Morocco on a TA 650 - October 09

[Transalicante]

Hope you'll like the pictures, more coming.



SIDI IFNI TO TAN TAN




DRAA VALLEY





ZAGORA TO TAZZARINE

[davidstanbridge]

Looks fantastic!

How does the 650 TA handle when the going gets tough?

I've got one recently but haven't tried her off road yet...

Thanks

David

[jarl]

Very nice

Trannies are much better than you think in the rough. Crash bars are necessary, though!

[Lutin]

Splendid pictures, Sir.

What tyres do you have on your TA?

[StumpyFingers]

Spendid looking pictures, the Transalp looks at home.

[Transalicante]

"Trannies are much better than you think in the rough. Crash bars are necessary, though! "

I totally agree. The TA are very good offroaders, BUT the first thing to do is replace the cheap plastic engine guard with something stronger. Little ground clearance and stones are not good companions.

Off the road, the TA handle a lot better than most people think. Just keep in mind it's a heavy bike, so you have to anticipate a lot, and then never hesitate.

The cheapest and most important thing to do in the bike, is choose the best tyres for your type of riding, and put the right pressure for any kind of track.
For this travel I used a set of Metzeler Enduro 3 Sahara, as I was going to do more than 4.000 kms on the road and 1.000 on tracks.
On the road they are nearly as good as the Tourance, off the road they are very good on fast tracks and rocky, but not good enough on soft surfaces like sand or gravel.
For next travel, I'll try the TKC 80. Not the best tyres for offroad, but good enough on the road and with longer life than an enduro tyre.

[Transalicante]

Hi again,

I know you prefer to see pictures than a long and boring text, so here's a short story:

2 weeks in Morocco, the first with a friend and his XT going down the Atlantic coast, stopping in Larache, Essaouira, Sidi Ifni, Taroudant and Marrakech.
And the second on my own doing some tracks and relaxed tourism, and having some fun in Ouarzazate, Zagora, Tineghir, Meknes and Tanger.

It's my fifth travel to Morocco, and the second on a bike, others on an old Toy Landcruiser.

And now some pictures:



ESSAOUIRA




NEAR SIDI IFNI




FUN PARK IN THE ROAD FROM AGADIR TO MARRAKECH




VIEW FROM DJEBEL ZAGORA




DRAA VALLEY




DRAA VALLEY




TRACK TO TAZZARINE FROM ZAGORA




TAZZARINE




TRACK TO TINEGHIR FROM N'KOB




SAME TRACK




TODGHA VALLEY




TODGHA TO RICH

[davidstanbridge]

FANTASTIC!!! I want to do that!!!

[Yahoo]

Man, looks awesome!

I need some dust!

[Grey alp]

I'am soooo jealous that you live sooooo much closer to the beautiful Maroc than most of us.

Been there 3 times ,twice with my bike ,push bike that is and last time a few years ago with the kids ,hotel and rented car.

On the bike i did almost the same route aldo reverse ,Tanger-Asilah-Larache-Meknes-Azrou-Midelt-Er Rachidia-Merzouga-Tinghir-Boulmane Dades-Quazazate-Marrakech.

A year later picted the trail up in Marrakech and went south to Djebel Toubkal (and did clim it to the summit) further south Taroudant-Inezgane-Tiznit-Agadir-Essaouira-Agadir.

Would love to go there with my TA700 and go realy deep south(east).
Its the bl.... distance to get there ,a good 2200km one way ,that stays a problem.
Riding almost 4500km tarmac (highways) is a bit to much ,because the real fun starts after you leave the ferry behind you.

Ah... maybe some day.....

Enjoy