- Joined
- May 15, 2009
- Messages
- 281
- Reaction score
- 49
- Bike
- Aprilia 650 Pegaso
Thursday I got some new rubber on my bike, some proper dual sport tires(heidenau K60 and Metzler Sahara). I was itching to get these guys off road and see how they perform. as it turns we were to spend the weekend in Yzerfontein, so I reckoned that would be a great opportunity to try them out.
so friday comes and off I go: first to Somerset-West to help a friend with his PC and then finally on my way to Yzerfontein. En route I took various roads and routes and then I found a dirt road somewhere on the other side of Stellenbosch. Here the tires were everything they promised to be and I was enjoying the experience immensely. No more tricky floating over the surface dirt riding. At some point I came across a rail line and decided to follow the track alongside. I recall someone mentioning a rail line they regularly rode towards darling so I figured this must be it. Off I go and things are going well: dirt, mud, loose rocks .... all good. Got the bike stuck at one point, there wasn't quite enough clearance, but managed to get it out without swearing even once! Onwards I go and then I got to where the road turned into basically an overgrown lawn type of effect. Silly me carries on going and eventually I got it stuck again. This time in some muddy swamp type of field. Fortunately I hadn't subscribed to the "when-in-trouble-keep-the-throttle-pinned-wide-open" school of thought. Yet. Struggled a little at this point but still managed to get through. Confidence levels on the up at this point. But I had to admit I was starting to feel pretty shattered.
So I decided to leave the rail line at the next crossing and ended up in some town. Is it a town when there is really just a station and not much else attached? Not sure where that was, but came out on the N7. I followed some road into a town called Rocklands (I think) and a resident said to follow the dirt road and I would get to darling. The road didn't go far and I found myself circling a farm or smallholding. Anyway, here's where things got real interesting. I'm not sure why I did this, but it was a mistake. Approaching a large puddle I decided to head for the exposed vegetation peeking out next to the road proper. Unfortunately en route to the hoped for firmer ground, I got the bike stuck in some very loose mud. The kind that tries, very nearly successfully, to suck your boots off your feet. Anyway, much swearing and pushing later, the bike was well and truly dug in. Having just passed my entrance exam to the "when-in-trouble-keep-the-throttle-pinned-wide-open" school of thought, I could only see the rears' rubber and top of the rim sticking out above the water. After 2 hours of digging and trying to get the bike out I was finally successful. Perhaps next time I'll do better to organise a trip with other people. At the least the digging would have gone quicker, or I would have had someone to laugh at me as a reminder!
Having gotten through that minor irritant I was off trying to find the N7. It was now sunset and I had absolutely no clue where I was in relation to anything else. After pottering around the farm fields, including getting stuck in some good thick sand I eventually found some people! Turns out I was about 10km from malmesbury at this point. With my confidence levels now suitably subdued, I stuck to the tarmac for the remainder of the ride to Yzerfontein.
And I finally understand when so many people say the bike needs a slower 1st gear. Lots and lots of feathering the clutch going on, or maybe that's just a lack of skill.
Now I have some technical questions for anyone who may be able to help:
1. Whilst the back wheel was dug in nice and deep and I was trying to push it out: I would put it in first give it a bit of gas and let the clutch out slowly and try to get the wheel to turn without spinning it too much. Occasionally there would be a very loud thunk sound coming from somewhere? Any ideas? Would this be an issue?
2. Anyone know how to take apart the starter button on a f658gs? It seems some dirt worked it's way in there and it no longer pops up. Every time I start the bike I have to dig my nail under the button and try to pull it up.
thanks in advance for any tech tips
so friday comes and off I go: first to Somerset-West to help a friend with his PC and then finally on my way to Yzerfontein. En route I took various roads and routes and then I found a dirt road somewhere on the other side of Stellenbosch. Here the tires were everything they promised to be and I was enjoying the experience immensely. No more tricky floating over the surface dirt riding. At some point I came across a rail line and decided to follow the track alongside. I recall someone mentioning a rail line they regularly rode towards darling so I figured this must be it. Off I go and things are going well: dirt, mud, loose rocks .... all good. Got the bike stuck at one point, there wasn't quite enough clearance, but managed to get it out without swearing even once! Onwards I go and then I got to where the road turned into basically an overgrown lawn type of effect. Silly me carries on going and eventually I got it stuck again. This time in some muddy swamp type of field. Fortunately I hadn't subscribed to the "when-in-trouble-keep-the-throttle-pinned-wide-open" school of thought. Yet. Struggled a little at this point but still managed to get through. Confidence levels on the up at this point. But I had to admit I was starting to feel pretty shattered.
So I decided to leave the rail line at the next crossing and ended up in some town. Is it a town when there is really just a station and not much else attached? Not sure where that was, but came out on the N7. I followed some road into a town called Rocklands (I think) and a resident said to follow the dirt road and I would get to darling. The road didn't go far and I found myself circling a farm or smallholding. Anyway, here's where things got real interesting. I'm not sure why I did this, but it was a mistake. Approaching a large puddle I decided to head for the exposed vegetation peeking out next to the road proper. Unfortunately en route to the hoped for firmer ground, I got the bike stuck in some very loose mud. The kind that tries, very nearly successfully, to suck your boots off your feet. Anyway, much swearing and pushing later, the bike was well and truly dug in. Having just passed my entrance exam to the "when-in-trouble-keep-the-throttle-pinned-wide-open" school of thought, I could only see the rears' rubber and top of the rim sticking out above the water. After 2 hours of digging and trying to get the bike out I was finally successful. Perhaps next time I'll do better to organise a trip with other people. At the least the digging would have gone quicker, or I would have had someone to laugh at me as a reminder!
Having gotten through that minor irritant I was off trying to find the N7. It was now sunset and I had absolutely no clue where I was in relation to anything else. After pottering around the farm fields, including getting stuck in some good thick sand I eventually found some people! Turns out I was about 10km from malmesbury at this point. With my confidence levels now suitably subdued, I stuck to the tarmac for the remainder of the ride to Yzerfontein.
And I finally understand when so many people say the bike needs a slower 1st gear. Lots and lots of feathering the clutch going on, or maybe that's just a lack of skill.
Now I have some technical questions for anyone who may be able to help:
1. Whilst the back wheel was dug in nice and deep and I was trying to push it out: I would put it in first give it a bit of gas and let the clutch out slowly and try to get the wheel to turn without spinning it too much. Occasionally there would be a very loud thunk sound coming from somewhere? Any ideas? Would this be an issue?
2. Anyone know how to take apart the starter button on a f658gs? It seems some dirt worked it's way in there and it no longer pops up. Every time I start the bike I have to dig my nail under the button and try to pull it up.
thanks in advance for any tech tips
