Tag Archives: CRF1000

Tyres, Safety, and False Economies

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I had a random call today from a customer asking me to fit two cheap tyres (a 19″ and a 21″) to their bike. They’d bought the tyres online at a bargain price and were now looking for an equally cheap fitting service.

It never fails to amaze me: the only thing keeping you upright and safe on a bike is just a few square inches of rubber in contact with the road. If you’re thinking about cutting corners, tyres (and, in my opinion, your crash helmet) are not the places to save a few quid.

As it turned out, I wasn’t prepared to fit them — and neither was any other bike shop or tyre-fitting service in the area. My advice to them was simple: buy a reputable tyre brand from a trusted supplier, and have the supplying dealer or shop fit them.

It might cost a little more upfront, but the peace of mind that comes from knowing the job is done properly is, in my view, well worth it. After all, better safe than sorry.

Honda CRF tyre change

So what is in my Africa Twin toolkit?

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I have had lots of requests to make up toolkits for riders and my advice is almost always the same, you only need to worry and carry the tools you both know how to use and will fix the bits on your bike you know how to fix… That said, as promised, apart from spare tubes here is what I carry in my CRF1000L toolkit…

  • 8mm, 10mm, 11mm, 12mm and a 15mm open end and ratchet spanner (all these will do the chain adjusters, and all the remaining odd nuts and bolts on the CRF).
  • Three MotionPro tyre levers (08-0284 12-13mm), (08-0288 27mm), (08-0286 22mm).
  • Two MotionPro Rim Shield II plastic covers.
  • 27mm and 22mm socket and drive (you will not break the rear axle torque with the MotionPro levers so either under torque your axle or carry these).
  • 8mm, 10mm and 12mm long reach socket and small driver.
  • HW5 Hex.
  • 17mm Axle key.
  • Flat and cross head screwdriver.
  • Tube patches, glue and rubber gloves.
  • Cable ties.
  • Spare brake lever (53170-MEJ-016) – the only thing that has stopped me dead on the CRF is a broken front brake lever.
  • All in a Kriega tool roll and wrapped in a Karrimore waterproof kit bag.

Africa Twin Toolkit

Stretching my Legs

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Testing and preparation are the two key points to ensure a successful road trip. As it was last week when I found myself alone for the first time on an early morning Eurostar bound for Calais and onward to Berlin. The plan was to test the new DCT Africa Twin in anger – to see what was missing and what would break. I am pleased to report that in the first 1800km since leaving the UK apart from about 80ml of oil being used by my ScottOiler and frequent stops for fuel, all is well with the Honda. Pit stops have become lengthy as almost inevitably a few people come and talk about the bike and the travel plans – there are only a few CRF1000D’s on the road in mainland Europe and so far I have only seen one other bike perched on a dealers trade stand when I stopped at the Spinner Brucke bike meet. Onwards to Berlin and a true autobahn speed test.Stretching My Legs