Basic Basil"s corner

Excellent pics and commentary Alex

Pics from Johnny & me: https://oscar.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Tussock-Adventure-2013/27458047_zPXQmf#!i=2309758257&k=VLLhWBF

Great pics, Oscar. I might as well give up now . Will you do a write-up for the mag?

Yeah, I have to review the Husky as well.

Ps. Mike stepped off the g/s on the way home. I need a throttle tube/heated thingo & grip, Rh cylinder head & Rhodes bag....

Hope Mike does not need anything.

I am guessing you need the valve cover and not the whole head? I have a spare one that's a bit rough, but doesn't leak, you can have that if you want. If you are desperate, I also have a good one, that you could use until you can find a replacement. Can't help you with the throttle assembly.

I liked the Husky, it handled the BP parking lot really well . I would have liked to try it on the tracks. It would make a good commuting bike for me and I could use it for part time adventure duties. Old Basil is pretty porky. Although, just like McCardigan, he carries his weight low.

The only drawback of the Husky seems to be its weight. But if it can handle what we did on that ride, it's probably all I'll ever need.

I have a stock throttle assembly sitting in my box of parts from schmidt if you want to borrow till a new one comes in. Mind you you're prob only down to 8 bikes in the shed now you could ride

I was going to adjust the valves on Basil and do an oil change, but I just can't get myself motivated.

Mike needs to stop being guilty about it
I said I knew that if we took it, there was always a chance of some fool binning it - and I was right

You're right, it's the valve cover and the throttle barrel/grip (which is heated), but all that stuff seems to be available.

Mike said the Husky was very good off road, which surprised him as he got the early impression that it was a bit of a road bike.

Don't exaggerate - it's seven (counting the Husky, and the Dnepr's on loan at the minute)...

Koko passed through here (Wellington) this afternoon on his way to the Dusty Butt. Rained on to Hunterville. Sloppy thru Turakina Valley Rd..

You suck koko

What happened to you Padmei? I thought you were supposed to be at the DB as well?

:eek1 Golf clubs ? When would you find time to use them ?

Coz I got my flunky (there in the pic) doing all the werk

Do you actually exist in real life, or just on the internet. I was so looking forward to meeting you. At least I know Woodman is real, he was bleeding, that's all the proof I needed.

Basil is fine, I have no idea were all that water in the tool tray came from, it hasn't even rained during the last three days. He did kill another bird yesterday. I must keep an eye on that. He sucks at river crossings, such a primadonna, it's embarrassing.

I've forgotten how often I had those carb bowls off. I must get that clutch fixed. It's impossibly hard to pull in. It's either on or off, no control possible. Surely that would explain some of my troubles. Going through at speed and then hitting a stone, could have been the other problem.

Another thing I've learned is, that if you drop the bowls, make sure that you don't knock off the carb balance hose. You bike will run like shit and not want to drop the revs. While that's not so bad going up the Carrick Town track, it's a pita on the way down. Thank god I had those new calipers. I would not have been able to slow the bike and the engine at the same time.

The ride was stunning. I have seen scenery I will never forget. Had a bit of time looking around the Dunstan road tussok hills, while reattaching the left carb. Basil was day dreaming and tried to run up a bank. Couldn't balance while trying to pull him off and he went down. He is a porky bugger, especially with a full tank. Beats standing by the side of the road though, while begging for fuel

I'll post a few pics once they are uploaded. It's painful to look at pictures on that other forum, that a lot of you like and I not so much.

So Padmei, you clearly missed an opportunity to watch me suffer and to test Basil's new suspenders. They are the bees knees, for sure. Several times I thought, this hole is going to do me in, but they did not even bottom out. The main stand did slam into the ground a couple of times, but that's more to do with the bumps than the suspension travel.

Thanks to Olli for navigating for me. He was my riding partner from Germany and he navigated seamlessly, assisted by Touratech navigation equipment. And he knows how to cross rivers. The price I had to pay for this service was a slightly slower pace and I had to eat a lot of dust. Mind you, had I had to navigate myself, even twice the speed would not have saved me.

Thanks to the kind people who got their boots wet while giving Basil as push. That the sort of selfless attitude that makes advriders special. No hesitation what so ever.

I witnessed some amazing riding skills. There is still a lot to learn. The women I saw were amazing..........and excellent riders not sure if I could have kept up. The couple who rode two up on that dirt bike, unbelievable. The guy with the yellow R1200GSA, I wish I could ride like that. One guy went up a silly steep rock face with his 950 super enduro.

All that, and I didn't even do one challenge section. Thanks, Aslan, for pointing me in the right direction. It was hard enough at times, just doing the normal ride. Apparently, we did manage a moving average of about 55km/h. That's probably acceptable.

Sounds like you had a great adventure & yes I am sorry I didn't catch up with you & see how many quirks Basil & Schmidt share.

I didn't end up going as I began watching the weather forecasts from about a week out. It looked like it was going to be dodgy on Friday,showers clearing on Sat & fine but cold on Sunday when I made the call not to go.
I have to admit I am a big pussy when it comes to cold wet weather - well biologically my body doesn't handle it that well. I did it last year & the warmest I felt during the whole weekend was when I had to do a bit of manhandling thru the snow. I can't honestly say I enjoyed the weekend as much as I thought I would and after riding out from the bach last Tuesday thru the heavy rain & cooler temp I was close to getting hypothermic, my body was rigid which affected my riding & my ring finger stayed white & numb for a bout 4 hours.

OK not meant to be a sob story but that's how it is with my body & cooler weather. Judging from the pics I've seen the weather was excellent for you all which is great. I spent my weekend squashing one of my knackers against the seat on Nordie & my trip over the Maunga on Sat then helping it swell during my long riding day over to Farewell Spit on the Sunday.

I will go down at some stage & do a few parts as well as try to get to the Nevis as it is sposed to be quite cool.

What is happening with your clutch ?

Koko, did you see the thread in water crossings? All good until you cover the carb float bowl breathers, by which time the cylinders are under anyway. Try not to pull in the clutch during crossings (easier said than done) - once the clutch gets wet, it can slip.

Padmei, I have never been so cold for so long. Every morning of every day I was cold for hours. The second day of the ride down to Tekapo was the worst. I got wet before getting into my rain suit at Amberley and it was cold. The clutch is really hard to pull in. My wife can't even make it move. It has been like this for years. So feathering the clutch was out.

I am off to bed, I am completely stuffed.

Koko - sounds as though you and your trusty steed Basil had a great time and survived - really pleased for you! I look forward to seeing your ongoing escapades with Basil. I'm hoping to make it to the BMWOR Rag Rally so hopefully we'll catch up there - Cheers S aka Aslan (now an OAP)

Unfortunately, the carbs were under water several times. It barely made it through the first part of the Fairlie River and then stalled. I needed a push to get out.

I then managed to drop the bike on the crossing with the broken bridge. Nothing to do with the depth, I guess I stepped into a deeper part and just lost it.

Later, on the little Omarama, there was a short, deep, rocky crossing. I think the water went up to the top of the front wheel, everything else was under. It kept going for a surprisingly long time. Pulling the clutch didn't hurt it. But then it dug itself a hole and that was it. It took three of us to drag it out.

Finally, still on the Omarama, I went too fast trough a relatively shallow but wide crossing, was going well until I hit a a largish stone, this time I got wet as well. Luckily, by then it was nice and warm.

It should be easy to improve on this performance, as it was quite pitiful.


I just found this, looks like he took a photo, too.