[Richard230]

Itchy Boots crashed, she is hurt and her Africa trip is finished. She apparently broke her collar bone and maybe injured her foot, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbqQqh2nyJE

[GlennF]

Oh I had not seen that one yet, that is unfortunate  -  her African adventures so far have been pretty insane, her bike had to be rebuilt after getting stuck in a mud quagmire and again after being dumped into a river upside down off a small boat and she has dropped it herself numerous times on what is more like a trials course than a road but the scenery has been amazing and she soldiered on.

[Richard230]

I have a feeling that her "Alaska" is going to end up in someone's museum collection. It certainly has taken a beating and yet it keeps on ticking.

[AzCal Retred]

Maybe time for Noraly to move on? She's rather proven her point by now. Lots of life left in her, she'd have awesome dealership marketing potential. These remote corners of the globe are getting rougher every day. Stack enough "wrong place, wrong time" conditions up long enough...

[tooseevee]

Maybe time for Noraly to move on? She's rather proven her point by now. Lots of life left in her, she'd have awesome dealership marketing potential. These remote corners of the globe are getting rougher every day. Stack enough "wrong place, wrong time" conditions up long enough...

       I've been constantly worried about her this past year. She's ridden some horrendous roads which cannot even be called roads. She's overtired, but she's tough & I've always had the "sooner or later" factor in the back of my head as Ive watched each episode.

   This is not the first time she's been hurt & it won't be the last. She won't move on. She's not done yet. She'll take the time necessary to recover & heal & she'll be right back on the "road".

      PS: Why don't I see Comments any longer?

[GlennF]

There are times this year she has been more in danger from people (including police)  than the roads  - though in general the local population, regardless of country, have seemed friendly and more than willing to jump in and help when needed.

[Richard230]

My daughter follows Itchy Boots closer than I do and she sent me this message last night:  "Itchy Boots posted on Instagram 2 days ago that "my day begins in Karonga, where I'm embarking on a challenging 224 km loop before leaving Malawi.."

I have no idea what to make of that unless she really didn't break her collarbone as she thought that she did right after her crash.

[AzCal Retred]

https://www.itchyboots.com/

Looks like the enterprise has been successfully monetized? A rough (but hopefully still fun) way to make a living.

[tooseevee]

https://www.itchyboots.com/

Looks like the enterprise has been successfully monetized? A rough (but hopefully still fun) way to make a living.

          She's been quite well monetized for quite a long while now. And it costs her a lot to do what she does.

           I've followed her since Day One in India. She's parta da familee 

[GlennF]

My daughter follows Itchy Boots closer than I do and she sent me this message last night:  "Itchy Boots posted on Instagram 2 days ago that "my day begins in Karonga, where I'm embarking on a challenging 224 km loop before leaving Malawi.."

I have no idea what to make of that unless she really didn't break her collarbone as she thought that she did right after her crash.

She completed that Malawi loop ... and it was definitely challenging.

In the video after that she crossed into Tanzania and after a few visa hiccups headed into tanzania and stayed overnight in a small village before she started to head north towards Kilimanjaro in heavy fog and rain, which eventually cleared, but shortly after leaving the paved section of the road and returning to the dirt she had the accident.  It seems like she got caught in a rut at the bottom of a culvert that threw her off.

[Leofric]

All I can say is good luck to her and I hope she soon recovers. What she has been doing is obviously risky in many ways.

[Richard230]

Here is the last Itchy Boots of the season. She is not going on any more motorcycle adventures any time soon:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8wgeEKVrWk

[tooseevee]

Here is the last Itchy Boots of the season. She is not going on any more motorcycle adventures any time soon:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8wgeEKVrWk

      Waiting for this one, I was worried about an internal injury of some kind.

         Really brutal break. I did similar in high school ice skating. Waited 3 days to go to a doctor.

          She'll be back 

[GlennF]

She is tough.  She is already looking at a new bike and planning Season 8.

It is ironic she opted to fly home for surgery but they messed it up anyway.

[Hoiho]

She is tough.  She is already looking at a new bike and planning Season 8.

It is ironic she opted to fly home for surgery but they messed it up anyway.

Treatment sounded like a complete debacle..

[GlennF]

Treatment sounded like a complete debacle..

Yeah, not only did they puncture and deflate a lung (presumably with a bone fragment but there are no details) but they failed to notice and sent her home. She would have been better off having the procedure done in Tanzania.

[Richard230]

My daughter just sent me an update from Noraly.  Here is part of what she said:

Being able to ride a motorcycle again is still some weeks away I think, but that day will come. And in the meantime, I have been doing something else... I am very proud to say that there is going to be a place in the Netherlands, where you can see Basanti in real life, buy my signed book and my other merchandise. I am opening a bakery and coffee bar which is 100% biker friendly!

[Turbofurball]

Huh, I did not see that coming!

[BJMS]

A geologist starting a bakery!

What's she gonna sell? Rock buns? 

[AzCal Retred]

@ #3: Reality rears its ugly head. Lessee now, popular Amsterdam? coffee/merch shop owner with prefab clientele, or lying all busted up in a ditch somewhere remote yet again, waiting for the local ants/predators/banditos to find me...
Noraly's older & wiser now, looks like she's decided to pick her battles.

May 20, 2024: Maybe time for Noraly to move on? She's rather proven her point by now. Lots of life left in her, she'd have awesome dealership marketing potential. These remote corners of the globe are getting rougher every day. Stack enough "wrong place, wrong time" conditions up long enough...

[GlennF]

It is very much Noraly that, even though she has a punctured lung and a collar bone fractured in multiple places she is not sitting around feeling sorry for herself and trying to get sympathy like many people would, but instead writing a book, picking up a new bike and planning season 8 for 2025 and in her spare time opening a biker bar and bakery.

[Richard230]

It is very much Noraly that, even though she has a punctured lung and a collar bone fractured in multiple places she is not sitting around feeling sorry for herself and trying to get sympathy like many people would, but instead writing a book, picking up a new bike and planning season 8 for 2025 and in her spare time opening a biker bar and bakery.

+1   

[Quest]

It is very much Noraly that, even though she has a punctured lung and a collar bone fractured in multiple places she is not sitting around feeling sorry for herself and trying to get sympathy like many people would, but instead writing a book, picking up a new bike and planning season 8 for 2025 and in her spare time opening a biker bar and bakery.

+1

[tooseevee]

+1   

          Ditto on Replies #21 & @22

           I'll see both of their +1s & raise them a + 

            This girl does not "lay around & whine & get well" well. She just "gets on with it". As usual. Plans for the next trip are already well underway.

[Richard230]

Here is the latest news from Itchy Boots: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXgpdObe8As

[tooseevee]

Here is the latest news from Itchy Boots: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXgpdObe8As

     No one has mentioned yet that Noraly is back. So guess I will.

     Noraly is back!

     Came back on YooToob a couple days ago with the 1st Episode of Season 8 (?)

      She's in Germany prepping a Tenere.

[NVDucati]

From another thread and hoping to consolodate:

Itchy Boots the "new" bike ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHUMI6sXt6Q

[Turbofurball]

An interesting choice of bike, I guess when nobody is making a good bike for your needs it makes sense to flick through the book of greatest hits and then make one to your own liking!

[GlennF]

An interesting choice of bike, I guess when nobody is making a good bike for your needs it makes sense to flick through the book of greatest hits and then make one to your own liking!

Yep - the exact reason there are so many SR250 Café bikes about.

[Aesop]

Noraly's new 1987 600 Tenere gets a new boinger!

37- year old suspension complicates everything

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-ZOK0Gce3w

For my 1987 Yamaha Tenere, I have an original Ohlin suspension that's already been around the world some 20 years ago. Better get that serviced! But on opening up - it was worse than we thought..

[zimmemr]

An interesting choice of bike, I guess when nobody is making a good bike for your needs it makes sense to flick through the book of greatest hits and then make one to your own liking!

"Interesting" is one way to describe it. Off the top of my head I can think of at least a dozen better choices, all of them brand new, but of course she'd have to lay out cash for them as I don't think any of the major players see much value in giving her a new bike. 

[Richard230]

Noraly's new 1987 600 Tenere gets a new boinger!

37- year old suspension complicates everything

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-ZOK0Gce3w

For my 1987 Yamaha Tenere, I have an original Ohlin suspension that's already been around the world some 20 years ago. Better get that serviced! But on opening up - it was worse than we thought..

She is sure putting a lot of lipstick on that pig. Is it really worth all the money and effort that is going into it? Now that she has a bike with a carburetor, which she has never ridden before, what is she going to do when she hits those really high roads that she likes to ride? I think she really should have stuck with a new FI model. I can't recall that Noraly ever had an issue with any of her fuel injected bikes. There are a lot of modern ADV bikes that would serve her well during her next adventure - as long as she can find one with a decent size fuel tank. 

[Aesop]

" I don't think any of the major players see much value in giving her a new bike. "

Isn't "any press is good press" still true? Is there a reason she doesn't have a sponsored ride this time around? The 1987 600 Tenere is about 380 pounds wet, The KLR650S about 490, the Honda XR650L about 350 wet, the DR650S about 370. The Husqvarna and KTM are both somewhat lighter.

An "Open Class" bike eliminates power issues and really eats miles, but is more demanding in the slow stuff. Passing should be greatly improved, even with full travel loading. It'll be interesting to see how this evolves.

[GlennF]

Without knowing exactly where this "round eh world" adventure is taking her it is hard to say whether the move is sensible or not.

With regard to fuel injection I have had no end of trouble with the fuel injection on my B5 running far to rich at low speeds at altitudes over 3000'  and fouling plugs.  I have noticed quite a few people converting these early UCE bikes back to carbs so fuel injection is not necessarily some magic solution to all problems fuel related.

[Leofric]

Without knowing exactly where this "round eh world" adventure is taking her it is hard to say whether the move is sensible or not.

With all the trouble going on in the world nowadays what route could be called sensible for her ?!

[Aesop]

My money is on Australia and New Zealand. A 600 Tenere would scoot along quite nicely in their back country traffic and the "Crazy per square Meter" quotient is a bit lower in those locales than most everywhere else. Maybe avoid camping in the open on South Island NZ though. The kea, the mountain parrot of New Zealand (Nestor notabilis), can make a mess of your gear.

[GlennF]

My money is on Australia and New Zealand. A 600 Tenere would scoot along quite nicely in their back country traffic and the "Crazy per square Meter" quotient is a bit lower in those locales than most everywhere else. Maybe avoid camping in the open on South Island NZ though. The kea, the mountain parrot of New Zealand (Nestor notabilis), can make a mess of your gear.

Also dropbears.

[zimmemr]

Isn't "any press is good press" still true?

You can imagine what kind of blow back there'd be if she got seriously injured, or worse either on her own or at the hands of some crazies. No manufacturer wants that kind of press. 

[NVDucati]

I think a pre-FI bike makes sense. I don't follow every episode but she seems to play off the beaten path.
I wouldn't go al the way back to having a points ignition but the early pre-ECU bikes had replaceable electronic ignition plates which I would carry a spare. I think in general she will find more mechanic competency for a generation back motorcycle in remote areas.

[Leofric]

My money is on Australia and New Zealand. A 600 Tenere would scoot along quite nicely in their back country traffic and the "Crazy per square Meter" quotient is a bit lower in those locales than most everywhere else. Maybe avoid camping in the open on South Island NZ though. The kea, the mountain parrot of New Zealand (Nestor notabilis), can make a mess of your gear.

That may be true but she will obviously need to go to a lot of other countries to go round the world.
It is an incredibly risky venture in my opinion, but good luck to her.

[Aesop]

Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, Botswana, Madagascar, back to Oz; Bob's your Uncle, you've circled the globe. This is all made up anyway, nobody says you need to go above 25 Degrees South to do it. There's certainly no hard-currency prize awarded for collecting the Darwin Award the hard way in some fly-bitten backwater. Or just spend a pleasant year touring Oz, New Zealand & Tasmania and save the rest for "next season". It's not like there's any shortage of folks that already did it when the total level of crazy was lower. Nowadays it's like summiting Mount Everest, but with eejits running around with Kalashnikovs.

https://www.madornomad.com/round-the-world-on-a-royal-enfield/
https://www.royalenfields.com/2013/07/around-world-on-royal-enfield-diesel.html ( http://www.vegibike.com/ )

[GlennF]

Well she said she will announce where she is going next episode.

How many people pre-ordered the book ?

[Turbofurball]

Given that she bought her last bike herself, and had an opportunity to ride many other bikes before making this decision, and has ridden through many "hotspots" in the world, I'm going to say that she probably knows what she wants from a bike and how to traverse the world safely

[Richard230]

Here is the latest Itchy Boots episode. Kind of boring. She is really stretching out the tale of the modifications to her new old Yamaha. I am looking forward to her riding the bike during her next adventure, which she says will finally start next with the next episode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYY6BvnAKwc

[Leofric]

Given that she bought her last bike herself, and had an opportunity to ride many other bikes before making this decision, and has ridden through many "hotspots" in the world, I'm going to say that she probably knows what she wants from a bike and how to traverse the world safely

How safe it turns out to be might not be entirely up to her. She can't know what she might come across.

[Turbofurball]

She can't know what she might come across.

Isn't that the whole point of travel?

[Richard230]

Isn't that the whole point of travel?

Listening to news of the world it sounds more like the current point of traveling is to know which countries and areas are not safe to visit if you don't want to get kidnapped or shot. 

As far as creating a mechanically "bullet proof" motorcycle, I am not sure that is really necessary anymore as it might have been when traveling 70 years ago. It seems to me as though motorcycles are being used for personal travel all over the world and no doubt you can get them repaired almost everywhere, as long as you are not riding something really new and/or expensive that needs unique parts to be repaired or serviced. 

And speaking of special parts, that old Yamaha that her specialist has been building and modifying for the past few weeks sure has a lot of them. I don't think there is much left on that bike that was on the original model of that year and many parts on it were not on any Yamaha of any year. I am also not so sure if finding parts for that bike will be as easy as obtaining parts for a small Chinese motorcycle out in the boondocks. However, if nothing really bad happens, the bike should be very reliable. But she will need to stock up on some parts like oil and air filters, brake pads and control cables that might not be readily available from even a Yamaha dealer anymore.

[Turbofurball]

At the same time, experienced travellers know what to look for.  A lot of news will say there's problem in a country but not say in what part, if there's a riot and you're 200km away are you in danger?

[GlennF]

And speaking of special parts, that old Yamaha that her specialist has been building and modifying for the past few weeks sure has a lot of them. I don't think there is much left on that bike that was on the original model of that year and many parts on it were not on any Yamaha of any year. I am also not so sure if finding parts for that bike will be as easy as obtaining parts for a small Chinese motorcycle out in the boondocks. However, if nothing really bad happens, the bike should be very reliable. But she will need to stock up on some parts like oil and air filters, brake pads and control cables that might not be readily available from even a Yamaha dealer anymore.

yes and no.  I suspect part of the thinking is old school parts such as jets for a carby can at a pinch be made from scratch or something can be modified to fit, whereas things like EFI you basically order it from Japan and sit and wait.

[Richard230]

yes and no.  I suspect part of the thinking is old school parts such as jets for a carby can at a pinch be made from scratch or something can be modified to fit, whereas things like EFI you basically order it from Japan and sit and wait.

That is certainly true. But how often do modern EFI computers fail? On the other hand Can't-Bust could certainly be an issue if the connecting wires were damaged. 

[Aesop]

" At the same time, experienced travellers know what to look for.  A lot of news will say there's problem in a country but not say in what part, if there's a riot and you're 200km away are you in danger? "

"The good seaman weathers the storm he cannot avoid, and avoids the storm he cannot weather."
I hear hotel rooms in Jerusalem are currently cheap. An Australia - New Zealand-Tasmania shakedown run might be a good place to start, no? Kangaroos don't carry RPGs or wear explosive vests, and if you don't camp under the eucalyptus trees you'll largely avoid the drop bears. Gram-negative bacteria are much less of a concern. As far as I can tell there are plenty of "characters" to meet in those parts also, judging from some of the posts here.

[GlennF]

Kangaroos don't carry RPGs or wear explosive vests, and if you don't camp under the eucalyptus trees you'll largely avoid the drop bears. Gram-negative bacteria are much less of a concern. As far as I can tell there are plenty of "characters" to meet in those parts also, judging from some of the posts here.

There are also some big birds with a bad attitude.

[him a layin]

emo emu!

[Leofric]

Isn't that the whole point of travel?

Quoting from reply 46 ' Listening to news of the world it sounds more like the current point of traveling is to know which countries and areas are not safe to visit if you don't want to get kidnapped or shot.  ' - that is what i was thinking about,safety . Of course travel is about experiencing new things.

[Leofric]

At the same time, experienced travellers know what to look for.  A lot of news will say there's problem in a country but not say in what part, if there's a riot and you're 200km away are you in danger?

Maybe we will have a better idea when we know her proposed route. Presume she will avoid the obvious risky places where missiles are currently flying around ,states ruled by terrorists ,  countries with anti western regimes - that's enough for a start !

[him a layin]

"why can't we all just... get along?"

[Richard230]

Maybe we will have a better idea when we know her proposed route. Presume she will avoid the obvious risky places where missiles are currently flying around ,states ruled by terrorists ,  countries with anti western regimes - that's enough for a start !

When you avoid all of those locations, what is left?   

[GlennF]

When you avoid all of those locations, what is left?   

Well if you want to stay Northern hemisphere, you could go overland to Turkey, across to India, through SE Asia, up through Japan and  South Korea, across to Canada, Greenland Iceland.

[Aesop]

Looks like a Ladakh tour may be back on the Clipboard of Possibilities. Always better riding conditions when artillery isn't firing on your roadway.

China confirms pact with India to ‘resolve’ conflict over disputed border
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/22/china-confirms-pact-with-india-to-resolve-conflict-over-disputed-border
Relations between the world’s two most populous, nuclear-armed neighbours have been strained since clashes between their troops on the largely undemarcated frontier in the western Himalayas’ Ladakh region four years ago killed 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.
Since the skirmish in 2020, both sides pulled back tens of thousands of soldiers and agreed not to send patrols into a narrow strip surrounding the Line of Actual Control, which is an unofficial division about 3,488km (2,167 miles) long in the Himalayas, with China claiming a considerably shorter section.
It separates Chinese and Indian-held territories from Ladakh in the west to India’s eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims in its entirety considering it part of its Tibet region.

[Aesop]

Next episode we find out where we're headed! She seems comfortable enough on the bespoke 600 Tenere.
German engineering saved the start of my motorcycle journey | S8, EP04
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYY6BvnAKwc

Maybe these might have been better?
https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/honda/x-adv/2017/ ( 530 lb. 53 HP )
https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/honda/adv350/2022/ (400 lb. 30 HP )

[Leofric]

Don't know about the 350 but i was once looking at a 750 x-adv Honda in the dealer's showroom and I wasn't at all comfortable trying to put my feet down when I sat on it. I would definitely advise trying one before buying.

[Leofric]

A bit cynical I know but I can't help wondering how much money she is making from all this stuff . 🤔

[NVDucati]

A bit cynical I know but I can't help wondering how much money she is making from all this stuff . 🤔

Here is a calculator for YouTube revenue.
https://ytlarge.com/youtube/earnings-calculator/#top-15-earning-countries

[Aesop]

A bit cynical I know but I can't help wondering how much money she is making from all this stuff.

Apparently enough to have some very crafty Germans hand craft a 38 year old Yamaha Tenere 600 back into super-functionality. Beautiful work but definitely not cheap. Likely carries a "Jay Leno grade" price point. She has done her time lying broken in a muddy ditch in a "furrin' country", so whatever she makes is hard earned.

[Vigilant Savage]

A bit cynical I know but I can't help wondering how much money she is making from all this stuff.

Apparently enough to have some very crafty Germans hand craft a 38 year old Yamaha Tenere 600 back into super-functionality. Beautiful work but definitely not cheap. Likely carries a "Jay Leno grade" price point. She has done her time lying broken in a muddy ditch in a "furrin' country", so whatever she makes is hard earned.

~57k views daily on this show, someone give me a break please

[tooseevee]

A bit cynical I know but I can't help wondering how much money she is making from all this stuff . 🤔

      Well, tell me Why she shouldn't she be making a living out of it?

       I've followed this girl since Day One & she deserves every buck she makes. Every single one of 'em.

[GlennF]

YouTube monetization is pretty ordinary unless you get 10 million views on a regular basis.  Or publish three times  a day. Or pull off that once in a blue moon 300 million view viral hit.  Typically a video with 100,000 views will pay between $100 and $300 with the larger amounts requiring a popular channel with millions of subscribers to qualify for that rate.

If you only post once or twice a week and are not Taylor Swift, you will earn from poor to average money for the 10 or 20 hours work that goes into a video but you will not get rich from it.

Most fulltime YouTubers get the bulk of their money from actual direct sponsorship or from fans signing up to their Patreon.  Generally though they have a day job and the channel is used to partially subsidize their crotchet / wood working/ gun collecting/ travel hobby .  Bit like the local jazz band down the pub, they all have day jobs and working nights with the band keeps them in Guitar strings and new amps.

[Leofric]

      Well, tell me Why she shouldn't she be making a living out of it?

       I've followed this girl since Day One & she deserves every buck she makes. Every single one of 'em.

I didn't make any comment one way or another about whether or not she should be making a living from it, I simply said i wondered how much money she would be making .
I anticipated some people might  think it was a bit cynical ( which is why I mentioned it ) to ask such a question ,and some would take it as a criticism of her !

[Leofric]

~57k views daily on this show, someone give me a break please

From what ?

[Leofric]

YouTube monetization is pretty ordinary unless you get 10 million views on a regular basis.  Or publish three times  a day. Or pull off that once in a blue moon 300 million view viral hit.  Typically a video with 100,000 views will pay between $100 and $300 with the larger amounts requiring a popular channel with millions of subscribers to qualify for that rate.

If you only post once or twice a week and are not Taylor Swift, you will earn from poor to average money for the 10 or 20 hours work that goes into a video but you will not get rich from it.

Most fulltime YouTubers get the bulk of their money from actual direct sponsorship or from fans signing up to their Patreon.  Generally though they have a day job and the channel is used to partially subsidize their crotchet / wood working/ gun collecting/ travel hobby .  Bit like the local jazz band down the pub, they all have day jobs and working nights with the band keeps them in Guitar strings and new amps.

' Leofric's guide to the best cafes in North Yorkshire for bacon butties '
might not be a good idea then !

[Aesop]

Norally goes to Turkic! Starting in Istanbul. Her 600 Tenere (christened Frankie) appears to make travel effortless. The potholed gravel road sequence shows little pounding making its way up to her arms. It seems well sorted!

Not the beginning of my new adventure that I hoped for.. | S8, EP05
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urNFIN-Akhk
It's the start, it's the start!! YES!! I am so happy to really begin this new journey, even though the onset reminds me a bit of my first day on the Patagonia to Alaska journey... Terrible weather slaps me in the face!

[Carlsberg Wordsworth]

Well she said she will announce where she is going next episode.

How many people pre-ordered the book ?

Yup, looking forward to it. I'm sure the English version was on Amazon UK to pre-order before she announced it in her video. I should have taken a screen shot lol.

[GlennF]

' Leofric's guide to the best cafes in North Yorkshire for bacon butties '
might not be a good idea then !

I would sub to that.

[Leofric]

I would sub to that.

A free preview - currently at  no 1, take away cafe opposite lifeboat station on Filey sea front,
no 2 ,Bordar House cafe Masham, no 3 ,cafe near butchers shop on corner at top of main street Barnard Castle for a substantial sausage ,bacon and egg breakfast in a bread cake.
Just a few of the attractions available while moseying around on the motorcycles.
ps might not be much use to people in Australia and America 

[him a layin]

ps might not be much use to people in Australia and America 

we can dream.