The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
Technical Discussion => Ride Reports and Event Reviews => Topic started by: Danie on January 01, 2009, 03:03:37 AM
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Well, I am safely back at home after visiting my daughter in Johannesburg during the Christmas period.
After Christmas I also decided to spend two more days with my mother in the werstern Free State, and on my way back to Durban I decided to take an alternative (slightly longer) route - via Bloemfontein , capital of the Free State.
I eventually decided to use the Kawasaki for the long trip, and rather "save" the R65 for my dayly commuting needs at home.
I took a couple of pics during the trip :
http://s259.photobucket.com/albums/hh288/DaniesR65/
In total I have covered 1920 km in very nice weather / riding conditions.
Regards
Danie
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Thanks, Danie, for sharing your road trip pics. After viewing your "long, lonesome highway" shots believe you'd feel right at home cruising Kansas and Nebraska. Flatter'n a tortilla. Happy New Year :) Monte
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Great pictures Danie. Thanks for sharing them with us. Except for riding on the left side of the road, the wide open spaces remind me a lot of a trip I took through Texas. The Kawasaki looks like it handled the job quite nicely.
Checking the map I noticed that Bloemfontein is way "out of the way" coming back to Durban. Did you go up N3 & back N1 to Bloemfontein, followed by going through Bethlehem on the M5? Or go through Lesotho?
Lesotho looks pretty desolate.
Good to hear the weather cooperated this time and you arrived home with no unexpected "incidents".
Ed
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Monty, hopefully I will be able to cruise the US on a bike during a visit to my son somewhere in future - he is also a motorcycle enthusiast, and he is dreaming of taking me on a bike tour. Surely something to look forward to.......
Ed, apart from a miner carb problem on my way back - near Senekal (Free State), the old workhorse did handle the job quite nicely. About 30 km from Senekal, (where the road was quite bumpy), I suddenly noticed a sudden drop of engine power, and I could also smell petrol fumes. When I stopped, I noticed a serious flooding problem at one of the carbs. With no tools on hand :-[ I did not have any choice other than to carry on riding untill I reached Senekal, where I bought a screwdriver at a local farm store. I am still not sure what caused the carb problem - I opened the carb, but everything seemed to be in perfect working order . I have just put everything back in place, and I never experienced the same problem again.
As far as the route back from Johannesburg is concerned, I followed the N1 for about 110 km , but then took the road through Parys, Vredefort, Viljoenskroon, Bothaville, Hoopstad, untill I reached Hertzogville , a small town in the western Free State where my mother lives.
On my way from Hertzogville back to Durban, I went through Dealesville, then Bloemfontein, where I bought an electric fuel pump for my mother's car. I then went back to Dealesville, handed the fuel pump over to somebody my mother knows, then followed the road back to Bloemfontein, then Winburg, Senekal, Paul Roux, Bethlehem, Kestell, untill I reached the N3 at Harrismith.
Lesotho is an independant state (mountain kingdom), and South African citizens do need a valid passport to enter the territory. The highest mountains in southern Africa are situated in this area, and there are no short routes back to Durban through this area. In fact, it would not be possible to reach Durban via Lesotho without a proper offroad bike (in very good condition) or a proper 4X4 vehicle.
Regards
Danie
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For what it's worth, this pic shows the main route to Lesotho from Durban - only 4X4 vehcles are allowed on that pass. I once took the pic during a visit :
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And another pic of the same area :
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Danie - Thanks for sharing with us! I notice there was no Xmas wors on the braai - it all made me feel quite homesick!
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Hi Colin
We were having too much snacks and biltong during the morning, so we decided rather to leave the wors till the next day ! You probably noticed that there was not much food on my plate.......I did'nt even have desert.......
I hope this makes you feel better now :D
Happy new year ;)
Danie
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Great pics, Danie! Many thanks for bring a far away and exotic locale to our eyes! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]
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You're making me jealous.
I'm in the middle of my holidays still, having travelled 5000kms so far around australia. Currently in Outback South Australia and still over 2000kms to get home. Unfortunately it's not on a bike. I wish it was but the wife and two kids wouldn't fit.
Hope the new year is good to you all.
John