DETOUR ISSUE NUMBER T WO
ROAD TO WRANGLER II • WANDER ONE • RIZALITO MARTIN
ISSUE NO.
TWO ROAD TO WRANGLER II | WANDER ONE | RIZ ALITO MARTIN
04 | FOREWORD
Travel not just for the place, travel for the people too!
0 6 | D AY 0 4 : T H E I S L A N D S
“How many are there?”. They answered “A lot”.
3 2 | D AY 0 5 : T H E G R I T
The most essential thing that you need to bring when go out travelling.
52 | CUSTOM: WANDER ONE
Another dream came true!
64 | PEOPLE: RIZALITO MARTIN
Most trustworthy mechanic that you can possibly meet.
71 | CLOSING
Involve everyone
46 | REVIEW: KTM DUKE 390
Why I had to let go of my KTM Duke 390.
Cover: One of the 15 islands that I visited when I was at the last town of Polilio, Burdeos.
Detour Moto x Travel is an online publication under the No Barriers Just Horizons Moto Journal project. Motorcycles, travel and stories of people told in a humble and curious manner.
PHOTOGRAPHY DESIGN C O N C E P T U A L I Z AT I O N WRITING
by Marvin Geronimo
C O N TA C T
Facebook: @detourmotoxtravel Website: www.nobarriersjusthorizons.ph E-mail: no.barriers.just.horizons@gmail.com
Humble in tone, genuine in cur iosity.
ISSUE NO. TWO | PUBLISHED JANUARY 2017 C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 6 © D E T O U R M O T O X T R AV E L , A L L R I G H T S R E S E R V E D
FOREWORD
T R AV E L by MARVIN GERONIMO
4
One of the realities of travel is… you meet a lot people. Tourists travel for the place and more often than not they tend to overlook that their presence there is through a combined effort of different people, mostly locals. Sometimes we forget that, so we tend to ignore them or pay little attention to them. As they are not the reason why we travel. Most are too busy to get that one shot so people back home can see where they have been or where they are making every photo seem like its a life changing experience. But little do they know their life changing experience can actually be the person manning the boat, carrying the luggage or serving their food. It might surprise you that a lot of those people have great stories to tell. Yes, they might not be like you, travelling to different exotic places. But they have something thats far greater than that.. a personal connection to the place that you are visiting. Talk to them, ask them how their day was, what’s the most memorably experience they have while doing their job. Lastly, travel not just for the place but the people too.
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
D AY 0 4 - C O N T I N U AT I O N
THE ISLANDS WRANGLER TRUE WANDERER I asked them how many islands were going to visit. They just answered “How many do you want to visit?”, I replied “How many are there?”. They answered “A lot”.
D AY 0 4 : T H E I S L A N D S
W
e can travel as much as you want, we can do this til evening if you prefer that, that was a reply that I was not expecting. The island hopping that I’m quite accustomed to would be formal, with a certain a number of islands and a precise amount of time that you can spend on each one. This was nothing like that, it felt like I was riding a taxi, except that it’s in water and the destinations are islands.
8
The second island that we went to was bare nothing was on it, just rocks that line up the shoreline. It was beautiful in its own way, being the only ones there felt like I own the island. The first thing that they do when we dock is to secure the boat, after that they search the shore for something to take home and cook. I’m just amazed at how well they know these things, at one glance they can immediately spot if theres something edible and they pick it up and put in a old plastic can, then they tell me how it can be cooked “This is good with soup”. Then I go on doing my thing, looking for decent angles to take a photo of the island or take a self-portrait (not a selfie!). Then I started to ask “Lolo” about the island, as to why its so bare. He told me that this island disappears during high tide and they have a name for this island (I can’t recall what the name was but it has something to do with strange spirits tricking you, why?) Fishermen who go to this island tell stories of finding foot prints of children here early in the morning when the water has already subsided, which is clearly impossible. Then Lolo called me and showed me this, when I took a photo of this creature I had no idea what it was neither was they but they told me that it’s very expensive and that it could fetch up to 5,000 php per kilo. Later on I found out from an acquaintance that it’s called an “Abalone”. The third island is quite popular, hence I called it the “Pop Kid” island. Actually it’s really name is “Minasawa”. If you search the net about Polilio most likely images of this island will pop out. Well it’s a beautiful island and its a protected bird sanctuary which adds to it’s attraction.
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
9
12
Abalone
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
D AY 0 4 : T H E I S L A N D S
Lolo’s apo asked me if I want to go inside the mini forest, there’s just one answer to that and you guessed it. It’s a “Yes”. As we were walking inside it he told me that when he was younger he and his friends would often go inside of it and play around. At one part I noticed some debris from what looked like an old concrete shelter, so I asked him what where they. He told me that those were the remains of a building that was built here with the intention of putting up a business. Videoke, food and the usual stuff that you see in popular places, then I asked him “Why was it removed?”. He then told me that the majority of the people didn’t like the idea of someone living in the island as it was not good for it. Upon hearing that answer I realised how much this island means to the people here.
16
While we were travelling to get to another island I heard an explosion. Lolo’s grandson looked at me and said “Did you hear that?” I nodded. I knew at the corner of my eye I saw a big splash, he then said “That’s dynamite fishing.” and then he frowned. I looked at Lolo and he had the same disappointed look that his grandson has. I asked “That’s illegal right? Who allows them to still continue doing that?”. I found it quite ironic that I have just been to a bird sanctuary then not that far there’s illegal dynamite fishing. Lolo then said “It is illegal on certain parts, on some parts it depends on the local government. They know what’s going on and they just let it, but in our sitio it’s illegal that’s why they don’t do it near our place.” I felt sad hearing this. I’m glad that during the rest of our boat ride there were no dynamite fishing explosion anymore. We then went to the island which I consider the most unique at the same time my favourite. By this moment is was already around 3 pm and I have to go back to the lodge to arrange my documentation for the day, I was partly hesitant to actually land and visit it. Lolo asked me once again if I wanted to visit and land on it, the first time he asked me I said “I think I will just shoot photos of it from the boat.” because I thought that it was just full of sharp rocks. Then we got closer and I saw that white patch of what seems to be sand. And he asked me again, “Are you sure you don’t want to check this island out?”. Needless to say I changed my mind. One of the most striking features of this island is how sharp the rocks are. They were just ridiculously pointy and one wrong move and you will surely have a cut. But those sharp rocks are just teeming with life, there were all sorts of tiny little creatures from crabs, birds, and then theres this some kind of fish that jumps from the water and just hops in land, I even saw a bird catch a fish by diving to get it.
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
17
20
The island without a name.
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
24
D AY 0 4 : T H E I S L A N D S
Hiding behind those sharp rocks would be this view. I was simply breathtaking, it looks as if some landscape artist went here and designed the whole place. Was trying to get a really good angle for a photo when I turned back, I saw this! Just like what the photo caption said… It was amazing. The sharp rock formations was just awesome, Lolo told me that it was shaped by the harsh conditions of the Pacific Ocean and waves can reach up to the highest pointed rock formation. I want to capture how grand everything was so I started to walk the water that is in the photo. It was very warm and very relaxing. Every step that you take, small creatures would quickly dart from one place to another, everything was just alive.
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
25
D AY 0 4 : T H E I S L A N D S
I can’t help but admire everything that I see in that island. When I asked Lolo it’s name he said “You can come up with one if you want.” Apparently these islands are so remote they don’t even have names, how cool is that? It was getting late. I really wanted to take a photo of the sunset somewhere, but I still have to go back and write about this day. So I told Lolo that we can visit one last island then we can head home. As much as I would like to visit more islands and know what it feels like being on a boat at night, I had to make the hard decision of ending the day early.
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
26
A hole in an island.
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
27
““ D AY 0 4 : T H E I S L A N D S
These islands are so remote that some of them doesn't even have a name.
28
The last island had a hole in it, a very big one. Lolo took me closer to it, surprisingly it’s pretty shallow so I was able to walk around to take some photos. But it was a slow, very careful walk as the rocks were very sharp. As always Lolo and his grandson was off collecting delicious sea life, when he shouted “Climb that rock ledge so you could feel the cool breeze”. So I did, he was not kidding about it being “cool” as the hole seems to funnel the air causing it to give a tremendous gush. Time to go back. I didn’t feel like a tourist being with these wanderers. I learned a lot from them, their place, their way of life and their perspective in terms of traveling. You can’t buy this experience nor can you read these in travel manuals and for me that is what makes these kinds of travel a “once in a life time experience”. After the last island they took me to a port that’s near the lodge so I can easily get a ride back. I thanked them for the amazing time and for taking care of me up to the last minute. When people ask me how I travel I usually tell them “Don’t just travel for the place, travel for the people too.”
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
29
D AY 0 5
THE GRIT WRANGLER TRUE WANDERER Do not leave home without it.
32
D AY 0 5 : T H E G R I T
A
m I a wanderer? I’m still not sure, I don’t define myself. When I’m asked as to what I do, I often just tell them that I’m just a guy on a motorcycle travelling to different places with no labels nor expectations. I just travel with an open mind, hoping to find challenges that can help me become a better version of myself. This is the last day of my 5 day journey and I’m going home. It wont be easy, I will be taking the mountain route this time. This route is shorter than the bayside but is a bit more challenging. The last time I was here the mud was thigh deep and I dropped my bike countless times. Taking this route takes a toll your mind and your body, you always have to find a good path or you will end up trying to push yourself through the mud. I was so caught up preparing for the challenge ahead that I almost forgot to say thank you and good bye to the lady that made everything possible. She’s the owner of the lodge that I stayed in and it was her family who took me island hopping. What was supposed to be a good bye, ended up in a short conversation about preserving the islands and making it accessible to anyone who wish to visit it.
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
“ “ D AY 0 5 : T H E G R I T
The islands should be open for anyone and everyone!
33
36
Places where being clean is optional.
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
37
Have to trie a different path, infront looks shallow but it seems come mid way it looks a bit deep.
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
40
D AY 0 5 : T H E G R I T
She shared to me that she used to be a part of a group that takes care of the islands and the she is saddened to know that some of them are now private and can only be visited by the wealthy. She told me that people from her island should still be allowed to visit, as if not for them those islands wont be well preserved. Something that I would never forget was her telling me that the islands should be for anyone and everyone, not just for a privileged few who can afford going to a fancy resort and that it should be open for the future generations. As much as I want to stay and talk to her some more, I have to go. Sometimes it’s annoying that you have to leave because you have to catch a boat, an appointment or just something else. But we all have to return to something and travels should have an end, this way it makes you appreciate it more. Good thing the sun was out, people told me that the roads are good this time of the year as it’s not raining that much. The local government tries its best to flatten the muddy roads to make it easier for vehicles to travel. However if we are talking about standards, what the locals consider as “Ok” might be very far off from your expectations. As what is acceptable to the locals might be quite hard for the visitors. DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
D AY 0 5 : T H E G R I T
This is what you should expect to encounter here. The mud caught me off guard when I was here the first time. Patience and focus are the key things that you have to remember when going on travels like this. There are no houses here and you rarely encounter a person walking by. A mistake that would lead to an injury, even a minor one could spell a disaster, as help is very far away. A wall of ferns that reminds me of Jurassic Park, I felt like anytime a Velociraptor would come out and bite me in the rear. My jaw dropped when I first saw this, I have never seen ferns so big that it seemed to dwarf me. It was just amazing to look at, it feels like you are in different era. I have been advised before to not follow the path where there are jeepney tire tracks are, as it’s very deep. Your pegs and shifter can get stuck and getting out of it is a pain in the arse. Some old men advised me this, but being my usual stupid self I decided to not follow it. My thinking was, jeepney tire tracks are already hard and compact making it the ideal path to take. Well I was wrong, I got stuck to the point that I had to literally lift my bike to get out of it.
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
D AY 0 5 : T H E G R I T
If your’e the type of person who can’t bear the thought of dropping your bike or you getting dirty, then this kinds of things is really not for you. There is nothing glamorous in pushing your motorcycle through mud, you can’t conquer a terrain as its owned by nature and it is just letting you pass, there is no room for pride and vanity in these kinds of places. However there’s one that I would suggest that you bring and that is your grit as you can’t be here without it. A couple of minutes after I passed this deep muddy road, 5 jeepneys with full load came and carved it so deep it already looked like a trench. Watching them tackle the terrain was just truly amazing.
42
Progress is slow. It’s like playing mind games with the mountain, you can’t just macho your way through a route as sometimes what you think is shallow at the start, will end up being very deep in the middle and the next thing you know your’e trying to figure out how to get out of it. I have to take a different path, from what I can see the middle part is pretty deep and there’s no one around to help, if I ever get stuck here. Just getting pass those muddy roads is already a reason for me to celebrate. After the muddy ordeal, you will be greeted by light gravel roads with flowering plants growing on its sides, which for me is a welcome treat. The locals probably thought that I was kind of weird I took this shot. If there was such a thing as jumping with joy on a motorcycle, this would be it. I got to the port early enough to have a decent lunch before boarding the boat on another 3 hour ride back to the port of Real. As I got to the port, I was greeted with smiles from the porters. “I know what they are thinking” I told myself. Seeing that I’m dirty again only means one thing, then one of them said “You went to Bordeos again?” then we all just laughed. They then prepared my bike to be alighted from the boat and I said to them “I think I’m getting the hang out it, I’m not as dirty as last time.” They all laughed at me and asked if I will be coming back. I told them “For sure hopefully when I do, I would have some good news for you guys”. It feels good riding the concrete again, but it’s not over yet. I still have to travel more or less 2 and a half hours to get home. It will be cold, foggy and dark but it’s all worth it, it’s always worth it. I do this every time I pass here. No matter what the conditions are, what time it is. I always, always make sure that I stop and take a photo of this place. I have shared to you my experiences for the past 5 days, the people, places and the small things that makes travelling always worth while and with that I leave a photo of my secret spot. Thank you very much for reading and keep on chasing the horizon.
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
43
“
I WANT A B AT T L E R E A D Y MOTORCYCLE P R O J E C T: F E N R I R OWNER: KARA SANTOS
FA C E B O O K : @ D E T O U R M O T O R C Y C L E S
“
REVIEW
2014 KTM DUKE 390
48
by MARVIN GERONIMO
T
his is a review of the KTM DUKE 390 2014 model which I decided to sell after 3 months of owning it. It’s not news anymore that I won this motorcycle, I did not buy it for myself or was it a motorcycle that I had in mind when I was looking for a something to purchase. I liked it, I really do, but there are just some reasons technical, financial and personal that made me want to let it go. ERGONOMICS
Now that we have set physical style out of the way lets talk about what it feels sitting on it. Sitting position is upright, it is after all standard bike. Although the position of the foot pegs and the wide handle bars make it feel sporty than your regular stand bikes. Seat is hard and literally a pain in the ass during long rides, although you can sort it out by getting the softer, plushier KTM power parts seat which costs about 7,000 php, this is just for the rider if you are thinking of giving your passenger a comfortable that’s another 7,000. Yeah, I know what you are thinking, it’s expensive. Exhaust heat are annoying as hell it’s most noticeable when you are riding in very slow speeds and of course in traffic, I always wear denim jeans during regular city rides and you can really feel the heat pass through that, one way to lessen it would be to use exhaust wraps, might look ugly but it does lessen the heat quite a bit. The orange back-lit dash is quite visible even during day-time, although the buttons for me are too hard and needs more tactile feedback. I also wished they indicated the ABS off button with some kind of icon so people could notice it easily, although on second though that might have been a safety feature, besides who would want to ride with the ABS turned off.
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
49
PERFORMANCE
It’s light and its fast. Although I did not max out the speed people have claimed that it could go 170kph without any problems the, fastest that I did on it was 150 kph. Why? Wait did I mention that it was light? yeah I did. What made this feel different from my previous 400 cc motorcycles was evidently the weight, my CBR400 and my CB400 as well as the CBR 600 that I used before was significantly heavier but felt more planted at speeds above 150 kph, as for the KTM D390 upon reaching 150 I can feel some rear vibrations which I usually just experience on light motorcycles going on fast speeds, or maybe I’m just riding it wrong. Now, here comes the fun part and this is probably the best thing about the Duke, its handling is superb. It’s so light that it feels so alive while you flick it from corner to corner, it has a lot of low and mid range power that you can exit tight corners with power and confidence. It felt at home at the corners of Marilaque and Infanta, I never thought I would average 67km/h from Infanta to Sampaloc and 55km/h from there on til I get to the crowded places. Now I’m in by no means an excellent rider or an aggressive one, I’m just your regular rider that had some basic motorcycle riding course. Which means for a guy like me the Duke’s power and handling is friendly, un-intimidating and fun. Oh and the ABS? Works like a charm… turn it off and try skidding your tires on gravel roads and you will immediately know the difference. It’s also a big confidence booster when riding on wet as the chances of you over-braking or locking the rear-wheel is minimal.
50
QUALITY
Ok… this is wehere the KTM Duke falls short. Don’t get me wrong I’m not hating on the bike, I’m just stating my experience of it. First of all before even getting the bike I read and researched a lot about it. I was actually surprised to hear a lot of not so good things about it, from mags breaking, overheating, fan damage and so-on. At first I thought this was just isolated cases until experienced some of them. Its not news anymore that anything below the 390 line is not made in Austria anymore, its made by Bajaj in India. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, I’m just saying it so people would have some additional information. If you look at it on the showrooms of KTM along side with their much more expensive bigger brothers the quality is really not that far-off. However owning it is a different thing in itself. First of all, over-heating. I’m religious when it comes to fluids on motorcycles like these so I made sure the coolant is always in check and everything else but for some reason I still over-heated, ok-ok… a lot of bigger high-revving motorcycles suffer the same fate specially when stuck in traffic. I just did not expect it to happen on a supposedly commuter bike. So I was installing my headlight again because I had to remove something and I was surprised that some of the screws lost its thread… I then concluded that It was my
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
fault because I was tightening it too much. But when I was hanging around at a garage of someone I know the same thing happened it’s as if the steel is so soft that it looses its thread easily. Lastly I religiously followed the service intervals and even had everything done by the KTM shop, but when I sold the bike to them. They told me that the head was leaking and that I need to pay for the gasket and it’s not covered by warranty, note this is just after 3 months of owning it. Ok… no motorcycle is perfect but the sad part is, the KTM shop inventory of parts are very few and their stock is not even the important ones. I actually found out that I can get perishable parts from a neighbor better than from the shop. So that was a very big turn off for me. AVAILABILITY
51
There are a lot of sellers now, than when I got it so looking for a reputable seller is really not that hard. Also parts are not hard to find anymore, just join the FB groups for KTM Duke 390 and you will have a plethora of options and sources for pretty much anything. R E C O M M E N D AT I O N
I sold my KTM because I had to ask myself a very serious question. Where does this motorcycle fit in what I do? I need a motorcycle that can travel on and off-road, that is ridiculously reliable, parts and service are plentiful and easy to maintain. The Duke is just not that… it’s a street-bike, some will argue that it can do off-road and so on but its not a dual sport machine (I honestly even tried to turn it into one). The Duke 200 dominated one of the races in the Himalayas but those are heavily modified Dukes that they actually looked like dirtbikes, yes it can be done but it’s expensive, time consuming and will take a great deal of skill to execute. KTM is relatively new here in the Philippines so branches or service shops are limited to just big cities. Having technical problems in small towns might prove to be difficult to resolve. Shop service also factors into my recommendation because if the shop service is poor then your confidence in your machine will be quite low, that being said there are a lot of things to improve on that aspect. Even from the negatives that I have said about the bike I still think the KTM Duke 390 is an amazing street bike its priced competitively, fast, light, modern and it looks good. But for me it’s not something that I will take on very long distance ride alone. Also take note that I had the 2014 model, from what I heard the 2015 has sorted out the issues with the fan it also has some plastic protection the radiators as well as a cover for the rear shock and some other bits and pieces that makes it better than the 2014 one. Also from the recent news that I heard KTM is now owned by the Ayala group of companies and is looking to expand its production here in the Philippines. Now, is that a good thing? I hope. If they can have more shops in the different places, improve their overall service and can lower the costs of the unit as well as easy access to cheaper parts then it will be a win-win situation for everyone.
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
CUSTOM MOTORCYCLES
WANDER ONE OWNER: MARVIN GERONIMO Ever since I started riding, I have always dreamed of having my own custom motorcycle. After 5 years, I finally have one.
CUSTOM: WANDER ONE
I
have crossed the first one off my list two years ago, the only logical thing to do is to to cross out the next. I have always dreamed of having my own custom motorcycle. Why? Because it’s just so f***** cool to have one. I can come probably come up with some cheesy reason as to why I want one but it all ends up to that simple reason. The Wander One concept started 6 months after winning the Wrangler True Wanderer competition. The idea was to turn the XR 125 into a easily customizable scrambler similar to how easy it is to change the BMW NineT. The initial concept was to for it to have hard luggages and a rear seat cowl. It will have bolt on parts as if giving Wander One different modes to choose on. These are called adventure, enduro and urban.
54
As you can see on the photos this did not actually materialize as it will greatly increase the cost of the build. So we opted to just merge all of those ideas into one. Hence Wander One has a saddle bag on its left side for luggage and different attachment features while still maintaining is sleek slim features. After settling on what it’s going to be the next thing to do is do build it. I have briefed Lito about this possible project way before Wrangler gave the green light (that’s how I badly wanted to make this real). So I came up to him and told him that we can start building this. At that time Lito has a lot on his plate and decided to get one more person on board. His name is Ador a long time friend of his, who is also a mechanic and a former dirt bike rider. My first thought was he is perfect, we are building a scrambler and his inputs coming from his background would be really be useful. I brought Ador and Lito the design that we are going to work on, I also informed both of them that this is not the end all and be all. I’m always open to suggestions as to how we can improve on it. Then Ador went on to start chopping off the the XR125. The first one to go was the sub-frame, then the tank. When were are about to take off the tank, Lito asked to hold on a minute. He started looking at the tank and exclaimed that it has an interesting shape. I have always looked at the tank with fairing on it, so I never got to notice how it really looked like without it. Now that it has been removed i got to appreciate it better, Lito then said “Lets use this tank”. All we need to do is to tidy up the protruding fairing mounts and reshape it a little bit.
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
56
CUSTOM: WANDER ONE
After doing that we then headed on to changing the sub-frame. Ador suggested that instead of having a fixed sub-frame. Why not have one that can be detached so if in the future you want to alter the sub-frame for a different look, it wont be hard to do so. That’s actually not a bad idea, this is why 3 heads are better than one. He then made a bolt on subframe with a fiberglass fender that also houses the batteries and the internals. 57
It’s all coming together quite nicely. But there are some parts that we are having difficulties acquiring and those are the custom head lights and signal lights that we thought was perfect for the build. Back when we were building Wander One sellers of these parts were hard to come by. Most of the parts that we used had to be shipped from overseas. One by one the parts came in and now Wander One is in really good shape. And that shape is sexy… at this point the tank is already shaped it makes a good focal point in the build but it has to be complimented by a really good seat. We first shaped the foam and covered it synthetic leather just to get the feel of it. There’s a minor hump on the rear of the seat unlike most scramblers, I personally liked it that way as it sorts of cradle you against the tank. Now that’s done we moved into getting improving some parts of the bike in terms of safety. We decided to turn rear drum brake into disc brakes for added stopping power and made the rear wheel wider for more traction and changed the rims into something that is more robust. The result was a front and rear wheel that is both aggressive and functional. Then came the struggle with handle bars... We tried various types of handle bars, from the regular standard ones to those used for off-road riding. We eventually ended up with an old school wide handle bars that was used on a 250 dirt bike. We didn’t like it at first because it was extremely wide, but Ador suggested that the stance is perfect and we only need to make some minor adjustments to make it look really bad-ass.
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
58
Disk brak conversion.
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
59
Fitting the exhaust.
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
CUSTOM: WANDER ONE
We are almost there, the only thing we need now is the exhaust. Ador hooked me up with a former colleague of his, he told me he used to work for him, but now has decided to put up a business of his own. His shop was just around 10 mins away and specializes in one thing alone, making exhaust pipes. It was just amazing seeing him work, there’s a bit of trial and error at first but once he has already figured it out, he just went on it like a professional. Cutting here and welding there in about an hour or so the headers were finished.
62
After that, it was off to paint. We choose to go with a silver gun metal finish. I personally don’t like things that are flashy, we want Wander One to make a statement, but we also want to be low-key about it. Then we added some leather additions here and there to give it more character and for the final touch a saddle bag only on one side. After a week it rolled out of Ador's shop and I took it out for a photoshoot and testride. It went well although it wasnt expecting it to be extremely light and agile, I did have to get used to the knobby tires as its a bit slipper on pavement but overall I was satisfied, we still made some improvements after the first photoshoot. It won the 2016 Motobuilds Pilipinas under 200 cc Scrambler category, and got featured in different magazines. The build sort of made a name for itself and had a life of it’s own, just like what we intended.
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
64
PEOPLE
RIZALITO MARTIN mechanic, entrepenuer all around good g uy WORDS BY MARVIN GERONIMO
PEOPLE : RIZALITO MARTIN
65
I
went through some really dark times during my 5 year motorcycle experience. Most of those can be attributed to bad relationships with mechanics who brought me nothing but misery. It’s extremely hard to find reputable and trust worthy motorcycle mechanics. Most will start of being friendly, but later you realize that their sole intention is to milk you with your hard earned money. But Rizalito Martin or “Lito” as his friends would call him is the exception. I first met him when I still had my CB400, someone swapped it for my overly problematic CBR400 S Frame. I thought it was a good deal only to find out that the CB400 is not in a really good shape as well. I tried looking online for a reputable person to bring it to, at this point I’m done with referrals from people I know, as almost all ended up with me angry and depressed with a half functioning motorcycle. I read a lot of positive information about him. Based on an online motorcycle forum he is a CB400 specialist, at first I was skeptical. But when I went to his shop in Dagatdagatan Caloocan, you will see that what they say is true. Almost everything CB related can be found here, regardless if it’s an old or a new model.
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
“
PEOPLE : RIZALITO MARTIN
“
It's extremely hard to find trustworthy motorcycle mechanics, most are just after your hard earned cash.
66
When I brought my motorcycle to him, it was already leaking coolant, it was overheating and the sound was terrible. After I parked it he immediately said what the problems are, from the tone of his voice it seems he wants to get on fixing it rather than spend the time going around in circles. I handed him my keys in hopes of getting my CB back in one piece and working properly, same way I had with all of those shitty mechanics before. I’m just crossing my fingers, another mechanic, another gamble.
After a couple of weeks he told me that the bike is fixed and I can pick it up. My hopes are up, I got to his shop with my bike washed and ready to go, he then discussed to me the details on what was fixed and what needed to be replaced. He did it in detail, although im not really that technically savvy. I understood every bit of it because he was very straight forward about it. He then gave me the bill, which was reasonable. A bit more expensive than the so-called mechanics that I have been to before. But you get what you pay for, in this case I got to go home with my bike with no problems at all. After that I continued to choose him as the person to do my CB’s preventive maintenance and took advice from him regarding a lot of motorcycle riding decisions. We have became friends and at times he became my mentor. All the problems I had in the past regarding shitty mechanics are gone now, and to be honest that’s all because of him.
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
67
70
CLOSING
I N V O LV E E V E RY O N E
71
by MARVIN GERONIMO
Wrangler True Wanderer is now in its third year. They slightly changed the rules as they have included all forms of travel this time. Now anyone can join, and the joining process is easier than before. Is this a good thing? I had to ponder about this for a bit, at first my preference would be to only include people who are into motorcycle travel but as I follow the competition the new system is slowly growing on me. Wrangler wants to get more people involved in what they have started, which I think is a good thing. There are some people that I know who was actually preparing for the competition since last year, and some of them were surprised with the sudden change of rules. Some of them felt that the Wrangler True Wanderer competition is something that motorcycle community can own, because prior to the change this was the only motorcycle related competition that was focused on travel. After reflecting on it a bit I realized that travel should not be exclusive to one type of person or activity, to be honest I think the more people travel the better. Motorcyclist are still welcome to join but they are going to have a tough competition this time as there are a lot of other travellers with extremely good content. With that being said, if this expansion would get a lot more people into travelling then I am all up for it.
R O A D T O W R A N G L E R I I • WA N D E R O N E • R I Z A L I T O M A R T I N
DETOUR
ISSUE NO. TWO
Humble in tone,genuine in cur iosity. ISSUE NO. TWO | PUBLISHED APRIL 2017 C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 7 © D E T O U R M O T O X T R AV E L , A L L R I G H T S R E S E R V E D