FLOPPING IN THE SAND – AFRICA TRIES TO HURT THE KLR, DOES A BIT

June 4, 2002

Dr. Gregory W. Frazier

Email: gregfrazier@yahoo.com

Exclusive to Dual-Star

     I came over a slight rise in the road and at 60 mph realized there were three camels lying down.  With no room between then, and not wanting to “lay it down” (an often foolishly used term), I made a mental decision to toss out the anchors and ride into the ditch on the right side.  My other option, riding through the several thousand pounds of camel meat would have seen the KLR come to an immediate halt and me fly over the handlebars.

     Which is exactly what happened when I hit the ditch, probably at about 30-mph.  The ditch was filled with soft sugar sand and ate the front wheel like a cookie monster sucks down cookies.  The bike came to an immediate stop and I did a flying W.  Next thing I knew the three camels were standing up and I was lying down.

    A quick check of arms, legs and collarbones revealed nothing broken.  Next was the check the Kawasaki, but not before hurling some four letters words and rocks at the camels.  I nailed one camel on the head, which got it and the other two moving away from me.  I do not think they understood any of my English references to their mothers and sex.

     A last minute change to the MCN KLR I made was to replace the radiator guard we used for the project with a newer and heftier one made by Dual-Star.  I think I got the first one off the production line, because it seemed it was still warm when I opened the Express Mail package in Daytona as I was about to stuff the KLR into a shipping container.  Along with it came a water pump guard, the two mounting to the KLR frame using welded triangles similar to those used for mounting the engine in the from.  Both Bolted through the frame, replacing the existing engine mounts.

     The radiator guard is triangulated the take a kit from either the side or the front, whereas the other mount, which used a radiator mounting bolt to secure it, was far less likely to take a hit from the front.  Both mounts would do fine if the motorcycle fell directly on the mount, i.e., lay over on the left side.  However, the Dual-Star guard was designed to also take the hit from the front, which is what happened when the KLR hit the sand.

     The front wheel folded to the right and the radiator side plowed into the sand.  The radiator guard did its job and upon inspection I could not find where it have bent even slightly back towards the vulnerable radiator and fan.

     The water pump guard is a nice add-on for the right side and is designed to fold around the water and protect it from a right side lay-down, again either lying over or sliding along at speed. 

     In the middle of Bumbsquat, Morocco, 25 miles from the nearest town, and water, I was glad I had made the last minute change in Daytona Beach a couple of months ago.  25 miles from a town out there in the Sahara means 25 miles from anything cool, especially water.  A replacement radiator fan is 2,000 miles away in Switzerland, and very expensive. 

     I did a bit of sand riding in the Sahara.  The KLR, fully loaded like it is with 100 pounds of gear, was not suited for the soft stuff.  Even dropping the tire pressure down to 5 lbs. found the front wheel plowing through.  With the full load I could not get the front wheel light enough to get on top.

     The one thing I was grateful for as I flopped around in the sand was the fact the Dual-Star tank bag and panniers were designed to keep firmly attached and out of the way of my arms and knees.  Several times I was in some serious deep sand, serious enough to force me to stop from lack of breath and energy, and, as I leaned my head on the tank bag, ask myself, “What am I doing out here? This is f****** folly.  I could have done this in California and saved myself the 10,000 mile ride.”  In the end, I the intelligent side of my brain turned on and I got out of the desert and back on the gravel roads.

     The Distanzia Avon tires have been doing a great job.  I am now sold on them as a replacement for the Gripster.  So far I have logged over 4,000 miles and they look like they can easily go another 4,000.  I am surprised though that the front seems to be going away faster than the rear.  It may be due to the hard braking that I have had to do, especially in the Alps and on pavement in the hot.  Anyone familiar with the KLR knows that hard braking with the rear brake is a prayer, even with the braided steel lines and soft pads from Dual-Star.  The rear tire is showing little signs of wear and has plenty of depth to the lugs.

     On the down side, I woke this morning to discover I had a flat rear tire.  At first I suspected sabotage because I rode in last night and the rear felt fine.  I stayed in a private apartment in Essaouira which some street hustler steered me to over camping (the wind was blowing about 80 mph and it was near 9:00 PM and I had dogged 400 miles yesterday, and got hit once).  The apartment was a pretty good deal, $15.00 for the night, with two bedrooms, private bath, color TV (with BBC news channel), fully stocked kitchen and small courtyard.  I took it for two nights, planning to catch up on writing, doing my laundry (now two weeks ripe), and sleeping in late. 

     The apartment is off the main streets and although it is on the ground floor with a street entrance, I could not park the motorcycle in front of it.  I had to park it two apartment blocks away where a guard watched it and the numerous cars for $1.00 per night.  I have a Gold Wing size motorcycle cover (that I store in the Dual-Star fairing pack) so threw that over it and locked the aluminum boxes.  This morning when I went to get it the rear tire was flat and the kid (the guard’s replacement) told me the cover blew off several times in the night.  When I got on the bike I and rolled it off the center stand I knew right away the rear was flat.  It had enough air to get me to my apartment where, with help, I was able to get it back on the center stand.  Inspecting the rear tire I found half of a broken key sticking out of one of the lugs.  It was worn, so no one stuck it in there and broke it off and I suspect I picked it up on the road yesterday.  The upside is that I had installed Dual-Star’s Monster tubes, which got me here.  I patched the tube, but put in the original tube I carried, not wanting to ride on a patched tube.  I will use the Monster Tube as my spare and hopefully get a replacement sent before I change tires in two weeks.  I really like the Monster Tubes, and in the future, as the guy selling American Express Traveler’s Checks says, won’t “leave home without them.”

     On the downside, I got hit from the rear yesterday.  I was entering a traffic circle when the car behind me nailed my right aluminum pannier.  The impact did not knock me down, but this morning I noticed I had a very sore neck.  It did, however, knock the aluminum box loose from the frame on which they are mounted.  It came loose because the impact was forward and upward, bending the box at the lower mount and letting one of the upper mounts to slip forward.  With my hammer/ax and some loosening and tightening I got the box mounted back on securely. 

     At first I though the box coming loose to be a design flaw, but after some reflection have decided it was a good thing.  Had the box remained securely fastened to the mounting frame one of three things might have happened: 1) The impact might have knocked me down, 2) The mounting frame might have bent or broken or 3) The KLR frame might have bent.  Overall, I think the box coming loose was the better option.

     The other day I ran into Rich Kickbush from Australia, also riding a KLR.  We compared notes on how out accessories and KLRs were doing as we both move around the globe.  On the matter of aluminum panniers, Rich is using a pair that is the most expensive on the market.  They have an easy-on-off mounting system, integrated locks, are powder coated and have numerous cuts and indentations.  He said they leaked, he had replaced all of the locks and hinges and showed me where both mounting brackets had broken and had to be reinforced.  My boxes are very basic, simple in design, and cost about $300.00 less.  I let Rich write up all of the flaws his high tech panniers have, but will say that even if mine need to be repaired or re-welded, I will feel a lot better about it knowing I had not paid for the most expensive only to find they might well be inferior to the least expensive.  Of course, his are known to be more for the poseur, which I think he has proven by taking them into some pretty rugged stuff.  I think they would be fine for some “adventurer” who happily rides on the weekend his $15,000 adventure-touring machine to and from a rally or for some KOA camping.  Given what I saw they did not stand up on a world tour, and Rich is less than halfway on his ride.

     I have finished with the sand and will now work my way back to Germany where my replacement tires, change of oil, and valve adjustment are waiting.  Most of the run back there will be on gravel or paved roads. 

     The KLR is doing fine on the high-speed autobahns.  The decision to change only the rear sprocket, and that being to a 44 tooth one over the stock 43 biter lets the motor run at 5,000 rpm in fifth gear when I am doing 70 mph, which seems to be perfect for the weight. 

     I hope not to find any more camels in the road or idiot French drivers wanting to run into me.  I still have about half the trip to complete and given the rate of getting hit or falling down so far, it might be a very long half I must complete.

Dr. Gregory W. Frazier, from the road, around the world on a Kawasaki KLR 650

www.horizonsunlimited.com/gregfrazier

Copyright 2002 By Dr. Gregory W. Frazier