Issue 10 by adventure magazine

Adventure Magazine INDUSTRY NEWS

DCM Yamaha Secures Gutzeit for 2010 AMA-SX : Double Podium resuts at Anaheim 2

PRODUCT REVIEWS Rox Pivot Handlebar Risers

MOTORCYCLE REVIEWS

For more information and sales visit www.hexdiagnostics.co.za or call +27 21 880 1433

Bmw Xcountry 650

TRIP REPORTS

Lesotho Revisited - a Tale of 3 Friends.

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Welcome to 2010 Welcome to our first issue of 2010. I admit it, things have gotten out of hand and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a little late, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d rather be a little late, than not bring you the issue at all. This is our 10th issue and things have well, progressed into something of a new sort.

prize for the best route.

Our next venture is perhaps going into print with the magazine, we have a poll on the website (www.adventuremagazine.co.za) on the right hand side of the screen and all I ask of you is to share you opinion whether For starters this year, we will be concentrat- we should print or ... not? ing on bringing you more adventure and, well, more of every thing else too. We will be Enjoy the issue guys, theres more later this concentrating on routes throughout the coun-month. try and I urge you guys to submit them to us Please submit your stories to because every month there will be a mistery info@adventuremagazine.co.za

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Industry News

DCM Yamaha secures Jade Gutzeit for 2010 Multiple Enduro and Off Road National Champion and past Roof of Africa winner, Jade Gutzeit, has signed with the DCM Yamaha squad to campaign the South African National Off Road and Enduro Championships for 2010.

Double Podium Result @ Anaheim 2

Gutzeit will ride a Yamaha YZ450F in the National Off Road series, and a Yamaha YZ250F in the National Enduro series. Said Gutzeit: “I am very excited to be back riding a Yamaha. I took my new Yamaha YZ250F out on the weekend and I can’t believe how fantastic it is. The handling is just superb! I honestly believe that this is the ultimate weapon for me to tackle the 2010 National Enduro Championship, and together with the backing and support of DCM, I have the best opportunity to chase down championship glory. Full Throttle are also backing me, and in appreciation for the commitment and faith that DCM, Yamaha and Full Throttle have put in my abilities, I intend to put their, and my, name on both championship trophies at the end of the year. I should hopefully pick up my Yamaha YZ450F from Yamaha later this week. I am really looking forward to putting this “all new” bike through its paces – that bike is just radical!!!” 6

Ian van der Walt, Team Manager and CEO of DCM said: We are really excited to have Jade on board. He is an unbelievable talent and his multiple championships and Roof of Africa successes are testament to this. His third place, and first South African home, on a big heavy 450cc four stroke at the 2009 Roof of Africa was an absolutely amazing achievement, and I think that a lot of people stood up and took notice of that. I am very happy that in DCM Yamaha he has found the recognition for this.” The 2010 National Off Road series kicks off with the Ermelo 400 on the 12-13 February, whilst the National Enduro series begins with the Lesotho Enduro on the 5 and 6 March.

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LandM San Manuel Yamaha pair, Josh Hill and James Stewart, gave the new YZ450F a double podium appearance respectively at Angel Stadium, Anaheim in Los Angeles for the third round of seventeen in the AMA Supercross/FIM World SX Championship. On the second visit of three to the venue in California, Hill took his second rostrum result in as many weeks with the runnerup position behind Ryan Dungey. Reigning champion Stewart nursed a sore right hand - a consequence of his Heat race fall last week in Phoenix - to take third place and rise to fifth in the standings.

of the Main Event. Team-mate Hill was not far away and powered into the lead by lap seven. Dungey was the quickest rider on the track and battled with Hill entering the final five laps. The youngster was denied his second career SX triumph but his runner-up slot, some three seconds ahead of Stewart, means that he is now second in the series. Stewart is still chasing his 38th AMA Supercross victory after his initial success at Anaheim several weeks ago. The 24 year old is currently 22 points adrift of Dungey, and left the arena promptly after finishing the Main Event. 'I don't know if I wasn't breathing in the beginning or what but that pace was ridiculous and I couldn't do it for 20 laps,' remarked Hill, who lies 15 points behind Dungey. 'By the time Dungey passed me, I had nothing left. I'm pretty bummed because with James hurt, I know I have a limited time to get up there and start winning. Hopefully next week.'

Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team's Gautier Paulin negotiated his third and final AMA Supercross West Coast Lites outing and was able to leave LA with 6th place; his highest finish to-date on the YZ250F as the best Yamaha rider that evening. The Frenchman, who had been schooled by AMA winner and fellow countryman David Vuillemin in the US, will now return to Europe to fully prepare for Stewart's hand seemed to bother him in his FIM Motocross World Championship MX2practice but he was able to make the most GP title assault. of a bright start to lead the first quarter After continuous rainfall during the week on the west coast there were fears that the latest instalment of the Anaheim trilogy would be a muddy one. However some decent track prep and effective use of covers provided a reasonably tacky surface for the riders.

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Featured Gear

Rox Pivot Handlebar Risers The age for universal spacer blocks for bar risers have changed. No need for limited adjustability, no need for having your bars moving to your chest instead of up like they were suppose to be raised.

Uvex Enduro

breeze, lowering the center of gravity of the motorcycle, giving the rider more confidence when approaching obstacles.

The risers adjust via allen bolts that clamp on to the existing handlebar clamps. They Rox Pivot Risers, the latest craze in bar sit flush and installing them takes a mere risers, has a solution for nearly every mo- 5 minutes, maybe 10 if you are struggling to torcycle out there. They cater for raises up get the existing nuts loose. to 10 inches. This is particularly very helpful for cruisers or touring bikes when you want You can then adjust them to your riding to raise the bars to take the strain off your preference, forward or backward makes no difference. Our model we tested was a 2 wrists. It also makes riding technical terrain a inch lift and I can tell you that its higher than my original 2.5 universal lift. My riding position has been adjusted to a more on top of the bars instead of slightly back as per the old risers, making my riding position more comfortable standing up. They are available at ADVRIDER in Northgate Island and retail for around R800-00, money well spent. Call them on 021 5111007.

Now Available at

WWW.MOTOGEAR.CO.ZA 8

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Extra-

Urban Warrior 10

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New Rides On an outride the other day, heading for the Seven Passes near George, my bike gave me some trouble and I was left with the opportunity to ride the BMW G650XCountry. “The most versatile member of BMW Motorrad’s fresh new G series line up, the G 650 X-Country is the classic scrambler concept topped off with a few modern features unique to BMW, like a zippy 53 hp single cylinder engine, and a high performance lightweight design.” Those are the words from the BMW website. My first impressions when I sat my boney bum on the bike, was that it felt light and short. With its 100/90S 19 inch front and 130/80S 17 inch rear TKC80’s, the bike looks and feels chunky, kinda like “Thing” from the cartoon superhero series Fantastic 4. BMW added a little step in the seat, and the seat is particularly wide, although disappointingly flat. It becomes apparent how little one sees of the front wheel given that the headlight assembly is traditional, even the front fender stays out of view. The controls are common to other bikes with the X-Country sporting a traditional indicator switch, which I found to get stuck to either side of the switch movement. Although the sticking switch wasn’t annoying, it did leave me a bit disappointed at the perceived quality of design. 12

The 39kw 650cc powerplant has ample power as I tested on the highway in top gear at 120kph; accelerating effortlessly to 140kph where a slight wobble was noticeable, which was confirmed a few times during the day. However, this wobble is possibly due to the tires and wheel balance; not the bike itself. In the twisty bits the X-Country accelerates with spunk and closing the throttle did provide good deceleration control, with some exciting popping from the exhaust. The brakes were, in my experience, very grabby, even with ABS enabled it felt as though a stoppy was on the cards. After half the day and 4 passes, the front was still something to get used to but the engine braking and rear brakes were more than sufficient. Although the X-country was fun in the twisties, the bike did feel limited; it leaned slowly and felt a bit dead when thrown side to side. There is a distinct feeling of being held back by the bike compared to my DR650SE. The bike allows you to lean

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to safe angles before you get to the edge of perceived traction; kind of like traction control although the X-Country comes with a governor to leaning angles. On gravel the bike is superbly comfortable. Marzocchi front suspension eating even deep ruts. Only a handful of spots I felt the bike losing its forward motion due to the shudder, which was solved with a twist of a traveller employs. It should achieve an the throttle. The bike is very well behaved; average range of 180km if you ride casually, power comes on predictably but strong. and want to stay on the safe-side of range. Gravel corners were exciting as the chain driven X-Country is eager to get its tail wagging. I had very controlled power slides, and even on banked straights I could get the bike to go sideways whilst in full control. The build of the bike was bothersome to some extent. Just as one starts to enjoy the playfulness, one is confronted with the wide body of the motorcycle. The seat edges caught me at the knees, and the foot pegs were too close together. You want to push farther but the bike just gets in the way.

Searching the World Wide Wonder yielded quite an assortment of accessories to stick onto your X-Country, ranging from screens, bash plate and a luggage rack; OEM mind you, and Touratech makes pannier racks amongst other things.

In town the bike is very well behaved and stable. Idling forward in traffic and around parking lots proved a synch, and the XCountry climbs curbs like a rock crawler. With the addition of a top box or seat bag, the X-Country will be a great urban warrior, Fuel consumption for the 250-odd kilo- and seeing as BMW has placed it in the urban metres was excellent, although this was category, seems they succeeded superbly. attributed to travelling on the slow side. I calculated an average of about 20km/litre What became very apparent towards the and even 30km/litre, the latter was a slow end of the ride, was that the G650X-Country cruise on the open road at constant speeds. seemed a fun, easy to ride, easy to get hold What is disappointing from a touring per- of bike. The bike is very capable but it has spective is the 9.5 litre fuel tank located an apparent design governor. The power under the seat. This off-course can be over- is smooth and not grabby; the suspension come with the use of a jerry can as many is soft but sure-footed, but lacking life; Adventure Magazine

New Rides

the bike grew docile in a very short time. This can be a good thing if you are a new rider, and it’s a great attribute if you want to ride around just about anywhere slowly, but the feeling of riding a TW200 could not be erased. Please don’t be put off by this remark. The TW200 is a wonderful bike and a great tourer as many can attest, and the perfect bike for learning and plodding around town and hilly farm, but it is still a TW200. And that is what I felt at the end for the G650X-Country.

power. The wide seat is comfortable in its width but not in its plushness, reverberating a lot of vibration to your gluteus maximus. The bike handles well, and will get many a new rider to the level of confidence to lean into corners, but that is where it all ends for the X-Country. Once at home on the bike, it provides little in terms of riding satisfaction. One has to push it to have fun, and even then, the bike holds you back. I would assume that is part of what makes this a popular ride in some circles. Maybe if taken on a multi-day trip with some good technical bits one will discover the true essence of the machine.

The X-Country is a great bike but it is a bike that feels docile very quickly. BMW nailed the concept of urban scrambler, but it is just that, an urban scrambler. Yes you can take it off road. Yes you can tour with it; but it is still an urban scrambler. It doesn’t provide you with the thrills after you have gotten to know the bike; a great trainer that is easy to ride; the X-Country will do everything well, well within the safe zone. Conclusion The BMW G650X-Country is a solid motorcycle with great features and wonderful attributes. It rides easily with heaps of 14

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Technical Specifications Engine Wheels Brakes Suspension front Suspension rear Drive Fuel tank Fuel type Starter Seat height Fuel consumption at 90km/h Fuel consumption at 120km/h

650cc 19inch front, 17 inch rear, Spoked Single disc front and rear, Bremdo Marzocchi USD 45mm Dia forks, 240mm travel Sachs Spring-preload and rebound damping manually adjustable, 210mm travel Chain, O-ring 9.5 liters usable; 3.7liters reserve Unleaded Electric 870mm unladen 3.4l 4.8l

Likes Power Comfort from the suspension Finish Package Dislikes Performance limiter by design Quality of some bits(8000km and there is rust on the front axle) Bike is to wide, or footpegs to close to frame for standing Seat flatness

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www.motogear.co.za

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Lesotho Ride Report

Revisited 18

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Ride Report Excited and with fear welling up in his throat, Michiel is looking across the big ravine at the little more than a track rising steeply from the riverbed all the way to the top of the mountain cliffs. He has just descended down some hair-raising tracks, mostly used by donkeys and people on foot, but he knows this is as far as he can go. His travelling partner, John, has cracked up and has made some serious threats regarding the validity of their friendship. Michiel had to accept defeat and turning around was inevitable especially after a 4x4 group that just came through and informed them that they would not make it up the other side on the big KLR’s they were travelling on. It is exactly one year later after that trip and on this trip; Michiel had stopped, waiting for Stefan and myself to catch up. As we pulled up he pointed to the rugged piece of faded road on the opposite side of the ravine. “This is as far as I got last time”, he informed us “and over there is the road we will tackle tomorrow”. Without hesitation he continues to drop down the steepest section of road. I went last and halfway down the locked up back brake caused the bike to start skidding sideways. I lost control and the bike ended up on the left crash bar, sliding down on its side with me still on top for another two meters. I am exhausted and finding it hard to concentrate as we have been on the road from 9 this morning and the last couple of hours have been spent travelling roads accessible 20

only with 4x4 vehicles, naturally demanding the utmost concentration. I feel the urge to throw of my kit and to lie down for a short while, but the other two are pushing ahead as we are losing light fast and we still had a fair distance of slip sliding and crashing to cover before we would get to the river and our camping place for the night. By this time, I have already made it clear to the others that I believe this is insanity and that we are taking unnecessary risks pushing on at this late hour of the day. Already Stefan has had a number of hard falls, losing both mirrors, and I was close on his heels with the number of falls. Oil is starting to drip down the left valve cover

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from a crack. However, Michiel seems to be the only one that has not yet fallen over, but he must be at least 50kg lighter than myself and is pumped so full of adrenaline that falling is not even an option anymore. I am just too tired to be scared of my next fall at this stage and am just following the other two like a zombie. Lesotho is a place that will leave you stunned, battered and bruised but at the same time it will also leave you awestruck. This unbelievable expanse of mountains just keeps on going for kilometre after kilometre. We have been planning for this trip for

more than half a year and now finally we are here testing our preparation and skill. One of the most important parts of preparing for this trip was to find and ride similar terrain for practise but also to make sure the bikes will be able to withstand this kind of riding conditions. The only rides that we could find that would closely resemble Lesotho were some private 4x4 tracks like the Helderberg 4x4 route, Matroosberg and others in Elands Valley and Hexriver. Here we learned to drop bikes, pick them back up and to get them going again on steep and slippery slopes. Our bash plates were tested to the point of leaking and splitting but they held up, as never did the contents of the engine sump end up on the ground, rendering a bike un-ride able. We entered Lesotho at Ramatsiliso’s gate, Rama’s for short. The washed away 50 yards of road between the South African and Lesotho border posts was already giving away what type of roads were laying ahead. Once on the Lesotho side, we wasted no time as we headed off southeast to the St Francis missionary where we were planning to take a route north to Sehonghong, taking us across some pretty big mountains. Although a route is shown on older maps, we could find little info about its current condition except that the Chinese have been refurbishing the first section. It was just after twelve as we passed

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Ride Report before this trip sees its end.

number of incredibly steep switchbacks and has short sections of cement slabs. Although the road surface was compact and smooth it was covered with fine loose gravel, making it very tricky on the switchbacks as the backend tends to want to breakout from underneath. After I got through the last switchback I looked back to Little did I know it at the time but I was going to pass by here again after 5 in the check on Stefan but he was nowhere to be seen so I turned back to find him next to his afternoon to get my picture. After the turnoff to Sehonghong it became bike right in the middle of the last switchback. This one was particularly nasty with clear that even though the Chinese have beat us to this road it was most likely not fist-size loose rocks covering the entire ride able otherwise. A new bridge was con- road surface. This is where the twitchy structed but I chose cross over the hanging throttle of the F800GS does not help, as bridge with Stefan following close behind smooth acceleration is needed to safely get through sections like these. No harm was me and opted for the newly built Chinese done to bike and rider, just the usual off bridge. The road on the other side was made up of a of which we were about to have plenty of a field with a man working the soil with a primitive instrument all on his own. I really wanted to stop for some photographs but the other two were in front and being almost mid day the light was not suitable for photography.

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from our practice on 4x4 routes was that our bikes were not loaded with luggage, camera gear and full tanks of fuel back then. Each rider can easily carry the addition of nearly 50kg of extra weight on his bike. Sling a bag of cement over the pillion seat and see what that does for the handling of your bike when the going gets a bit tough. Yes, we did a fair amount of falling over on this trip but it surely was not because of a lack of skill or rider ability, but rather because heavy bikes like this is not suitable for riding in this kind of conditions. Smaller bikes will, in turn, not allow us to carry all our gear giving us the freedom to camp anywhere and fuel range is always a problem. So here we are starting to fall and that is just a sure sign that the going is starting to get tough.

Now I need to first explain something about falling, or shall I rather say dropping the bike. I have been riding dirt roads for more than a decade and have covered many thousands of kilometres. Dropping my bike was just never acceptable. I learned to pick the spot where I want to stop long before getting there to make sure it is level and I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t put my foot into a hole or near any slippery stuff, potentially causing me to loose my foothold. I always made sure my speed was appropriate for the road conditions and falling was just something I never did. Since the plan was to go ride the impossible road of Michiels in Lesotho, this suddenly changed. I found myself riding places meant only for 4x4 vehicles and scramblers. The type of routes that would get the adrenaline flowing and make your heart beat at the top of your throat. We crossed another incredible mountain Loosing control at one time or the other pass still under construction and stopped is just inevitable when road conditions have been eroded to the point where loose rocks and steep slopes can send your bike in a direction you did not plan. Being able to choose your line and planning long in advance, but being able to make last second adjustments when the back steps out to the side rendering all your plans useless, is the only way to survive. Besides the incredible remoteness, leaving one very vulnerable in case of an emergency when in Lesotho, one other difference Adventure Magazine

Ride Report

at a village that must have been cut of from the rest of the world by car for many years. The reality is that roads like the one being built change very little for the people living here. They still canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford cars, phones, TVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and all the usual consumer junk we have grown so accustomed to, to the point that we are certain we will not be able to survive life without it. The thing that impressed me the most about the Basotho is that they would still prefer to walk over steep and rocky mountain ridges across their traditional routes than follow the relatively easy Chinese built roads. They transport their goods across these routes using donkeys that will carry anything from a bag of mealie meal to a crate of beer. Life in these remote villages is very simple with no cell phone or TV reception. Houses are built in traditional ways with stonewalls and thatch roofs. The only modern influences are glass windows and wooden doorframes. One thing that sets the Basotho apart from the rest of Africa is the cleanliness of their villages, nowhere is there any pollution. No plastic bags, empty cans or discarded products. This can only be because they do not consume as many products, products that leave a trail of discarded brand named wrappings and containers. I do not understand why the problem of pollution is always just seen as a consumer one and why these companies who are manufacturing and producing this stuff, making millions from it, is never held liable

for any of it especially since they love to brand all the wrappings, making it easy to see whose products are being discarded. We are ready to leave the village as Michiel handed a bag of sweets to one of the adults after which a whole sweet dispensing ceremony ensued. It suddenly dawned on me that we came here and with all the insecurities provided us by our empty and fruitless consumer lifestyle in the big city, making us feel so guilty that we have so much and these people have so little that we feel inclined to want to give something as insignificant as a bag of sweets only so that we can at least

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stroke our own egos making us feel a little more human. Now that this is turning against us in the form of constant begging and even some stone throwing, we are complaining and becoming less humane, showing our aggressive side in defence. The Basotho have the secret for the solution to global warming, economic collapse, pollution and environmental pressures through over consumption of resources. They have a simple, clean, healthy, subsistence lifestyle in one of the most spectacular places on the planet.

We pushed on and it became apparent that there has not being vehicles down this road in a long time. There had been some work done on the road but it is clear that the work was abandoned long before finishing. The road surface was rough with loose rocks everywhere. We could manage so we pushed ahead only to round a bend about 5km down and arrived at a road full of boulders. The Chinese blew the road to bits and on the opposite side of the ravine one can see the pony track continuing with absolutely no chance of getting through or around. Suddenly it dawned on me what the old Basotho was trying to explain when he kept on pointing to his shoes when we were asking for directions to Sehonghong earlierâ&#x20AC;Ś using your feet is the only way. We are going to have to do Lesotho the long way round. Sehonghong is less than 10km along the road we were following, turning around will take us nearly a full day of riding to bring us to the same place. It was getting late and the warm sunlight was catching the hillsides as we are making

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Ride Report our way back to Ramaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gate. I stopped at the Basotho as he is still busy tilling his field with a rustic hand implement. Backlit, wasps of dust drifts of as the sharp blade cuts into the soil and young corn plants are highlighted against the long shadows cast by the setting sun. Further up the road, I found the other two waiting anxiously for me, daylight is running out and we have nowhere to stay. We spend a tense few moments at Ramatsiliso, deciding what to do and trying to get permission to camp at the border control post. Permission was granted and our safety was guaranteed but the facilities had much to be desired so we decided to follow the road and to camp at a quiet spot next to the road. A short distance and we found ourselves in open countryside with no one for miles around. We decided to ride to the top of a hill and make camp. What a spectacular camp this would turn out to be. We could see for miles around in all directions. The mountains were etched against the horizon, majestically pointing skyward, as they are dappled in reds and purples by the setting sun... To continue following our adventure, keep an eye out for Part 2 in the next issue of Adventure Magazine.

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