Great Ride Forward - Yunnan and SE Asia

[moilami]

A great landscape by Pete of some fields 8km or so outside of Luang Namtha.

Stunning picture. I know I would had just wished the time would stop!

Thanks of the very good report. You made me very happy I have serious MX boots. When shit happens, you better be prepared for it!

[euphonius]

Excellent report, and very pleased neither of you was seriously hurt in these two getoffs. Much admire your courage to show the post-getoff picture, and describe the accident in detail. Lots of lessons there for all of us. Yes, really enjoying your pictures too. The one that Moilami has repeated really could be somewhere in Africa.

Stay safe, and keep the reports coming!

[milton]

Time for another ride update.

Hans, great ride report. Now I know what you are up to nowadays. :-)

It's such a pleasure reading your report, especially to us motorcyclists, as every single picture and paragraph so motorcycle centric, including those getoffs we can all sympathize with as unavoidably all of us have similar experience in our existence as motorcyclists.

I am particularly moved by the "sticker" picture. It really makes one homesick.

[felix]

Getting better and better! Your pictures are beautiful, they really make me want to go out and ride. People too often forget what a big difference a good picture makes in telling a story.

Good to hear that the double-wipe-out hasn't hurt you or your steeds in any way that would kill your trip! Sometimes these things cannot be avoided, as it was in your case.

That Icon Variant helmet is very, very cool. Did you buy it in china? Any thoughts on it? I will be upgrading from my cheapo helmet before my next big trip, this one is on the list.

[euphonius]

That Icon Variant helmet is very, very cool. Did you buy it in china? Any thoughts on it? I will be upgrading from my cheapo helmet before my next big trip, this one is on the list.

Nice helmet indeed. It does seem to be available in China: Icon Variant on TAOBAO.



Price is steep at 3180 RMB!

cheers

[GRF_Hans]

Getting better and better! Your pictures are beautiful, they really make me want to go out and ride. People too often forget what a big difference a good picture makes in telling a story.

Good to hear that the double-wipe-out hasn't hurt you or your steeds in any way that would kill your trip! Sometimes these things cannot be avoided, as it was in your case.

That Icon Variant helmet is very, very cool. Did you buy it in china? Any thoughts on it? I will be upgrading from my cheapo helmet before my next big trip, this one is on the list.

Felix, glad you're enjoying the updates, because we sure are enjoying doing the riding to make them! Pete did a travel blog before (he's been to nearly every province in China, pretty impressive) and definitely has been taking some great photos. The hardest part of this trip so far has been the unaccounted time spent having to sort through all of them!

As for the helmets, Pete has been happy with his Shoei Hornet. However, I believe the helmet is too expensive (US$500) and it took him a while to get used to the Sena bluetooth speakers we installed. The helmet seems to run a bit narrow, but when I compare them straight on, there is definitely more styrofoam padding which is a good thing.

The Icon Variant hit me back US$370 when I bought it in Michigan late last year. I spent about a week trying on these Dual-Sport style helmets at all the local Ann Arbor helmet retailers and lurking through some great helmet reviews before deciding on it. It is significantly wider than Peter's and has a HUGE field of view. The pads are extremely comfortable, and the venting system is amazing; not too loud but great circulation. The styling is very unique, and with the mirrored shield I have installed it definitely gets a lot of looks. I would highly recommend it to anybody, despite the high price. The only downside that I can think of would be the peak buffeting in the wind, but just from looking at the photos you can see that it SEEMS to be the most aerodynamically sound of these dual-sport style helmets. The Shineray is much to slow to let me test this, though...hahaha.

[slabo]

The Shineray is much to slow to let me test this, though...hahaha.

What cruising speed are you getting with those tires? What make are they by the way? The stock tires have served me well so far, 10K and never had a flat.

[ChinaV]

What cruising speed are you getting with those tires? What make are they by the way? The stock tires have served me well so far, 10K and never had a flat.

Those look like Kenda K270's, stay away from them, very slippery. The Kenda K280 is a much better tire and also the Kings Tire KT-966's are really good. Tried them all here

Enough about tires.... thanks for the completely awesome ride report GRF_Hans. Ups, downs, photos, advice, this rr has a bit of everything and I'm enjoying every minute of it. Please keep it coming

Glad you guys came out OK from the little mishap. As someone who crashes far too often, I know how it feels after the adrenalin wears off and you realize what could have happened.

Cheers!
ChinaV

[Serpentza]

Looks like you guys are having a great time :) Bloody brilliant photos

[GRF_Hans]

Those look like Kenda K270's, stay away from them, very slippery. The Kenda K280 is a much better tire and also the Kings Tire KT-966's are really good. Tried them all here

Yea, they're the Kenda K270. Definitely slippery. Rear tread is already pretty low, and we're looking to replace them once we get to Bangkok tomorrow. Thanks for the advice, and we'll see what we can do. Thailand has a pretty big motorcycling community, so I am pretty optomistic.