Innholdsfortegnelse for Fall 2012 i Overland Journal

A Perfect Shave Thank you so much for the article, The Straight Razor (Summer 2012). I had just purchased some quality shaving products and was looking forward to a nice close shave like the ones I had experienced from my local barber. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by my results. Great products do not guarantee good execution. Dr. Jon to the rescue. I followed the helpful information provided in the article and, wow, my next shave turned out fantastic! I never thought I would learn how to get a great shave from Overland Journal. Todd McLaren 1985 Toyota T100 1,000,000th Land Rover This picture was taken on the One-Millionth Land Rover Discovery drive from Birmingham, U.K. to Beijing, China, on the Tourgat Pass, Kyrgyzstan, a 500-kilometer dirt track heading to the…

Every significant endeavor shares the same humble beginning—the spark of an idea. How that idea grows and thrives is based upon our collection of experiences, and our ability to act on the minutiae that form the foundation of any worthwhile pursuit. Success is a collective: a framework of ideas, the input of a team, and a well (deep or shallow) of past performances and learning. Expeditions 7 must be approached in the same manner as any complex endeavor, by breaking apart every component into hard-won, yet achievable, milestones. My partner in this endeavor, Greg Miller, CEO of Miller Motorsports Park and the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum (among other ventures), had a personal goal: to drive a Land Cruiser around the world. I shared the around the world goal, and planned…

Retirement triggered Nina and Robert Blackwell to leave their Seattle, Washington home and follow their dream of taking to the road. For two years, they travelled 60,000 (96,000 km) miles from top to bottom of the Americas. Their home for the 24-month trek was a 2007 Chevrolet pickup, equipped with a Provan Tiger motorhome. For Robert’s 60th birthday, he received lasting memories as a gift from nature. First, the couple drove on the frozen, glass-smooth Mackenzie River in Northern Canada on their way to Tuktoyaktuk. The second gift was to stand at the edge of the Arctic Ocean. “Without the bounds of the river’s banks, the white surface seemed to go on forever. We stopped many times to look at, walk on, and be amazed by the deeply cracked clear…

We’d received word that the mudslides were nearly cleared and there would be no rain for several days. We were in Kathmandu en route to China via the Friendship Highway through Tibet, hopefully with a detour to the Mt. Everest Base Camp. Having been on the road for almost half a year already, our route had taken us across Europe to Russia, then through Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and India. We’d somehow managed to get ourselves arrested in Moscow, detained by the Iranian secret police and deported as spies, and dodged the Taliban in Pakistan. Conditions weren’t perfect on the Friendship Highway, but we decided to risk it. Four years earlier, I was living the life of a normal British student. One night, whilst sitting in the back of…

ARB’s rugged orange plastic box contains a reamer and insertion tool, a jar of lube, 30 “repair cords,” a 10-120 psi tire gauge, two Allen wrenches, a small plastic box containing three types of valve caps (four of each), a four-way valve tool, and four valve cores. A two-sided, one-page instruction sheet is also provided. The Speedy Seal is one of two kits that feature a sliding sleeve on the insertion tool. The sleeve has two functions: it provides a stopping point when inserting a plug into a tire, and holding the sleeve against the tire while removing the needle keeps the plug from slipping out. Some prefer no sleeve, arguing that holding a plug with their fingers allows them to feel and control the plug and needle. The ARB…

Each product performed as specified and you would be well served by any of these kits. All appear to use similar self-vulcanizing plugs and work as designed, the differences being in the contents of the kit. Neither Editor Chris Collard nor I are expert sidewall repair artists, but our skills received a tune-up and the results were good. As for the plugs, several weeks after our abuse-and-repair fest, it is encouraging to confirm all of the plugs are still holding air. In fact, none of the plug-repaired tires have lost a single psi. Even Chris’ handiwork with wire sutures, numerous plugs, and a rasher of silicon is still airtight. Unfortunately, the 3-inch sidewall cut that we patched with the “Baja Boot” after Chris stitched and cross-stitched it, has a slow…

Though the instructions are in German (I found an English version online), installation of the Touratech Rear Luggage Extension is fairly straightforward; the kit consists of a cargo plate and hardware. If there was any doubt as to the procedure, the one picture clearly described the process. The plate was sufficiently packaged and arrived in good shape. Crafted from aluminum, the kit weighs a mere 18 ounces and measures 10.5 inches wide by 9.25 inches deep, smallest of the quartet I examined. Though its modest size does limit what can be carried—preventing overloading and helping with weight distribution—being small and lightweight can be an advantage, as the stock BMW 1150GS rack has a tendency to crack under extreme loads. The front of the Touratech Extension utilizes the passenger grab handle…

For such a large rack, the eloquently named Hepco & Becker 800.626 could not be simpler to install. The kit consisted of the aluminum rack, four screws, two Nyloc nuts, and washers. Shipped in a cardboard box and protected by a plastic bag, it arrived without damage. It’s available in the USA through Adventure MotoStuff in Carson City, Nevada. This rack weighs 2.375 pounds, and due to its tapered design measures 18.8 inches across the front, 15.5 inches at the rear, and is 11 inches deep, including the turned-up ends. The flat center portion of the rack is 8.5 inches deep. The instructions (again in German) were not needed. All the holes and hardware lined-up perfectly, and the missing rear-passenger grab handle on my older bike was not an issue—installing…

Driving across Nevada, or any of the great deserts of the world, provides time for reflection. The hours melt away as I am absorbed and inspired by my surroundings: infinite vistas, clean desert air carrying the scent of sage, and faint two-tracks leading to locales unknown. It is a little over 800 miles from our Northern California office to Mormon Lake Lodge in Northern Arizona. While Yahoo Maps directed me south on the “shortest” and more populated route, I don’t think I’ve ever gone that way. After all, my destination was the Overland Expo. The road less traveled, across the arid expanses of Nevada, was much more appropriate. Overland Expo generates new friends and new ideas for the magazine. It is always a source of anticipation and excitement. The 2012…

Ever wondered what it might be like to do an overland trek across Vatnajökull, the largest ice cap in Europe? More accurately, an over “ice” trek? Bruce Elfstrom, founder of Overland Experts, did, and pondered the possibility for a dozen years. After more than 20 separate treks to Iceland, it was time to bag a first for the Overland Experts book. The team consisted of seven Americans, four Canadians, and one Icelander, driving modified Land Rover Defender 110s. The assault on Vatnajökull was not in the group’s original itinerary. They had planned to penetrate Iceland’s interior. When favorable conditions presented themselves: heavy snowfall covering crevasses, fair temperatures, low wind, and good visibility, the team went into expedition mode. “Not ones to ignore the stars [aligning], we made the decision to…

Before settling down to have children, Americans Brad and Sheena Van Orden wanted to do something adventurous. Brad read an article about a couple traveling in a van through the Americas and Africa and asked if Sheena was willing to “hit the road?” Brad said, “It took about 30 seconds to decide it was the right thing for us to do.” Over the next three years they will be undertaking an around-the-world overland adventure in their 1984 Volkswagen Vanagon, affectionately named “Nacho.” Though some of their friends and family were supportive, others were adamantly against their plan, calling it “career suicide.” Brad’s boss asked him to see a shrink. After several months in Mexico and Central America, the couple is currently in Colombia en route to points south. Brad doesn’t…

During three decades of driving I’ve experienced relatively few tire failures. Until recently, it had been several years since my last incident—a small, sharp stick poked through a sidewall during a hunting trip. The odds have caught up with me, and my puncture average is on the rise. In the past year, I’ve experienced one tire-ruining sidewall slit and two minor tread punctures. The two punctures happened near town and were professionally patched at a tire shop. When I cut my sidewall last June, however, I was in very remote country, and I didn’t have a repair kit with sidewall suturing capabilities. Even without sidewall mending experience, I had seen a few demonstrations and videos, and could have figured it out—if I had the tools. My only option was to…

With awareness that factory racks are sometimes weak, and that riders are likely to overload a larger aftermarket option, Caribou includes additional supports for the rear of their Cargo Plate (for most applications). The kit includes a 1/8-inch T-6 aluminum powder-coated plate, two L-shaped supports, two supports for the OE tail rack, and hardware. The kit weighs 4 pounds and arrived damage free in a cocoon of bubble wrap. Instructions included several photos that clearly illustrated the steps required for installation. A visual confirmation of the orientation of the L-brackets and spacers was appreciated. The 50 mm mounting screws were just long enough to grab the full thread of the Nyloc nuts through the middle of the L-brackets, but prohibited the use of washers. At the front, I needed to…

Volunteering as a “local” weekend warrior “Volunteering in your home country is within reach,” says Sharon Tewksbury-Bloom and Jay Holt of Service Driven. “While you are still planning your big international trip, you can do a practice volunteer adventure during your local overland weekend.” Sharon and Jay were tired of the uninspiring big city grind and took off for one year in their stock Toyota RAV4—driving 20,000 miles throughout North America. With just a little research and an open mind, they found several short-term volunteer opportunities. Highlights of the year included clearing hiking trails alongside pack horses south of Glacier National Park with the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation (bmwf.org), and laying irrigation ditches and learning about sustainable cattle farming with the Grand Canyon Trust (grandcanyontrust.org). “This year of service helped…

During the past five decades, tire technology has been slow to evolve, the last major innovation being the transition from bias-ply to radial construction. Other than tread patterns, not much has changed since the 1960s. The BFGoodrich AT, which set the radial “all-terrain” standard with its TriGard® design and Baja 1000 testing, has seen minimal changes in the last several decades. Today, with developments in CAD design and Finite Element Analysis (FEA), a renaissance of tire design, construction, and innovation is beginning. On a warm day in early June, I drove from San Antonio, Texas, to the Cooper Tire proving grounds. I was there to test the new Discoverer A/T3 and S/T MAXX in numerous conditions and surfaces, and compare them against the competition. The first test, to evaluate wet…

Venezuelan by nationality, Silviu Stanesco has explored much of his native South America. His mantra is, “To keep the four or two wheels off the pavement as much as possible,” and he pushes his 1998 Toyota FZJ80 and KTM 950 dual-sport to their limits. One of his sojourns was a 3,000-mile (4,827 km) ride from his home in Caracas, Venezuela, to Georgetown, Guyana—a former British colony. There, he experienced culture shock. People drove on the left-hand side and spoke impeccable English, despite being surrounded by millions of Spanish and Portuguese speakers. Silviu, a husband and father, recently packed his family’s bare necessities into the Toyota and drove 19,546 miles (31,274 km) to the southernmost tip of the continent, Ushuaia. “Friends and family gasped,” he said. “Some thought we were crazy…

Owen Lloyd, Californian student and writer, enjoys adventure and the roads of South America. He has biked 300 miles (480 km) through Uruguay, and explored Patagonia in a Toyota Hilux. During the latter trip (which he did with fellow students from Buenos Aires who were on school break), blood dripping from the tailgate of his Toyota Hilux raised suspicions at a police checkpoint. Owen and his friends had all grown up in hunting families, and when they accidently ran over a rabbit, the dinner choice was clear. Owen said, “It was delicious. After that, anything we hit would be tossed in the bed of the truck for later. Hopefully, this doesn’t offend anyone, but we ate all that we hit. Other than a sack of potatoes and some other dry…

Safety Seal has been manufacturing and selling their self-vulcanizing “on the wheel” tire repair system since 1964. In 1990, a 41,000-mile endurance test of four repairs was successfully completed. The company states confidently that repairs that meet their guidelines are permanent. Safety Seal touts the superiority of their 24-ply, nylon yarn plugs, which are saturated with their proprietary, self-vulcanizing rubber sealant. They offer several options for different applications, and sent us their Truck Kit (with an extra long probe and insertion tool). The kit came in a durable red plastic box and contained a jar of lube, two razor blades, Allen wrench, spare setscrew, spare insertion needle, detailed written instructions and an instructional DVD, and 30 8-inch plugs. These extra-long plugs might be overkill for many repairs, but it was…

As with vehicle choice and other equipment decisions, there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to choosing a cargo rack for your bike. Points to consider include size, weight, capacity, mounting and lashing points, and cost. Gross weight when loaded and distribution of mass are universal cautions to keep in mind. Adding weight behind and above the rear axle will affect handling more so than a lower-and-forward placement; cargo racks and cases are about as high and rearward as it gets on a motorcycle. After sorting through your personal criteria, the decision needs to be based on your individual needs. Some of the racks presented here can double as mounts for a top case, which may or may not be an advantage to you. In this review, we are looking…

Jesse takes a different approach by bolting a rack onto their locking Rear Compartment—an idea that has always appealed to me. The lockable box is secure and easily accessible, and is perfect for a wallet or other important items. It was recently redesigned with increased strength (for our chronic tendency to overload everything). Removing the rack will also allow a Jesse top case to be fitted. The unit measured 18.8 inches wide by 11.5 inches deep, arrived bolted to the Rear Compartment, and was ready to install. It weighed in at 10.5 pounds and was packaged well to prevent shipping damage. The five-step instructions were simple and easy to follow, and the hardware was pre-assembled and pre-fed through the mounting holes. Thick washers and Nyloc nuts added to my perception…