Finding solutions

It seemed very simple –  choose an U-bag and put it on the motorcycle. After all, this type of panniers does not require any special racks or mounting aids. There are several major, trustworthy Polish producers to choose from and a few foreign proposals. I chose (and convinced Hanna) Mosko Moto Reckless 80L. The possibility of adjusting the angle of the luggage tipped the scales. Seemingly nothing, but to be honest, it was important for me to follow the lines of the motorcycle design. Luggage strongly affects the aesthetics, and I really wanted it to form one whole with the beautiful CRF.

Mosko Moto Reckless 80L has a fairly rigid structure that fits well on the motorcycle. It has three mounting straps on the back and one on each side on the front. While I was trying on the U-bag on Hanna CRF300 Rally I saw two problems. The whole thing was moved too far to the front and there were no good mounting points. At the back, the rack that was mounted (we bought the motorcycle with it) was too short and had only two holes through which I could thread the straps. Moreover, the holes were slanted, which was unacceptable. I started to search the web for other solution, but there was nothing dedicated to Honda CRF 300 Rally available in a reasonable time. We waited for panniers for quite a long time and there was really little time to the big date.

I changed the strategy and decided to adjust something that is available immediately, and if there is nothing sensible, I was ready to make the necessary overlay myself. I found an advertisement from Az-Dar, I called and told them what I needed and … the next day the plate waited for me in the parcel locker. I am linking Az-Dar.pl because there are some interesting offers and maybe you will take advantage of the offer like us. The plate I got was universal one fitting to many motorcycle models. The owner is a motorcyclist and knows his stuff.

Mounting 

With the plate I already had the necessary three holes for the straps and I could move the whole set to the back. After fitting it turned out that I should correct the front corners of the plate, because after a long ride (and we have it ahead of us) there is a risk of chafing the harness. With grinder, vise and TIG the necessary adjustment was made. It came out quite neat and had the appropriate stiffness.

It also took me a while to look for a solution for fixing the front straps. Here, the vast majority of U-bag users thread the straps through the frame. For me, this is not a good solution, because the straps are in contact with the shoes when you ride in a standing position. After talking to Hanna, we decided to dismantle the passenger footrests and fix them in this place. We did not plan to carry passengers, and if we had to ride together  in an emergency, we would manage without it.

The plastic cover on the left side was bending disturbingly, so I made a small reinforcement under it and with the luggage prepared in this way, we set out for tests towards the Baltic Sea. Visiting friends we hadn’t seen for a long time, we made a 1500 km loop. There were streams, mud, sand and a couple of test fall downs. Of course, not intended, but definitely serving as test tasks.

Upon my return, I found two problems. Foam scorching from the exhaust on the right side (it was really hot) and a toolbox moving loosely on the left side under the luggage.

Solving problems

Solving the exhaust problem was easy, because I installed one more aluminum spacer under the factory cover, and drilled holes in the first spacer to improve air circulation. Probably this problem appeared for other users too, because I saw new insulators with holes on the Mosko Moto website.

When I moved on to the left side, I couldn’t believe my eyes – the entire toolbox was held on tiny screws that had been ripped out of the sockets. It’s a miracle we didn’t lose it. In general, the left side barely handled the load of luggage on dirt roads. My reinforcement was also slightly bent. I decided to spread the forces over a larger surface and screw the toolbox properly. I prepared a “sandwich” of aluminum to mount the box – two plates with drilled holes, between which I grabbed the plastic of the tool box and the main plastic.

There was tempting, empty place at the back left side of the motorcycle. I tried to fit in a canister or a small box, but I couldn’t find anything sensible. The space was for something oval and the available items were angular. Oval, oval. Pipes are oval… round actually. And there are fittings and plugs in the sewer pipe shop which make up a first-class watertight container! I made the mounting from the bottom, by bending an aluminum flat bar and screwed it to the place the helmet lock was originally. We don’t use it, so we dismantled it with no regrets. The upper mount is an aluminum sheet bolted to the rack and container, which I profiled in such a way that it became support for the Rackless harness. The whole thing works great both as a stiffener for luggage and an additional, easily accessible container.

Why so much trouble, after all, you can put on racks that will protect the sides? Yes, you can. There are 3 main reasons why I don’t like it:

• I believe that every centimeter matters. The wider the bike, the harder it is to manage weight off-road.
• In case of more dynamic fall, the forces are distributed over a larger area, not only to the mounting points of the racks.
• The motorcycle still looks beautiful after dismantling the luggage

Summary

Finally, conclusions – after driving 23,000 kilometers, mostly off-road, sometimes really hard, demanding roads. Nothing, absolutely nothing happens, the luggage is stable and there is not even a trace of abrasions that would indicate that it is bouncing -it is not. It is a bit inconvenient in our case to use bags, but this is not a mounting problem, but the specificity of our trip. Luggage requires a broader description, but more on that another time.

In an extreme test, when the bike was dropped from about 20m, the structure and Mosko Reckless suffered a little. But honestly, these are minor issues. In Mosko, the strap of the front fastening on the left side was torn apart. The back rack with the support plate has been bent and bears traces of rocks. There are also deep scratches on the tool case. However, everything remained in its place and after pulling out the motorcycle, it was possible to continue riding.

I  tried to point out weak points based on our experience and I am recommending such reinforcement as proven in difficult conditions. This work was done in my garage, but maybe someone will start small batch production and start delivering this buff. It’s not hard to do, and I’ll be happy if more people use my idea.

Since the motorcycle fell 20 meters down, you’re probably wondering what about Hanna? It’s OK, she fell 20 meters down too. Quick. She had her camera on during the flight, so soon there will be a video of this worthy trip to Death Tunnel Road on our youtube channel. It is said to be the most dangerous road in Pakistan, so stay tunned!

Gallery

Click on the photo to see details.

The post Mounting Mosko Moto soft luggage on CRF 300 Rally first appeared on ONE MORE ADV.

Planning our next motorbike trip, to the Far East this time, I took some time to verify the tools, parts and supplies I usually take with me. What follows is my all-purpose kit, tested during our now – 8-months trip and throughout 3 major maintenance services. I will also try to describe the purpose of taking additional things that are usually not in the motorcycle toolbox.

I took the matter very seriously. There was a lot to consider, because two basic issues had to be taken into account. One is periodic maintenance checkups – where, in which countries they can be needful?  Where to get parts for them? And the second thing- failures that may happen to us along the way and what their consequences may be.

Thoughts came to my mind one after the other – this is a new motorcycle on the market, there will be a problem with spare parts and service. Facebook groups warnings also gave me a lot to think about, as people were repeatedly saying that this motorcycle must be well protected with crash bars For sure the caps will crack and the radiator will break. Many have had that before…

Well ok, but when I take it all, how to combine that with the pursuit of the lowest possible weight and the assumed budget? After all, we are going to do a lot of off-road riding and every kg matters.

At this stage, I also tried to learn as much as possible about the important conditions in countries we would travel through. For example, I found a lot of information about bad fuel in Iran – polluted and low octane.  And yet my T7 is already EURO 5, advanced electronics and a minimum octane number of 95. Questions arose whether to install an additional fuel filter or not. What kind of filter? And where – on the infusion? What about octane booster? Should I take it or not? These were my headaches at that time …

I finally abandoned my dark visions and let my experience come to the fore. Obviously I cannot protect myself against everything, and if I was unlucky then … I would have time and a head on my shoulders.

Read below what I finally decided.

Tools

Thanks to this, my toolkit is modest. It happened many times that I had to roll really hard, diplomatic battles with a mechanic who screwed in some non original screw “because the other one got lost” and was not going to look for it. “What’s the problem, you take another wrench and that’s it”. You know, you can’t challenge his authority because you’re the client he is the expert!

My T7 toolkit:

Consumables and accessories in toolkit fot Tenere T7

This toolkit allows me to get to the garage in almost any situation, or even come home and take time with the proper repair and replacements. This was the case with a large hole, about 3 cm2, in the clutch cover in the mountains of Bosnia. It was repaired quickly, lasted through the hardships od Dynaric mountains and got back safely to Poland.

Maintenance on the go

I decided not to carry spare parts and consumables apart from air filter fluid. In our motorcycles, we have sponge filters that can be “washed”. You can clean the filter in gasoline instead of special liquid, but you will not effectively replace the soaking liquid. And few garages have it. I also carefully observe the motorcycle, the condition of the brake pads, chain, tires and I try to estimate how long further these parts can go. Based on that, I order parts through the workshop or buy parts in advance and have them with me.

That way I was carrying oil filters and brake pads only across Iran, but not entire 18,000 from home.

Tires – I don’t carry them like I don’t carry parts. Tires are rather hard to get to big motorbikes so consider that you will have to send them somewhere. We recently changed ours when leaving Turkey, practically at the very border, because we saw that they would not survive another country. A week earlier I had asked a friend to buy tires for us in Istanbul (they were available there) and send them to the farthest point of the carrier in Hakkari. There we picked them up and drove straight to the workshop for replacement.

Yamaha Tenere T7 parts & consumables list

Why did I prepare my own replacements list? As I write this entry in April 2023, the Yamaha Tenere 700 is relatively new bike on the market and most independent stores will tell you that they don’t have the parts for it. They will direct you to a dealer, where you will probably wait for original part to be brought in and it could take even more than 2 weeks. Lack of replacements is not real – it’s just that in many parts selection systems used by stores, there is currently no information about replacements or there are errors. It is even more difficult outside the European Union, where this motorcycle is not so popular.

You can use parts outside of the catalog dedicated for this original model. Why? The construction of new vehicles very often uses components that have been used successfully in other models, sometimes for years. Some of these components are built by external companies. For example, the brake systems on the T7 are made by Brembo.

I’ve prepared the list of replacements together with Nikodem from the Kolomoto.pl garage (I highly recommend it) and it is updated if necessary. So if you know that something has changed, something no longer fits, or a new replacement / cool solution has appeared on the market, leave a note in the comment to this article and I will update it. I assume that since you are reading this, you are benefiting from the information here and you are willing to share your own knowledge.👍

Table of replacements to Yamaha Tenere 700 – 2023:

Is it worth carrying extra fuel? Bonus advise.

Few words about carrying extra fuel, because it’s probably a good place and time. I carry two Primus 1.5 liter bottles in Red Mamut mini panniers strapped to the motorcycle. Yes, that’s all, and I don’t see the need for more. These two bottles give us additional 50 km of range, which is an average of 350 km in total.

We needed to fuel up from the bottles 3 times. Once when we actually ran out of fuel, because the station was closed and we had to get back far – 30 km. The second time because of being overoptimistic in the city during sightseeing – we were thinking we’d refuel later for too long. For the third time, we helped a local in need. As far as I remember, there was always fuel within 300 km, even in a hut-store in PET bottles. Even when we were going to the mountains or to the desert. The range of 300 km is really huge, local motorcycles and scooters do not have such a range and they also have to refuel.

Do you share my view on the subject, or do you have a different one? Comment on it. It is worth talking and sharing your experiences in my opinion.

P.S. And it turned out that in Iran there is very good fuel, even sensational and very cheap – about USD 0.07 per litre. Later on I discovered there is a problem with the purity of the fuel in Pakistani Balochistan due to smuggling in plastic tanks.

Have a Nice Ride

Jacek

The post Yamaha Tenere 700 – what tools and parts to take on a trip? first appeared on ONE MORE ADV.

Who is this post for? For people who find standing on CRF300 uncomfortable and need higher positioned handlebar. For those who want to install heated grips and / or handbars on the CRF300.

We also provide the links to parts we used when needed.

Here is a list of handlebar-related tasks to perform:

1. Make Hanna’s uncomfortable standing position relaxed
2. Install heated grips
3. Install hand guards

Improving standing position on CRF300R

The problem was not only the location of the handlebar, but also the angle of the grips. Both of these factors together caused rapid fatigue while riding in standing position and sometimes even hand numbness. I knew that I had to change the handlebar, otherwise we would not change the grip angle and that was where I started my research. Talking to Hanna, I found out what angle suits her best and all that was there to do-was going shopping. As we know each other very well we can communicate precisely even nuances, but if you do not choose handlebar for yourself, I recommend taking the rider with you to the store. Small differences in shape make a big difference.

I found an aluminum handlebar with the right bend of the tips, dedicated to ATV, but it does not matter in this case. With the handlebars in my hand, I chose the elevation, the maximum that the cables and wires allowed.

Be aware that, the cables around the handlebar and the elevation I used do not fit just like that. The cables need to be arranged in a slight different way and checked for proper work in max right/max left position of handlebar. In addition, while assembling hand guards, be careful as the brake hose at the pump is routed from the bottom to top, not the opposite side. If you don’t feel up to it, consider using a 25mm risers instead of changing the handlebar

I am writing this text quite a long time after assembly, and also after a few Honda falls, and I know that this particular handlebar was a good choice. It is very light yet durable.

The parts:

HLP handlebar extension – 30 mm, aluminum
ACCEL handlebar – SH11BK

I bought the handlebar in the Bike Space store in Katowice, I think it can also be obtained in other places without any problems.

Installation for heated grips

Having new handlebar ready it was possible to mount the heated grips. Here, in addition to using the assembly instructions, four things must be noted:

1. Buy grips 120 mm long, because that’s the length of the twist grip throttle.
2. The original throttle grip is mounted on the tabs, so it should be lifted delicately and carefully not to break the plastic base. To make thing easier, you can simply cut the rubber off, this shifter will not be used anymore. You need to get rid of the tabs on the twist grip throttle to mount it. This is not included in the manual, but if you don’t do that you will not succeed with putting on the new grip . You don’t have to disassemble the left grip, it stays with the old handlebar.
3. The controller holder included in heated grips set is not particularly suited to this bike. I made a new one from an aluminum bar and added an additional off-road light switch next to it.
4. There is very little space left around the head of the frame for the electric installation of the heated grips and you have to be very careful while you choose it’s position. Be sure to check that when turning handlebar left and right nothing jams or rubs.

Heated grips Oxford Premium Touring – diameter 22 mm, length 120 mm EAN 5030009006913

Hand bars mount

We use ZETA hand bars, they have proven their value many times in several motorcycles. On this bike, I basically only ran into two problems during assembly.

In the installed, new handlebar it was necessary to drill holes both on the right and on the left side, literally 0.3 mm was missing so that the spreaders could be mounted inside.

I had to use different internal mounting parts than provided in the universal kit, so-called u-clamps, to get around the brake wires and clutch cable. I had the necessary parts in the garage.

Handbars work as they should. The bolt is bent, but the hands and door handle are intact.

Handbars ZETA – I bought a universal model with middle type mounting parts, which I had to change to u-clamp. As I write these words, I see that there is a model suited to CRF300 Rally, I hope it fits.

Zeta handbars for CRF300Rally

I hope you will find the information useful and it will be easier for you to customise your motorcycle according to your needs and preferences. If you don’t have any questions, we’ll be glad if you leave even a smile in the comment 🙂

See you on the trails.
Jacek

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