Noah arrived yesterday on the back of Peter Bookey's F800GS after a ferry trip from Ireland,ready to take possesion of Luke Swab's(aka Fishfund) KTM 690 which has been resting at Rally-Raid's workshop since last year. After charging the battery on Luke's 690,it fired up first time!!!!!!!!!!!! So now it looks like it is going back to the USA the long way.,but first it needs a major service and plenty of love & attention. After a night of beer,fish & chips at the local pub,we awoke to find Noah & Peter eyeing up the new EVO 2 KTM 690. So it could be a big decision which 690 to ride,Fishfund's or the new EVO 2. We went to a local reservoir to try & get Noah some trout fishing arranged,then I set him on wiring in our new milling machine(well he has to pay for his lodgings somehow).
Noah spent today going over Luke's(Fishfund) 690,it actually looks worse than it is,it fired up and sounded great. He stripped off all the fairing and panels to assess what parts are needed.Maybe the rear tyre has 1 more trip left in it??? Also,Noah is getting interested in the new EVO 2 tank moulds being machined on our CNC mill,we might yet have a job for him
I want to thank all of you who have sent me emails, called, and helped me out. In the past couple weeks I have received hundreds of emails and messages from all over the world offering support. My family was very worried and I am not sure how I will ever express our gratitude to all of you who have helped me, a total stranger. A special thank you to: Peter Bookey of Aaron Rider Training Peter and his family gave me a place to stay, food, many pints of Guinness and a KTM 640 ADV to use for a couple days in Ireland. Peter took time off work to show me around the Emerald Island and I am very great full for our time together. It was great craic! Peter even gave me a ride to the UK on the back of his BMW. http://www.aaronridertraining.com Paul Rawlins of Celtic Rider Cycle Rental and Tours After searching for days to try to get insurance figured out on Peter's 640, Paul was able to insure me under his policy. This is the ONLY motorcycle rental company in Ireland. They are nice people and they have great machines. http://www.motorental.ie/ Greg McGarry of Boomerangtrackers.com Greg has given me a GPS tracker to be fitted to the next motorcycle. Please take a look at the new trackers available. They are not just for motorcycles. They have a 2 month battery life! www.boomerangtracker.com Jim ORegan and Family of Ceol Na Mara Jim and his family have a very nice Bed and Breakfast located in the town of Enniscrone on the Atlantic coast north of Balina. The rooms were clean and comfortable, the view was increadible and the traditional Irish breakfast was just what a traveler needs in the morning. I will never forget watching the surfers while the sun set over this beautiful town. http://www.ceol-na-mara.com/ Jackie and Brian Morgan of the Atlantic Villa Jackie and Brian bought the Atlantic Villa in Knightstown Valentia Island about 4 years ago. Since then they have been renovating it while keeping the history and charm alive. The Atlantic Villa used to be house of the Cable Master for the Trans-Atlantic telegraph line that was Valentia Island (most western inhabited point in Europe) to Heart's Content Newfoundland ( the most eastern point in North America). The views of the surrounding garden, town and island are incredible. Be sure to share a pint with Jackie and Brian at Boston's Pub a short walk from the Atlantic Villa. The muscles there are great. They also serve the traditional Irish breakfast and do a fine job of it! http://www.anirishexperience.com/ The John Murray Show on RTE Radio 1 Not once but twice John Murray had Peter and I call into his show. Within an hour I received over 30 emails from people offering Bed and Breakfast, and any other help you can think of. They even put a picture of my KTM that was stolen on their web page. Thanks again John. http://www.rte.ie/radio1/thejohnmurrayshow/ Paul (and community) from UKGSer Paul set up a fund raising thread on UKGSer to scrape together some money to help me out. Paul and Lucy met up with Peter and I on our way into the UK. Paul handed me an envelope with £700 in it. It was all I could do to keep from tearing up. Thank you all. http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=311061 John Mitchinson of Rally-Raid Products UK John called me when he heard of my misfortune and said he had a KTM 690 with a Michigan plate on it sitting in his shop. I was able to contact the owner Luke Swab http://www.lukeandnick.com/ and work out a deal with him. John has helped me with a shop, tools, parts, food, a place to stay and some great stories! http://www.rally-raidproducts.co.uk/ There are countless people who have helped to try to get my bike back. I am not sure if I will ever see her again but I am forever great full of you who have helped. You know who you are. I know I am going to miss something but there were countless other people on the Internet who shared my story on Facebook (Waterford Harley posted my email and it was shared 280 times), Biker.ie, HorizonsUnlimited.com, ADVrider.com, Broadsheet.ie, even the Irish times. My first night in Ireland I felt alone and helpless. I was considering going home and quitting my trip all together. In the past few weeks I have learned just how much support, love and hospitality that Ireland has to offer. My one regret is that I was not able to stay longer. I will return to see the people and places I missed and the new friends whom I might not have met. Thank you. Noah
<dl class="gallery-item col-4"><dt class="gallery-icon"></dt></dl> <dl class="gallery-item col-4"><dt class="gallery-icon"></dt></dl> <dl class="gallery-item col-4"><dt class="gallery-icon"></dt></dl> Noah has been burning the midnight oil here,and making a good job of refurbishing Lukes old 690.He has been down to Rally-Raid factory,filling his pockets with goodies to bring the bike up to scratch.
<dl class="gallery-item col-4"><dt class="gallery-icon"></dt></dl> <dl class="gallery-item col-4"><dt class="gallery-icon"></dt></dl> <dl class="gallery-item col-4"><dt class="gallery-icon"></dt></dl> <dl class="gallery-item col-4"><dt class="gallery-icon"></dt></dl> Noah has been pretty busy fabricating an alloy tool tray to go in place of the airbox,as Fishfunds old KTM 690 has a Uni-Filter fitted. It is looking pretty good now,not bad metalwork for an electrician!! He has also added our Rear Fuel Tank & Soft Luggage Frames to complete the set-up. He has had good news from his brother in USA,the new licence documents are on their way so he can carry on with his trip.
That is a great spot for a small aux fueltank, i know that it has been done with great sucess i aluminium! Maybe some one like rally raid uk could start production in plastic or aluminium... I think there should be room for 5 litres extra fuel.
<dl class="gallery-item col-4"><dt class="gallery-icon"></dt></dl> <dl class="gallery-item col-4"><dt class="gallery-icon"></dt></dl> After a full few days fixing bikes,Noah cooked us a fantastic pad thai stir fry last night,it was great.We hope to have his documents arrive tomorrow from US by Fed-Ex,then he can carry on with his RTW trip. Thanks to Wesley Beane(aka Beaney from ADV) for re-mapping Noahs new steed,hes worried hell be spending too much time on the rear wheel!!!!
We had good news today.Noah got his new licence plate for Luke's 690 from the USA,so he is now good to carry on with his trip.We also went to Rod's house here in the UK,who has a mint Montesa trials that noah took a shine to,it's definitely too good to ride off-road!!
can Confirm that the KTM has been recovered on Wed the 29th on foot of a Ransom ... and I have it In my Van will make arrangements to get it sent to the UK Shortly I just hope we are not making it more Lucrative for the Scumbags to rob machines in future , there has been a lot of intervention from People local in Dublin in Securing the machine , and becuase of this no names will be mentioned and the bike seems in God condition considering what it has been through __________________
he can do like in New Zealand in the 30's and use both bikes instead of 2 horses and pull a chariot 70th anniversary of Motorcycle Chariot Racing at Palmerston North this weekend As part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of speedway at Palmerston North, one of the guests will be Maurice Andrews. Andrews has a special place as he is the lone survivor of one of the strangest and shortest lived at one meeting events at the venue. In 1935, Andrews and Laurie Burns turned up with Harley Davidson 794 motorcycles, welded together to form a chariot. Controlled by reins from the throttle to the charioteers, things didnt go as planned "Unfortunately we didn't have brakes on them and when Laurie's bike headed to the wall, he couldn't control it. Laurie hit the fence pretty hard . . . that was the end of our chariot racing." Andrews said it was difficult controlling the two bikes around the cinder track "We had reins from the throttle back to us in the chariot and and when we wanted to turn a particular way, we opened up one of them by pulling on the rein. When we wanted to stop, we just had to coast around the track until they stopped," he said. Andrews, who will attend the 75th anniversary of speedway in Palmerston North this weekend is hoping it won't just be as a spectator. "I'd be keen to get on a bike and have a ride around the track." http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/s...riot-Racing-at-Palmerston-North-this-weekend http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upqyQ5DZctI
You guys over there are great... Glad the bike was recovered... Not sure about the term you used but it sounds like you got it back using a reward?? K
So great to see all of the help that was offered up and I love that the bike was recovered...I hope the asshat that took it was soundly beaten
