Sitting in
the middle of a desert in my red hot office “working” away I seem to have let
my mind drift slightly. Inevitably it
has run aground on a motorcycle shaped island.
It’s one I know well, it’s my actual bike and my mind’s eye is taking a
tour of her and coming up with all sorts of conclusions:
The base
bike, a 2011 Triumph Tiger 800XC, is a very good bike. It’s not the best but it is very good.
“Then why
have you spent so much time and money changing her?” A voice cries. I think its
my conscience wanting justification.
With the peace and quite shattered I go on the defencive.
“It is
simple really. I have either improved
her survivability, rideability or reliability.
All things I need if I’m going to ride in inhospitable places.
For
survivability I have added armour to the bottom, flanks and handle bars. I’ve even cut the screen down so that if she
flips it can’t dig into the ground and rip the front off the bike; it happened
to a friends BMW. And I’ve changed the
rear brake and gear levers after they got damaged off-road. Now they are better positioned and stronger.
In terms of
ridability I have raised the handlebars, adjusted the foot controls, added a
lovely comfortable sheep skin to the seat.
It has been amazeballs! Cool in
the heat and warm in the cold. The cut
down screen helps by keeping me cool. Placing
the GPS just below eye level, so I don’t have to look down and away from the
road, this should increase my survivability!
To address the reliability I’ve added an extra air filter, replaced the
OE filter with a freer flowing one and balanced this with a freer flowing
exhaust. The oil is changed regularly
and I use a performance oil filter to help the engine work at its optimal level. That’s where the money and time has gone.”
“oh, but
what about the other stuff? What about
the action camera, the fancy luggage, the rotapax fuel carri….. I get it.
We are a biker and that stuff is shiny.
We wants is don’t we, we needs it,
yes… We needs it for my precious. My
preciousssss”
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