My mates Honda Africa Twin

[Greybeard]

A friend stayed overnight on his way to Yorkshire.
https://youtu.be/_2D_JMj9Mmg

[RDfella]

Ok, how do you get on the bl**dy thing? Like knights of old when dressed in chain mail, craned on from above?

[Greybeard]

Ok, how do you get on the bl**dy thing? Like knights of old when dressed in chain mail, craned on from above?

When I stood beside it I realised how flipping high it is. I prefer my Plungie.

[groily]

Ok, how do you get on the bl**dy thing? Like knights of old when dressed in chain mail, craned on from above?

Your manservant gives you a leg-up RD I think. Or you have nice friends like GB to help. Or maybe they are supplied with a retractable step-ladder that can double up as an extra pannier frame for those of us who haven't got any servants or friends?
All I know is that I couldn't get on one, and if craned on would have to be craned off again! Loads of modern bikes are ergonomic nightmares for all bar the very supple. I tried to sit on a Ducati the other day, a sporty one of some sort. I couldn't operate gears or brake pedal. But when I heard it run I didn't want to be anywhere near it anyway - the excruciating clutch rattle scared the hell out of me, and my dog. Never heard anything that is 'meant to be like that' that is so off-putting.

[KiwiGF]

My KTM is the same sort of bike, I love it, I go places I wouldn’t have otherwise have gone, and as NZ has a comprehensive network of gravel roads, especially around where I live, I don’t get bored riding the same tarmac/sealed roads all the time.

You can get suspension lowering kits and lower seats, and there are techniques that can be learnt for shorter riders, but they are generally “tall”.

Yes my brother dumped his 1100GS in some deep sand 🤣 (it weighs 30kg more than the KTM which doesnt help)

[Greybeard]

New Zealand looks great 👍

[KiwiGF]

Here’s some more pics GB

The A10 is pretty good on gravel (narrow tyres help) but the bumps can be very hard on the old bikes, and you really should have a top class air filter due to the dust. You can drop the KTM and probably not get much damage, if any, not so the old bikes.

I do sometimes use my B44 for the shorter gravel rides, but that still seems a bit cruel! It’s only got a couple of inches of rear suspension travel, vs around 9” on the KTM

Odd thing is with the prices of old bikes, I reckon my B44 is probably worth more than my KTM, and my A10 definitely is worth more.

Basically one needs many bikes, one for each purpose (try explaining that to “mission control” eh)