The old Houwhoek pass, friends reported a week ago that the road is quite bad from rain we had
I ride this pass quite often and could not believe how they moaned about the road being in a bad condition
So, I had to go and look myself
Entrance and sad to see smoke from over the hill, must be a fire



The road in quite a bad state, washed away indeed





And then, the veld was indeed on fire



But, my mission was to explore and ride the pass



Lots of deep loose sand, rocks and big holes, a challenge indeed













Time to enjoy the scenery as well









Done and dusted



Sad to see this







One of the best workouts I've had in years, the road is indeed in a bad condition and quite technical at times, hope it get's some repairs before the winter rains

the road looks like it's just coming off age....
few more years & it will be perfect... 'still almost a motorway"
But as usal someone will get in there with a dozer
& smooth it out then yer have to wait a few more years
for it to be worth riding again..




..

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Harley Davidson..
The easyest way to turn gasoline into noise with out the side efect of horse power...

That's one way to look at it, interesting comment
The question is, do we want it to be rough or do we want a gravel highway
Rough and tough will keep traffic to a minimum

Very easy to get caught out on that stuff..Particularly with the XT660Z's primitive front suspension..!!!

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Attitude is the difference between an Ordeal and an ADVENTURE

Great trail...good going on the Tenere! Steve

Lovely to see this. I often looked at it from the other side travelling the new road and wondered what it looked like further on. You were brave doing it alone. If you had a mishap you could have trouble getting help. Stunning views. Once again showing that the Tenere is not just a road bike

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2010 XT660Z Blue, Exan can, UFO high front fender, SW Motech baseplate, heated grips, 12v point, Kevs Fuel & O2 mod, DNA Stage 2 Filter and cover, Givi tall screen, Mefo mfe 99s, Kevs throttle mod, TT high seat and 'compass'

It took me more than an hour to ride this 4.6 km
I stopped and walked the path where I had to ride and then did section by section, was very cautious and did not take any chances at all, was quite aware that I was alone and had to be extremely careful, felt no threat at any stage
I also know the area quite well and think that adds to the comfort level
This is now a truly technical section and actually think it should stay like this
It can only add value to riding skills

I'll call it the red route for now

Ever get any snakes along there? I would imagine there maybe quite a few in those mountains

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2010 XT660Z Blue, Exan can, UFO high front fender, SW Motech baseplate, heated grips, 12v point, Kevs Fuel & O2 mod, DNA Stage 2 Filter and cover, Givi tall screen, Mefo mfe 99s, Kevs throttle mod, TT high seat and 'compass'

I haven't seen snakes the last 6 or 7 years
I make a lot of noise when I go into the veld and are very cautious and aware of them
Almost nothing beats the fear for snakes

Wonderful pictures thanks!!!

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(Now sold on, sob) 2011 Blue XT660X with gold wheels, was 26,500 km.
Engine mods: K&N Stage 1 filter, DNA Stage 2 filter, snorkel removed, Kev fuel mod fitted.
Plus: smoked Puig screen, Yam aluminium sump guard, Yamaha / Acerbis handguards, Givi Trekker aluminium side cases, Leo Vince X3 cans plus Kev front fork mod and Fender Xtender. Just fitted Michelin Road Pilot 3 tyres.

SOLD the XTX for a Super Ten 1200. And just bought a Raptor 700 so staying on here for some tips....