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
