Looking for ideas and pics to improve my '03 TA off the road

[spain]

Hola y bienvenido a este forum.Yo soy ingles pero vivo aqui en Altea.No sabe nada de el TA...tengo un AT.La gente aqui estan lleno de informacion de todos los modelos de Honda y otros marcas.
Usted hablas y escribir ingles muy bien...mas que yo.
Saludos

[btbloke]

The mods are now busily babelfish'ing.........................good luck with the sale

[Transalicante]

Hola, Altea es buen sitio para vivir y disfrutar de la moto !
Desde luego, esta es la mejor pagina web para encontrar informacion de las Hondas aventureras.

Hasta pronto.

Can be translated as: "Hi man, you're lucky to be riding your AT on the sunny face of Europe !"

[spain]

Hola, Altea es buen sitio para vivir y disfrutar de la moto !
Desde luego, esta es la mejor pagina web para encontrar informacion de las Hondas aventureras.

Hasta pronto.

Can be translated as: "Hi man, you're lucky to be riding your AT on the sunny face of Europe !"

De verdad
Thats true

[Transalicante]

Hello again,

Just found an Africa RD07 sump guard for 50 €. It needs some polishing to erase little crashes, but is good enough to protect my engine.
I'll try to put some pictures, but that will be on the end of march because I'm soon going on hollydays

Wheeliebin, apparently you used the same sump guard, did you had to modify it much to fit the bike ?

Thanks.

[wheeliebin]

Not too much, I'll have to get the camera out, BT Bloke has the same sump-guard.

[Mudwiz]

I know this is an oldish thread, but can I butt in?

In my experiance the TA is a tough beasty and can take loads more than many/all expect.

Essential things are a good sump guard, e.g. the TT one, although even that splits along the side welds, and some good crash bars, mainly to protect the radiators. Good footpegs also, try Suzuki rm85 ones! Gearshift from a CR85. Other stuff is just dressing up!

The main issue with ground clearance is not one to really worry about. The bike is WIDE at the bottom, that's where the problems are caused. I don't think it is easy to gain enough height to reduce that problem. Ruts are ruts, and much narrower than the bike. Hit them hard and fast, and belly surf to the next bit the wheels can grip on. Or ride in hedges!!

Wheel wise - keep the spokes well lubricated, I now use chain lube under the rim tape, so the nipples don't seize.

(more later)

[Transalicante]

Thanks for your answer Mudwiz.

Ruts ? So you're talking about mud ? I don't even remind when was the last time I saw that thing...

My problem is the stones. They grow all around my region, as well as the palm trees

That's why I need a very good sump guard (the AT one will be good enough I hope), and better ground clearance if possible.

Wheeliebin improved the height of his bike in a clever way, but I don't feel confident about his fork strenght in the kind of trails I use to go here.

Coming soon, pictures of the AT sump guard modified to fit the TA.

[boomer84]

Firstly guys, thanks for this thread! Ground clearance is something that I definatly need too improve (making a 200kg bike fly and then land on rocky ground is not good at the moment!) so seeing a few easy tips on how to make a bit of improvement is really good.

As far as extending the fork caps, maybe only extend them a little bit if you are worried about strength. As long as at least half of the original leg is held in the yoke I wouldn't expect it to be significantly weakend.

Adding preload is something I should have done a long time ago on the front. It is way too soft for my liking but is too late for different springs so a few washers will have to do.

Going to get all this done over the next few days so I will try to get photographs of everything to show the full changes and the new angle of the bike.

Ride safe,
Ol

[Palmer]

get some crash bars that was the only thing i needed as well as my home made sump guard and pivert pegs