Making final preparations now for the LDC, cant wait

major items to note

(1) sheared off front fork leg axle bolt
damn and f*&@!!

(2) decided gainst damper for now as it will not fit properly without a bumch of hassle.

(3) chopped michelins to fit

(4) final oil and filter, air filter change zzzzz.....

(5) Touratech still lost my IMO, getting worried.

42 days to go

Found photos of me on the El Chott 2003 at

http://news.marathonrally.com/index.1020.0.html

 a particularly good airborn shot, see photos section here for the best few.

Found a picture of me and my XR650R in Chris Scotts's new edition of 'Sahara Overland' !!Plus 2 other photos and a mention in the survival section!

Michelin Desert and mousses ready for fitting to bike

Seriously considering a W.E.R steering damper from CORE racing like Mick Extances XR650R I saw at the Dirt Bike Show. costs around £280 ouch! this is because footage of Libya on DVD makes me realise there will be alot of fast sections, and my wobble sets in at around 50 mph (not much!), waiting for more info from CORE.  www.coreuk.co.uk

Several sections have changed out of the original rally route and now the prologue is a 3 km circuit of an airstrip. a big dune crossing has been reduced due to safety concerns. and mandatory 1/2 hr stops included at scenic places for all competitors!

Still cant decide wether to take spare tyres (already have last years desert and mousees on) are the mousses too old?

all for now. K

Rebuilt cockpit with help of Andy Miller, see photos section.

(Mainly to strengthen existing rally cockpit frame and locate the GPS forward and allow it to swivel. The result is I can read both GPS and road book while standing on the pegs, also they swivel so I can get the position right when Im sitting down more than standing)

Paid for rally , with early bird discount, total came to EU 2380
about £1580

Serviced Suspension (rear shock was devoid of oil!, front oil too heavy)

Put new motocross Renthal handle bars

(wider and flatter than Renthal dakar bars. gives good ride position.)

Sent IMO for service
(internal battery was dead)

Had seat recovered and softened
(by www. motorcycleseatworks.co.uk)

Tested and Re-wired cockpit wiring extensively.

(wiring was always a problem, solderings came loose and rubbing causes failures etc. Tested on ridgeway, Oxfordshire and on Karims Thatcham Rallyraid of Discovery)

PS Karims Thatcham Rallyraid of Discovery is my own custom off road trail ride 48 miles as a loop from Thatcham, Berkshire. mostly green lanes and woods. highlights include a disused air strip and bi-planes to see,also a WW 2 army pillbox and an abandonned Honda C90 in the woods. Im Always willing to take people out on this trail, it if you're in the area let me know. it takes a full day.

Wheels are with Seal Moto for fitting of Michelin Deserts and mousses. due to pick up this saturday. Need to adjust rear sag up a bit (10mm)

Still to Do

Oil change notebook
Jaycloth experiment
Libya visa
5 oil filters
oil (1.4x 5= 7 litres)
jerry can?
12v socket
fit tyres and new chain and sprockets.
Cut deserts to fit.
radiator water
redo hot start filter
white sticky paper with mileage on it?
forge XR650R insurance
threadlock
eye drops - sachets
call TT 3 weeks from 16/11/04
book flights
change chain and  sprockets