Dusty Butt '10 SBC: Overview

Well the little 125cc four stroke Honda did extremely well.

About 3700km over 6 days. And a lot of that was at full throttle, and near max revs.

The engine did not miss a beat. It used about 1.2 litres of oil over that distance (it holds 800ml) which is not too bad I suppose. I do not know if the oil is getting past the rings or whether it is exhausted out the crankcase breather into the airbox. Probably a bit of both.

Also, the suspension and drum brakes were surprisingly good. I guess by "good" I really mean "not crap". I was able to blast along over all sorts of terrain with no major complaints in the handling department at all.

I ran out of time to check over the engine before going on this ride, other than to set the tappets. I really had no idea if it was in very good condition or not. However the Honda NXR engine (XLR125 engine) is pretty tried and tested. The big "H' came through for me on this ride. I am not a Honda fan in particular, but I am very impressed with this little Honda.

The Dusty Butt route was unbelievably amazing. A really excellent trail. The NXR was pretty slow on the straights and up the hills, but was overall enjoyable enough. As soon as the route got twisty I was having a ball. The bike comes into its own on twisty downhill gravel. I caught and passed many much more powerful bikes on the downhill gravel sections. I guess the light weight really helps in that situation.

Overall the bike and the route combined to give me a much more fun experience than I was expecting. Really fun!

The other factor of course is the people. On the 1 dayer you don't really get to interact with very many others. However, the 2 dayer is great for meeting new people and making friends. Everyone is just so positive in attitude and willing to help out, no matter what the issue. It seems a shame to waste the opportunity of experiencing the 2 day environment just to do the 1 dayer. If was ever to do the 1 dayer, I think I would do the 2 dayer first, and then give myself a 2 day rest. Then I would happily have a crack at the 1 dayer.

Would I do the Dusty Butt again on a 125cc machine? Well,.. one guy rode around on a KDX125 two stroke with a max speed of about 130kph. This is much better than the NXR at about 90kph. I think that if I could get something like that KDX125 and tune it up to the max, then I could be interested. In general, I would be happy on something that can sit on 120kph on the gravel into a strong head wind. If a tricked up KDX125 could achieve this then I would definitely be interested. On a bike like that, I could imagine that you might just be in with a chance of winning the DB1k outright. Probably a very slim chance though.

Having said that, the whole idea of the Small Bore Challenge is to ride around on a gutless piece of crap. I have done that once, and am not all that keen to do it again. It is just a bit too boring on the straights and open uphills.

Receipts from the trip:

Thursday 14 Jan 8:25 BP Te Puna 5.10 litres 98 Octane $9.74 122km

Thursday 14 Jan 10:54 Shell Edgecumbe 2.00 litres 95 octane $3.65 (filled up 2 litre jerry can) Pie $3.80

Thursday 14 Jan 12:02 Murapara GAS 8.19 litres 95 octane $16.38 196 km

Thursday 14 Jan 13:52 Gull Hastings 11.92 litres Force10 $21.57 296km Picnic bar $2.19

Thursday 14 Jan 18:21 Dannevirke McDonalds $10.20

Thursday 14 Jan 20:59 Caltex Rimatuka 11.47 litres 95 octane $20.98 279.1km

Thursday 14 Jan 22:29 BlueBridge $100 (Ferry crossing)

Friday 15 Jan 6:43 Blenheim McDonalds $6.90

Friday 15 Jan Peter Grinter M/C Blenheim 17" Tube $20.20, Weld Exhaust $25.00, 1litre Spectro Oil $16.00 Departed 9:10am

Friday 15 Jan 12:32 Cheviot Garage (Caltex) 13.53 litres 95 octane $25.56 311.8 km

Friday 15 Jan 16:49 MGL Caltex Fairlie 11.73 litre 96 octane $21.69 294.6km

Friday 15 Jan Accomodation (HoT) $35, Tolls $10, DB1k Sticker $5, Beers approx $30

Saturday 16 Jan 10:25 Kurow Auto Services ?? litres 95 octane $16.25 203km Pie $2.80

Saturday 16 Jan 12:47 Challenge Ranfurly 3.95 litres 95 octane $7.34 103km

Saturday 16 Jan 15:49 Fax's Auto Services Lawrence 6.41 litres 91 octane $11.71 151km

Saturday 16 Jan 16:00 Lawrence Video Gold, weld exhaust $20

Saturday 16 Jan 21:03 Caltex Alexandra 8.22 litres 95 octane $15.70 183km

Saturday 16 Jan 21:11 Thai Crom Alexandra (Dinner) $30.00

Saturday 16 Jan 22:11 Alexandra Holiday park (Accomodation) $30

Sunday 17 Jan 9:42 Shell Cromwell 3.42 litres 95 octane $6.13 79.1km, Sandwiches $5.99

Sunday 17 Jan 13:43 Omarama Caltex 8.18 litres 95 octane $15.94 178km

Sunday 17 Jan 16:38 BP2GO Fairlie 7.04 litres 95 octane $13.03 146km, Picnic bar $2.50

Sunday 17 Jan evening at the pub including roast meal approx $45

Monday 18 Jan 10:14 Challenge Oxford 9.55 litres 96 octane $17.46 206.5km, Pie $4.30

Monday 18 Jan 14:06 Culverden Caltex 8.07 litres 95 octane $14.92 177.8km, Pie $3.50

Monday 18 Jan 19:00 Shell Picton 11.66 litres 95 octane $21.32 275.6km

Monday 18 Jan 18:56 Picton Plaza India (Butter Chicken + 2MacsGold) $31.40

Monday 18 Jan 20.26 InterIslander Picton $122 (Ferry crossing)

Tuesday 19 Jan 9:23 Levin McDonalds $7.30

Tuesday 19 Jan 11:48 Caltex Waiouru 11.31 litres 95 octane $20.80 271.4km

Tuesday 19 Jan 11:52 Fastlane Restaurant Waiouru, Piece of fried fish and ham roll (Yuk!) $9.30

Tuesday 19 Jan 16:30 Arrived home. etimated use of 13litres, 300.8 km

Totals:

Petrol: $303.18

Food and beer: $195.18

Accomodation: $65.00

Tolls & Ferry: $232.00

Other: $86.20

All up: $881.56 But this is just costs incurred on the trip. It does not include setup costs or post-event costs or tyre wear etc. I need to buy a new Fr brake perch, replace a rear spoke, do some welding work on the pack frame and probably some other little things.

Tyre wear:

Rear tyre (Pirelli MT60 110/90 17): started off with 8.5mm of tread depth and ended up with 5.5mm of tread depth. The trip covered 3686km, so this gives 1229km/mm of tread wear. The Mitas E-09 on my XT400 usually gives about 650-800km/mm tread wear.

Front tyre (Pirelli MT60 90/90 19): I did not record the tread depth when new. Tread depth after 3686km is 5.0mm

Fuel works out at (3686km/$303.18 =) 12.16km/dollar

Trip works out at (3686km/$881.56 =) 4.18km/dollar (although true cost is higher)

Dusty Butt '10 SBC: Day 6 Wellington to Tauranga

Tuesday 19th January 2010

Left Pete's (Thorndon) at 8:00am.

Pack rack was starting to look a bit weak so kept off the bumpy stuff and just headed along the main roads to home.

Made a pack rack repair at Waiouru with some coat hanger wire that Alane gave me.

Got home at 4:30pm and put in a quick post on the forum.

I was tired, but my body had handled it well.

Arrived Wellington 13411km 01:30 hours

Slept at Pete's 02:00-07:00hours

Departed Wellinton 08:00 hours

Arrived Tauranga 13983km 17:10 hours

572km over 9:10 hours

Dusty Butt '10 SBC: Day 5 Fairlie to Picton

Monday 18th January 2010

Depart fairlie approx 7:45am

Took inland scenic route to Oxford and then on to Lees Valley.

Chain came off mid-crossing of the Okuku river.

Other bikers on hand gave some help.

Then on to Hanmer and Jollies Pass into Molesworth/Awatere.

Rained heavy for about 20 minutes and made the ride a bit more interesting.

Just missed the 7pm ferry at Picton and got on the 10:30pm sailing.

Crashed at Pete's in Thorndon at 2:00am.

Start Fairlie 12743km 07:45 hours

Finish Picton 13411km 18:45 hours

Caught ferry at 22:30 hours

Arrive Wellington 01:30 hours

668 km over 11:00 hours

Dusty Butt '10 SBC: Day 4 Alexandra to Fairlie

Sunday 17th January 2010

Second day of the DB1k

Set off with the Jatz's and The Boy.

The first pass was fantastic. I was blasting along and soon was well ahead of the Jatz's.

Quick stop in Cromwell and on to Thompsons Track.

Gate tag with TransAlper, but bike fell off stand and broke front brake perch.

TransAlper went on to catch up with others and I repaired brake perch with some wire. The fix lasted all the way back to Tauranga.

Didn't know about the pub at St. Bathans so continued on to Omarama. HoT and QOTH were waiting there and were very surprised to see me come in 6th on the 125cc machine.

On to Benmore where I forgot the lock code and had to throw bike over a fence.

Benmore back road was amazing.

Then out of Black Forest and along the straights to Fairlie.

Got back to the Gladstone Pub at 4:30pm. Talked with Woodman (RedKLR650) who had been there a while.

Back to camp for a shower and change of clothes.

Back to pub for a meal and spin shet/debrief.

Got to bed approx 11pm

Start Alexandra 12341km 07:50 hours

Finish Fairlie 12743km 16:40 hours

402km over 8:50 hours

Dusty Butt '10 SBC: Day 3 Fairlie to Alexandra

Saturday 16th January 2010

Started off on the DB1k approx 7:10am

See forum links here and here for general discussion and pics.

Travelled with Alane (XT600), Underground 2-up with Ms Underground (Africa Twin), and Mountie (F800GS)

Coffee break at Kurow.

Alane was great and slowed up for me so I could stay on route. Top man!

As a side note, it was great to watch Alane kick start his old 600. There is just something about kicking over big singles that I love.

Had a beer with Alane at Clarks Junction pub

Had to reweld exhaust header at Laurence. Alane rode on. This involved going to the local Video hire shop (of course) and asking to get my exhaust welded. Forty five minutes and $20 later and it was done.

Met the Jatz's just out of Laurence.

Had to find my way with no proper route information but did it. Wheel marks left by previous riders helped a lot.

Gave Shrek my front tube just out of the Lake Onslow Rd before the Serpentine to fix his front flat.

Chain came off on Serpentine right next to Racing Dave's abandoned NXR125.

Pulled in to Alexandra approx 8:30pm.

Brilliant day.

Thai resaurant with Jon24 and Aslan.

Start Fairlie 11700km 07:10hours

Finish Alexandra 12341km 20:30 hours

641km over 13:20 hours

Dusty Butt '10 SBC: Day 2 Picton to Fairlie

Friday 16th January 2010

Got off the ferry at 3:30 am

Rode out along the Port Underwood road for about 30 mins but was too tired.

Stopped and lay down on the side of the road to sleep for about an hour.

Rode on at 5:00am.

Exhaust header became detached just after Rarangi.

Lost 2.5 hours in Blenheim getting exhaust header welded up.

I now had to flag the idea of doing the Molesworth/Awatere section and just headed straight down along SH1

In Blenheim I also checked and topped up the oil, replaced a now missing engine mount nut and tightened up a bolt holding on the rear pack frame support.

Arrived at the Gladstone Pub in Fairlie 4:45pm. Met "XF650" and had a beer with him as others arrived. Great turnout at the Pub BBQ. Really good.

Got accommodation organised thanks to HoT. ($35 for Fri and Sun night) This saved me having to pitch my tent at the local camp ground.

Start Picton 11130km 03:30

Sleep 04:00 - 05:00

Arrive Blenheim 06:30

Depart Blenheim 9:10

Arrive Fairlie 11700km 16:45

570km over 13:15 hours

Dusty Butt '10 SBC: Day 1 Tauranga to Wellington

Thursday 14th January 2010

I rode off at about 8am and went via Waikaremoana, Napier, Masterton to Wellington.

Initially had problems with the kick start lever always flicking out at high speed.

Also, engine seemed to be running really hot. I removed the front mud flap and it ran a lot cooler.

Arrived Wellington 9:30pm

Caught the 11:30pm BlueBridge ferry to Picton

Start Odometer 10297km Time 08:05

Finish Odometer 11130km Time 21:30

BlueBridge Ferry: Midnight to 03:30

833 km over 13:35 hours

Dusty Butt '10 SBC: Preparation

OK this does not include the XT400 but it is one hell of an enjoyable adventure ride.

The Dusty Butt 1000km is to be held in the lower South Island this year.

There is a Small Bore Challenge sub group for those that do the ride on a bike with 125cc or less.

On November 10th 2009 I bought a '04 NXR125 off TradeMe from Gisborne for $900 with the intention of riding it down to do the DB1k SBC.

I did a bit of work on the bike to get it ready:

Replaced farm knobblies with Pirelli MT60's Fr and Rr ($170 from Coastline Honda)

Got rear rack welded up to take Top Box and Pack rack ($100 Wobbly)

Bought second hand indicators and 2 new lenses.

Replaced rear shock lower bearing and regreased swingarm bearings

Closed up tappet clearance from 10/7 thou to 5/4 thou

Checked and re-greased steering head bearings

Lubed the cables and freed up the throttle

Attached front bikini fairing properly

New front sprocket and chain. Used old alloy Rear sprocket off my CR (13 tooth front, 49 tooth rear)

Installed chain guard off my XT400

Bought spare tubes for puncture repair

Swapped out the standard cardboard air filter for two dish washing sponges.

Replaced the broken gear shift shaft.

Changed oil (Motul 3100)

Added an after market Front brake perch clamp that had thread in top for rear view mirror ($28)

Added rear view mirror from wreckers

Checked front wheel bearings.

Replaced rear wheel bearings

Checked and cleaned Fr and Rr Drum brake pads

Replaced front fork fluid

I ran out of time to pull the head and barrel off to check the engine out properly, so I just hoped it would be OK. It is basically an XLR125 engine with 10k on it so should be sweet as these engines have been truly tried and tested.

Work commitments really piled up near the time of the DB1k and I actually posted in the forum saying that I wasn't going to be able to make it due to stupid workloads.

However, I managed to do a lot of trouble-free productive hours in the lead up to the DB1k and amazingly was able to depart in time to get there after all. I was a bit disorganised as a result, but at least I got there.

The NXR weighs 123kg with 2 litres of fuel on board

When fully loaded up :

Tank bag 7.5 kg

Rack pack 13 kg

Top Box 12.5 kg

it weighs 156 kg. With a full tank I guess this goes up to about 165kg.

Then I sit on it and it is 267kg rolling along the road.

At DB1k I lose the tank bag and top box resulting in a bike weight of about 136-145kg depending on fuel level.