tankwa rally - 1; 990 - 0

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m0lt3n

Grey Hound
WD Supporter
Joined
Dec 7, 2012
Messages
8,948
Reaction score
1,216
Location
Kathu (NC)
Bike
KTM 990 Adventure
Yes I did it.
sort off
And came back in one piece
sort off.

Sometimes one has to put your money where your mouth is, stop saying you want to do something and then grab any small excuse you can to not do that thing. That was the approach I took.
So I committed.

Stuff I had to address was making the 990 as best suited for aggressive terrain as I can, and get myself fit, without spending tons of time on the bike as I simply did not have time to spend.
(In hindsight, I should have put more effort in to get more riding fit.)

So, I started upping the cardio at gym and started a thread on how to get more fit for riding/racing/trips. Got some good feedback there which helped.


Then focused on tyres.
most aggressive but durable rear I know off is the MotoZ dessert H/T. But no one had stock of the 150. The 140 was also close to a R1000 cheaper so I bought and fitted that.
Not so sure if the size change was a good idea on the stock rim but the tyre was. Its only when I put the new MotoZ next to my fairly new Battlax that I realized how much more aggressive it is. I am now of opinion that this aggressive MotoZ rear is a non negotiable for something like this. This tyre saved my bacon plenty times. The grip in loose sand between the rocks was awesome, those moments where you expect to struggle up an embankment but then you dont.

On the front tyre I had more drama. They send me the wrong tyre, something with thread similar to TKC80 and I wanted more aggressive tread. So I took the tyre of my 300 and fitted that. Again an odd size, a 100/80 and not the normal 90/90.

This will also be here where you ask me why I went with the 990 and not 300.
I got the 300 to teach myself to ride better on the big bikes. but a 2T does not translate so well. I also dont trust it, the carb isnt that lekker and I simply dont feel at home on it. I have zero 'small' bike experience, and only done probably 8 hours on the old-ish 300. Also decided I need to sell a while ago.

Packed everything in the landy, matrass included and left. I wanted to keep it simple and one thing was to sommer sleep in the car. next time I would do it the same way. Had more than enough space in the car.

I did cringe having my bike on the trailer on a gravel road. Some serious dust there. Which also reminds me I need to service my airfilter.

anyhow, some pictures

 

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