Author Topic: Racing Panda's AWESOME AMAGEZA 2014: START TO about halfway. (Read 51126 times)

Beserker · « **Reply #60 on:** March 25, 2014, 09:06:52 pm »

Melting the card - lol.

The delicious business of kitting up, and no one can accuse you of mindless blinging - everything has a purpose.

MickeyT · « **Reply #61 on:** March 25, 2014, 10:16:46 pm »

After flying through your Angola RR, I'm NOT going to miss this one! Good luck on your prep, and know that you've got quite a number of guys (and gals) sprinting along on your Green Mamba!

N[]vA · « **Reply #62 on:** March 25, 2014, 10:20:31 pm »

I can tell you from first hand experience that spending on great quality kit is worth every bloody cent!

BlueBull2007 · « **Reply #63 on:** March 25, 2014, 11:51:19 pm »

Quote from: N[]vA on March 25, 2014, 10:20:31 pm

I can tell you from first hand experience that spending on great quality kit is worth every bloody cent!

+1000

I have the same boots as you, and personally, I prefer the older GS boots (I see you also have a set of those blue and white guys). The sole already came off my new ones as have the toecaps, but hey.

I'm curious about those leatt knee braces, would be keen to see more pics of those.

Finally enduro totally rocks, but its only one day and three hours long to boot. Rally all day every day for like a week or more! A no brainer, and enduros are great training for rallies.

Cheers

MaxThePanda · « **Reply #64 on:** March 26, 2014, 08:23:22 am »

Had the older GS boots for about a year or 18 months and both soles fell off in a river crossing! BMW replaced them with these ones and generally speaking I'm happier, but they're still some way off something like a Crossfire - there's a reason they're cheaper, I guess.

The Leatt C-brace only has a hinge on one side, so you can still grip the bike. Sounds very nice, and if they work as well as the PR says I'll probably buy some. Would better gear have helped with your leg injury, do you think?

MaxThePanda · « **Reply #65 on:** March 26, 2014, 08:48:39 am »

To 'top' it off - haha - I picked up these on a closeout sale in the US:

Been running a Shoei Hornet last few years, and while it's by no means a perfect helmet, it fits my horse head.

Would you rather be attacked by one horse-size duck, or twelve duck-size horses?

I was a little dismayed to find the 'no visors' rule in the Amageza regulations. Shit, more cash??! What's wrong with visors?? But to be honest it's a different world. The Hornet is designed to insulate, and I can assure that those little pin size vents do almost zip to expel the four litres an hour that seem to spew out of my scalp in the desert. It's a great DS helmet, but not a great hard-riding/rally helmet. Duh.

The fit of this new Shoei is absolutely perfect, which is a relief after shipping it here, paying a R500 fine for thinking 'country of origin' on the customs clearance form meant that it was coming from the US, and dealing with an utterly inept TNT. School fees. By the way, http://www.shipito.com provide a great service if you need multiple boxes packed together and shipped over, or if you're buying from a shop that won't ship to SA. The helmet is cool, light and very good quality. Tried the Airohs, but they're a terrible match to my pip.

And the new glass is a huge improvement over the shitty ski goggles I've been wearing up to now:

N[]vA · « **Reply #66 on:** March 26, 2014, 08:53:14 am »

great lid that

lamo · « **Reply #67 on:** March 26, 2014, 11:18:22 am »

look forward to seeing you all there

Sardine · « **Reply #68 on:** March 26, 2014, 01:18:17 pm »

Sub

Kamanya · « **Reply #69 on:** March 26, 2014, 01:57:15 pm »

Quote from: MaxThePanda on March 26, 2014, 08:48:39 am

I was a little dismayed to find the 'no visors' rule in the Amageza regulations.

? where in the rules did I miss this?

I prefer riding with a visor and good glasses. I have my goggles for hectic dust around the back of the helmet. My helmet can accommodate all three.

Cracker · « **Reply #70 on:** March 26, 2014, 02:03:47 pm »

Off-road style helmet with goggles was written somewhere in the regulations - page 1564, I think

BiG DoM · « **Reply #71 on:** March 26, 2014, 04:58:00 pm »

Quote from: Kamanya on March 26, 2014, 01:57:15 pm

Quote from: MaxThePanda on March 26, 2014, 08:48:39 am

I was a little dismayed to find the 'no visors' rule in the Amageza regulations.

? where in the rules did I miss this?

I prefer riding with a visor and good glasses. I have my goggles for hectic dust around the back of the helmet. My helmet can accommodate all three.

Unfortunately those who do not wear glasses appear unsympathetic - despite the dangers involved with wearing goggles and specs.

MaxThePanda · « **Reply #72 on:** March 26, 2014, 05:22:27 pm »

I've been happy with a mix of sunnies and visor for years, but avoid dust like the plague. Guess there's a reason every Dakar rider uses goggles...

BlueBull2007 · « **Reply #73 on:** March 26, 2014, 06:23:36 pm »

Haha, I love your posts.

About the knee braces. I don't like the idea of not having a hinge on the inside. If you crash and you leg is under the bike its going to get sore. I have a set of asterisk knee braces and they have saved my legs many, many times. I need to get another set because after 5 years mine are pretty beaten up: Shots from the front and sides. on my Sertoes rally the one day my leg would have over extended the wrong way and it would have been game over.

When I crashed and crushed my tibia in 2012, I was wearing the braces but they were not on properly. I was riding with my daughter (on separate bikes) and I nearly did not put them on that day given the riding was to be easy. Despite this they contained my fracture from opening up like poor Geriatrix's leg did.

I reckon if they had been on properly I could have walked away from the incident, because it would have been impossible for me to straighten my leg completely with them on, and it was my leg out straight that shattered it.

Maybe I'm being overkill here.. I don't know, but I will never ride without knee braces properly put on again.

About gripping the tank with knee, I have no real problem with this, despite the knee braces being the part that grips the tank. The trick is to ensure you have grippy material there I think.

MaxThePanda · « **Reply #74 on:** March 26, 2014, 08:44:15 pm »

Interesting feedback, thanks. I was told to be careful of braces cause they increase the risk of breaking a femur & severing the femoral artery but it seems the risk of catastrophic ligament damage is much higher. This is a dangerous game - one can't remove all risk.

N[]vA · « **Reply #75 on:** March 26, 2014, 11:37:49 pm »

Quote from: MaxThePanda on March 26, 2014, 08:44:15 pm

Interesting feedback, thanks. I was told to be careful of braces cause they increase the risk of breaking a femur & severing the femoral artery but it seems the risk of catastrophic ligament damage is much higher. This is a dangerous game - one can't remove all risk.

Will show you my braces next time we are both on a ride, I am a big fan of braces with hidges too.

Using the podMX ones myself

BlueBull2007 · « **Reply #76 on:** March 26, 2014, 11:52:56 pm »

Yeah breaking a femur takes 18 months according to my ortho. But its also the strongest bone on our bodies so...if we break one of these we will likely have other bigger problems to worry about too!

MaxThePanda · « **Reply #77 on:** March 27, 2014, 08:01:12 am »

Quote from: BlueBull2007 on March 26, 2014, 11:52:56 pm

Yeah breaking a femur takes 18 months according to my ortho. But its also the strongest bone on our bodies so...if we break one of these we will likely have other bigger problems to worry about too!

Sort of what I was thinking...Knee braces high on the agenda, as the knee guards I bought only really help with patella impact. The... damn.... shopping.... list!!!

Kamanya · « **Reply #78 on:** March 27, 2014, 09:15:08 am »

At the risk of hijacking this thread and another vote for PODMX's, I wrote this a while ago;

Knee braces... You won't be sorry....

I have a pair of PODMX's and without doubt they have saved my knees. Two were certain ligament destroyers - leg trapped and falling at right angles to the normal bending movement, one with a pillion falling on me. Both crashes were in 1st gear.

They take a bit of fiddling to initially set up - working out the pads and strap tension. I ride with wicking material long-johns under them.

But once set, I have ridden multi-day all dayers without any discomfort or chafing.

They are cheap if you price a new knee. And... knee operations never give you back 100% of your knee function.

Why knee braces vs guards

MaxThePanda · « **Reply #79 on:** March 27, 2014, 10:04:56 am »

Thanks Andrew... ya, safety gear does seem expensive, but last year I high sided the 690 at about 80kph and came down hard on my left thigh. Second last day in Angola. The stuffing was knocked out of me, but it didn't seem much worse than a bad roastie. It was the end of the day, and I was in a bit of shock, so I took some industrial-strength painkillers and collapsed in my sleeping bag. Next day was a slightly delirious, painful 16hr ride, and by that night infection set in. I self-medicated with antibiotics and lay in the back of the car for 3 days till we got home then took myself off to hospital. A night in hospital and a plastic surgeon to clean out a bad absyss/haematoma and put 20 stitches and a drain in my leg left me more than R10k out of pocket, just on the surgeon's excess that wasn't covered by medical aid!

Moral of the story: Chicks may dig scars, but prevention is both better and cheaper than cure. And the problem with the riding better is the riding faster part.