Gael warning on the Ivory Coast

[simondippenhall]

Looks good, only question would be if you have water purification tablets (or a filter) for when you can’t buy nice stuff?
The bulkiest thing I normally have that I struggle to reduce is a pair of shoes, the heaviest an inner tube. I now carry one, half way between front and rear sizes.

Alistair: for a moment I thought you were referring to shoe sizes and I envisioned you hopping along in two mis-sized shoes. Yes I have iodine tables and a lifesystems filter…which was useful when I was stranded in the bush in Congo last time around.

 

[gspod]

Perfect timing, now that the nights are drawing in.
I assume you’re taking a set of tyre levers each

 

[simondippenhall]

Perfect timing, now that the nights are drawing in.
I assume you’re taking a set of tyre levers each

And a separate prop stand too!

 

[Posh Pete]

Grand. The perfect thread as the nights draw in! Carry on guys. And good luck!

 

[gspod]

And a separate prop stand too!

 

[jasp]

So good to see the pics and read about the preparation of a trip so many of us will only dream of.
Just off to sweep the chimney and hoover my slippers in anticipation...

 

[dub 24]

Very observant! Note to self, be careful what you photograph. Well, no adventure rider heads off without a piece of inner tube, which has multiple uses.

The sardines were to prompt a discussion about lunch on the road. Combined with some local bread, they would keep us going. In fact, we pass a large sardine factory on the edge of the desert, near Tan Tan Plage. The smell, when the wind is off the sea, would put you off sardines for life. Other travellers, who passed that may remember

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To the uneducated and virgin Adventure rider (ME)
What can the inner tube be used for ?

 

[Edventure]

Looking forward to following this one Jim and Simon!

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

To the uneducated and virgin Adventure rider (ME)
What can the inner tube be used for ?

I have to be careful what I reveal here, as it's open to the whole internet I will disclose that rubber washers can be made. Also, rubber slices can be handy to improve grip, on items clamped to the handlebars, e.g. GPS, or Quad Lock, if they come loose.

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[Jockser]

Oh, this is going to be epic

 

[Redboots]

To the uneducated and virgin Adventure rider (ME)
What can the inner tube be used for ?

I have used them to make really strong elastic bands of varying widths.

 

[Drumacoon Lad.]

I have used them to make really strong elastic bands of varying widths.

Hey, don't give all the secrets away

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[Mongoose]

Blimey, proper adventure! I’m in……. Looking forward to a Saturday night distraction whilst Mrs M is engrossed in Strictly…..

 

[simondippenhall]

As I loaded the bike up, a previously dormant concern about the rear suspension re-emerged. (Of course we all find something to worry about and as I had sorted the other things that I had worried about, this came to the foreground!).

I took the fully loaded bike out for a ride at the weekend on an A road and down a local green lane and nothing terrible happened...but in the garage I could see the bike wallowed a little when I sat on it or took it off the sidestand. At 67 kgs (10 and a half stone in local parlance) I wasn't excatly testing the bike's limits.

I decided to contact the admirable Lukasz Tetich of T Tech, who recently fitted a Maxton unit on my Transalp and in my view is a star. By happy chance he could see me today in his new base in Newhaven. That would serve a dual purpose....allay my fears about the rear shock and also do a good 170 mile round trip on fast and medium roads, fully loaded.

I strapped the OEM shock and a spare spring and set off into the rush hour traffic, taking the A3 and M25 and M23/A23 and A27...trying to remember how wide I was loaded as I filtered!

As soon as I got there Lukasz and two colleagues moved in on the bike. Lukasz's reaction confirmed my fears....he said there was virtually no damping and possibly the spring was for someone (even) lighter than me!

The pictures tell the story...he decided that the unit needed a service as there was very little pressure, and fortunately he had a service kit for this older YSS unit. The oil that came out of it was pretty black! During the process he also revalved it to make it more effective and firmer, and fitted a more robust bumpstop from a Tractive unit. After some research it was concluded that the spring itself was actually suited to me and the main problem was the damping unit.



When I got back from a delicious coffee and croissant in an adjacent building the freshly serviced and rebuilt unit was being fitted and it was time to adjust the (previously almost non-existent) preload...a niggly task on a CRF as access is not ideal.

I was glad that i had brought the fully loaded bike as this allowed the team to set the bike up for exactly that weight....Lukasz warned me that if I remove all the bags i will need to think about the settings again, but for me the most important is to have a well set up bike for the main ride and toi know the rear unit is now serviceable and hopefully can be relied on.

The bike is now a bit taller but manageable....and the ride absolutely transformed, in particular the cornering. So glad I thought to do this, albeit belatedly, and that Lukasz could accommodate my late panic! And one of his team is a former (15 year) Honda moto mechanic so he was busy scrutinising the bike and also checked and lubed the swing arm bearings.

And for the keen eyed, the yellow object on the rear wheel is Lukasz's sag meter...which I almost rode away with (but fortunately he spotted it before it was too late!)

 

[Old Codger]

Meanwhile back at base the packing continues….medical kit just about there. Next step will be to take stuff out of boxes so it fits a small container

Also a good time to review all the paperwork we will be carrying….a remote border crossing (into Guinea for example) is not the moment to discover the officer requires a colour photocopy of our e-visas!

Unlike in the past this time we have e visas for Mauritania and Guinea and a good old passport stamp style visa for Cote d’Ivoire.

I will post a pic of my clothes packing later as I know @richardbd likes to give me a critique .

The biggest element of our packing is bike related …a spare tube and related tools for tyre repairs, and we also have an oil and air filter each. I am carrying a set of clutch plates (potentially capable of being divvied up between the two of us if we face problems). I also bought a light and cheap fault decoder for the ECU. Obviously we hope not to use any of the above, which is often the magical property of packing them!

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Have you missed the Anusol !!!

 

[NeilDD]

@simondippenhall You've also just appeared in Lukasz FB feed

 

[brut33]

You certainly are very thorough and don't leave anything to chance. Planning stuff like this is a checklist beyond the average trip round Europe, it's another league and very detailed. Preparation of bike, spare parts, the ability to fit them and the medical kit. Good luck to both you.


PS. I hope your Imodium remains unopened.

 

[richardbd]

Simon, are you sure you haven’t packed too many clothes?

 

[simondippenhall]

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Simon, are you sure you haven’t packed too many clothes?

You be the judge (this includes a double mosquito net):

 

[simondippenhall]

You certainly are very thorough and don't leave anything to chance. Planning stuff like this is a checklist beyond the average trip round Europe, it's another league and very detailed. Preparation of bike, spare parts, the ability to fit them and the medical kit. Good luck to both you.


PS. I hope your Imodium remains unopened.

Cheers! When I last set off for Africa with Jim on my 1150 GS I was not well prepared as I was only expecting to head down to The Gambia (not circumnavigate the African continent as I eventually did). So I learned my lesson that time....