Honda Riding Academy

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On Saturday I attended the Honda Riding Academy course held at Louvain in the Langkloof. With every new Honda sold there is free rider training as a value add, whether it be a quad, MX bike, Adventure bike or Superbike.

Honda had an open day at Louvain and usual the whole family was welcome. Louvain is a great venue with 4x4 tracks, eunduro & MX tracks etc. All kinds of bikes bikes could be seen in action.







It was nice to see a lot of new Transalp 700's attending as well as some Transalp 650's and some Yamaha's. Also nice to see what farkles other people have added to their bikes. Givi crashbars:



After listening to the theory side of things we went out to test everything in practice. This is the fun part.

We started of with the basics - riding slalom...



... with the cones being put closer and closer together.





Slow riding in tight circles looking at the cone in the middle:



Braking locking the wheels and braking adding some front brakes:





And then we headed out on some portions of the enduro track. This was one helluva downhill



As per usual you do not see the real incline on the photo but suffice it to say it was steep! Can a TransAlp go down there?



Not only is it going down there - it's coming back up! This has to be seen to be believed.

XL700 Transalp, CTX200 Bushlander and TTR250 going down and the TransAlp and Bushlander coming back up:



Wow! I've said many times that this bike handles much better off road than you expect, but I have seen today that this truly is a very capable bike off road.

So the instructor makes it look easy, but can anyone do it?

Transalp downhill:



And coming back up (oops):





Transalp hillclimb take 2:
(on this clip you get a better idea of how steep it really is)



The bike didn't have much damage either. I was really surprised. I thought if my bike even just fell over before I've got my crashbars fitted that would be the end of the fairing, but no. These bikes seem to crash very well. Some dirt and minor scratches only.



Bushlander hillclimb take 2:
(I love these bikes )



Some more scenery out on the Enduro track:



Pretty tame compared to the hillclimb, but not without incidents







Once again minor damage only. Some scratches and 'n broken flicker.



I know of two other bikes (other brands) that's was written off recently. Both had relative minor falls and cosmetic damage only, but due to the costs of repair fixing them was not feasible. It's really good to know that these bikes crash so well. Just another thing where this Honda surprises the hell out of me.

What an enjoyable day!




If at all possible I will also attend the Honda Streetbike Academy on the racetrack in Cape Town. After seeing what it can do off road I would love to see what it can do on road! This truly is an all round bike.

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25 July 2008

Bom dia from Luanda, it was a tough road from Katuitui up to Menongue and over to Matala. Lots of landmine craters and lots of sand, deep dust you can't see whats underneath, rutted out by the trucks in the wet season. But the good 'ol CTX got me through. One track I was going to take but no fresh tracks on it so avoided it in case it had a mine on it. Got to Namibe and started getting a fever. No road signs but locals are great with help and a safe country for security for your gear. Lots of moto taxis here. All i can say about the war is what a waste of good people on both sides and it makes a hell of a mess. The country is being rebuilt but its going to take a long time in the cities. I met some guys going to Huambo for the first street bike race since the war. Thanks Judo for your help in Huambo.

I got a high fever there and got dizzy so took my malaria treatment the fever died down the next night, felt like crap for a few days and checked into a hotel to recover, Judo said it was malaria. Got to Luanda yesterday with my last us dollars cash i had to use them earlier in Huambo. Today getting better just a bad cough now and got some money from an ATM and also changed a traveller's cheque so OK for US cash again. Just rest here properly then try and find the Congo embassy.

Ron.

Update - 26 July 2008

Just a quick one not feeling that great now so ill go back to Namibia, Windhoek, see a doctor and sort out my health be there in a week, then think about whats next.

Ron.


Update - 30 July 2008

Just back into Namibia now and getting to a doctor tomorrow. Then to Windhoek and South Africa. I can't see myself going back to a malaria area again.

See ya
Ron.

Family Fun

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We had another bush ride this weekend. Great weather and scenery - how can a weekend be better spent? It was a family affair with the boys on the CRF's, my wife and I on the TransAlp and my sister-in-law on the CTX200. On the first day my dad also followed with the Land Cruiser with my wife alternating between the Land Cruiser and the pillion seat.

Before we headed for the bush we just had to have some fun in the new dam though.

CRF70:



CTX200: If at first you don’t succeed…



TransAlp 700:



Land Cruiser:



CTX – take 2:



And then we headed for the mountains. The pictures will tell the story.

The going got tough and the sun was setting. Time to turn around.





Dusk is a magical time in the forest.







This ride was just to short and we had unfinished business on that road. So on Sunday we returned for and extended ride.

We took a different route to the mountains this time round. It was a beautiful day. You could see all the way to the ocean!

There are a myriad of routes here. To this day I have not been on every one. We rode and explored. We even had to move trees out of the road (yes, the TransAlp is not a trailbike. You don't just pick this baby up and carry it over a tree - you rather move the tree. )

The big bikes certainly have their challenges in the bush. The sand and moss is much more noticeable (and slippery! ) and the ground clearance is less (especially the "catt"). Luckily I still have my trail bike, so each bike has it's purpose and will be used accordingly.

Unfortunately all rides come to an end and we had to return to the farm.

What a way to spend the day!