I recently had the joy of going on a three-day ride with my son. Despite passing on a tempting DJ gig, he seemed to have a huge time. He thought it was worth the sacrifice. Unapologetically, I tried to impart as much knowledge as possible to get him safe and smooth as quick as I could. I was well aware that Dads tend to interfere in young 'un business but rewardingly he recognised that I had half an idea and my concern was his well-being and enjoyment.
The mighty Dr Z has taken up residence at his place and as you'd expect it's a cracking learners bike. I do keep reminding him... it's ON LOAN.
The art of banging one's head against the wall is maintaining a glass-half-full approach, looking forward to the moment it stops.
Our staff member's hubby is out of ICU and on the road to rehab. Phew, it was a close one. Anyone who's been there will know it's a long, long road back. She'll need plenty of time and latitude to help him along. That puts us back on the new staff roundabout.
My grandad used to have a Dad joke that went - "I once had a horse, he just got used to no food and the bloody thing died". It's a bit like bringing sewing machinists up to speed. It's a dwindling art and the talent pool is getting older and shallower.
On the home front, my back is just about back into one piece after the annual garden mulch piles can now be jumped over. Like most blokes, gardening means pain. Move that there, dig that up, cut that down...Pleeeease DEAR...
My riding mate Kel and I did a bike swap recently. A '76 model DT100 Yammie had languished in the back of my shed and a 2005 Gas Gas 200 Trials bike in hers. A DT was one of her first bikes, she fell in love and proposed a swap. She's always told me I'm the sort of a bloke who needs a project and as it hasn't seen much love for the past decade or so it needed a change of fluids, a carbie clean and a general tidy up. I was pretty chuffed when I saw it had a Delorto carbie, as I grew up on them with my Ducati it provided a starting point. I can strip and rebuild one in my sleep. Not so when it came to refreshing the rear brake fluid. My first task was to snap off the bleed nipple the moment I touched it with a spanner. I reckon it must have been 'pre-knackered' as it let go like it was butter.
In for a penny!
Budging the needle bearing in the suspension linkages took a bit of nutting out. When all else fails add the FBH.
I'm regularly told that riding trials is great for fitness and control, it's one of the things I'd loved to have done much earlier in my riding life. It would have made my excursion into dirt road riding much smoother. It's cool that Son of Strapz is also keen to give it a crack. Maybe he won't have to learn as hard and slowly as we did.
Testing Times
Grandad also used to say (in his broad Yorkshire accent) "if tha can't say sumut nice, say nowt".
As you know, we are always looking to carefully expand our range. One of the searches has been for a great value mid-range (price) Adventure/touring helmet. It's not an easy task but, hey, someone has to do it. So, a couple of weekends ago I had an LS2 MX710 on my bonce to try out. On the face of it at sub $400, this hat had potential. A few different brands of similar brain-buckets had come our way but hadn't got past the first try on stage. The LS2 had the advantage of getting to first base and making it on a weekend away. Fit was fine as was presentation and finish. Complete with pinlock, quick release cheek pads, removable washable lining, goggles friendly and fitted with an internal sun visor, it's well appointed.
As you know, we are always looking to carefully expand our range. One of the searches has been for a great value mid-range (price) Adventure/touring helmet. It's not an easy task but, hey, someone has to do it. So, a couple of weekends ago I had an LS2 MX710 on my bonce to try out.
On the face of it at sub $400, this hat had potential. A few different brands of similar brain-buckets had come our way but hadn't got past the first try on stage.
The LS2 had the advantage of getting to first base and making it on a weekend away. The fit was fine as was presentation and finish. Complete with Pinlock, quick-release cheek pads, removable washable lining, goggles friendly and fitted with an internal sun visor, it's well appointed.
Despite a sticker claiming it as glasses-friendly, I didn't find it to be so. I had to wriggle the arms of my specs about to get them into place.
Somewhat aggressive in style, it has a big bulbous chin bar. That proved an issue, a bit like a big beer belly and a willy, I couldn't see the zippers of my jacket to get it zipped up.
Fitting a comms clamp was difficult as the lower edge of the shell has quite a pronounced lip. A stick-on system could be the option here.
My personal preferences shouldn't affect objective assessment but... I'd forgotten how much I dislike double D Rings since living with quick action ratchet closures. Yes, I hear the arguments for and against, I'm happy with the compromise.
I've criticised the sunvisor on many helmets for not descending far enough. Not the case with the MX701. It drops down spot-on. The action on the evaluation hat was clunky and felt like it might 'derail' at any moment. Its grey/blue tint took a while to get used to. I prefer the bronze tint I think.
The peak is a cracker, it's stable and doesn't whistle. Overall helmet noise control is good without being exceptional.
Just after the stop in the photo above, I took it off 'rolling' it off the back of my head similar to how I'd take off a flip-front hat. The plastic trim on the back fell apart.
To be fair this helmet was a 'leftover' sample and may have had a tough time before it lobbed on my bonce. At this stage, I'm not going to put the Andy Strapz stamp of approval on it.
The truism - "wear a $10 helmet if you have a $10 head" never fails.
Despite a sticker claiming it as glasses friendly I didn't find it to be so. I had to wriggle the arms of my specs about to get them into place. Somewhat aggressive in style, it has a big bulbous chin bar. That proved an issue, a bit like a big beer belly and a willy, I couldn't see the zippers of my jacket to get it zipped up. Fitting a comms clamp was difficult as the lower edge of the shell has quite a pronounced lip. A stick on system be the option here. My personal preferences shouldn't affect objective assessment but... I'd forgotten how much I dislike double D Rings since living with quick action ratchet closures. Yes, I hear the arguments for and against, I'm happy with the compromise. I've criticised the sunvisor on many helmets for not descending far enough. Not the case with the MX701. It drops down spot on. The action on the evaluation hat was clunky and felt like it might 'derail' at any moment. It's grey/blue tint took a while to get used to. I prefer the bronze tint I think. The peak is a cracker, it's stable and doesn't whistle. Overall helmet noise control is good without being exceptional. Just after the stop in the photo above I took it off 'rolling' it off the back of my head similar to how I'd take off a flip front hat. The plastic trim on the back fell apart. To be fair this helmet was 'left over' sample and may have had a tough time before it lobbed on my bonce. At this stage I'm not going to put the Andy Strapz stamp of approval on it. The truism - "wear a $10 helmet if you have a $10 head" never fails.
Tiger Trial Endurance
While we are talking trialing... Here's a good yarn (and photos) from our mates at Triumph Oz who are always up for a challenge and to put their bikes where their mouth is.
Triumph's all-new Tiger 1200 Rally Pro has become the world’s first large-capacity adventure bike to enter – and conquer – the gruelling 24hr trial, in South Australia, where the endurance of rider and machine is tested to the absolute limit.
Ridden by none other than Cameron Donald, a two-time Isle of Man TT champion and avid off-road rider and racer, the Tiger 1200 Rally Pro made for an unusual sight among a sea of lightweight enduro bikes over the weekend of July 9-10.
“Physically, that was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done on a motorcycle,” Donald said. “To ride out there in that terrain on these bikes over four six-hour laps for 24 hours was such a battle. It was brutal.
“A lot of people told us we were crazy, not expecting us to finish a single lap let alone four laps to finish the race. Worse yet, an experienced competitor who’s finished the race 24 times said this year’s course was by far technically most difficult.
“The weight of a 1200cc adventure bike didn’t make it easy against lightweight enduro bikes, but I was constantly amazed by how well the new Tiger 1200 got through the terrain. There was nothing it couldn’t do.
“There were boobytraps everywhere including ledges four feet high and bulldust two feet deep, often hiding rocks and roots. But the bike’s momentum and off-road oriented 21-inch front wheel allowed you to point and shoot.
“You had to be careful in the tight, technical terrain but, once it opened up, the Tiger was unstoppable. The transit sections were warm and comfortable for us thanks to heated grips, cruise control and semi-active suspension.
“In a race as gruelling as the 24Hr trial, we threw so much at the Tigers, but they were supremely capable and absolutely shined. I had to laugh when I saw other riders lubing and adjusting their drive chains. I just smiled at the Tiger’s shaft drive – no maintenance required.
“I’m gutted both bikes didn’t finish, though, and that just drives home how hard the event actually is,” Donald said.
After riding an epic 16 hours of his first attempt of the 24hr trial, Owen hit a deep, square-edge hole hard and was unable to continue, so the bearded wild man immediately turned his attention to supporting Cam get to the finish line.
“‘DNF’ are letters nobody wants to hear in a race, and I was starting to feel heartbroken. But the support from fellow riders, who all stop to help, and volunteer staff at the control points was truly amazing,” Owen said. “When I was stuck in the darkness, a guy walked almost three kilometers through the bush scrub with a head torch to come and help me. I’ll never forget that.
“Our next objective was to keep supporting Cam. His ability to ride at the right level – not too hard, not too slow – and maintain the right mental state to get through all the dark times was unbelievable.”
Cam Donald described his technique to riding a large adventure bike in an enduro is momentum. “As long as you’re going forward, you’re fine.
“Riding in the Enduro Pro mode ensured the bike’s power delivery was nice, linear and easy to use – exactly what you want when you’re in super tight, technical terrain that would test a 250!
“I formed a special relationship with that bike. We struggled, we argued, we laughed, we cried, but I brought her home safe just as she brought me. Together, we crossed the finish line. I can’t believe we did it! I feel as if I’ve won a race!”
Congrats on an amazing effort.
I had to laugh when a pair of new 1200 Tiger owners turned up a few days after I had discussions with a couple of Triumph staffers about the upcoming attempt. The chuffed new owners described their bikes as "great mile munchers, but we aren't expecting to take them into terrain that's too challenging". While this bike might be capable, these two blokes are not ordinary riders, they're magicians and fit as Mallee Bulls. All credit to the whole team.
That's Life
After last month's Spray about the $99.99 trick that seems to be the standard sneak most retail outlets have decided is OK, this order was the first to come through. Although Oz Post App inputs the postage costs, I had to laugh!
Wake the Truck Up
I've had such great reports on the Denali Mini Soundbomb, the only testing required was to pop in my earplugs and touch the terminals onto the battery. Lower pitched and sounding more like a train than a bike it gets attention. Mrs Strapz came running out of the house thinking I'd dropped the 4by on my foot or something similar while I was testing it. This obnoxious little horn is designed to simply swap out the original squeaker on most bikes. The only real consideration is the little bit of extra room it might need to slot back into the same spot. The other day I remembered that when I first bought my old Ducati, it had an airhorn fitted to it. Open Contis and the airhorn certainly woke up the tin tops but it was gonna get me in big strife so it came off pretty quickly. That was 30-odd years ago and car drivers haven't gotten any better. More info here
Black Tracker
Getting a bike knocked off is not something I've had to endure but I've seen far too many sad faces who have. Battery-powered angle grinders have changed the 'scumbag thieves' game plan so this jigger is designed to keep tabs on a vehicle that's gone missing. It's small enough to be tucked away behind a fairing or under a seat. Automatically activated once it is more than a few meters from its fob, it will report back to your mobile phone if it detects movement. The Monimoto will then transmit GPS coordinates until you deactivate it. The only downside I can see is a $79 per year subscription once the two months that come free when the unit is put into service, expires. More Info Here
Giant Leap
One small step. We regularly get asked for the sort of bag that can stash a tube on the front guard. I've struck issues with the style of clips required to keep such a bag in place. So, rather than reinventing the wheel, we've taken delivery of a few of the Giant Loop 'Fender Bags'. A combination of bungee cord and roll top PVC 'tarp' and despite the gaudy logo they do a pretty good job. More Info here
Just in from a customer in the Philippines This is my sort of water crossing.
Grandad also used the old Yorkshire creed - "See all, hear all, say nowt. Eat all, sup all, pay nowt". He talked a lot of crap at times but was entertaining. The nut hasn't fallen far from the tree I guess (hopefully). Copyalater
