Down on the farm with the Bushlander

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Dorsland

Bachelor Dog
Joined
Apr 15, 2012
Messages
11,191
Reaction score
1,677
Location
Van Daar
Bike
Honda CRF-1000L Africa Twin
OK so this is not going to be your typical RR. It's not epic, it doesn't cover thousands of kilometers, doesn't star riding gods, awesome expensive bikes or pretty women (OK maybe later  ;)).  But it shows a bit of how I spend every day of my life with an awesome little Honda: the CTX200 Bushlander ag bike.  

I'm going to write the "RR" over a period of time as and when I get the pix together. I'm not going to bore you guys with lots of writing (julle kyk mos net kiekies), instead I'll briefly colour in the detail shown in the pix.

First, a bit of background to set the scene: We recently moved our entire Boer Goat farming operation to the Eastern Cape from the North West Province. Now Boer Goats, as you may know, do really well in dry, arid and extensive areas.  This often means farming areas where other livestock doesn't perform: rocky, mountainous, dry, difficult areas. This means we have to get to places a bakkie or tractor often cannot. While we do use horses, it is often faster to get there by bike.  Quads don't work due to the rocky terrain and narrow paths.

I initially looked at a few options: Yamaha TW200, Suzuki DR200 and the Honda CTX200 Bushlander. The TW felt too small for me (I am over 6 feet and weigh 98kg), the Suzuki dealer in Potchefstroom was pathetic and I had had good experiences with Honda before.  Besides,  I have a few other Honda products that have given excellent service (waterpumps, firefighter, lawnmower).

So this is what I bought about 2 years ago:

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Awesome little bike.  If you've read Trailrider's blog (https://trailriderreports.blogspot.com/2006/10/bike.html) or Technomadic's RR (https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=137240.0) you have a pretty good idea of the bike's capabilities.  From a practical point of view, I liked the carry racks, extremely low 1st gear (this meant I could herd livestock without slipping the clutch and also get me places without too much hassle), the low noise factor and the proven mechanicals.

Dealing with the speed demon  :imaposer: :imaposer::

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The pic above doesn't look like a big deal, but this part of my previous farm near Potchefstroom was very rocky in places and difficult to ride on a taller geared bike.

My gear consists of a few basics:

Custom plaas tailbag with cargo net, pliers, multi purpose hammer/pliers/wrench/vicegrip tool, some binding wire, Tyre Weld for flats:

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Two-way radio (we have a very poor cell signal on the farm), hi-tech leather gloves for winter, fencing and whatever ;D.  That front carrier is really useful BTW (Dis By the Way kerels, nie VAT nie  :imaposer:)

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My ATGATT, fltr: Tailbag, full face helmet (for sun and rain), open face helmet (as ek oppie grondpad kole gooi dan waai my boshoed af  ;D) and custom goggles without peeloffs (also known as safety glasses at the koperasie).

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And then my gumboots. Um I mean my riding boots with special ankle protection and steel shank in the sole:

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