oo7
Race Dog
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2007
- Messages
- 1,482
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Los Angeles, USA
- Bike
- BMW R1200GS Adventure
I guess it all started off in das german colony of Deutsch Sudwest Afrika, way back when in Oct 2007. After an awesome trip (in the middle of nothing - see some pics and babble here: https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=12145.0) we became a bunch of good mates and managed to keep in touch, despite being continents removed.
Maverick turned 40 somewhere in the latter part of this year (October?) and being the total airhead freak that he is, sort of mentioned that he wanted to do a ride through Europe, on airheads, in celebration and of course with the right buddies. It is not difficult to spot when a man is talking sense, so (most of) the IDMVFISS crowd agreed that the merits of such a cunning plan may not be faulted and should be tailored into action.
Maverick will be able to put you in the picture regarding the precise details, but he currently is the lucky owner of the following air cooled
biemers -
1981 R80 TIC (Nickname – “Die TIEK”):
1985’ish 100 RT – Better known as that transvestite, “Lola”
1979 R100 T – “Die “T”
1985’ish R100GS Paris Dakar – “Die PD”
1985’ish R80 GS – “Die Walvis” which was also the weapon of choice in 07 in Kaokoland:
As mentioned, the idea was very much a romantic one – cruising through those postcard perfect classic European scenery and villages on the back of these old school and truly wonderful machines, each with their own soul. Problem was that they all were still in need of a large amount of TLC.
Our initial planning started off in great detail. Brakenjan suggested we all get one of these pakkies to add to the festivities, as we were also planning to visit some of the D-Day beaches in Normandy:
We decided on a date, namely the second week of September. As the start of the trip drew closer, it became clear that not all the airheads would be ready. With die Walvis in SA, and the PD not having enough time to be roadworthy’ed, Maverick was eventually happy that three airheads will be able to complete the 3000km or so planned route. It was decided that he will take the T, Brakenjan will ride Lola and yours truly on the TIEK.
The posse was also finalized. Of the initial “kaoko five” Gert was unable to join from the USA, and his spot was taken by Stef - a properse cockney squid (originally form Paarl, mate!) that now rides a real squid bike (BMW R1200GS with conti road attacks!!). Frieken Essex boykies. Frieken squids!
Lootch will therefor take his pakdonkie/AT –
and the Squid his Squid:
.
Eventually time passed for us, and Brakenjan and I arrived on Mud Island, one fine and fresh Friday morning in September. Childishly excited about this adventure that we have been dreaming of and playing out in our minds for months. Mav picked us up from Heathrow and we all gathered at his place in Tilbury outside London.
For those of you not in the know, airheads are such special bikes because they require constant and loving attention. The night before Mav realised that he picked up a problem with his front caliper and had to sort same before we were able to depart. Here he is busy with some last minute sorting on the T’
Another angle of Lootch’s pakdonkie.
I must admit that I have not seen an AT that have been loaded with so much stuff. Even a place for a lekka rooster:
It was also the first time that I was able to lovingly stroke my TIEK in real life – Whoop whoop
We were very much aware of the fact we could not be too precise in our route planning, given that we are riding bikes that are older than 30 years. So for our first day, the Friday, we wanted to cross the channel and get as close as possible to Normandy, as our first planned sightseeing stop was the D-Day beaches.
At last – all were sorted and ready to go!
Das T
.
Das Lola
Das Squid
We said our goodbyes and off we go. Wobbly wobbly across the Dartford Bridge, in peak traffic on the M25. Not nice if you are used to do your commuting on a bike that actually have some brakes. Anyhow, once we left the hustle and bustle of the M25 behind, the road to Dover was fortunately not so packed with traffic and our first bonding cession started. I just LUVVED the TIEK. The bike was really running smoothly and I was just getting more and more excited to be on this old piece of clanking metal, heading out to some awesome places with some awesome mates. Life can not really get better than this.
The road to Dover went uneventfully and we managed to make our pre-booked ferry sailing time of 14h30, literally op die hond se gat.
Here we are safely strapped in the belly of the beast, deep inside das boot:
The mist added to the excitement – I was really excited, but deep inside also maybe just a little bit apprehensive given the old bikes and the uncertainty around whether they will be able to complete the trip.
We unloaded on the continent and set off direction Normandy. Although the gameplan was to avoid toll/major highways, and stick to the picturesque little roads, we decided that for this Friday we need to get slab between us and Calais.
We were barely through the first toll road, when Maverick signaled that he wanted to pull off for a wee. Walking back towards the bikes, he spotted some oil on the TIEK. After closer inspection, we also noted oil dripping onto the tar below the bike.
Ai. Not what I expected. Ok, maybe I did expect this, but not 150km into the trip??
As we were not sure where the leak was, Maverick decided just to “plug” the back of the block with some carlton type towel paper, in the hope that he may have overfilled it the previous night and that this was just an “overflow” as a result of the over filling.
The back wheel was so full of oil that we had to clean it off before I could proceed. This prompted me to take it onto the field next to the parking lot and roost the living daylights out of it. Slippery business with those road tyres not having any grip in the mud!
We then rode another 40km or so, mostly on eggshells with the TIEK. Stopped off at a lay bye and realized that it was still pissing oil. Check that puddle under the bike after only a couple minutes:
By now the overfilling theory are starting to become less plausible, as Maverick was pondering whether this may not be the crankshaft (?) seal that could be leaking. . .
It was getting dark and we decided to find the closest camp site. We eventually found a type of trailer park but the office was already closed. So we decided to pitch our gazebo on a open spot and sort the payment out in the morning.
Not really the world’s most exciting place, but we all were tired and it just had to do.
With no food (with the TIEk’s troubles we forgot to buy some supper), a slight drizzle and uncertainty about what lie ahead in terms of mechanical shit that will have to be sorted, we went to bed with hearts probably a little bit heavier than what we would have wanted to.
Anyhow, for day one we ended up riding just under 250km, taking this route from Tilbury to somewhere south of Calais, just outside a small town called Fort-Mahon Plage:
Day 2 to follow
Maverick turned 40 somewhere in the latter part of this year (October?) and being the total airhead freak that he is, sort of mentioned that he wanted to do a ride through Europe, on airheads, in celebration and of course with the right buddies. It is not difficult to spot when a man is talking sense, so (most of) the IDMVFISS crowd agreed that the merits of such a cunning plan may not be faulted and should be tailored into action.
Maverick will be able to put you in the picture regarding the precise details, but he currently is the lucky owner of the following air cooled
biemers -
1981 R80 TIC (Nickname – “Die TIEK”):
1985’ish 100 RT – Better known as that transvestite, “Lola”
1979 R100 T – “Die “T”
1985’ish R100GS Paris Dakar – “Die PD”
1985’ish R80 GS – “Die Walvis” which was also the weapon of choice in 07 in Kaokoland:
As mentioned, the idea was very much a romantic one – cruising through those postcard perfect classic European scenery and villages on the back of these old school and truly wonderful machines, each with their own soul. Problem was that they all were still in need of a large amount of TLC.
Our initial planning started off in great detail. Brakenjan suggested we all get one of these pakkies to add to the festivities, as we were also planning to visit some of the D-Day beaches in Normandy:
We decided on a date, namely the second week of September. As the start of the trip drew closer, it became clear that not all the airheads would be ready. With die Walvis in SA, and the PD not having enough time to be roadworthy’ed, Maverick was eventually happy that three airheads will be able to complete the 3000km or so planned route. It was decided that he will take the T, Brakenjan will ride Lola and yours truly on the TIEK.
The posse was also finalized. Of the initial “kaoko five” Gert was unable to join from the USA, and his spot was taken by Stef - a properse cockney squid (originally form Paarl, mate!) that now rides a real squid bike (BMW R1200GS with conti road attacks!!). Frieken Essex boykies. Frieken squids!
Lootch will therefor take his pakdonkie/AT –
and the Squid his Squid:
.Eventually time passed for us, and Brakenjan and I arrived on Mud Island, one fine and fresh Friday morning in September. Childishly excited about this adventure that we have been dreaming of and playing out in our minds for months. Mav picked us up from Heathrow and we all gathered at his place in Tilbury outside London.
For those of you not in the know, airheads are such special bikes because they require constant and loving attention. The night before Mav realised that he picked up a problem with his front caliper and had to sort same before we were able to depart. Here he is busy with some last minute sorting on the T’
Another angle of Lootch’s pakdonkie.
I must admit that I have not seen an AT that have been loaded with so much stuff. Even a place for a lekka rooster:
It was also the first time that I was able to lovingly stroke my TIEK in real life – Whoop whoop
We were very much aware of the fact we could not be too precise in our route planning, given that we are riding bikes that are older than 30 years. So for our first day, the Friday, we wanted to cross the channel and get as close as possible to Normandy, as our first planned sightseeing stop was the D-Day beaches.
At last – all were sorted and ready to go!
Das T
.Das Lola
Das Squid
We said our goodbyes and off we go. Wobbly wobbly across the Dartford Bridge, in peak traffic on the M25. Not nice if you are used to do your commuting on a bike that actually have some brakes. Anyhow, once we left the hustle and bustle of the M25 behind, the road to Dover was fortunately not so packed with traffic and our first bonding cession started. I just LUVVED the TIEK. The bike was really running smoothly and I was just getting more and more excited to be on this old piece of clanking metal, heading out to some awesome places with some awesome mates. Life can not really get better than this.
The road to Dover went uneventfully and we managed to make our pre-booked ferry sailing time of 14h30, literally op die hond se gat.
Here we are safely strapped in the belly of the beast, deep inside das boot:
The mist added to the excitement – I was really excited, but deep inside also maybe just a little bit apprehensive given the old bikes and the uncertainty around whether they will be able to complete the trip.
We unloaded on the continent and set off direction Normandy. Although the gameplan was to avoid toll/major highways, and stick to the picturesque little roads, we decided that for this Friday we need to get slab between us and Calais.
We were barely through the first toll road, when Maverick signaled that he wanted to pull off for a wee. Walking back towards the bikes, he spotted some oil on the TIEK. After closer inspection, we also noted oil dripping onto the tar below the bike.
Ai. Not what I expected. Ok, maybe I did expect this, but not 150km into the trip??
As we were not sure where the leak was, Maverick decided just to “plug” the back of the block with some carlton type towel paper, in the hope that he may have overfilled it the previous night and that this was just an “overflow” as a result of the over filling.
The back wheel was so full of oil that we had to clean it off before I could proceed. This prompted me to take it onto the field next to the parking lot and roost the living daylights out of it. Slippery business with those road tyres not having any grip in the mud!
We then rode another 40km or so, mostly on eggshells with the TIEK. Stopped off at a lay bye and realized that it was still pissing oil. Check that puddle under the bike after only a couple minutes:
By now the overfilling theory are starting to become less plausible, as Maverick was pondering whether this may not be the crankshaft (?) seal that could be leaking. . .
It was getting dark and we decided to find the closest camp site. We eventually found a type of trailer park but the office was already closed. So we decided to pitch our gazebo on a open spot and sort the payment out in the morning.
Not really the world’s most exciting place, but we all were tired and it just had to do.
With no food (with the TIEk’s troubles we forgot to buy some supper), a slight drizzle and uncertainty about what lie ahead in terms of mechanical shit that will have to be sorted, we went to bed with hearts probably a little bit heavier than what we would have wanted to.
Anyhow, for day one we ended up riding just under 250km, taking this route from Tilbury to somewhere south of Calais, just outside a small town called Fort-Mahon Plage:
Day 2 to follow
