My 2011 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge!

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Kenisis

Race Dog
Joined
May 19, 2009
Messages
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Location
The sand pit
Bike
KTM 990 Adventure
Hi there Guys.
I will try and keep you guys updated as to my Progress as things come along.

I have been asking a lot of questions and quite frankly irritating the crap out of the guys who know what happens in the challenge as well as those that have some experience.

I have broken My challenge into three parts. (I call it MY challenge because I am doing this SOLO, in many ways)

Part one: Myself
I like most people am carrying far too much weight than what I should be. Ill blame it on the good life. Too much Beer and Braai`s! On top of this I have been a lazy and under active for the last 10 years of my life. Golf is not an activity but rather a Hobby to have a good time out with mates and Drink loads of the before mentioned Beers.
Having bought my off-road bike 2 years ago I found the enjoyment again of a full physical activity.
So for training I was roped into RPM (Spinning) and Rowing by two of my friends Phil and Mark. I have pretty much kept up with this as well as much riding as I can handle or the missus puts up or whichever comes first.
I think that I am on the right track as when I started I could barely manage 3 laps on a motocross track and now I can manage about 30 minutes.


Part 2 : The Bike
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I have opted to use my 2007 CRF 450 X which has previously done the challenge with Englishman Chris Jackson as the Rider. Although the bike has done the challenge before I did not get all of the Rally equipment with the Bike when I bought it from Chris.

There have been a number of things that I needed to get here is the rough list:
1. Wheels – I have opted to buy HAAN rims with has a Cush or Cushion drive built into the rear wheel

I chose these rather than the Talon Rims as the Cush drive seems to be better built. I have bought the set of rims from Gecko Motorcycles here in Dubai.
2. Tires- I have opted to get the Metzeler 6 Days Extreme tires which are FIM homologated. I imported these from Guildford tires in the UK. Nice bunch of guys and really willing to do Business.
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3. Bash Plate with Water Tank – I have gone with Force accessories bash plate with built in 3 litre water tank for emergency ration as per the FIM regulations. I imported this From Force in Australia.
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4. Exhaust – When I bought the bike it had a Yoshimura Exhaust. It was how ever missing the low noise insert which I managed to get from Yoshimura RD in the USA.
5. Engine – After speaking to everyone and getting their thoughts around the Engine I have decided to rebuild the Entire motor. So I have ordered basically everything except the casings for the bike. Time permitting I will include a post or three about the Bike Build including the Engine Build.
6. Road book – I have bought the MD Road book which is made by Marco Delapagne. After a long search I made contact with Marco who in turn suggested I buy the road book through Rally Raid Services in the UK. Along with the road book I Ordered the Road book ICO bracket as well as the Switch.
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7. ICO – I found ICO in the USA and they were willing to supply the unit to me.
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8. Fuel Tanks – I have decided to buy Safari Tanks from RV Aqualine in Australia. I opted to get the 21 Litre front and the 8 litre Rear tank. I hope that this balances the bike a little bit.
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9. I have bought Renthal Sprockets and a D.I.D  Chain.


Part 3 – Rally Logistics
There are a number of things that need to be listed here. Here goes my list
a. Rally License – I have a UAE racing license that needs to be upgraded to an international license. The main things required are an Echocardiogram, ECG and Optometrist assessment of your eyes. In short the FIM want to know that I am not going to have a heart attack and if this passes they then require me to see where I am going.

b. GPS, Sentinel, Irritrac – There are brackets and a number of plugs that are required to position these systems onto the bike. These are all available from ERTF and I have just received the order forms. Which I will be ordering shortly. The Deposits are quite hectic in value as just the Sentinel deposit is 1500 euro with a rental fee of 300 Euro for the event.

c. Rally Support – As I said earlier this is MY Challenge. So I am supporting myself. I will be going marathon style and doing all my own servicing and repairs (hopefully very few repairs).

i. Air filters, I have bought enough air filters for every day, so no washing and oiling filters every day.
ii. Oil and Oil filters for Every Day.
iii. Tires to be changed after Day 3
iv. 2 sets of Spare Tubes in case of Punctures. In case you were thinking about mousse we rarely have any Punctures in the desert so in order to keep the weight down I will not use Mousse.
v. LOCTITE – Lots of it!
My daily routine should consist of and is not limited to:
i. Climb off Bike.
ii. Remove Bash plate and Drain Oil.
iii. Replace Oil Filter.
iv. Change Air Filter.
v. Adjust and Lubricate the Chain
vi. Check tire pressures.
vii. Eat and Sleep. (I am quite slow so there will probably be no time for anything else)

It is at this point that I wish to make my objective for MY Challenge very Clear. As it is a challenge I wish to finish MY Challenge. I would only like to finish, the position is not of prime importance. It would also be a bonus if I finish in one piece, I don’t mind a few bumps or bruises and well maybe a little Saddle sore but only a little.

I will start posting about training rides as well as my bike build.

Does any one object to me putting it into this thread?



 
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