rack-It system and off into the

PROmoto RACk IT

There are a lot of solutions for a rear rack. If you ride a bigger, more popular dual-sport bike you can go to your local motorcycle accessory store and they can sort you out with something from Kappa or the likes thereof. But when you let them know that you are looking for a rear rack for a moto-cross or enduro bik,e you usually get smirked upon and asked, are you serious? This is where the brilliant Promoto Billet Rack-It system comes in. Imported and distributed by Flywheels trading in Cape 8

Featured Gear trails to test it. Jumps, whoops, wheelies and even stoppies , everything stayed together. The tail-pack is pretty secure and I’ve ridden with it for over 20hours without any trouble. Occasionally I use the rack to tug the bike out of tight spots - man I’m thankful for it! The rack is available for most endure bikes, from DRZ, CRF, WR, KTM EXC, KTM Super Enduro’s and the list goes on. Give the guys at Adventure Rider a call on 021 511 1007 to enquire about a rack on your bike. Prices vary so it will be difficult to quote on any other specific models. It’s highly recommended if you are looking for a rack for your enduro bike and I give it a 10/10 for quality and functionality.

Town, it’s a beautiful piece of billet aluminium set to only add value and functionality to your bike. Recently there have been a lot of enduro bikes entering the Adventure bike segment doing trips around, some farther than you would expect. Most of these bikes do not have a sub-frame, so putting something together in the garage is often not the best idea. The Rack-It system bolts to the frame of the bike. There are very little modifications to be made but what I can tell you is to read the instructions. The original instructions

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Arabian Knight

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New Rides

It has come as a shock to the motorcycling community that Yamaha has opted for a more conventional European bike instead of the KTM Adventure defeating model that we anticipated. So far we agree that the bike has definitely been developed for the tourers in mind. 19 inch tubeless wheels are more road orientated and with a mammoth 261kg wet, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no lightweight either. Call it an alternative to the BMW 1200GS Adventure/Honda Varadero/Moto Guzzi Stelvio. From a technical point, the bike

looks great on paper. 110hp, 114nm of torque and a large oil capacity means that this bike should, however, be able to walk the walk, or ride the rideâ&#x20AC;Ś In other words, service intervals should be relatively far apart. It also features a 270 degree crank so it should deliver the grunt right through the rpm range. The intelligent Unified brake system seems to be quite complicated and may get in the way at times, working as such: Riding normally, you pull the front brake lever and it distributes the braking force between the front and the rear wheel,

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New Rides

giving you that linking system as you’d find on the Varadero and Honda Blackbird. If you tap the rear brake first, it disables the system, giving you full control of either the front or rear brake individually. My biggest concern with all new European bikes is the ABS that can’t be disabled. I’ve looked into the matter and it seems, however, that you can actually disable the ABS. Hopefully it’s not the same procedure as per the 990 Adventure where you have to disable it every time you start the bike up.

bike is heavy so there is only a 190mm suspension travel. 60mm less than the KTM Adventure. So we have a 1200cc parallel twin, with a 23l fuel tank. Parallel twins are renown for being fuel efficient and I expect the Super Tenere to be the same with an average of 5l/100km. This should make out for nearly 500km on a tank of unleaded.

On the comfort side, the seat is adjustable. This is new and I have not seen anything quite like it. Adjustment is up and down and the screen, too, is conveniently The tubeless system is great. Carry a couple of Co2 bombs with adjustable for height. you, a repair kit and off you go. It’s clear that this bike is a very No more removing the wheel, capable tourer. We should expect patching the tube and putting it back in. Tubeless motorcycles tires the bike on our shores around really have come a great distance. June this year. Watch out for the media launch in the not too disThe front and rear suspension is tant future. said to be fully adjustable. The

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New Rides

Desert Slave 20

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hen Yamaha released the XTZ750 Super Tenere in 1989, the world was stunned by this monstrosity. Most adventurers were riding around on BMWR80’s and the ever popular XT/XL 500’s. Seeing this bulky steroid-fed motorcycle surely must have been intimidating. After all, the 203kg dry weight, high bars, high seat and a 21inch front wheel was unlike anybody has ever seen in a Yamaha. Sure, Honda had the Africa twin which turned into a legend in its own right, but the Yamaha was a great all rounder.

26 litre fuel tank, renowned for being a little on the thirsty side, most owners really never got better than about 8l/100km, but they learnt to live with that. The 1st gear was extremely low and the jump from 1st to 2nd gear was quite a big one, it almost makes you wonder if they didn’t have a little boo-boo with the development of the gearbox. The 10 valve motor with the 180 degree crank loved being ridden close to the redline. It’s one of those underestimated bikes when it comes to performance. It has more power than the Africa twin: above 5000-rpm was the where the engine was at its happiest and it would hunt down superbikes in the twisties. It would run to a top speed of 192kph and do a standing quarter mile of 12.8 seconds. For those of you who are not sure what that means, its BMW M5 territory. This bike made a lovely all-rounder.

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However, pillion seating was a little cramped. The tank will take the biggest tank-bag you can find. The rear carrier rack will also take a fair amount of luggage but it never came with luggage hooks. Tie down straps it is then. The Super Tenere is a great bike that can be found relatively cheap. Yes cheap if you compare it to the Africa Twin. However there are very few aftermarket accessories available in South Africa. So things like crash-bars, headlight protectors, centre stands and even screens will have to be sourced from Europe, mainly the UK, where the Super Tenere S10 was very popular.

Expect to pay in the region of R25 000 for a fair model and R40 000 for a spotless model.

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Swiss-army Knives Building your go-everywhere machine

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There are plenty of places to ride in South Africa though. Riding the right places with your bike is how you enjoy it. No point in taking your GS Adventure on a regional enduro, which will probably kill you or snap the bike in half. Besides, I don’t want to battle with the 250kgs in that sort of terrain.

being the choice here. There are various ways of increasing it; one of them, which is hugely popular in the states, is the HT-Cooler. An oil cooler designed for the KTM brand. This pushes up the oil changes to about 3000km, perfect for the weekend excursion or the mid-week getaway. But the less fortunate will have to do their changes as they go. It takes 10 minutes to do an oil and filter change on the Yamaha’s, so there is really no excuse to stop along the road and do a quick change. Just that extra peace of mind that the maintenance is taken care of.

The small bike market has exploded! DRZ400’s are everywhere you look. Are they the new age Swiss army knives of dual sporting? Let’s not leave out the likes of the KTM450/530’s, CRF450X, WR450F, KLX450R and even the G450X which comes out with a licence plate! The weekend warriors who are currently loading up their bikes and trailering them to the nearest riding spots, seems to be the normal thing to do. I’ve only come across a handful of hardcore enduro bikes that were set up for longer than one day trips.

First things, first. Handlebars. The stock bars are okay for normal weekend riding. Most riders opt for handlebar raisers. Having your riding position set up correctly will either make you love or hate your bike riding standing up at 120 kph on the gravel highways, although you don’t want to spend too much time there. There are good raisers and bars available from the likes of ZETA, Pro-Taper and Renthal. Zeta makes some spacer blocks to raise your bars a little, but the real deal is the Rox Pivot raisers.

The biggest concern is obviously maintenance. 10 hour/1000km service intervals seem to be the normal thing, all depending on oil capacity, of course. 1 litre of oil means you have to change the oil every 10 hours of riding time. This is easily measured with the like of an hour meter or a Trail-tech computer system, the latter

Fuel range : how far do you think you are going to get on the stock 8litre fuel tank? I do roughly 140km on a tank riding very conservatively. There are various options available, mainly 15litres and the huge 25litre tanks. If you usually ride with a backup vehicle, I’d go for the 15l. Realistically your fuel range should

hen people think adventure, they seem to think Lesotho, Namibia and touring into Africa. That’s great, but not everybody has the time to go away for 3 weeks at a time to see the country on a bike.

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Tires: There are some great tires available that give a decent amount of range on them before they are worn. The most popular tires are the Dunlop 606’s, Michelin T63’s and the Pirelli MT21’s. The Maxxis M6006 is also a great tire, but I don’t like it due to the grip in the wet. Hard/intermediate motocross tires will also work, but that depends on the tar/gravel ratio you will be doing. The Maxxis IT Desert is a very tough tire that should also give you a good range. The incredibly hard side wall will be able to carry you for a couple of kilometres incase you do get a puncture and you can’t change it on the trail.

now be up to about 250km per tank, all depending on the terrain and your right hand though. The 25litre tanks makes the front end feel heavy and gives the bike a tendency to push the front in the sand - a little annoying but you learn to combat that. Wind protection: There are a couple of solutions you can look into. You can fork out big bucks for the Mecca Rallye Sytems, full Dakar front end for your bike. Or you can just get an aftermarket screen. Needing a screen depends on your gearing. The faster you want to ride, the more protection you will need. Kappa makes a great universal screen for the enduro bikes.

Gearing: Most enduro bikes only have a 5 speed transmission. Fair enough, they are longer ratio, but with short gearing, they will never work off-road. You will have to setup your bike so you run 120kph at a reasonable rpm range. I suggest around 6-7000rpm. This can be done fairly easily. Add a 1 tooth bigger counter sprocket on the front. The general rule of thumb is, 1 bigger in the front is about 3 teeth less on the rear. Try not to go too extreme though, you don’t need to have a top speed higher than 160kph. The idea is to keep the motor stress down. 1 litre of oil really is not a lot to keep things cool at 10 000rpm the whole day. Ride conservatively.

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There are plenty of farkles available for the enduro bikes. The biggest supplier is Promoto Billet. They manufacture an array of things like wide foot-pegs , rear racks, engine protection parts and even component protection parts. They have a sister company, Fastway, who also offers various other parts, among them hand guards. Hyde also provides affordable engine and frame protection. The biggest concern when doing distance is comfort. Corbin offers replacement seats for most bikes, but it would honestly be cheaper to invest into something like the Airhawk air cushion. It’s removable when you don’t need it and the comfort is there when you do. Trust me, you will thank me later.

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