JayBo's Desert Challenge adventure

At the risk of copping a lot of flak for not yet finishing my 2009 Australasian Safari report (almost there people, just day 6 and 7 to go - it's in the Kiwi Forum), I have started a new thread for my trip to Abu Dhabi for the 2010 Desert Challenge. A slight departure somewhat from some of my previous threads because the bike build has been cut short and progressed straight to crating up. This is largely because the bike isn't a great departure to how I had it set up for the Aus Safari last year. I'll run through the differences at some stage and tell some of what is involved in doing an event like the DC as a newby to the overseas Rallye scene.

So the story so far, very broadly speaking but I'll get into some detail as the paperwork starts getting sorted, is that I have my tickets booked, my FIM licence on it's way in the post and my "Vehicle Import Approval" all signed up. The DC Regulations are supposed to be hitting the event web site tomorrow. More details over the coming weeks but for a taster, here's some piccies of the bike and my work for the day - crating the beast.

The left side looks pretty much as it did in the Safari. Only the telltale low exhaust on the other side and the extra junk on the handlebar starts giving clues of the changes required for the DC.
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I should at this time say a big thank-you to Robin (Indo2002) for loaning me his bash-plate, low exhaust system and rhs rear fuel tank . After getting some advice on fuel consumption in the sand dunes of Abu Dhabi, I decided to play it safe and set up for the extra fuel. The bike now carries 31.5 litres of fuel and 3 litres of water.
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A close-up of the dash view shows a few extras that are needed. The very top right instrument is the GPS repeater. This is used to indicate your direction as a compass heading. The off-piste navigation stages have you simply following a heading from one Waypoint to another. Similar navigation as they use on the Dakar. Then there's the big cradle mounted in the centre of the handlebars. This is the bracket for the Iritrack system that generates the compass heading and tracks the rider's course each day. It also indicates the Waypoints, except if there are hidden waypoints that the organiser can throw in there. It does several other things and maybe I'll explain them as I learn about them myself.
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So, having taken pretty piccies and been happy with the set up of the bike, it's time to shoehorn it in it's crate for the boat to Dubai. (I'm sending the bike to Dubai and I'll fly to Dubai as it's getting some "attention" there before heading to Abu Dhabi 130km away). Here's where I get to say another thank-you, this time to Rob (Rallye) our very own WA Dakar finisher, for lending me his crate . Not only is the alloy checkerplate and steel framed crate a heck of a lot better than my crate, but the bike might actually fit whereas "not a chance" with my crate.
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First step was to remove the nav tower as it's waaaay too tall. I re-wired the bike after the Safari, largely because there's so many new things to wire in but also to make things easy to unplug and replace. This has made removing the nav tower possible with minimum effort in wiring. There are a few "entrails" of wiring that run back to the battery, dust light and a few other odds and sods, but most things are pretty well contained on the tower or the handlebars and easily unplugged to separate.
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The next thank-you is to my wife who helped me get the front wheel off and the bike backed into the crate . Not an easy task I can tell you! Still a few things to go in but I need to spend some time sorting my boxes of spares and consumables to go in and also wrap the fairings in bubblewrap.
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In case you're wondering, the nav tower went in upside down bolted to the steering stem in the same way as it's normally mounted. The roadbook and ICO clears the front low guard with no adjustments to anything and the top (bottom) just clears the lid of the crate when the end section is bolted in place.
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Well that's it for tonight. More over the coming weeks. If there's anything you particularly want to know, yell out. Otherwise I'll just keep rambling along and get whatever diatribe I can dish .
Ciao
JayBo

You're livin' the dream Jaybo.

Subscribed !

:slurp!!!
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Looking good J That Meca gear is sooooo sexy

I have a question for ya, what economy (ks/ltr) do you get from the 530 in Safari conditions?

How much do you think the dunes in the Desert Challenge will affect it?

Have you considered running the HTR Oil Cooler?

Have you had any oil consumption problems?

What tyres do you use in the Safari, will you use the same in the desert challenge and what tyre pressure do you run or do you use mouse?

Yep, any tips on Ironing, Cleaning Bathroom, or other 'Brownie Point Acquisition Techniques', to be able to do this?

Exciting stuff John! I love reading your threads, lucky bugger.

Cheers, Richard.

Excellent!
Can't wait to meet you and your ride in AD!!!

You must have been stoked when you booked the tickets!

Looking awesome.

Give them an inch and they'll take a mile .

On the Safari last year I got around 12km/lt or 8lt/100km. That was on the big day where I did 284km on 23 litres.
I have been told by people that ride in the UAE dunes that I should allow for about double the fuel use:eek1 . Obviously it will depend on how much you use the throttle and how often you get stuck. Interestingly I'm told that the more economical a rider is in something like the Safari, the more fuel the same rider will use in the dunes. I think it's a case of ride too slow and you get stuck and end up using more fuel. Sounds like me!

I was lined up for a CPW oil cooler but they haven't finished the final production version in time for me to fit it, test it and be confident with it.

I have 72 hours on the 530 from four events - the Yilgarn Rallye, the Safari, the 2-day Des Nobles enduro and a 3 hour Ironman Pony Express. The bike hasn't needed a drop of oil between oil changes and I haven't noticed any oil consumption at all. The motor is fine.

I use Michelin Desert tyres for the Safari and have the same fitted for the Desert Challenge. I run an enduro Mousse in the front and a Rallye Mousse in the rear. I have changed the rear rim for a 2.5" wide rim to suit and run a cush drive rear hub.

Nope. :huh

That's a good question. One of the upcoming episodes will be a postmortem of my spares box. I'm taking minimum tools with me - just a few on the bike and relying on the service package for everything else.
I'm hooking up with the Gecko Racing team for my service and support. Sean Linton and crew know the DC inside and out and I am totally confident in them. For a first timer, it simply has to be the way to go. Can't go with Garry - I refuse to paint my KTM in Blue and Yellow. If I wanted a Suzuki or Yamaha I'd buy one. (He's also been "grounded" for a while )

To everyone else - thanks for your support. More soon.
Ciao
JayBo

Hey John, did that young fella Shcatt i think his name was, get a licence and stuff to run this year? Can't remember where the thread was.......

I asked Schattat the same question recently and got this response:

The thread is in the "Racing" section.

Yeah, I'm working on it as we speak.
The reason I didn't want to publish it in my thread was because I didn't want the German licensing federation to read about me getting it through Australia so they could "tell on me" to the FIM, although what I'm doing is 100% allowed!
I may have said a thing or two that wasn't appropriate (just kidding ).

I'm presuming you haven't put the 2010 rings in it John? I've only read about the HT Racing Oil Cooler from the USA. Have you had a look at it?
There's been quite a few reports of 2009 bikes using oil.....I've been investigating causes as my 400EXC is using some, everything from re-routing the valve cover breather to changing out the rings to the 2010 spec ones and checking for wrongly installed valve seals.....

Do you run the stock valve/crankcase breather set up?

The 400 runs the same piston as the 450/530, its just a shorter stroke.

Andrew

I thought all the issues were with the '08 530s and the '09s were fine and the issue is not with the rings but with the oil seal that separates the gearbox oil from the engine oil circuit. I believe it has something to do with the downstroke compression of the crankcase before the engine is fully started and the engine oil scavenging is working. I understand that oil seal was changed for the '09s, resolving the issues. Maybe only on some '09s?

I have a 2010 spec piston kit ready to go in if needed but this motor has been so good I'm taking it as a spare. I have a record of being very easy on gear so maybe that's why I have such great runs out of all my engines.

I haven't actually laid eyes on the HT oil cooler but I have seen a couple of Don's CPW ones. They have evolved to become what should be an excellent product and have been fairly torture tested by some mean throttle jockies!
Everything about my engine is stock except for the Dirt Tricks cam chain tensioner. Oil changes every chance I get (daily during the Safari and after every event otherwise - although I did do the first oil change at the lunch time service on the Yilgarn Rallye) using Motorex 10W60 full synthetic oil and no issues. What can I say?