Progress Report 1 - w/c 18.08.08

....well, I am making steady progress...

Tyres

My research has shown that there is an endless list of tyres and all are specific to the bike you ride, the style, but ultimately how you ride and what terrain you ride on is what counts. For the KTM 950 Adventure that I have, is such a large and powerful bike, that it will shred most motocross tyres pretty quickly. Also, most people, including me at this stage, use my type of bike for high mileage trips rather than out and out off-roading - my longest trip was 9 days, 4,500miles to Croatia and back.

Simply put, harder tyres wear down more slowly than soft tyres, but soft tyres give much more grip. Off-road tryes are both soft and knobbly, so have great purchase on lose dirt, mud, sand etc but on tarmac the knobblys make the bike unstable and as the rubber compound is soft, chunks of rubber come off so they wear down very quickly. I have found combinations of tyres, that give a good balance between off-road and long distance travel, but it is always a compromise.

Here are some of the options I came across. For starters I use the same tyre I started with which is a Pirelli Scorpian MT90, 150/70 (R18) and 90/90 (F21) and I get about 4-5K out of the rear and 7-8K out of the front.

For a good touring and off-road combo:

* Rear tyre Dunlop 908RR, but reduce pressure to 14-15psi off road
* Front tyre TKC-80 (One suggestion was to select Made in Germany not Taiwan for better wear)

For pure off-road:

* Trelleborg 140/80 (R) 90/90 (F) £44 & £36 respectively (exc carriage and fitting) http://www.trelleborgtyres.co.uk
* Michelin Desert 140/80 (R) 90/90 (F) £82 & £61 respectively at Whatling Tyres (exc carriage and fitting) http://www.watling-tyres.co.uk and http://two-wheels.michelin.com
* Metzler Karoo 150/70 (R) 90/90 (F) £70 & £56 (approx) http://www.metzelermoto.co.uk
* Metzler Sahara

To my mind if you want to really enjoy off-roading, you need a full-on off-road tyre, it makes such a difference, especially on such a beast as the KTM 950 Adventure. In order to combat possible high milieage issue I am going to learn to change the tyres and I am also considering getting a trailer - it may not just be the tyre that blows when off-roading!

Training

I have applied to Lambeth College to do a Motorcycle Servicing and Repair course and will be enrolling Thursday 28th August. It is 2 nights a week for a year, held in Vauxhall, so should soon be able to do more than just oil the chain! http://londonbikers.com/articles/5420/lambeth-college-motorcyclescooter-repair-maintainance-course

I am back off to the Brecons on August 30th for a 'Day in the dirt' with Simon Pavey's team, can't wait!!

Support

Keeping the race in mind, I came across a company in the US that provide all the back-up support that you need to compete and potentially complete the Dakar. The service ranges from just advice and guidance entering the event, to building custm bikes and providing full on mechancial and administrative support before and during the event. Like Moving Brands, their name says it all http://www.rallymanagementservices.com/ However, in spite of a couple of emails I have not yet been able to track down the guy who runs the company - he probably thinks I am another Dakar romantic waste of space....I'll keep trying!

In summary, costs for Dakar 2008

Item Cost $ £ Notes
2007 KTM 525 Rally motorcycle 26,000.00 13,197.97 prepared for rally with
navigation
mechanic services during rally 9,900.00 5,025.38 shared mechanic
spare parts during rally 3,000.00 1,522.84 wheels, parts service
tires and mousse 3,000.00 1,522.84 six rear & five front
tires & mousse
shipping bike to and from Europe 2,500.00 1,269.04 shipping, port charges,
ATA carnet
fuel during rally 600.00 304.57 outside of rally provided
fuel
hotels in Lisbon and Dakar 600.00 304.57 two nights in both locations
entry fee 17,000.00 8,629.44 based on 2007, may change
for 2008
training session 1,000.00 507.61 mini rally in Southern
California
expenses during rally 1,500.00 761.42 food, tolls,
emergencies/repairs
satellite phone 400.00 203.05 reasonable calls included
FIM license and medical exam 1,500.00 761.42 license requires cardio
exam

TOTAL 67,000.00 34,010.15

not included:
insurance
photos
gear
incidental expenses

Off road training weekend

It's Monday morning, just over 40 hours since I left Simon Pavey's BMW off road training school on the edge of the Brecon Beacons in South Wales. It was so much fun, I loved it, and can't wait to find another muddy track, ditch, scree slope to tear up and down again, stamp on my rear break and slide for 30 feet before blasting off again sending stone, mud and water into the air behind me! I was absolutely shattered, ached all over, and in particular my face muscles had never had to smile so much!

I attended the school on a two-day, Level 1 Advanced training programme - simply split between those who have done some off road at any time in their life and those who have not! There were 25 people on the course with 4 instructors, mostly blokes with a few girls braving the dirt and the banter. I chose to ride down on my bike from London, staying over at the cottage on the way. It's about 200 miles from London, but I managed to make it 350 by thinking the paper part of my licence was at the cottage when in fact it was still in London, so having arrived at about 2200 on Thursday night, I had to race back to town and pick it up. I was then up at 0630 to give myself enough time to get to the school for 0900....great start!

Finding the school was a little tricky, the Welsh road and village names take some getting used to, but I made it in good time. Coffee in hand I made my way around a few of the trainees like me, finding out where they had travelled from and what experience the had had. It seemed that most were like me, road bikers who started out on a knackered off road bike as a young teenager, but wanted to get back to the grass roots literally. For me though, this was the start of my training programme, but I had not considered that it would actually improve my all-round riding ability. I can't begin to tell you how much confidence the course gives you in such a short space of time.

After a brief briefing by the man himself, Simon Pavey, six times Dakar veteran and recently completed the first Trans Oriental Rally from St Petersburg to Beijing, we set off in convoy on our selected bikes to the training area; Walters Arena Enduro Park, is a 4000 acre site, host to sections of the WRC and Enduro Championships. There are too many track, quarries, ditches, ruts, jumps, bogs, hills to count and if you lost sight of your team you could spend the day trying to find your way out again! A support vehicle come snack bar is on site curtesy of Simon's wife and business partner, provides the much needed refreshments, although for most of Friday we received plenty of fresh rain. Standing up on our foot pegs, we were straight into the training.

I was fortunate to have Gary and Simon as my instructors for the morning. We followed the leader, riding one handed in a large circle across a very wet, muddy, gravelly but relatively flat area; then learning to turn the bike on full lock in a continuous circle inside four cones; breaking with just the rear brake, then just the front break, and then combining the two, I have never felt so confident in my front tyre as I did after that morning. And not before too long we were off into the woods and tracks and that was when the fun really began. The morning's training was so effective that within a couple of hours we were riding across at the tracks at between 30 and 50mph without having to think about it. Of course there is masses to learn from riding very steep, shingle climbs, to stalling on the slope and turning round, climbing down steep rutted tracks and streams, breaking under the power of the engine, then just with the breaks.

Stopping for lunch, we had about an hour to re-charge our batteries, before heading back out to the hills. I couldn't get on the bike fast enough. I chose the new BMW X-Challenge, 650cc single. Although I ride a larger bike on the road, I wanted the lightest but still powerful motor to learn on, it was a great machine and perfect for dirt biking. Some of the other lads had the big GS1200s, although these are awesome machines, they are like tanks on two wheels for those new to the off-road world. The instructors made them look like BMXs; I am some way off that level of skill, but I'm working on it!

I stayed in the New Swan Hotel, very clean and tidy, with TV & DVD, ensuite shower room and full English breakfast for £35, bargain! However, the live band directly beneath me did shake me around for a bit!!

Saturday morning I was at ready to pick up the bike at 0900, chomping at the bit to get back out to the hills for another day blasting it around the enduro park. Boy was it worth it! The whole day was spent racing around the hills, learning to use the bikes momentum to carry you around obstacles on steep slopes and view what's on the other side, before disappearing into the unknown, and learning to handle ruts properly, which there were plenty of. We also had the chance to try out the other BMW bikes; the GS1200 and 800. Although the GS is an awesome piece of kit, I was really enjoying the 650 on the dirt tracks. A much hotter and sunnier day meant that we were sweating pretty heavily, but it just meant we had to keep moving, faster!

After receiving our certificates, saying thank yous and goodbyes, I still had a 100 mile journey home which I was really looking forward to. Riding back via Brecon, leaning back on my kit bag and cruising along the valley roads, soaking up the afternoon sun, blue skies and green hills, I was in my element, it was the perfect end to a perfect two days.