Sugru Rubber Glue

One of the main issues with any off road trip is breaking stuff with flying rocks, branches and crashes.  Whilst a handy roll of duct tape is great for road/trail side repairs, for a more permanent solution I have discovered Sugru https://sugru.com/about

It is a moldable rubber glue. It come is various colours in condom sized sealed packets in various multi packs options and colours. This amazing material from the UK, sets hard in about 12 hours if it is warm and gives a finish like a hard rubber. During the curing process it sometimes, if load bearing, needs support, but when it sets, gives a solid flexible (to a degree) rubberized seal and strong hold.

I have used the stuff to fix snapped indicators, create a smooth finish to an accidently snapped clutch lever and to protect wear points on my brake lines as they run over the aftermarket fairing. 

Yes black would have been less visible, but I have used the coloured Sugru to demo its uses. It is very versatile and highly recommended.  Packets of it now are permanently in my tool roll. 

Britannia Composites the 690 Lynx Fairing Review - A year on.

Like any review when a product is new, it is almost not worth reading until you have used it in anger. So 14 months on how is the Lynx Fairing, fairing?

It is a big decision to start cutting off the original light on the KTM 690R and bolting on a larger after-market piece, but as I wanted to use the 690 as a travelling "dual sport" which would see small tracks, 4x4 track and the occasional Italian motorway, I wanted more wind protection, better lights and increase the visibility of the machine on the road.

Firstly the lights are amazing, the daylight headlight is effective bright and a good colour, the full beam LED is quite incredible, it has a huge reach,  absolutely no need for any other lights, total overkill for road riding but amazing off road.

There is a little perceived flicker caused by the normal knobby tire vibration and the suspension setup which I am told can look like it's flashing, but for me anything that makes car drivers a little more aware of you, is good.

Wind protection is good and although the adjustable screen system is simple and good, I find the best position up to 120KMph is actually in the lowest setting, the bike is more stable and wind buffeting is better (less). In the higher positions I find a bit more buffeting and more wind noise. This might be due to the screen material flexing a little at high speeds and the screen design, which slides up and towards the rider and my helmet combo but after a bit of experimenting, now I leave it locked low.

It may be a nice varient if a Lynx was made as a high solid tower, but that may add too much weight.

I have just recently used Sugru https://sugru.com/ moldable rubber glue on a couple of spots where the cables run through the fairing dash board, to reduce wear and vibration and this has eliminated an annoying buzz which appears at certain revs. Also I have  just recently mounted a Garmin Montana 680t and although a little tight for space, the dashboard is solid and easy to cut and drill as you add pieces to the dash.

Between the black dash and the white lighting forward facing panel, at the upper screws, I have damped the interface with a strip of inner tube, this takes the stress out of the system and helps reduce any vibration. It may seem a little hickey, but it is a simple and a logical farkle. There additionally is a small gap between the two fairing parts near the triple clamp and I have taped in another rubber gusset(s) make from inner tube so it protects the electrics from mud, dust and road rain. Amazingly even after riding in the heaviest rain,  mud, dust and dirt the inner tube which is held in with numberplate double sided tape and duct tape the fix still holds firm.

I have the early 2015 Lynx and have ridden 6000km with it on the machine and would recommend it wholeheartedly.

Pros
Lighting on and off road
Wind protection
Presence and visibility
Easy to drill and mount thorough the dashboard
Good looks
Great service from Britannia

Cons
Easy to over tighten the mounts and crack the surface
Some vibrations (Sugru and inner tube helps)







http://www.britanniacomposites.com/lynx-r-dual-sport-fairing-for-ktm-690/

#KTM #KTM690 #adventurebike #dualsport

Garmin Montana 680T Review

Exploring in the French Alps

One of the great joys of a winter is plotting or planning your spring and summer trips and expeditions. If however you are trying to navigate a set of complex routes and tracks it can also be one of the most time consuming and frustrating processes.

Over the years I have used various GPS devices including the Garmin Zumo 660 which is designed for motorcycle road use. Whilst the old Zumo was great for getting from a-to-b on roads, as soon as you ventured off the tarmac, it was basically redundant. Additionally iPhone streamed maps, either using Apple/Google or Motion GPX programs, whilst cheap, have severe limitations especially when things go wrong and mobile service drops.

The Montana directly mounted onto a Lynx fairing on a KTM690

Step in the Garmin Montana 680T. For a few years the more adventurous globetrotting motorcyclists have been using Montana variants, the 680T is the latest, best and clearest of the Garmin "handhelds" .

When sourcing the new Montana, Garmin themselves were quite keen to direct me towards the new Zumo range but for my requirements, they just don't cut it off-raod. Whilst the Zumo's sometimes do have some trails and track features on the basic mapping programs and the ability to add routes, tracks from Basecamp it's complex and very hard to make sense of a landscape without a set of contours and features found on recreational maps, which have landscape and contoured features.

If you are inclined to wanting to head into the back-country the Montana 680T has proven itself to be amazingly useful and accurate, even when using the European recreational standard map which does lack some of the fine detail an OS or similar would have.

Often for my trips I am plotting trails or finding routes on Google earth, then creating a KMZ file from Google Earth and then via Basecamp trying to get them into a GPS. With the 680T this has proven to be remarkably easy. Plot the trail in Google Earth, drag it into Basecap and then drop it straight into the Montana. No need to modify the format, navigate horrible menus and search complex folders in the device when you are in the field.


Everything appears in the Montana's Track manager menu which by way of a nifty screen setting can sit on the opening screen of the 680T.  Navigating a track is simply a matter of then following the trail/line though the landscape using the Recreational Map of Europe V4. For walking and trail running and MTB use when you are moving quite slowly you can zoom into accuracy down to a 50m screen view. For Enduro use 50m passses quucikly so I prefered the 80m and 120m screen view.

Whilst the RecMApV4 lacked some of the trails it's easy whilst on a track to swipe over a landscape to find features which help place you in the landscape. For really detailed work you can also download into the GPS, using the BridsEye feature a satellite image of the area.  For a big trip the "real" images do take up a lot of memory so are not so practical, but for a 20-50mile complex trail or a mountain navigational exercise, this is really useful. Switching between a satellite image and the RecMaps is done through the "map information" icon/menu which once again can be added to your home or startup page.

For successful mixed navigation on the Motorcycle (in Europe) you really need to use two map sources

CN Europe NT 2016 (or USA)
and the
Recreational Map of Europe V4

The CN (City Navigator) is the road navigational program/map which you need to get from home to the trailheads and the RecV4 maps to then follow your imported Tracks. Tracks do show up in the CN road map so you can Pin mark the start of an imported track and navigate to the start of a Track/Trail and then switch to the RecV4 when you head into the wild. It is a shame that the two systems don't overlay, but it's best to think of them as two different programs which don't overlay. The imported "tracks" do however remain visible on both map/operating systems, a useful and highly necessary feature.

As a hand held although a little on the large side when GeoCaching with the kids or navigation off a misty mountain top the Montana is super accurate, down to about 5m, unthinkable just a few years ago. I am still in the first month of using the Montana, but I have to say it saved our recent trip to Sardinia where there are so many overlapping track and 4x4 tracks without it we would have wasted hours searching for the correct track.

It like any tool is a little complex to start with but the menu is more intuitive than previous GPS's I have used and adding in coordinates which on some devices is super slow, the Montana is easy and a breath of fresh air, if in the past you have struggled fumbling through complex menus and multiple button pressings, the new Montana eliminates that pain, and is actually something you want to use actively rather than something complex and clunky which you only revert to as a last resort.

Pros
Brilliant interface between Basecamp/GoogleEarth/Montana
Accurate and easy to follow imported tracks
Good Menu and features
In field Nav good and amazing with Bridseye images
City Nav road maps and Recreation V4 maps work well and quickly
Good screen size (even for motorcycle use)
Lockable bike mount

Cons
City Nav and Rec V4 maps do not interact
Buttons sometimes don't work when wearing gloves

Remote Sardinian Trail

Another Year on the 690.

At the start of each riding season especially if you live in a mountain town where the roads are snow, salt grit and ice bound for 4-6 months getting back on the Iron Horse can be a foreign thing. It also comes with questions about the bike. Another year another set of bike launches, the new Africa Twin, the SWM Adventure, another megalithic GS, and the credible CCM450 Adventure and a plethora Triumph Tigers and XC and serve to push you to re-evaluate your machine of choice.

For me I am on my 2014 KTM 690 Enduro R for the 2nd full season.  The only thing that comes close to the mix I wanted is the Husqvarna 701 but hey its 690 in Blue White and Yellow and without the large supply chain making aftermarket bits (this may come). The CCM of course would be ideal but for the 450cc engine.

I suppose you need to be honest about what sort of riding you will do and how and where you want to ride it. 15,000 British GS riders in the last 8 years bought into the rufty tufty round the world dream, complete with matching suits and plenty add-ons to add weight to your monster. Most will never see dirt, let alone a sand storm or a single track. So if you like the image, and your idea of an adventure is a French motorway to a GS meet near Nice, knock yourself out. However if you want rocks, rubble, dust and skinny trails, then The GS or any weighty machine is not for you.

Also be honest, do you need a 300mile range tank, are you really going to travel from Khartoum to Dar-es-Salaam and never pass a fuel station and if you ever do, then a couple Rotopax bolt fuel canisters or a fuel bladder will get you there. Fuel is heavy and unless mounted low seriously affects the handling of the bike.

Most “adventure bikes” are 200kg plus, add some luggage (even you manage to travel light) you will be close to 230kg, some may top 260kg.

Having been pinned under a GS800 with 2x15kg panniers made me rethink what the GS I was doing.

There are not many sub 180kg bikes and none off the peg that really fit the bill of what I wanted.

My criteria are

I need to drive to the trailhead and unlike the USA these distances can be long, often a day or two on the flat top. A small 250-450cc engine would seem just to be under a lot of pressure doing this day in, day out.

I stick to the A and B roads generally but it needs to sit at 110kmph/70mph and still be relatively comfortable and handle. Some wind protection would be nice and it should be able to carry some luggage.

14+ litres offering up to a 350k range means we can ride for two trail days and not panic about finding fuel.

It strikes me as odd that no-one makes a 600cc sub 180kg machine with a reasonable range and good suspension for the trails. But having just ridden 6 days on the best trails in Europe in Sardinia and meet no other riders, whilst on the nearby roads hundreds of BMW’s and Multi Stradas it maybe should be no surprise.

These ubiquitous hard panniers machines piloted by multi pocketed Cyberman, suggests to me what we are doing, whilst is a strong aspirational marketing image that is selling the machines to the masses, is actually pursued by only a few.

So if you want adjustable good suspension, the ability to ride road, some single track and trails, and feel as though you are riding not just surviving then few machines are as capable as the KTM 690 Enduro with its added bits.

x

Monkey Butt

At the end of the last long ride back from the South of France to our French base near Chamonix, I honestly could say I was broken. I could barely press my cheeks on the saddle for one minute more. So before starting our latest 3000km epic, I thought I had better sort out the "ar.." problem.

 

I have up until now been using a cheap pair of £30 cycle shorts with pad, but after the last trip these have been relegated to turbo training sessions. Motorcycle blogs are full of useful and increasingly in my experience, useless advice. So firstly this is not advice but observations from an unhappy bottom.

Knowing the KTM 690R seat was a little sharp I bought a Touratech high enduro seat. This should have worked but no amount of shuffling, baby powder, talc and creams sorted  the butt pain. After 2 hours in the saddle it was just as uncomfortable.

So a comfy butt quest was started and I have to say it has been successful, after all I would prefer to ride rather than be distracted but a painful butt.

So to the underwear I turned. I bought 4 pairs of pants, (underwear)

Nike Men's 9'' Pro Cool Compression Shorts

Craft Greatness 9'' Boxers

Moto Skiveez  Adventure Pants

and 

Hummel HERO BASELAYER MEN SHORTS Style no.: 095582055

They have all been tested over quite a few hours and I have to say the Hummel Hero pants are by far the best. 

10 is good 1 is bad

The Nike shorts don't have such a flat seam and although good enough, smell awful after a day in the saddle. 

Comfort 4 - Smell - 1

Craft. The Craft short is much better than the Nike, but it did not seem to wick so well and on the hot days felt as though they were quite sweaty.
Comfort 6 - Smell 3

Moto Skiveez Adventure. I had high hopes for these as they we supposed to be designed specifically for off-road adventure biker types. They have a bigger pad than a cycle short and are the only padded short in the test. So they were a bit disappointing. They were hot and after a full saddle day, began to feel like a wet nappy. Heavy and not so wonderful as expected 

Comfort 6 - Smell 7

Hummel were the long shot but from the off were the most comfortable off the bike and by far the best on the bike. Unlike the others, which only lasted a day before they were either discarded or relegated to gym wear, I wore the Hero Pants for 4 days in a row without washing them and on full hard hot enduro days. Brilliant !

Comfort 9 - Smell 9

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 

HTTP://WWW.HUMMEL.NET/GB/MEN/SPORT/BASELAYER/HERO-BASELAYER-MEN-SHORTS-BLACK-DARK-GREY

BMW GS or Bust

A fully kited out ABR  - Icon Suit notwithstanding

The BMW 800GS was my second bike, quickly purchased post a brief and profitable foray with a Suzuki VStrom which I picked up for a song. Suckered into the GS fraternity by promises of adventures by Ewen Macgregor,  (Charley, was the sidekick at that time) it was fully kitted out with Caribou Panniers, Jesse Side Bars and Heidi Tyres and it really looked the part. The 30th Anniversary Paint job finished off the required ABR look. A frustrating digital subscription  to Adventure Bike Rider magazine complete with articles by "Dave an ABR from Brighton" on his latest foray though the Rhine Valley war fields via some rubbish cafe in Strasbourg should have sounded the warning bells, but no.

It took a hairpin 2000m up an Italian Alp to really seal the deal. "ABRism" and its love of the tank like BMW GS was fetish I had finished with. A marketing con for me at least, which came crashing down in a heap of dirt and rubble. These machines I now believe are the motorcycle riders equivalent of the Caravan Club "car of the year recommendations".  Great for towing you home about behind you but rubbish in a fight.

Its the add-ons which turn an already Scorpion Tank like ride into a Chieftain Tank width and weight machine. Don,t get me wrong they handle the weight of the 4 lights, steel panniers, engine bars, bash plates, huge luggage racks strong enough to anchor a Mule to and a repair kit so extensive you could repair a jumbo jet with, quite well, and they are good on the road. But when you drop them you need your entire family and a the accompanying film crew to pick them up. (Episode 2 - The Long Way Round)

Having ridden quite a lot of mountain dirt roads with my GS, it was not until Greg Watts, a fellow, at that time GS owner, struggled up and down the Col du Prapaillion, described the experience as "survival riding and not that much riding fun" did the penny really drop.

The suspension sucks, they dive and wallow under the weight (even with progressive springs), they are way to heavy by at least a 100kg loaded and impossible to pick up on your own if you happen to drop them on a road thats even just off the flat. The 800GS seems worse the the 1200GS as its carries its weight differently. Furthermore they are way to pretty to scuff, scratch and dent. Fine if your using someone else's on a dirt course in Wales, but drop your £15,000 machine on a sharp Italian rock and you will cry. Its not the zippy carefree fun it should be. Time to move on.

The Col du Prapaillion - France

1000 Km of Cols and Dust 1.

1000 Km of Cols and Dust.

The track gets rougher and rougher as it climbs up over 2,400m. The gravel of the lower altitudes has given way to melon sized rocks which lie scattered over the trail, sharp and threatening. The handle bars of the laden 250kg BMW buck and wrench from side to side pulling its bulk alarmingly across the 2m wide track. I am repeating my mantra given to me by my enduro trainer: ‘Keep your head up, look beyond the obstacles, keep light, and let it move underneath you. Don’t grip hard.’ At no other time, on no other ride, and on no other 2-wheeled machine, has this been more important to me than it is right now. On one side of me there is a solid rock wall hand cut by long dead Italian troops, and on the other side? A huge drop off. A 200m cliff. Beckoning, spiralling, crashing, fireball, imagined oblivion.

I am riding The Ligurian Border Ridge Road a 19^th century monument to a more tense period of European history when France and Italy were more likely to have been trading bullets and territory than pleasantries. Today it is increasingly frequented by a growing band of adventure motorcyclists and I am pretending to be one of this growing tribe; although I have to say I fancy myself more as Ewan than Charley. Exactly one year ago to the day on a cold wind-blown Industrial estate in Inverness, I was handed my full motorcycle licence. Call it a mid life crisis - the other symptoms are definitely there - but whatever trigged the journey that I now find myself on, I have no regrets and only adventures that await my twisted throttle progress.