The bikes have taken a real hammering on the way down here. All 4 bikes are showing some damage. The biggest problem for them has been the dust and the vibration of the corrugations on gravel roads. Of the 6000km ridden so far, about 2000km has been off asphalt...and gravel eats bikes. The constant corrugation vibration shakes them to bits and knackers the suspension. If the vibration doesn't get them, then the dust will.
So far:
-3 bikes have leaking right front suspension
-2 indicator stalks have been shaken off.
-Reiner´s Speedo cable was wrenched off twice
-Richard´s gear shifter is mangled after an encounter with the ditch.
-my speedo gave up after 2000km
-my bike needed a spot of welding to fix a small metal fatigue problem
-we have had 5 punctures between us
-the dust has caused all sorts of electrical switch gear problems.
These bikes will be in the garage for a serious overhaul after this trip but all-in-all they were a good choice for the ride. Enough grunt to be fun but not too heavy to be hard to handle in the soft stuff. Luckily, we didn't have to carry any luggage as all of that was in the pickup. This was touring for softies :-)
And for the next trip....
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