Author Topic: Journey to see TTR400 in South Africa (Read 5540 times)

andy750 · « **on:** November 03, 2018, 12:32:01 PM »

Kevin (TTR400) rode across America and parts of Canada a few years back and I was lucky enough to meet him in Boston. I told him then that someday I would visit his country and come see him...well that day has come. I an enroute to South Africa to see Kevin (eventually).

But first...ride a Honda Africa Twin in Africa....Cape Town to be exact. I have been wanting to test ride one for years now having wanted to buy the original...something about the name, fact that it’s a Honda, rally bike...I was hooked.

One of the things on the bucket list (after seeing it on Long Way Down) is to ride Chapman Peaks Drive and stand on Cape of Good Hope...where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean.

Pick the bike up Tuesday stay tuned...

Cheers
Andy

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754 · « **Reply #1 on:** November 03, 2018, 01:11:43 PM »

So Very Cool Good Luck..
Yeas, I had the good fortune to spend some time with Kevin on his way thru as well.

Tim2005 · « **Reply #2 on:** November 03, 2018, 03:29:01 PM »

Nice one Andy, have a great trip. Am looking forward to the updates.

ekpent · « **Reply #3 on:** November 03, 2018, 06:30:58 PM »

I am looking forward to pictures and hopefully more dialogue.

Stev-o · « **Reply #4 on:** November 03, 2018, 09:42:05 PM »

Safe travels....subscribed

MoMo · « **Reply #5 on:** November 03, 2018, 10:26:28 PM »

subscription sent in, looking forward to photos Andy...Larry

MRieck · « **Reply #6 on:** November 05, 2018, 03:27:13 AM »

Quote from: 754 on November 03, 2018, 01:11:43 PM

So Very Cool Good Luck..
Yeas, I had the good fortune to spend some time with Kevin on his way thru as well.

Me too. Had a great afternoon of conversation.

Duke McDukiedook · « **Reply #7 on:** November 05, 2018, 09:50:55 AM »

What year twin are you getting to ride? Sounds like fun.

70CB750 · « **Reply #8 on:** November 05, 2018, 10:31:51 AM »

Following

andy750 · « **Reply #9 on:** November 06, 2018, 08:04:25 AM »

5 min ago....riding Franschhoek pass

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andy750 · « **Reply #10 on:** November 06, 2018, 08:05:40 AM »

End of the day no traffic!

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Duke McDukiedook · « **Reply #11 on:** November 06, 2018, 09:07:05 AM »

Oh, a new one!
Looks nice, if I was looking to buy a new bike this would be pretty high up on the list.

ofreen · « **Reply #12 on:** November 06, 2018, 10:44:14 AM »

Quote from: andy750 on November 03, 2018, 12:32:01 PM

stay tuned...

Cheers
Andy

I am tuned in. This will be a good one. I’ll be interested in your impressions of the bike.

andy750 · « **Reply #13 on:** November 06, 2018, 12:28:24 PM »

Yesterday we had gone to the tip of the Cape peninsula - Cape of Good Hope where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean.

Then onto Table Mountain overlooking Cape Town and Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela had been imprisoned - you can see it in the photos below)

This morning we left Simons Town which is on the Cape peninsula outside Cape Town. First we saw the penguins

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andy750 · « **Reply #14 on:** November 06, 2018, 12:33:16 PM »

Then picked up the 2017 Africa Twin and hit up...a winery

Post House Wines - site of the old post office - every bottle tells a story about a stamp

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andy750 · « **Reply #15 on:** November 06, 2018, 12:44:37 PM »

And then it was time to hit the road...riding an Africa Twin in Africa. Leaving the winery the view was amazing

Then it was up Rt 310 to Stellensbosch

Before arriving in Franschhoek

And staying at another vineyard

Converted stables

And no sooner had we arrived then I took off to ride Franschhoek pass before it got dark

will do it again tomorrow heading for the coast

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andy750 · « **Reply #16 on:** November 06, 2018, 12:49:14 PM »

So impressions of the Africa Twin so far....easy to ride straight away. Have not changed any ride settings. Just twisted the throttle and went. Feels planted in corners even with the dirt tires. Feels good on dirt roads but it’s still a big bike - feels size wise the same as my VStrom DL1000 but with better acceleration. Aside from that just easy to ride. Not super fast but steady and predictable. A little underwhelming but that’s not a bad thing. It’s easy to drive.

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Stev-o · « **Reply #17 on:** November 06, 2018, 02:01:22 PM »

Spectacular!!! Thanks for sharing, you lucky dog!

Duke McDukiedook · « **Reply #18 on:** November 07, 2018, 10:25:25 AM »

Awesome pictures man. So is your twin the manual or auto trans?

andy750 · « **Reply #19 on:** November 07, 2018, 01:21:42 PM »

Thanks Dukie! It’s a manual Africa Twin. I would have chosen the 2018 DCT but apparently it had been crashed the week before.

So today I headed from the mountains to the coast and saw some interesting dirt roads in between. What could be better for an Africa Twin but dirt roads in Africa? Time to get the bike dirty....

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andy750 · « **Reply #20 on:** November 07, 2018, 10:05:24 PM »

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andy750 · « **Reply #21 on:** November 07, 2018, 11:55:38 PM »

The bike did well on the loose gravel and washboard. The rider was probably more nervous on the bike

some steep hills to go down made it exciting.

And then it was the coastal route including Clarens Drive...no traffic lots of parking spots for photos, tight twisty curves and nice sweeping corners:

And that was it for the Africa Twin adventure...bike successfully dropped off at the end of the day.

Next stop on the trip is a self-drive 4x4 camping tour in Namibia to see the desert...should be interesting!

Cheers
Andy

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Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er · « **Reply #22 on:** November 08, 2018, 06:47:40 AM »

Wow Andy! Very envious. Enjoy and keep up the reports.

MoMo · « **Reply #23 on:** November 08, 2018, 06:51:23 PM »

Cool stuff, Andy. has anyone read Riding The Edge by Dave Barr? His travelogue of Africa is a tad bid different than yours....Larry

andy750 · « **Reply #24 on:** November 10, 2018, 06:13:01 AM »

Yes I am travelling a little different than my usual slumming it. We are now in Namibia in the desert and it’s 40C...sorry very slow internet

Pretty dead

Lots of sand dunes

Onyx crossing the road

Our current mode of travel

Self dining

Ok off to see the sunset over the dunes...think English Patient (the movie)

Cheers
Andy

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Author Topic: Journey to see TTR400 in South Africa (Read 5540 times)