Sunday, October 25, 2009

Did I hear GRAVEL & SWEAT?

Dude,

Had a slight fright on the bike today on the way to supercheaps, took a corner at a appropriate speed but chose a 'not-so-appropriate' line and almost did a face-plant while cornering over a small patch of sand on the road. Stuck my foot out and uprighted to bike before swearing under my helmet and convincing myself that I was still invincible. :O

Anyway, this is an update on the things I have done/will be doing soon to the bike:

  1. Acerbis 22litre tank
  2. Finalised Tool Kit
  3. New Pro Taper Pillow Top Hand Grips
  4. GPS RAM Mount
  5. SPOT GPS tracker
  6. Slipstreamer Windscreen (On its way!)
  7. Dunlop D606, Tubes & Rimlocks (To be done before practice run across nullabor)
  8. Finalised Camping Tools

My Tool Kit for OzRoundin' (Missing Tyre Gauge, Irons, Repair Kit & Funnel Set)
















Working on the bike myself the past few weeks has allowed me to get fairly acquainted with the inner workings of the venerable XR600. It's simple enough for me to know how to bleed the brakes, change the pads, tyres, chains, oil, filters except major engine overhauls. I reckon the part I dread the most is fixing up a flat on the road. That's gonna be heinous!

I've also plotted a possible route for Nov 10 as a practice run across Australia to Port Augusta. Distance is estimated to be around 4965km and consists of a ritualistic 700 - 800 km per day. Hopefully, I don't fall off and die. IF I do end up in a fireball of tears I will be looking forward to utilising my SPOT satellite tracker and see if the emergency button is as effective as they purport it to be. Will provide a tracking website soon so that anybody who is interested can follow my journey.