So I attended the Kei river mouth bash, and it was a few firsts for me.
My fist bash.
My first really long trip.
The first time my bike fell over. I was not on it.
The first time I fell over with my bike..we'll had a low speed fall over type thing up that rocky bit at the bash.
The first time I had a few and rode my bike...in the time technical challenge at the bash, in plakkies no less...and yes I sucked.
And my first encounter with so many great Dogs.
Great bash, so thanks to all, nice meeting you all.
So this is not a ride report....or is it. Not meant to be, as there are no great pictures to share, so this may suck as a ride report.
She story goes FFW>>>
Left home...drove to Aliwal..drove to Kei..left Kei ...got on a ferry..(allot happened here but that is not what this story is about)
PLAY> So then...
After leaving Kei , we headed for Coffee bay on dirt , roads where good gravel for most, my problems started about 120 odd km from Coffee bay, when my bike would not shift down, stopped and fiddled a bit and for a while I had 4th only but I was not too keen to stop as we had left pretty late and I did not want to run out of day light and we were in the middle of nowhere.
Now if you know the area you will know that the gravel road makes its way over a bunch of mountains winding its way through the hills and valleys. Very pretty , and not bad in 4th , my plan was to nurse it all the way to Coffee bay in that gear, as it would not change down. But then..
The Bike finally jumped into 5th gear ( perhaps I kicked it in), so I stopped to fiddle again to see if I could get it down again.... I couldn't and instead kicked it up into 6th gear, where I was now stuck...with over 100kms of gravel passes to go..it also did not help getting lost and charging down the wrong roads, trying to keep the speed up, then having to turn back and do it all again.
So it was ok at first, until we lost the daylight and I was now having to take these roads on at speed, in the dark, as going slow was not an option...it was fast or nothing.
We forged on and I could have kissed to tar when we finally found the road down to Coffee bay, (in fact I did kiss the road.. when getting on my bike my boot must have caught the foot peg, and down I went 3 times in a few days, before that I had never dropped my bike in over 16000k)
At a stop and go I charged pass the traffic thinking they would keep me up, but the road was so bad with potholes donkeys and locals that soon I was at a crawl, one local in a bakkie pulled in front of me, and with hand gestures , emergency lights and good will, nursed us down this crap road, a guardian angel he must have been.
Apart of all the challenges of the day, we got to our final destination with mere fumes in our tank, I guess it must have been about 8h30 or 9 that evening.
So you ask why 1100 km in 6th, then ...well the next day the Monday, after getting hold of my dealership, the best plan seemed to just keep going, so we saddled up and headed for home,
Though stressful not knowing if it could be done or if the bike would make it, the more Km’s behind me closer to home I got and the easier it would be to get home if I finally could go no further. We aimed for Howic, and then made it all the way to Escourt after leaving Coffee bay at about 10. The next day flew and I made it to Traditional Triumph in Edenvale by 10.
The guys from Traditional and from Triumph SA were great, they requested updates on my progress as I went along, it is good to know they are looking out for you, and I am convinced they would have come to fetch me had I broken down completely. Nic from Traditional met me at the shop just so I could drop the bike off ( the Tuesday was a public holiday, so he came in especially to open up for me) the deal was that I ride as far as I can and part of the repair would be a new clutch, this was pre approved by Triumph Sa even before I set off from Coffee bay.
So Triumph sorted out the bike 100%, and replaced the faulty bit in the gearbox selector-what-not thing-a-magigi that was apparently a bad batch, and also replaced the clutch as promised even though they found no damage to the clutch.
We all know things go wrong but what counts is when a service provider sorts things out without a question when you need it!
It is great to know I have support from my dealer, and I will without question buy another Triumph, to park next to this one.
My thanks to Attie and Dave who chaperoned me home, even when I had a temporary slight sense of humour collapse, to the Mpumalanga boys, who waited for us with refreshments and moral support once we reached The Backpackers, and to my faithful steed for dragging me home even though it was seriously wounded.
So I attended the Kei river mouth bash, and it was a few firsts for me.
My fist bash.
My first really long trip.
The first time my bike fell over. I was not on it.
The first time I fell over with my bike..we'll had a low speed fall over type thing up that rocky bit at the bash.
The first time I had a few and rode my bike...in the time technical challenge at the bash, in plakkies no less...and yes I sucked.
And my first encounter with so many great Dogs.
Great bash, so thanks to all, nice meeting you all.
So this is not a ride report....or is it. Not meant to be, as there are no great pictures to share, so this may suck as a ride report.
She story goes FFW>>>
Left home...drove to Aliwal..drove to Kei..left Kei ...got on a ferry..(allot happened here but that is not what this story is about)
PLAY> So then...
After leaving Kei , we headed for Coffee bay on dirt , roads where good gravel for most, my problems started about 120 odd km from Coffee bay, when my bike would not shift down, stopped and fiddled a bit and for a while I had 4th only but I was not too keen to stop as we had left pretty late and I did not want to run out of day light and we were in the middle of nowhere.
Now if you know the area you will know that the gravel road makes its way over a bunch of mountains winding its way through the hills and valleys. Very pretty , and not bad in 4th , my plan was to nurse it all the way to Coffee bay in that gear, as it would not change down. But then..
The Bike finally jumped into 5th gear ( perhaps I kicked it in), so I stopped to fiddle again to see if I could get it down again.... I couldn't and instead kicked it up into 6th gear, where I was now stuck...with over 100kms of gravel passes to go..it also did not help getting lost and charging down the wrong roads, trying to keep the speed up, then having to turn back and do it all again.
So it was ok at first, until we lost the daylight and I was now having to take these roads on at speed, in the dark, as going slow was not an option...it was fast or nothing.
We forged on and I could have kissed to tar when we finally found the road down to Coffee bay, (in fact I did kiss the road.. when getting on my bike my boot must have caught the foot peg, and down I went 3 times in a few days, before that I had never dropped my bike in over 16000k)
At a stop and go I charged pass the traffic thinking they would keep me up, but the road was so bad with potholes donkeys and locals that soon I was at a crawl, one local in a bakkie pulled in front of me, and with hand gestures , emergency lights and good will, nursed us down this crap road, a guardian angel he must have been.
Apart of all the challenges of the day, we got to our final destination with mere fumes in our tank, I guess it must have been about 8h30 or 9 that evening.
So you ask why 1100 km in 6th, then ...well the next day the Monday, after getting hold of my dealership, the best plan seemed to just keep going, so we saddled up and headed for home,
Though stressful not knowing if it could be done or if the bike would make it, the more Km’s behind me closer to home I got and the easier it would be to get home if I finally could go no further. We aimed for Howic, and then made it all the way to Escourt after leaving Coffee bay at about 10. The next day flew and I made it to Traditional Triumph in Edenvale by 10.
The guys from Traditional and from Triumph SA were great, they requested updates on my progress as I went along, it is good to know they are looking out for you, and I am convinced they would have come to fetch me had I broken down completely. Nic from Traditional met me at the shop just so I could drop the bike off ( the Tuesday was a public holiday, so he came in especially to open up for me) the deal was that I ride as far as I can and part of the repair would be a new clutch, this was pre approved by Triumph Sa even before I set off from Coffee bay.
So Triumph sorted out the bike 100%, and replaced the faulty bit in the gearbox selector-what-not thing-a-magigi that was apparently a bad batch, and also replaced the clutch as promised even though they found no damage to the clutch.
We all know things go wrong but what counts is when a service provider sorts things out without a question when you need it!
It is great to know I have support from my dealer, and I will without question buy another Triumph, to park next to this one.
My thanks to Attie and Dave who chaperoned me home, even when I had a temporary slight sense of humour collapse, to the Mpumalanga boys, who waited for us with refreshments and moral support once we reached The Backpackers, and to my faithful steed for dragging me home even though it was seriously wounded.
My fist bash.
My first really long trip.
The first time my bike fell over. I was not on it.
The first time I fell over with my bike..we'll had a low speed fall over type thing up that rocky bit at the bash.
The first time I had a few and rode my bike...in the time technical challenge at the bash, in plakkies no less...and yes I sucked.
And my first encounter with so many great Dogs.
Great bash, so thanks to all, nice meeting you all.
So this is not a ride report....or is it. Not meant to be, as there are no great pictures to share, so this may suck as a ride report.
She story goes FFW>>>
Left home...drove to Aliwal..drove to Kei..left Kei ...got on a ferry..(allot happened here but that is not what this story is about)
PLAY> So then...
After leaving Kei , we headed for Coffee bay on dirt , roads where good gravel for most, my problems started about 120 odd km from Coffee bay, when my bike would not shift down, stopped and fiddled a bit and for a while I had 4th only but I was not too keen to stop as we had left pretty late and I did not want to run out of day light and we were in the middle of nowhere.
Now if you know the area you will know that the gravel road makes its way over a bunch of mountains winding its way through the hills and valleys. Very pretty , and not bad in 4th , my plan was to nurse it all the way to Coffee bay in that gear, as it would not change down. But then..
The Bike finally jumped into 5th gear ( perhaps I kicked it in), so I stopped to fiddle again to see if I could get it down again.... I couldn't and instead kicked it up into 6th gear, where I was now stuck...with over 100kms of gravel passes to go..it also did not help getting lost and charging down the wrong roads, trying to keep the speed up, then having to turn back and do it all again.
So it was ok at first, until we lost the daylight and I was now having to take these roads on at speed, in the dark, as going slow was not an option...it was fast or nothing.
We forged on and I could have kissed to tar when we finally found the road down to Coffee bay, (in fact I did kiss the road.. when getting on my bike my boot must have caught the foot peg, and down I went 3 times in a few days, before that I had never dropped my bike in over 16000k)
At a stop and go I charged pass the traffic thinking they would keep me up, but the road was so bad with potholes donkeys and locals that soon I was at a crawl, one local in a bakkie pulled in front of me, and with hand gestures , emergency lights and good will, nursed us down this crap road, a guardian angel he must have been.
Apart of all the challenges of the day, we got to our final destination with mere fumes in our tank, I guess it must have been about 8h30 or 9 that evening.
So you ask why 1100 km in 6th, then ...well the next day the Monday, after getting hold of my dealership, the best plan seemed to just keep going, so we saddled up and headed for home,
Though stressful not knowing if it could be done or if the bike would make it, the more Km’s behind me closer to home I got and the easier it would be to get home if I finally could go no further. We aimed for Howic, and then made it all the way to Escourt after leaving Coffee bay at about 10. The next day flew and I made it to Traditional Triumph in Edenvale by 10.
The guys from Traditional and from Triumph SA were great, they requested updates on my progress as I went along, it is good to know they are looking out for you, and I am convinced they would have come to fetch me had I broken down completely. Nic from Traditional met me at the shop just so I could drop the bike off ( the Tuesday was a public holiday, so he came in especially to open up for me) the deal was that I ride as far as I can and part of the repair would be a new clutch, this was pre approved by Triumph Sa even before I set off from Coffee bay.
So Triumph sorted out the bike 100%, and replaced the faulty bit in the gearbox selector-what-not thing-a-magigi that was apparently a bad batch, and also replaced the clutch as promised even though they found no damage to the clutch.
We all know things go wrong but what counts is when a service provider sorts things out without a question when you need it!
It is great to know I have support from my dealer, and I will without question buy another Triumph, to park next to this one.
My thanks to Attie and Dave who chaperoned me home, even when I had a temporary slight sense of humour collapse, to the Mpumalanga boys, who waited for us with refreshments and moral support once we reached The Backpackers, and to my faithful steed for dragging me home even though it was seriously wounded.
So I attended the Kei river mouth bash, and it was a few firsts for me.
My fist bash.
My first really long trip.
The first time my bike fell over. I was not on it.
The first time I fell over with my bike..we'll had a low speed fall over type thing up that rocky bit at the bash.
The first time I had a few and rode my bike...in the time technical challenge at the bash, in plakkies no less...and yes I sucked.
And my first encounter with so many great Dogs.
Great bash, so thanks to all, nice meeting you all.
So this is not a ride report....or is it. Not meant to be, as there are no great pictures to share, so this may suck as a ride report.
She story goes FFW>>>
Left home...drove to Aliwal..drove to Kei..left Kei ...got on a ferry..(allot happened here but that is not what this story is about)
PLAY> So then...
After leaving Kei , we headed for Coffee bay on dirt , roads where good gravel for most, my problems started about 120 odd km from Coffee bay, when my bike would not shift down, stopped and fiddled a bit and for a while I had 4th only but I was not too keen to stop as we had left pretty late and I did not want to run out of day light and we were in the middle of nowhere.
Now if you know the area you will know that the gravel road makes its way over a bunch of mountains winding its way through the hills and valleys. Very pretty , and not bad in 4th , my plan was to nurse it all the way to Coffee bay in that gear, as it would not change down. But then..
The Bike finally jumped into 5th gear ( perhaps I kicked it in), so I stopped to fiddle again to see if I could get it down again.... I couldn't and instead kicked it up into 6th gear, where I was now stuck...with over 100kms of gravel passes to go..it also did not help getting lost and charging down the wrong roads, trying to keep the speed up, then having to turn back and do it all again.
So it was ok at first, until we lost the daylight and I was now having to take these roads on at speed, in the dark, as going slow was not an option...it was fast or nothing.
We forged on and I could have kissed to tar when we finally found the road down to Coffee bay, (in fact I did kiss the road.. when getting on my bike my boot must have caught the foot peg, and down I went 3 times in a few days, before that I had never dropped my bike in over 16000k)
At a stop and go I charged pass the traffic thinking they would keep me up, but the road was so bad with potholes donkeys and locals that soon I was at a crawl, one local in a bakkie pulled in front of me, and with hand gestures , emergency lights and good will, nursed us down this crap road, a guardian angel he must have been.
Apart of all the challenges of the day, we got to our final destination with mere fumes in our tank, I guess it must have been about 8h30 or 9 that evening.
So you ask why 1100 km in 6th, then ...well the next day the Monday, after getting hold of my dealership, the best plan seemed to just keep going, so we saddled up and headed for home,
Though stressful not knowing if it could be done or if the bike would make it, the more Km’s behind me closer to home I got and the easier it would be to get home if I finally could go no further. We aimed for Howic, and then made it all the way to Escourt after leaving Coffee bay at about 10. The next day flew and I made it to Traditional Triumph in Edenvale by 10.
The guys from Traditional and from Triumph SA were great, they requested updates on my progress as I went along, it is good to know they are looking out for you, and I am convinced they would have come to fetch me had I broken down completely. Nic from Traditional met me at the shop just so I could drop the bike off ( the Tuesday was a public holiday, so he came in especially to open up for me) the deal was that I ride as far as I can and part of the repair would be a new clutch, this was pre approved by Triumph Sa even before I set off from Coffee bay.
So Triumph sorted out the bike 100%, and replaced the faulty bit in the gearbox selector-what-not thing-a-magigi that was apparently a bad batch, and also replaced the clutch as promised even though they found no damage to the clutch.
We all know things go wrong but what counts is when a service provider sorts things out without a question when you need it!
It is great to know I have support from my dealer, and I will without question buy another Triumph, to park next to this one.
My thanks to Attie and Dave who chaperoned me home, even when I had a temporary slight sense of humour collapse, to the Mpumalanga boys, who waited for us with refreshments and moral support once we reached The Backpackers, and to my faithful steed for dragging me home even though it was seriously wounded.
