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Cornshield Road Trip 2017

15K views 85 replies 15 participants last post by  phelonius 
#1 ·
Yes, I'm back on the road again for the 3rd year in a row. . . .

The only concern at the moment is that my bike is not running perfectly, after searching for 3 weeks it looks like the cause of the problem is a faulty CDI, and I cannot wait for a month for Yamaha South Africa to import a new one from Japan so I decided to go ahead with the road trip, but I'm taking it easy with the bike.

Why did I go ahead with my road trip? I've been looking forward to this for the whole year and the problem is small enough for me to handle at the moment.

A new coil and spark plug cap improved the performance but my bike is still hesitating lightly when I'm cruising, the upside is that around 6000 - 6500 rpm the bike goes fine with about 80-90% power delivery, so I stay in that range when cruising which means that I travel at about 60 - 70 mph with my 15/42 sprocket combination which is OK with me

I had a very busy year so I decided to start my road trip at the same place where I went last year because this is the ideal place to unwind, so I travelled the 230 miles to Amphitheatre Backpackers which took me about 5 1/2 hours with more than an hour in the driving rain with a lovely strong crosswind blowing over the road.



Upon arrival I was pleasantly surprised to find a group of 8 bikers from Durban on a weekend getaway and as usual they were astonished that there is someone who is actually touring with a TW200

1 Yamaha Super Tenere, 1 KTM and 6 BMW's in total





Early this morning the guys had to start packing and head back home





In the meantime yours truly had 3 mugs of coffee and 2 mugs of tea (no joke) to recover from the previous day and to look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed again . . .

 
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#2 · (Edited)
Mooi, man! (South African for “nice, man!” or “well done, man!).
 
#3 ·
Go Corn Go!! :p
 
#5 ·
Tom - Just imagine working a 12 hour shift where you are working in a busy restaurant, then go home and try to get 5 hours of sleep, then get up and work non stop for 4 hours trying to fix your bike and to pack for the road trip at the same time and then to get onto the bike for 5 1/2 hours hoping you will make it to your destination before night and praying the bike will make it all the way. . .

What do you get? A severely dehydrated person waking up the next morning!
 
#8 ·
Cornelis and the five cup challenge

I have to ask, after those five cups that morning just how far down the road did you get before dashing into the bushes?

Also, it probably didn’t bother you too much that the petrol tank required frequent stops on the way north.
 
#9 · (Edited)
I had my 5 cups after the long trip bro, and I'm travelling South not North!

After a tough year I'm using this first week just to unwind and relax and the only work I'm doing is on my tan which is non-existent at the moment.

Laying next to the pool or on a comfortable sofa with a good book is my main activity

What book am I reading? What I saw at the revolution by Peggy Noonan, wow, really a fascinating book, I'm enjoying every page!

Check out the the lovely scenery

 
#10 ·
Lucky Dawg... :grommit:

:eek:ccasion14:
 
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#11 ·
Yes, I'm back on the road again for the 3rd year in a row. . . . In the meantime yours truly had 3 mugs of coffee and 2 mugs of tea (no joke) to recover from the previous day and to look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed again . . .




Now this is the way life should be spent!
 
#13 ·
I know you did, go enjoy yourself!! :D
 
#14 · (Edited)
I'm still relaxing over here in the Drakensberg mountains and I've got some good news - I met an Australian biker with a Honda 250cc Baja today and we are travelling in the same direction so it looks like I have a travelling partner for the next week or two

His name is Stuart and he's been travelling from Uganda Central Africa in an old Land Rover to South Africa, he originally bought himself a secondhand Suzuki DR 650 in Uganda but the mechanics that was suppose to service his bike completely messed it up, now he was able to get the Honda Baja from a friend in Johannesburg, I will post some photo's of him and the bike tomorrow!

I spend some time with a potential future TW rider today . . . .



I went to the local pizza place today and I had lunch with 3 French tourists, they recognized the TW and they told me that the TW is popular in France also, mainly on the farms in the country.

 
#15 ·
More!! More!! More!! :D
 
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#16 · (Edited)
Into the Drakenbergs on a TW225: There be Drrragons

The Drakensberg mountain randge stretches for hundreds of miles with peaks of 11,000 feet.

Drakens translates from Afrikaans as dragons. Cornelis knows this.

Boetie, watch the skies as you ride through those foothills and canyons.
 
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#18 ·
Yes sir, that pumper carb is making a big difference thank you

In the first place I have some good news to share with you guys:

After struggling for a month with my bike that kept on hesitating and stuttering it finally looks like I found the cause of the problem, one of the 10 wires that goes into the CDI was pinched and the copper on the inside broke off while the plastic insulation still looked fine on the outside.
I replaced the faulty wire and it looks like my bike is a 100% back to normal again.



I went for a short test ride and the area around here is beautiful farmland, as you can see the future is Green, John Deere Green, its a pity I couldn't take a picture of the tractor and my bike standing next to each other



and then I'm glad to announce that the Great South African Tradition of Camping and Caravanning is still alive and well over here. Every year tens of thousands of campers and caravanner's tour down over December to the caravan parks and camp sites all over the country and for me personally I prefer this holiday far above a holiday in a hotel.

Here is a family arriving at a caravan park that is nearby the backpackers where I'm living

 
#19 ·
I noticed the Amphitheatre Backpackers Lodge is a located a bit of a walk away from the Drakensberg range mastiff. Assume there are shuttles to transport actual backpackers to the mountains or do you healthy Afrikaners just hike directly from the lodge? View attachment 142969
 
#21 · (Edited)
Well, that is a very good question Fred, as a matter of fact more than 95% of the guests at the backpackers are actually international travellers, mostly from Europe, I met some from Canada yesterday, not from the USA yet but I'm sure I'm going to

There is a daily shuttle for them from the backpackers to the mountains where they participate in a strenuous 5-6 hour hike to the top of the amphitheatre and back.
 
#22 ·
Very pleased you found the running issue. This successfully brings your major rebuild to a satisfying conclusion. How did you finally identify the problem?

Is this your final destination or do you have other plans on this vacation?

I am enjoying this South African journey without the 60 hour round trip seat time.
 
#23 ·
Thank you Cascade Rider,

I could see the pinched wire earlier this year but I left it alone because the bike was still running perfectly and then I started suspecting that the copper on the inside might have broken off in the meantime, so I finally got around to replacing that wire today.

Yes I want to continue down to the Eastern Cape early next week, I'm still unwinding at the backpackers, this one is situated at such a beautiful location that I decided to stay longer
 
#24 ·
I'm still at the same place and planning to leave tomorrow to continue the road trip, weather permitting, its been raining constantly on and off throughout the whole week so I'll see how it looks like tomorrow morning, I have rain gear with me also.

The sun came out yesterday morning for a few hours and this is the view of the camp site with the mountains in the background from the balcony where I spent most of my time reading and relaxing



I went for a hike this morning and then I went for a short cruise to the local Pizza Restaurant today, the Cornshield is up and running and purring like a kitten, I'm really itching to get back on the road again!

 
#25 · (Edited)
Arrived at Sani Backpackers Lodge last night just before dark, cold, wet and exhausted but satisfied at the same time, luckily there was a fire in the living room burning where I was able to defrost myself

I spend about 6 hours travelling 120 miles from the north of the mountains to the south where the first 60 miles went relatively easy but the second 60 miles was quite a challenge, I was riding on a dirt rode which turned into a muddy mess under a constant drizzle, with the bike slipping and sliding underneath me.

I had to slow down and actually duck-walk the bike to prevent me from falling over a number of times, once I dropped the bike and I was too tired to pick it up but luckily a farmworker on a tractor came past, stopped and help me to pick up the bike.

This area of South Africa is amazingly beautiful and scenic with dairy farms and National Parks and State Forests all along the way.





I was itching to get back on the road again but at the same time I was wary of the ominous build-up of the rain clouds in the morning



I took this photo just before the dirt road started and it was already starting to rain lightly, the most beautiful countryside.

From here on I had to wrestle to keep the bike going.



 
#27 ·
Brother Corn's famous for epic trips. This is as good as donuts. :p
 
#28 ·
Lesotho

Cornelis,

Your map shows your path going from Mooi River right to the Lesotho border. I figure this is a typical google error. You’re not going into that 17th century country on your own? Eish!

Three years ago my son and I vacationed in the Drakensbergs as part of a month tour of your country. We briefly considered 4x4ing into Lesotho for the high adventure. From the Canadian Government travel advisory site we learned that that it has:

- No ambulance servive. Anywhere
- Hospital care available only in the capitol city
- Cash only for medical care
- Police only function in daylight hours
 
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