Bike Maintenance

Almost in love...


Changing rear tyre

Look at the difference.

Complete check up

Changing air filter

Everything ok!

Krikey, im not as organized or as clean as matteo, as you can see, we have very different ways to work on our bike. im just bloody messy. and i love getting dirty, especially when its bike grease! changed my air filter and had a serious look at my transmission. my chain hasn't had a serious lube up since Istanbul. there is just so much sand everywhere. and lubing it up does more harm than good. its hitting and slapping around a bit. just to dry. i also tightened up my chain a bit. so lubed her up and whaddya know. shes full of dirt of already! oh well... changing my air filter is quite hard right now. as my fairing and lights are held together with cable ties! so undoing them is tricky business. especially as i dont have any more and you cant buy them anywhere. i tell you, one day im going to make a bike outta cable ties and duck tape. without those two elements, no-one can traverse africa. my filter was absolutley filthy. i even had sand in my air box. and a lot of it! so cleaned her out and put in my last air filter. should get to jo'burg on that. this is one of the last bike maintenance days of our trip.... and it makes me get all soppy.

In Lusaka ho fatto un check up completo alla moto ed ho trovato tutto in perfette condizioni. La moto sembra ancora nuova, come appena uscita dalla fabbrica. (Ad eccezione di un paio di graffi sul fianco sinistro). E, considerando tutto quello che ha dovuto passare in questi cinque mesi, e' veramente incredibile. Ho cambiato il filtro dell'aria ed il pneumatico della ruota posteriore. Con queste ultime modifiche ora dovrei essere in grado di arrivare fino a Cape Town.
Colonna sonora: "Special K" Placebo

In Lusaka I checked up my bike completely and I found it in perfect conditions. My Ducati looks like it’s brand new, just out of the factory (apart from a couple of scratches on the left side). Well, going back with my mind to all we’ve been through during these last five months, it’s quite incredible.I changed the air filter and the rear tyre: now the bike should be OK all the way to Cape Town.

Soundtrack: "Special K" Placebo