Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum
Royal Enfield Motorcycles => 411 & 450 Himalayan & Scram => Topic started by: Richard230 on September 09, 2019, 02:09:54 pm
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Itchy Boots has just published a new video describing her new gear and luggage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1_EecI70W0
The "Mosko moto" soft luggage really has me scratching my head. It seems very well constructed and also looks waterproof. But it sure looks complicated to me. It is full of relatively small waterproof compartments, mounts using lots of straps and just plain looks over-engineered for usage that is going to include being removed and reinstalled every day. Plus, I am not too sure how secure it will be when Noraly leaves her bike parked somewhere when she goes for a hike to check out an interesting sight, or takes a break to have lunch during the day while traveling in the Americas - where they don't chop off hands if you are caught stealing. (The U.S. west coast police policies for theft is described as "catch and release".)
It seems to me that the aluminum expedition hard luggage used on Basanti is a much better solution for a long-distance traveler, which is why it seems to be installed on every ADV motorcycle that wants to look like it is capable of going around the world. Besides, how are you going to cover that soft luggage with travel stickers? ::) Getting free stuff is nice, but after a few months on the road it might start getting a little old. :'(
What do you think? ???
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Itchy Boots has just published a new video describing her new gear and luggage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1_EecI70W0
The "Mosko moto" soft luggage really has me scratching my head. It seems very well constructed and also looks waterproof. But it sure looks complicated to me. It is full of relatively small waterproof compartments, mounts using lots of straps and just plain looks over-engineered for usage that is going to include being removed and reinstalled every day. Plus, I am not too sure how secure it will be when Noraly leaves her bike parked somewhere when she goes for a hike to check out an interesting sight, or takes a break to have lunch during the day while traveling in the Americas - where they don't chop off hands if you are caught stealing. (The U.S. west coast police policies for theft is described as "catch and release".)
It seems to me that the aluminum expedition hard luggage used on Basanti is a much better solution for a long-distance traveler, which is why it seems to be installed on every ADV motorcycle that wants to look like it is capable of going around the world. Besides, how are you going to cover that soft luggage with travel stickers? ::) Getting free stuff is nice, but after a few months on the road it might start getting a little old. :'(
What do you think? ???
Have you told HER? :) :)(http://)
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Who finances this women? and I don't believe she does all these travels without full back up, so what's the point if you've full back up, it defeats the object of solo travel, Ted Simon comes to mind for solo travel no Youtube then to show off your latest donation from a supplier, no camera to play up to with a fresh tarted up face with lippy and eye crap. Total fraud I reckon.
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Have you told HER? :) :)(http://)
Too late for that. Never look a gift horse in the mouth. Besides she seems happy with her gifts and she will find out during her trip how well they work. While I do like to give advice, I don't like to throw a wet blanket on anyone's happiness - unless they are a politician, of course. ;)
Noraly has said in the past that she is financing her travels with money that she earned while working at a former job. I guess there are worse ways to spend your money. I doubt that any company is subsidizing her travels because if they were I am sure that we would not only hear about it but also see ad stickers on her motorcycle - like there are on her new luggage. ;)
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I just yesterday learned the benefits of hard side cases......I had mixed feelings before.......when my Suzuki VStrom 650 fell off of the side stand and onto me as I was kneeling. The side stand is easily folded and it happened suddenly. The bike ended up resting on the left side pannier, which helped protect me and made it MUCH easier to lift the bike up, being that it weighs around 480lbs. So, I like the Mosco stuff she got, but I will stick with the AL cases on the Strom and on the Himalayan that seems to be calling my name, though it may be the new 650 Himalayan that is rumored.
9fingers
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Who finances this women? and I don't believe she does all these travels without full back up,
I do, she said that she sold her house and and other stuff to finance the trip. She has said on more than one occasion the no one is financing her, apart from donations on her website from people who enjoy her videos - like me.
so what's the point if you've full back up, it defeats the object of solo travel,
As above, she's doing it because she wants to. She is only recently [since she arrived home] getting some sponsorship for her next adventure, which I hope to follow on youtube.
Ted Simon comes to mind for solo travel no Youtube then to show off your latest donation from a supplier, no camera to play up to with a fresh tarted up face with lippy and eye crap.
Ted Simon was sponsored by the Daily Telegraph and Triumph motorcycles, probably others too. He sent in regular[ish] reports which were published in the paper.
Total fraud I reckon.
I reckon you're wrong.
Frank
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Who finances this women? and I don't believe she does all these travels without full back up, so what's the point if you've full back up, it defeats the object of solo travel, Ted Simon comes to mind for solo travel no Youtube then to show off your latest donation from a supplier, no camera to play up to with a fresh tarted up face with lippy and eye crap. Total fraud I reckon.
"Who finances this women"? (the singular is WOMAN). I do (as some others here do). I sent her a tank of gas three times over her trip because I think she did "one hell of a thing" !
I have watched Every Single Episode of her trip and I have seen ZERO hint of ANY back-up crew and believe me, I am the world's most cynical man. I am ALways looking for the scam in EVerything because there usually is. Not with this woman. I found no sense of scam in her. What the hell gives you the bona fides to trash this woman?? Let's hear about your latest 9 month solo tour of somewhere.
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I just yesterday learned the benefits of hard side cases......I had mixed feelings before.......when my Suzuki VStrom 650 fell off of the side stand and onto me as I was kneeling. The side stand is easily folded and it happened suddenly. The bike ended up resting on the left side pannier, which helped protect me and made it MUCH easier to lift the bike up, being that it weighs around 480lbs. So, I like the Mosco stuff she got, but I will stick with the AL cases on the Strom and on the Himalayan that seems to be calling my name, though it may be the new 650 Himalayan that is rumored.
9fingers
That was the first thing I thought of also. I don't get her logic (because she hasn't explained it) of the soft bags over the hard cases. To me, it seems like the hard cases worked really well for her esPECially when the bike gets dropped. But she certainly outweighs me in Around The World Solo knowledge so waddoowyno? :)(http://)
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Well that fired some of you up, I can't account for 9 months but I've just done 2 months around the Swiss Alps on my 16 yr old 500 Enfield. Solo... I will add and at 73 no back up, no freebies, no film crew, no selfies, just me my bike and camping gear.
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Well that fired some of you up, I can't account for 9 months but I've just done 2 months around the Swiss Alps on my 16 yr old 500 Enfield. Solo... I will add and at 73 no back up, no freebies, no film crew, no selfies, just me my bike and camping gear.
Well done you. Why not write about it and post in the Trips/Ride reports section?
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Well that fired some of you up, I can't account for 9 months but I've just done 2 months around the Swiss Alps on my 16 yr old 500 Enfield. Solo... I will add and at 73 no back up, no freebies, no film crew, no selfies, just me my bike and camping gear.
So Noraly has recorded her adventure and put it on the internet for public scrutiny, but you reckon she's a fraud.
You 'say' you've done done 2 months around the Swiss Alps on your 16 yr old 500 Enfield. Solo but with no evidence of it, and expect us to believe you?
Perhaps you should think twice before you criticise other people?
Frank
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Noraly has said many times she doesn't have a support crew. Also, in many of her videos she has held her GoPro out and made 360 degree pans showing everything around her in all directions. No where in sight is there another vehicle or person. Just miles of vistas in all directions.
I'm sure she has used some of the gas money people have sent to her account for things like food and hotels but as far as I'm concerned, good for her. Those funds were sent to help her in her adventure and she is using them.
As for the soft luggage, I agree with the folks who are leery of using it. The hard bags can carry more stuff and their locks make it more secure than any soft bags can do. If I were her, I would thank the people who donated her free soft bags but ask them if they don't have some hard bags with secure locks on them.
Richard230 is right about the thieves in the US but there are just as many of them in South America and Mexico.
Removing temptation by having locking luggage is a good thing.
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Richard230 is right about the thieves in the US but there are just as many of them in South America and Mexico.
Removing temptation by having locking luggage is a good thing.[/size][/size][/size]
I worry about this upcoming trip way more than the trip she has just completed. And I'm concerned not about the terrain or the weather or anything other than her own personal safety especially if she manages to survive and get through Columbia and gets into Panama. Then she has to survive El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico. And that's just a good start. She then has to survive the millions of shitheads we've allowed to flourish here in the U.S..
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I was just thinking after reading some of the later comments that a bit of Youtube fame might bring a bit more attention to oneself but then I don't think it harmed Charlie and Ewan travel wise.
Admittedly things were a little different then though media wise. Not quite as instant as it is now. And to think it wasa not even 20 years ago. Time is moving far too fast imo lol
Not watched all the series though. I started some months ago and kinda forgot. Must return to it.
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Itchy Boots published a new video today (Sept 15) showing the taller windshield she bought.
It looks like it should help reduce the "wind in the face" problem other riders are having with the stock windshield.
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Itchy Boots published a new video today (Sept 15) showing the taller windshield she bought.
It looks like it should help reduce the "wind in the face" problem other riders are having with the stock windshield.
Speaking of wind in the face: I bought one of these Chinese-made universal clip-on wind deflector/spoilers off of Amazon for only $26, no sales tax (a nice deal when you buy something from California) and free shipping. It really did a good job of wind cutting noise while riding my BMW R1200RS at high speed today. Well worth the price, however it did take two weeks to arrive. Photos attached.
Now I will have to check out Noraly's new video. :)
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[...Snip!]
She then has to survive the millions of shitheads we've allowed to flourish here in the U.S..
Hey! I resemble that remark!
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Here's a link to Noraly's latest blog where she tells us about three of her adventures that weren't shown on her videos.
https://www.itchyboots.com/motorcycle-stories-blog/three-untold-stories-from-my-asia-europe-solo-motorcycle-ride
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Thanks for the link and the blog reminder Arizoni. Not stopped there for a while. A good read.
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There's a new one out today.
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First of all, you HAVE to have money to travel like that. Many adventure riders on advrider.com have sold everything they own, including their home, car, and all their possessions and just took off. And many of them are constantly stopping to make videos. I don't care where her money comes from. Maybe she has a rich uncle. A support crew would not go over real well. I hope that is not the case. Don't forget Lois Lane.
I have just started getting into her videos. I have a LONG way to go. Does anyone know if there is one where she has a flat tire on the Himalayan, and fixes it herself?
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First of all, you HAVE to have money to travel like that. Many adventure riders on advrider.com have sold everything they own, including their home, car, and all their possessions and just took off. And many of them are constantly stopping to make videos. I don't care where her money comes from. Maybe she has a rich uncle. A support crew would not go over real well. I hope that is not the case. Don't forget Lois Lane.
I have just started getting into her videos. I have a LONG way to go. Does anyone know if there is one where she has a flat tire on the Himalayan, and fixes it herself?
She did sell her house and everything else she had to before the trip of a hundred and 20 some odd almost daily videos.
One thing I would suggest is that you just commit to watching ALL of her trip videos in order. There is no other way to really get into and understand what this girl accomplished all by herself. She earned every penny of whatever people donated to her of their own free will.
I think she's a credit to women and girls everywhere and, no, she had no back-up crew. There was never even a "hint" of a back-up crew anywhere in any of the whole trip. She also dealt with all the customs and border regs and paper BS herself; a nightmare which I, personally, could never dream of doing. I'd end up in jail the way I deal with pompous authority and bureaucracy.
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As I recall, she had a flat tire but she wasn't that far from a town. People stopped and helped her get in touch with the guys who actually changed the tire.
To me, that's one of the things that's amazing to me. We read almost daily about how people around the world are no damn good yet, everyone she has had dealings with are honest and go out of their way to be helpful. If for no other reason than that, her videos are worth watching.
For instance, we hear about those terrible people in Iran all the time but a Iranian family helped her rescue her motorcycle after the clutch plates gave out (because the clutch cable was not long enough after she changed the handlebars). They even put her up for the night and fed her well and there were big hugs when she left them.
As I was watching her videos I kept telling my wife where she was each time she entered a new country. My wife's response was, "She's crazy. She is surrounded by nuts and killers and people who don't like her because she is foreigner in their country!!! Their going to kill her."
When I told my wife Noraly was going to ride from the southern tip of South America she said, "Thru all of that deadly jungle? And what about all of those drug lords? They will kill her for sure!"
By all means, do watch each and every video in order. Many of the things she did are amazing.
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As I recall, she had a flat tire but she wasn't that far from a town. People stopped and helped her get in touch with the guys who actually changed the tire.
To me, that's one of the things that's amazing to me. We read almost daily about how people around the world are no damn good yet, everyone she has had dealings with are honest and go out of their way to be helpful. If for no other reason than that, her videos are worth watching.
For instance, we hear about those terrible people in Iran all the time but a Iranian family helped her rescue her motorcycle after the clutch plates gave out (because the clutch cable was not long enough after she changed the handlebars). They even put her up for the night and fed her well and there were big hugs when she left them.
As I was watching her videos I kept telling my wife where she was each time she entered a new country. My wife's response was, "She's crazy. She is surrounded by nuts and killers and people who don't like her because she is foreigner in their country!!! Their going to kill her."
When I told my wife Noraly was going to ride from the southern tip of South America she said, "Thru all of that deadly jungle? And what about all of those drug lords? They will kill her for sure!"
By all means, do watch each and every video in order. Many of the things she did are amazing.
I really hope that Noraly's luck with the people she meets and when crossing national borders continues. But riding through Central America and portions of Mexico might not be as welcoming as she experienced in the Middle East and is likely going to strain that string of luck. ??? I also wonder how often she will have internet service in places like Patagonia and when riding though the Central American jungle? This is going to be quite an adventure, but I assume that she is aware of the potential difficulties and is up to the challenge.
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I really hope that Noraly's luck with the people she meets and when crossing national borders continues. But riding through Central America and portions of Mexico might not be as welcoming as she experienced in the Middle East and is likely going to strain that string of luck. ??? I also wonder how often she will have internet service in places like Patagonia and when riding though the Central American jungle? This is going to be quite an adventure, but I assume that she is aware of the potential difficulties and is up to the challenge.
These are exactly my same worries. There are some really, genuinely, BAD folks down there and there are no social restraints let alone any kind law enforcement protection or ANY kind of protection of ANY kind. She could literally be disappeared from the face of the earth and nothing would ever be revealed.
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I don't belong to Facebook but I do check on Noraly's page to see what she's up to.
She had some repainting done on her new motorcycle and I'm not sure I like it due to the areas she is going to be traveling thru.
Call me a worry wart but, on the side of the fuel tank it now says, "ITCHY BOOTS". :(
When she was riding a basically unmarked motorcycle, she was just another biker riding thru and parking on the sidestreets or in a parking area. Nothing special here.
Now, anyone who has seen or heard of her videos will know exactly who she is and there are people in this world who would gladly kidnap her and hold her for ransom.
Anyway, when she starts her trip in a few weeks or so, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for her.
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I don't belong to Facebook but I do check on Noraly's page to see what she's up to.
She had some repainting done on her new motorcycle and I'm not sure I like it due to the areas she is going to be traveling thru.
Call me a worry wart but, on the side of the fuel tank it now says, "ITCHY BOOTS". :(
When she was riding a basically unmarked motorcycle, she was just another biker riding thru and parking on the sidestreets or in a parking area. Nothing special here.
Now, anyone who has seen or heard of her videos will know exactly who she is and there are people in this world who would gladly kidnap her and hold her for ransom.
Anyway, when she starts her trip in a few weeks or so, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for her.
I have to agree with your comments. I'll keep my fingers crossed, too. Best of luck to Noraly.
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I'll just say I totally ditto what Arizoni and Richard say below. This is very worrysome.
I too would have advised her not to "label" or "brand" herself or the bike. These scumbags are everywhere where she is going this time and they are very aware of things due to the ubiquitous information internet. They could very easily plan where and when to grab her and she would just "disappear".
Starry eyed people who aren't aware of what's going in the world nowadays might not think this is a big deal, but it is. Hundreds of people just disappear every day because the scumbags learn how to do it better from their experience of what works and what doesn't just as we have taught the cartels over the past 30 years how to be better drug dealers. Our "government" has taught them how to do it better day by day with our ridiculous trillion dollar war on drugs (and other ridiculous, naive, useless idiocy) and other policies that have never worked and never will, but let's keep doing it - it keeps us getting reelected.
I won't say any more except Good Luck Noraly.
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i can't seem to find the post about Itchy's taller windscreen....
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Follow this link to the Itchy Boots video where Noraly installs her new windshield.
She said she could only find one place on the web that sells it and I don't think she said where to look for it.
Anyway, she starts talking about her windshield at about 1 minute 30 seconds into the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeHUZ0-Fr5c
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i can't seem to find the post about Itchy's taller windscreen....
Another suggestion for you (along with Arizoni's link) is to Subscribe to her channel (if you haven't already) when you're in "The Youtube" :)(http://) Then you have no trouble finding the videos; all 130 or so of them.
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Really bad sound on Noraly's latest video. Her sponsor did not do his homework or prepare properly. There was obviously no sound check of the sound system. I'm amazed she even allowed it to be published.
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Really bad sound on Noraly's latest video. Her sponsor did not do his homework or prepare properly. There was obviously no sound check of the sound system. I'm amazed she even allowed it to be published.
What's this now? Are you talking about the sound during her presentation? Of which we only saw a few seconds, recorded by someone else, probably on a cell phone, from the back of the room?
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What's this now? Are you talking about the sound during her presentation? Of which we only saw a few seconds, recorded by someone else, probably on a cell phone, from the back of the room?
No. This is a full blown production Meet & Greet at the dealership that is sponsoring her and that gave her the new bike. The sound is terrible and it took great concentration and patience to hear ANYthing she was asked or anything she said.
The thing just has the title: "Noraly (Itchy Boots)".
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it Was just a cell phone.
I did find a new one this morning. Go to Youtube and Search on: "The Missenden Flyer Live with Itchy Boots Interview". The actual interview starts around 14 minutes in. The guy's sound production is perfect.
She does talk about the soft bags vs. hard cases thing.
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Ah. I didn't know that was posted - I'm only aware of her own videos on her channel...
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Tooseevee: I checked out the video with Noraly at the motorcycle dealers place and now I understand why you said what you said about the bad audio.
Aside from her being there, I don't think Noraly had anything to do with filming or releasing that video on YouTube.
It looked like it was made by some salesman with a smart phone.
As bad as the short 4 minute one was, I also came across another one from the same dealership that was about 15 minutes long. At least that's what he time indicator said it was. I couldn't make it thru to the end because the sound track had some dork playing the same 4 or 5 note progression on his guitar over and over. If you haven't seen this one, don't bother with it.
The "The Missenden Flyer Live with Itchy Boots Interview" was kind of interesting but if she is shipping her new bike from London to Argentina I wonder how long it's going to take for it to get there?
From what I can find, it takes over 14 hours to make the trip by air from London to Buenos Aires, flying at 500 miles per hour.
If the cargo ship can make 10 mph avg., that would take about 690 hours or 29 days.
That's a long time to have to wait. :(
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My understanding is she is airfreighting the bike from London Heathrow , but even if she is shipping it modern cargo ships average 16+ knots more than 20 mph. Best wishes to Noraly, will be watching her videos all the way.
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Tooseevee: I checked out the video with Noraly at the motorcycle dealers place and now I understand why you said what you said about the bad audio.
Aside from her being there, I don't think Noraly had anything to do with filming or releasing that video on YouTube.
It looked like it was made by some salesman with a smart phone.
As bad as the short 4 minute one was, I also came across another one from the same dealership that was about 15 minutes long. At least that's what he time indicator said it was. I couldn't make it thru to the end because the sound track had some dork playing the same 4 or 5 note progression on his guitar over and over. If you haven't seen this one, don't bother with it.
The "The Missenden Flyer Live with Itchy Boots Interview" was kind of interesting but if she is shipping her new bike from London to Argentina I wonder how long it's going to take for it to get there?
From what I can find, it takes over 14 hours to make the trip by air from London to Buenos Aires, flying at 500 miles per hour.
If the cargo ship can make 10 mph avg., that would take about 690 hours or 29 days.
That's a long time to have to wait. :(
Isn't it amazing how we've been pulled into this girl's (I know. She's a woman) life? She is just so Out There and unselfconscious and confident.
I could just tell from watching her face (at the Meet & Greet) that she was being asked some things that her reaction to was "no, I just don't think or worry about that. What a silly question". That's exactly my attitude nowadays about a lot of things people worry themselves to death about now.
I think we've twisted the hell out of the way young people think nowadays and have done them a terrible disservice.
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Noraly just published a blog where she describes what she's done to her new bike for the trip.
Here's a link to it. By the way, if you subscribe to it you'll get a notice in your e-mail every time she adds something to the blog.
https://www.itchyboots.com/bikers-guide/royal-enfield-himalayan-around-the-world?ss_source=sscampaigns&ss_campaign_id=5d931ff4ccdaeb70620817eb&ss_email_id=5d93217b96714700fc551b71&ss_campaign_name=Let+new+adventures+begin%21%21&ss_campaign_sent_date=2019-10-01T09%3A51%3A11Z
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By the way, if you subscribe to it you'll get a notice in your e-mail every time she adds something to the blog.
... which is hardly ever - while she's on the road, anyway...
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Noraly just published a blog where she describes what she's done to her new bike for the trip.
Here's a link to it. By the way, if you subscribe to it you'll get a notice in your e-mail every time she adds something to the blog.
https://www.itchyboots.com/bikers-guide/royal-enfield-himalayan-around-the-world?ss_source=sscampaigns&ss_campaign_id=5d931ff4ccdaeb70620817eb&ss_email_id=5d93217b96714700fc551b71&ss_campaign_name=Let+new+adventures+begin%21%21&ss_campaign_sent_date=2019-10-01T09%3A51%3A11Z
That was certainly interesting. But Noraly didn't mention hauling around any extra tools or spare parts. I am not sure what she might need, but bringing a clutch cable, inner tubes, a patch repair kit, a small electric or manual air pump and some other parts that might fail and be hard to source on the road is worth thinking about. ??? And considering all of the bike's electrical needs I think I would also invest in a very reliable AGM battery. (I am not sure what the stock Himalayan battery is like, but lets face it, RE doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to sourcing their batteries.) ::)
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In some of the comments others made in that blog, several people mentioned taking along some extra headstock bearings, a AMG battery and some other stuff.
She made a comment about wanting to power her "electric air pump" so she's got that base covered.
I wouldn't be surprised to find she's also taking along a set of clutch plates. Doing that on her last voyage did save the day for her and she's not the kind to forget stuff like that.
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She is on her way. To London. In the rain. Bike goes to Argentina.
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I just made it to EPS 38, where she is starting to crate the bike, and have it shipped to some place in the middle east. If I didn't already know she made it, I would be pretty scared right now. As much as I would have loved to have taken such a trip when I was younger, I would definitely NOT want to go through any Muslim counties. It seems especially dangerous for a woman alone. That Enfield seems to be holding up pretty well, even if it did have to be almost completely rebuilt at the dealer a couple of episodes back. Hard to believe a dealer would stay open that late to finish it.
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She rode thru many Muslim countries and in every one of them the only thing she got was help and respect. Even from the men.
My wife, who watches all of the news of the day kept saying, "She's going to be killed!".
I see on her facebook page she is shipping Dhanno by air so it should arrive within less than a day after takeoff.
When she wants to get going, she really means it. Can't wait to see her next video. :)
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She rode thru many Muslim countries and in every one of them the only thing she got was help and respect. Even from the men.
The vast majority of Muslim people are like that.
As in all walks of life, its the bad ones who get the attention and all get tarred with the same brush.
Frank