Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Article : More about the HONDA TRX700 XXX


Check out this piece, with more dope on the latest big bore sport quad on the scene....courtesy of ATVriders.com

Monday, April 21, 2008

Article : Suzuki celebrates 25 years of ATV History


Suzuki lay claim to being the "First on 4 Wheels" - check out this article to read how they did it - courtesy of QUAD Magazine....

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Richards Bay to Jolly Rubino - Sunday 13 April

Ride Plan
Meet at 06h00 Richards Bay - Birdswood ride through the forest to the Sokulu area. Refuel and follow the coastal forest track behind the dunes to the car park at the Jolly Rubino. Lunch and then follow the same route back.

Logistics
The route is 125 km there and back so most bikes opted to carry extra fuel. Surgio's team were more organised with a support vehicle who met him at the 42 km point. 18 bikes with mixed riders, the youngest being 'Padda'. The weather forecast predicted rain from 05h00 onwards through out the day, however Sunday morning 06h00 dawned with blue sky and the occasional cloud. That was to change by 10h00, with enough rain to fill the dips in the track with water. This made the return leg home, fun.

Ride
We set off at 06h15 sharp and took the forest route to the Manzamnyama stream crossing where we crossed the tar road to RBM. A short stop at the 8km point and then pressed on passed the Kwambo forest station to the Langepan area. At this point one of the three bikes suffered gearbox failure. This left the bike in 4th gear with no other selections. He opted to follow the sand track home while the rest of the riders carried on towards Sokulu. The average speed up to this point was 40 to 50 km/h as most of the roads were gravel. At this point the we left the gravel track and headed through the sandy forest area with occasional grassy sections between the trees. These areas are always more interesting as the riders attention to bike control is more apparent. The pace slowed to 30km/h with the occasional straight sections where we had a chance to open the throttles a bit. Of course Stewarts Can-Am showed us up with massive blast of power and even challenging the two wheelers on top end. At Sokulu we reached the 42km point and had a chance to refuel some of the bikes while others took the opportunity for refreshments.



From here on the fun part of the ride really begins with a sharp, soft sand, climb up the hill into the dune forest area. This area is at an early stage of being cleared for future mining operations with evidence of new tracks. The track narrows as you descend the hill to the dunes behind the beech. The roller coaster ride continues to a clearing overlooking the beach. From here we were caught a glimpse of the approaching storm with rain. Within minutes the rain started falling and remained with us for most of the ride home.


We followed the roller coaster track till we arrived at the Jolly Rubino where the group again gathered for a quick photo and then headed for the limited cover offered by the forest trees. The group took the opportunity to have a bite to eat and a few refreshments with some laughs and stories of the previous Eastern Shores ride 4 weeks earlier.
Surgio spotted a soft front wheel on his quad and warmed up the 'tyre-weld' before inflating the tyre. Then a ride to spread the glue. By this time the rest of the group were keen to head up the hill towards the St Lucia light-house. At the top of the hill the rain let up and the group finished off the rest of the sandwiches before heading on.


The track heads back towards the road leading to the Mapelane reserve. Just before reaching the intersection the road forks and we headed left along the ridge back towards Sokulu. This gravel track is narrow and with the rain, the dips were filled with water. 'Warthog' Bruno could not pass up the opportunity. He headed, full speed into each puddle sending a spray of water wide enough to wet Surgio riding in front of him.


By 12h30 we were back at Sokulu intersection where some bikes took on their first refuel and others took on their second. The ride then lead back to the forest area on the way back home. By now the temperatures were down slightly with rain on and off. We opted to step up the pace as we headed for home. The average speed was up to 55 km/h on the straights. The lead riders missed the vital turn towards the Richards bay area and veered off towards the Bird Park. At the end of a long fire break they realised that the area looked unfamiliar and decided to wait for the rest of the group to catch up.

A fresh route was plotted for home and the riders made up some time on the straights till we arrived at the Manzamnyama stream. We had a last stop for rest, before heading back to Birdswood. We arrived at our starting point at 14h00.

Interesting to note was no incidents or near misses. This, for a large group is rewarding.

Well done to all 18 riders. See you again on the weekend.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Notice : Renette

It is with sadness that I post that Renette de Abreu passed away in hospital on Sunday, after being in ICU for about a week following an elective operation on her abdomen.

She will be sorely missed in the de Abreu family circle, and the Zululand offroad riding community.

There will be a memorial service and a wake taking place this Saturday 12th April, and a mass ride will be planned for later in the month.

Please join me in extending the warmest wishes, condolences and support to the de Abreu family and all of Renette's friends and extended family in this time of sorrow.

Aroon

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Article : First Ride on the Honda TRX 700 IRS


ATVRiders.com features a great test ride report on the newest big bore sport machine, on offer from Honda - click the pic to check it out!