Bikers...

are these tough fellas you have to watch out for... or are they...

One of the Wildogs saving a calf while out on the Amageza preliminary run in Gauteng, well done Hoofseun!

"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~ Immanual Kant

Gotta love British humor!

"With over 900 years of motorbike building prowess behind them!"

Enough already

Woke up at 6 am to more rain... it is now 10 am and it has not let up for a moment... this is 1988 deja vu! Many parts of the country are now flooded! We need a rainbow or two!
We have been having good, nay extraordinary good rains since before Christmas but since last Friday it has become Noachian rain!
While fitting new crashbars to Shrek I had to duck back inside a few times as the rain was flooding the carport... thankfully no tools or parts got washed away.

The black box was brim full by midday Saturday... and it is once again overflowing!

The access road has been a river on and off for the past few days...

So it seems we may need those rubber ducks and gumboots soon just to get to work...
I also had the resident engineer check out the new crash bars, L's kitten Misha is extremely inquisitive...

apparently they met her approval after a thorough looking over and nuzzle!

In between showers I was able to take the new bars for a test ride... Must say the new bars have tamed the vibes a lot... I can even see out of the bikes mirrors at 5000rpm... with the old bars it became a blur... Thanks to Harold and Matthew at Bike Gear for letting me be a Guinea pig...
"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." Dolly Parton

Scooting around fallen branches

Sometime I am amazed how pretty some of the dirt roads are around Bloemfontein, this is on the way back fro Krugersdrift dam today, I went out to see if it had started overflowing from the recent rains we have been having.

I don't know what it is about trees falling in the roads I travel... but this time it seems this branch broke off a day or two ago, it had been cut up and dragged out of the road where it had come crashing down.

Glad it did not happen as someone drove past in the dark... it fell from quite high up on the tree. One of the reasons I also think we should do away with eucalyptus trees, after a few years they shed branches like leaves.

A little further down the road I turned off a trail and ended up at this abandoned ruin, sad to see what was once a home so shattered and broken.

As you can see the recent rains are starting to add up, more and more standing water after each shower we have...

The countryside is greener than I can ever remember for this time of year as well. A bit further on I saw the house mentioned in the paper a few days ago that had lost a roof in one of our storms, the folks seem to be re-organizing their lives as they have the place rebuilt. Although camping in a caravan in one's own back yard is probably not what they would have wanted to start 2011 with.
"A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease." John Muir

99 Biker Friends

I always smile when I hear about bikers supporting the underdog...

Great to see then supporting a kid's right to fly his country's flag...
Reminds me of the Bowling for Soup song, 99 Biker Friends

99 Biker Friends by Bowling For Soup
Such a big man, such a little chick.
I think it all goes back to your tiny
Pick-up truck in the driveway,
With a sticker on the window
"Rest in Peace Number 3".
Tell all your friends
How you put her in her place.
7 pounds of makeup
Just to hide her beat up face.
Such a pretty face.

[Chorus:]
It takes a tough man to slap her around.
Such a bad guy to keep such a good girl down.
She's wearing shades
Behind the tinted glass.
And I've got 99 biker friends
That wanna kick your ass.

Tell her that you're sorry.
Blame it on the beer.
Your dad was mean to you.
Your friends think you're an asshole
And I do too.
Over compensating for your small shoes.
Taking her away, but you won't say when.
Hold her in your arms,
Tell her this won't happen again.
When will this end? Well

[Chorus]

I wish Bruce Lee was here right now
With his trusty nun-chucks
Chuck Norris is still alive,
So let's call up Walker, Texas Ranger,
All the dudes from "Danger, Danger".
Let's get the A-Team,
50 Cent with his bling-bling,
And a couple of prison guards.

[Chorus]

Start running now.
We're gonna kick your ass!

Yeah... I have 99 Biker Friends too! With me it makes 100! Give us a call any day...
"People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs." Author Unknown

The Heidie Saga part I

I recently got the opportunity to test a K75 Heidenhau rear tyre for the KLR, here are the pics I took just after the wheel was fitted. many thanks to Harold at BikeGear for the opportunity!

The K75 has a nice aggressive look.
New K75 and well worn K60...
Close up of the wear on the K60. This is after approximately 8000 Kilometers, the best wear I have ever had so far from a rear on the KLR. After the test I think I will be back on a K60.
Another comparison between the two. The K75 is not a tar tire but as I do a bit of commuting as well we want to see how it holds up in this regard, many DS riders want a agressive dirt tire that does have some tar use as well. I think in this respect I will be able to give it a good test.
Now all I have to do is go and put some kilos on the tire... or is that tyre?.
I'm no good at DIY. I'm terrible with computers, too. And decorating. But I can change a tyre. Gwyneth Paltrow

Back in the saddle

Last time we rode this road MD and me had some "Boulder" trouble, well since then Mitchell's pass has been fixed and the ride home was more like a highway trip down the mountain... but not boring at all, it still took concentration around the curves. This time it was a solo ride back to Bloem and apart from the wind quite uneventful, fortunately the trick of sticking a knee into the gale does help.
Will do some backposts with pics we took, hopefully my blogging will pick up again in 2010.

Back in the Saddle - Aerosmith
I'm back
I'm back in the saddle again
I'm back
I'm back in the saddle again

Ridin' into town alone
By the light of the moon
I'm looking for ol Sukie Jones
She crazy horse saloon
Barkeep gimme a drink
That's when she caught my eye
She turned to give me a wink
That make a grown man cry

Come easy, go easy
All right until the rising sun
I'm calling all the shots tonight
I'm like a loaded gun
Peelin' off my boots and chaps
I'm saddle sore
Four bits gets you time in the racks
I scream for more
Fools' gold out of their mines
The girls are soaking wet
Not tounge's drier than mine
I'll come when I get back

I'm back in the saddle again
I'm back
I'm back in the saddle again
I'm riding, I'm loading up my pistol
I'm riding, I really got a fistful
I'm riding, I'm shining up my saddle
I'm riding, this snake is gonna rattle


Ridin' high
Ridin' high
Ridin' high already

"Life is just a chance to grow a soul."
A. Powell Davies:

Prototyping a screen deflector for the KLR - Part 2 and TomTom mounting

The TomTom One gps mounting.




















More of the TomTom













Detail of the Xscreen and mounting points using extended bolts.












Bigger picture with Xscreen and GPS.













Side view...













Detail of the GPS mount using the handlebar stay bar, extended nuts and aluminium section.












Front view...













How it looks...




















Another side view.













Another view showing the Xscreen mountings and TomTom cradle.




















Now I just need to fit a power plug for the TomTom 12v Usb supply and the job is done!

To be Updated/Added/Edited at a later stage...

Prototyping a screen deflector for the KLR - Part 1

After seeing what was on the market and what I had in the junkbox I decided to Pooratech an extended screen for my KLR, and this was the result so far. Call it some backyard R&D if you will. Post needs some editing and body but this was to get the pictures up in a link for the other Wild Dogs that may be interested..

Shaping and cutting the perspex to resemble something decent.

Side View of the perspex showing the curves...

Figureing out...

Pre fitting then on to the mounting with aluminum brackets...

Mounted for test ride

Not bad at all!

Quite chuffed at the results so far...

After all the effort I am quite happy with the result, it does need some more refining though.
I think it needs to be higher up and have more support from the rear, that will be in the next update.
Material used so far has been;
1 sheet of perspex (must measure it still)
Strip of 12mm Aluminum Angle cut as needed.
Strip of 25mm flat aluminum cut as needed
8 x 10mm 3mm SS button Allen head screws
6 x 20mm 3mm SS pan head screws (could not get SS Button heads that size)
6 x 3mm heat sink washers
14 x 3mm Nylock Nuts
Strips of neoprene rubber for scratch protection
Strips of 6mm sealing rubber for cushion between support and screen.

To be Updated/Added/Edited at a later stage...

Tears in heaven

As a member of Wild Dogs adventure riding forum we were saddened to hear of the passing of one of our members.
Songololo, you will be missed but will be remembered by family, friends and all you touched during your brief stay here on earth.
As a father of a wonderful son and daughter myself I still cannot imagine what his parents and family are going through, I believe nothing ever crosses one's path that God cannot hold you through but losing a child is one of the toughest ones.
To all I offer my condolences and you will be in my prayers. When something like this happens I am always reminded of this song from Eric Clapton... written after he lost his 4 year old son.

Tears in heaven.
Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven
Will it be the same
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong, and carry on
Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven

Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven
I'll find my way, through night and day
Cause I know I just can't stay
Here in heaven

Time can bring you down
Time can bend your knee
Time can break your heart
Have you begging please
Begging please

(instrumental)

Beyond the door
There's peace I'm sure.
And I know there'll be no more...
Tears in heaven

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven
Will it be the same
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong, and carry on
Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven

Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven
Hopefully this will be of some comfort to his loved ones.
"Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the lamp because dawn has come."
Rabindranath Tagore

Moonrise over the Maloti

Today I had to go and sort out a small problem and on the way back I just had to stop and take pictures of the full moon rising over the Maloti mountains... here is the picture as well as some of the others I took earlier the day...
The moon caught rising over the Maluti (or Maloti as some pronounce it in these parts) Mountains just outside Clarens on the way to Fouriesburg, taken on the way back from our other campus at Qwaqwa.

Fortunately the clouds dispersed when it was time to leave... I had not packed the rainsuit!

The dirt road to Kestell over the mountain... will be explored one day...

Shadows falling over the mountains of Golden Gate...
The trip was highlighted by me being able to test the new HID light and I can say it works well... just near Tweespruit some cattle had wandered onto the roadside and I was able to see them clearly... with lesser lights I would have seen them a lot later... maybe too late.
"Beauty is a form of genius--is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation. It is of the great facts in the world like sunlight, or springtime, or the reflection in dark water of that silver shell we call the moon."
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)

HID me... for all the KLR Wild Dogs...

How to fit HID lighting to your 2008 KLR. One of the best farkles in my opinion.
Main beam on before HID
First thing of course is to get a kit from Bikegear for a H7 type globe system.

When your parcel arrives it will be in this neat box that you can use to store KLR bits and bobs in neatly...
Start by removing the windscreen.


Then you need to loosen the 6 bolts that hold the fairing to the bike, 4x 6mm Allen heads and 2x 4mm as indicated in the pictures.






Then gently move the fairing forward and disengage from the instrument cluster... don't break anything! Let the fairing rest on the front fender/mudguard as you do this.



Once moved forward by around 200mm you will be able to unplug the indicator leads and the headlight leads, be careful as the whole lot can fall off at this stage.

The indicator leads...

Close up...

Right...

Left... Now for the headlight leads...



Once the leads are all unclipped/unplugged you can take the fairing off and put it in a safe place where you cannot step on it/fall over it/drop the bike on it or otherwise destroy it... Beware Murphy lurks where tools are involved!
Now comes the tricky part... where to mount the HID ballast, my first thought was to mount it on the instrument mounting.


but after taking a good look again it seemed that it would make a good fit inside the fairing... more on that later...

After fitting the ballast begin preparation to fit the globe in place of the OEM H7 one... Take out the OEM globe by pulling of the lead then removing the rubber cover... this is what it looks like after being removed

Then undo the retaining clip...

You will find that the OEM globe has an adapter between the globe proper and the lead...

H7 globe and adapter...

H7 and adapter removed, this is used to retain the globe in the light fitting itself with the retaining spring/clip. It is 34mm OD by 9mm thick where it the retaining clip rests.
The problem is that the kit has no adapter! Fortunately I found a substitute for the dimensions needed... 3x rubber tap mounting washers! They are the right OD and have the right size hole as well as being 3mm thick! Volia!



I cut a small slit in each washer to enable them to be slipped over the leads of the HID globe. Actually I removed about 1.5mm, this makes the washers fit better in the light fitting...
Now fit the HID globe, pop the washers behind it and clip in the retaining spring, then connect the HID globe leads to the ballast... retaining clips to the small tab... if you get it wrong it will not work but will also not fry anything. "Whew! glad to hear that!"

Put the boot back and secure with some Duct Tape, you will have to slit it to get it over the HID globe leads...
Once you have fitted the HID system you can put the fairing back and test things.
This is what it looked like...

Now comes the interesting part... the plug tabs on the OEM light lead needs to be slightly crimped as they tend to be loose on the HID lead tabs... be careful... the plastic around the plug can break but does bend enough when gentle pressure from a water pump plier is applied.
The HID is polarity sensitive in respect of the connection to the OEM light socket, I tried it one way and the HID did not work... if this happens to you just swap the leads around and it should work.
Oh yes, do not test on a battery charger... it cannot deliver the starting amps the HID system needs to fire up the HID Globe. Rather do the final testing and connecting on the bike.
When the HID fires up and everything works as it should you can proceed to refit the fairing... except it wont fit! What now?
Aha! Found the problem... this support on the instrument mounting is the problem... the ballast is now taking up the same space as this pipe section wants to occupy...

The pipe too long...

The remedy is to unclip all leads again... put the fairing in a safe place and grab the hacksaw! yes... you need to trim around 20mm off this projecting pipe... then you will have space for the ballast and fairing support to live together... without causing strife. Once that bit of surgery has been performed you can file the end smooth and give it a dab of matt black spray paint... do not want the Rust Monster to get a hold on your bike now do you?
Once the fairing is back in place start by inserting the top 2 bolts first... do not tighten all the way... now do the two bottom 6mm ones followed by the smaller 4mm ones and their spacers... once they are all seated you can tighten them all snugly.
That is basically the lot... now check that everything works

and if so pack away all your tools... gear up and take your KLR for a test run.
While I was doing this farkle I also fitted a few other things like LED lamps for the indicators, lighting and high beam... I also converted my indicator and neutral lamp to be the RH and LH indicator lamps... and fitted an amber neutral indicator LED... and also fitted a switch to give Shrek a Hazard warning facility, more about these mods here...

at the same time the temperature hovered around this... chilly...

I also had my apprentice Myoo looking on...
I like the quote I found as well... it fits in with the purpose behind fitting the light... to be safer at night and to avoid chaos!
"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting."
Alan Dean Foster, "To the Vanishing Point"