Thank you very much for the warm welcome messages! This is what my baby looked like on the day of delivery in 2012:
The first 20 000 km or so were relatively mudane, but then I had the exhaust system rebuilt, the cat was removed and I had a proper crash cage put on her. I swapped the Pirelli Scorpion Trail for the hooligan Mitas E07s and upped my off-road riding. A lot. And then, one day in 2016, my confidence (read: balls) overtook my brains. I was riding on a fairly good dirt road. Too fast. With a pillion. There was a concrete bridge and I aimed at the middle of the road but, too late, saw that the dirt road surface had receded more than I had thought and I was heading for what looked like a step. As I was doing more than 100km/h, stopping was not an option, so I banged the throttle open, hoping the front wheel would be light enough for the shocks to dampen the hit. It wasn't and they didn't. The lip on the front rim broke on impact, the rim bent and that caused what could only be described as "catastrophic deflation". My pillion and I did not fall. I've been telling people it's because so I am incredibly skilled, tongue in cheek. But the truth is that on that day I used up more than my share of luck. I really don't understand why we didn't fall. We were exceptionally lucky. I didn't want to claim the damage from my insurance. I really did not want my insurer (or broker) to know how I rode. But then I got a second-gen Explorer as a long-term demo from Triumph's South African head office (I dabble in journalism) and I forgot about my embarrassing Explorer. Some other minor disasters took care of the rest of my 2016 and it took some time before I started riding again late in 2017. Many, many test bikes and tours later, we moved to the Mpumalanga province, biking nirvana. And I decided it was time to unwrap my Explorer. I spent quite a bit of time just looking at her:
The damage was limited to the front, although the rear rim also took a knock. The mudguard broke in two, only noticed it much later, so I didn't go look for the other part. I hope to have the wheels back before the weekend so I can refit them. I asked the refurbishers to change the colour from the drab glossy black/charcoal to whatever the colour is called that car mag rims are typically painted. The cost isn't too bad, I reckon. If you convert the R3 300 to Pounds, it is probably ludicrous (GBP147,41). Then: a new battery, drain the petrol, replace with some fresh go-go juice and hit the starter button.
Hi Joe Why would you give South Africa a miss for a few years yet? Please don't see this as me picking a fight, because it isn't. This is me as a tour guide and ambassador wanting to understand others' impressions. (Also, if this is the wrong place for such a discussion, please feel free to tell me.) Thanks, looking forward to an educational engagement
Welcome in! SA is a lovely place, I’ve done the garden route and Kruger for a holiday with all the trimmings, by car unfortunately not bike. Then was in cape town last December for the 7’s. Hopefully will be back this December too
Thanks for the welcome! Consider renting a bike when you come again. And stay in touch, I can give some pointers on places to visit and routes, as well as rental bikes.
HI Réhan, welcome to the group! Also from South Africa and unfortunately still in Gauteng. We are regular visitors to Mpumalanga and should have been there twice in the past six weeks if it wasn't for the lockdown. I have a Trophy SE and love it. We do long-distance touring in SA as it is a fabulous place to do just that. We will visit the Innibos in December as it has been postponed. Hope to meet one day. Enjoy your trips in the mountains.
Hi Dawie I am planning on arranging a long-weekend tour to Innibos, I will keep you updated. PM or email me your email address and cell no, then I will add you the group I send notices to? You can mail me on [email protected] I was very impressed with the Trophy. I only rode it from Joburg to Parys for a weekend with my wife, but it was an absolute joy to ride. It is a much nicer bike than the BMW R1200 RT. The 1200 triple is an incredible motor for touring. Hope to meet you soon!
UPDATE: So the mag repairer did not have the rims finished by the weekend I will go and irritate him every day of the week to see how that changes delivery time...
UPDATE Got the rims back, very happy with how they look. Fitted the rear wheel, even happier with how it looks on the bike. Got ready to fir the front wheel, then realised I have lost the 10 bolts that affix the brake disks to the wheel and I have no one else to blame... So now I'm patiently (not!) waiting for those, as well as a new mudguard and one indicator unit.