Off Road Explorer Enews #2
Welcome to the second issue of Off Road  Explorer Enews. The next issue of Trail Zone is on the way and set to scoop all the other off-road motorcycle magazines with the release of the new fuel injected dual purpose Yamaha WR250R. Clubby emailed me the cover shot the day before the media release actually began. As soon as Clubby landed back in the country the mag was completed on on the presses while the other mags are still unpacking there bags from the New Zealand media event. If you were expecting another TTR then forget it. According to Clubby Yamaha's small bore dual sport bike is not far behind the WR250F is performance and handling. Trail Zone Issue #16 will hit the news stands 20th February 2008.
KLR Project Bike
Off Road Explorers first project bike the Kawasaki KLR650 is off to a great start . TAG handlebars, IMS pegs, KLR branded luggage and and screen plus a new Unifilter air filter and Staintune pipe has it breathing easy. Combined with the new Cheng Shin C-755 knobbies its confidence inspiring in the dirt. Check out the details in Trail Zone #16.
Adventure Bike News
 BMW 800 GS Australian Release Delayed
Along with a couple of mates of mine there's a heap of hopeful BMW 800GS owners who have put there money down on one of the first 800GS to land in the country. However, their hopes of delivery in the first half of the year have been shattered with the news that the delivery has been delayed due to production problems. The new model is now due later in the year.
Inaugural KLR Rally
If you checkout the ORE Forum then you may have found the announcement for the inaugural KLR Rally scheduled for 5th-9th June 2008 at Alice Springs. The rally coincides with the Finke Desert Race so the majority of the group will be following the race to Finke and back. For more details check out the KLR.net site.
Off Road Explorer on BMW Safari
 After our success with Trail Zones DVD 'In The Zone', ORE will be at the BMW Safari filming the ride. The resulting DVD will be available to all the riders that take part in the Safari. Parts of the ride and reviews of the new model 1200GS will feature in the next Trailzone DVD.
Adventure Gear
 In our last Enews we featured the DriRider Rallycross Evo Jacket and if you're a budding photographer tou should have entered the DriRider Rallycross Evo Photo Competition.
Well to compliment the DriRider Rallycross Evo Jacket you can't go past the DriRider Rallycross Evo Pants. They are an absolute must for Adeventure riders with plenty of pockets and effective zippered vents for those hot days.
If you haven't already its not too late to enter TRAIL ZONE's DriRider Rallycross Evo Photo Competition. If you think you're a lousy photographer then you can call McLeod Accessories on 1300 300 191 for your nearest DriRider retailer.
Travel
Across Australia
Outback Adventure Treks have announced their latest ride across Australia and say it will give you ' bragging rights to last a lifetime'. From the Queensland coast you travel through Birdsville, cross the Simpson, Great Victoria, Gibson and Little Sandy Desert all in the same week plus Uluru, Lake Eyre and to the top of ‘Big Red’ the biggest sand dune in Australia. You can hire a BMW Dakar for the ride or use your own bike. East to West runs from 6 July 2008 - 20 July 2008 and West to East from 14 Sept 2008 - 28 Sept 2008. For more details go to: www.outbackadventuretreks.com.au
Yerranderie
During the summer break Tenere Ray and I headed for Yerranderie west of Sydney for a short 2 day tour. The first day of riding was great and ended up being a bit more of a reccy for a future ride. There are a few trails closed and areas off limits being a catchment area. We'll be mapping it out in the Travel section of ORE. Keep an eye out for updates.
Mildura
Too many kilometres and so little time. In a couple of weeks time the Trailzone team heads off for Mildura. Mind you Clubby and Popgun get to go down in the van where as the ORE KLR650 will be taking every back road I can find. Those of you big on a desert adventure keep an eye out in Trailzone.
South East Queensland
Now that the weather is getting cooler ORE has its sights set on a Queensland adventure. If you've been scanning the ORE Forum pages it looks like the guys up there are already planning something. If you're from the Sunshine State get on the ORE Forum and hook up with some off the boys for a ride. By the looks of the Queensland section they're pretty active and have plenty of rides up there sleeves.
Alice Springs
We've penciled in the KLR Rally and the Finke Race for this year. Chances are ORE will be riding from Sydney to the Outback. We think this adventure may be worthy of a DVD story or two.
Adventure Bike Accessories
Whipps Suzuki V-Strom Bash Plate
Whipps have answer the prays of the growing ranks of Suzuki VStrom owners and have released a new bash to protect the underbelly of the V-Twin. For more information go to www.whipps.com.au.
Food, Fitness and Nutrition
by Stephen Gall
If you've visited the Outback Adventures web site then you would has read that this ride is not for wimps and requires elements of stamina and endurance. You should never underestimate the level of fitness you need for a long distance ride. As the day wears on and you become tired your motor skills decline and that's when your chances of crashing increases. So when you're planning an epic you must consider some sort of fitness program. So where to start.
MAKING THE COMMITMENT
The best way to start your new training plan is to make a real commitment to it. To affirm this in your mind it’s a good idea to write it in your diary or put it on a piece of paper in a prominent place where you will constantly be reminded of it.
There may well be times when you get down-heartened during the season, and if you get a reminder – in your own messy handwriting at that! – it will trigger positive memories of how pumped you were feeling at the beginning of the season. This will help lift your attitude, remind you of what you wanted to achieve this season and hopefully kickstart your determination to get back on the right track again.
FIND A TRAINING PARTNER
Probably the best advice I can offer when it comes to maintaining a good attitude and motivation towards training and racing is to find a regular training partner. He or she doesn’t even need to be a adventure rider or ride the same brand bike. It’s great fun to set goals with a partner and push each other to achieve them, and the element of competition between two athletes always helps your drive.
KEEP TRACK OF YOUR PROGRESS
Keeping regular records of your track times, results, training runs and so on and comparing them with previous records will help you to evaluate your improvement. This gives a great boost to your morale as it’s there under your nose – all the hard work is paying dividends!
By keeping records you can easily see how you have improved and how you are working towards achieving your goals for the year, which will spur you on to keep at it.
ASSOCIATE WITH POSITIVE PEOPLE
If you have ever been around a group of enthusiastic, vibed people you will know how easy it is for their enthusiasm to rub off and get you pumped up too! Keeping yourself in the right social or training circle will keep your motivation running high, and this will also rub off on other people and have a snowball effect.
This applies not only to your training partners and riding buddies, but your other social contacts. Anything that has an effect on your mental outlook will rub off on your motivation for training in one way or another.
TRAIN RIGHT
Training smart will go a long way to boosting your motivation. And that means doing the training you need to do, to improve your performance overall. Maintain a regular yet varied training programme to keep your interest up. If your upper body strength is down, then obviously your should train to build-up your shoulders and forearms.
Don’t just go out and train at what you are good at. Analyse your weaknesses and train to improve them.
Rider Email
G'day blokes,
Happy New Year to all at TZ. I especially appreciated your extremely well produced 80min DVD that came with the Jan/Feb edition - far better than most from the opposition. I am also pleased to see you blokes are finally getting stuck into the adventure bike scene. So far so good.
Finally, being a DR owner, I've enjoyed your mod tips for the bike (a few I've not seen before - good) and would be keen to get a more comfortable seating/standing standing position by lowering the pegs. However, I am not sure what make of bashplate you are using, but am certain that bolting on the lowering plate shown in your photo would definitely require some cutting of my nice new Whipps bashplate, if I decide to do the mod. Accordingly, I would appreciate it if you could send me details of the templates you used. Cheers,
Gil
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