Carpe Diem 4 Teaser

Check out this trailer for CD 4, coming soon....

Renegade 800 : The Ultimate Quad?

Having ridden with a Renegade 800 last weekend, I thought it fitting to post this ride review from QUAD Magazine...note that the local price tag for these monsters is down by about 20%!!!

(click the pic)

Umpleby Suzuki Organised Ride at Coastal Outdoor Adventures - 25 November

Checking my gmail archives, I noted that I had first contacted Gerald Souchon almost a year ago, to try and attend one of his guided rides in the Amatikulu/Gingingdlovu area - a social ride arranged by Grant Umpleby Suzuki provided this opportunity.

After half our group cancelled on us on the morning of the ride, it turned out to be Vimal and myself making the trip down in the pelting rain.


The trip to Coastal Outdoor Adventures in Gingingdlovu took us about an hour from Richards Bay, and though it rained all the way, I was POSITIVE that the weather was going to clear in time for the ride, and I was NOT WRONG!

After getting the bakkie and trailer stuck in the mud on the approach to the parking area, I needed to enlist the towing services of Big Al's Vinson 500...

I found this picture funny, but wifey didn't - I wonder why....

Cowboy and George, getting revved up to ride - their first real ride since their epic Q4Q 2007 : they did both directions !
It was Cowboy's 13th birthday weekend, and George was keen to celebrate by taking him on a grand ride, with great company - I think the youngster was not disappointed.


In the Amatikulu : some of the sport quads needed some serious rescuing - fortunately, the King was on hand....we fished out at least 3 LTZ 400s in short order!


Nearly surfing his own bow wave, George's Outlaw cruised through the river like a jetski....I always knew those North American quads were good for SOMETHING!

All muddy smiles - with the sea as our backdrop on our last smoke break, we were all cheery just before the final stretch to the finish of a great ride through wonderful scenery and varied terrain. Thanks to Gerald and Desiree - we will certainly be back to ride with you in your area, SOON!

Check out the link on the right, for access to their webpage which has all their contact and facility details...

Kids LOVE quads

Click the pic to access a terrfic article from QUAD Magazine, about getting your kids involved in quads.

Toy Run Impressions

When we (Zi and I) arrived at just after 830AM, we were amazed at the number of vehicles, trailers, bikes and people that were already on the scene, in various stages of readiness....someone whispered that there were nearly 100 riders registered to ride - WOW!

After getting ready, and loaning the trusty Trailblazer out to Marius, we set off in group 3, right at the back, with the kids...
Though I took zero photos on the trail, due to being kept busy assisting Aziz, I can confirm there was plenty of mud, which Zi's bike seemed to have an attraction to, and loads of variety that kept us busy for the entire 3 hours of riding.

I made a mental note to get Zi his own hydration pack for next time, since he nearly sucked mine completely dry this time around! It was easy to underestimate hydration needs due to the weather being pretty overcast all morning.

This was the first long ride with the KingQuad since returning from Quads4Quads 2007 back in September (!) and we were both thrilled, though a railway spike ended up deep in the left front tyre near the finish, requiring a quick lesson in puncture repair from Petrolhead Byrne.

The family and riding community spirit was high during this event, and it's my intention to grab that registration book and increase the size of our mailing list, to attempt to recapture that spirit more regularly.

Another point to mention is that there were NO INJURIES during this mass ride, which meant the EMRS team standing by had no work to do - they were more concerned with the potential hazards around the jumping castle and the braai area than with the riding of quads!!!

Geoff and Crezelda, who put the ride together over a couple of weeks
Our hats off to them, and Craig Byrne for achieving such a great turnout on the day, and for arranging a break in the weather!

Jumping castle, supplied by Debbie (?), kept the young 'uns occupied during the morning, and a well-stocked refreshment stand was set up to fuel everyone's hungry tummies afterwards. Apparently the R5-hotdogs were sold out in record time!

Some of the quads, just before the start - check out Aziz's little 50 in the foreground - it actually finished the entire ride this time, with only 1 slipped chain incident.
Big ups to Denver for assisting with Aziz through the difficult sections - he is now one youngster's hero and role model - especially when they both took a sharp left-hander on 2 wheels!


There were a good many kids on the ride, on a terrific assortment of quads, but these Cobras looked the best....


A budding quadder? Note the cotton wool earplugs!!! Young Jinesa enjoyed her outing, while Dad Thaven filmed part of the start for us.

Technical : 2 Stroke Explained

Fascinating technical piece, on 2-stroke engines, with an interesting explanation as to the importance of exhaust pipe design, as well as a nifty little animation....

Adrenalin Junkies/DICE Toy Run 2007 photo upload

A record turnout for a Zululand fun ride ? >100 entrants for the DICE Toy Run, and the weather played it's part too....

Watch this space for more pix, and a write-up of this fantastic event, ably hosted by Geoff & Crezelda Gray and Craig Byrne...(meanwhile, click on the photo to visit the online album, with all the uploaded photos gathered thus far)

Exploring Zululand

Dudes at the Dungeon!

Vimal hosted a couple of visitors on a wet ride from the Bay, through to Kwambo and back, stopping for some refreshments at the famous Dungeon....

Is Bigger Better? YFZ 450 vs 700 Raptor

This is becoming a very common question, on forums, BLOGs, and at RL (real-life) encounters....so get clicking to read QUAD Magazine's opinion....

Alton-Enseleni Outride 4 November 2007

A group of around 25 quads and a couple of bikes joined in on this outride towards Enseleni River, from the ASCENT workshops in Alton North....

Taking a short break under the pylons...

Len, about to mount up on his blinging YFZ

Tienie, matching his gear with his Kawasaki KFX400

At one stage one would have been forgiven for mistaking the event for a Raptor convention

This great-looking Banshee was the only of it's kind on the ride

That little 50cc quad breaks down on EVERY ride, and this time was no exception - after needing loads of restarts, and breaking its chain cover, the battery got too tired to start again...resulting in us towing it the rest of the way with the Trailblazer.

Check out our online albums for ALL the pics taken along the ride....

Test ride report : Honda Foreman with EPS

Click on the photo to read QUAD MAGAZINE's First Ride report on the Honda Foreman with electronic power steering. They also hazard a comparison with the performance of the quad that pioneered EPS technology, the Yamaha Grizzly 700, as ridden by Ari in this year's Quads4Quads event...

The Lone Ranger Rides

Mitch couldn't resist the offer of a Blaster for a day, and he ventured out into the Birdswood forests around Lake Mzingazi....

The Blaster, posing for Mitch, before burning up the dust again....

Finding some welcome shade, Blaster is thankful for a bit of rest from it's eager rider...

Warthog takes Mitch and Yolande on their 1st Forest outride

Mitch, on his way to the forest, unaware of the mud fury about to be unleashed on him....!

Yolande's 1^st outride with Warthog and yes she is full of mud....she likes to ride close to me and when I got stuck in the mud she got the full spray from my “Warthog”!
Next time, I am sure she will keep a safe, dry and mud free space between our quads...

Warthog, doing what he does best : getting stuck in the mud....

Houston: We have a problem : I still have fuel left, and the ride is over!!!
Like people who get paid to walk other people's dogs, I think we may need to look into paying people to ride with Mitch - the bug has bitten him so bad, he wants to ride all the time!!!

Our stop in the forest for a juice-break....total distance covered was about 40kms, and we all had fun!!!

submitted by Warthog

Event Notice :ZBA Year End Function - 15-17 December 2007

Click on this pic taken at the previous Nkwaleni Classic, to check details for ZBA's big quad/Mx end of year bust-up - 3 days of trail-riding in some of the best terrain in Zululand...!

FAST Mx Store - November Madness Clearance Sale!!!

For the folks in or near Richards Bay, swing by FAST, to take advantage of their AWESOME sale on ALL items in stock....!

10 tips for more horsepower

Check out this link to some easy steps to gaining HP on your quad bike. Tip #6 is the most interesting : "Ride regularly" !