The Rimba Raid Adventure Weekend is the newest event for the ASEAN dual purpose motorcycle community and is expected to be one of the most exciting motorcycle events for both riders and spectators this close to Kuala Lumpur.
The team behind Rimba Raid – Mat Daling are pleased to announce their newest venture into the world of competitive off-road adventure motorcycling: the Rimba Raid Adventure Weekend – Janda Baik. Positioned just 45 minutes from the heart of Kuala Lumpur and a stone’s throw from the cooling elevation of Genting Highlands, Janda Baik is the ideal location to play host to over 100 registered participants from as far away as Singapore and Sarawak.
With a focus on enjoyable participation over aggressive competition, the Rimba Raid Adventure Weekend promises to cater for riders of all skill levels and ambition. Day 1 will test the riders bike handling skills on a series of shorter challenges designed to simulate real world scenarios encountered on the trail, including river crossings, conquering natural obstacles and evading potentially dangerous situations. All of these obstacles will be easily accessible for viewing by the general public.
Day 2 will be more of a private affair for the riders as they tackle the elements and terrain along an 11km off-road course designed to test both man and machine. Although access will be limited to spectators for safety reasons, competitors will be toughing it out through mud bogs, up rutted hills and across fast flowing rivers. Official event photographs will be made available after the event.
Non-competitive riders have been given the chance to participate with over 90 camp sites currently being filled by the competitors and fans of the sport. Rimba Raid Managing Director, Dato’ Capt. Nik Huzlan said of the event, “What we want to achieve through the Rimba Raid event is exposure to all bikers of this style of riding and it’s great to see the skill level of off-road riding in Malaysia coming along in leaps and bounds as a result.” He added that ,“While the competition side of the event is great fun, it’s the participation of newcomers that really makes the event worthwhile.”
Rimba Raid started off as a group of friends organizing off-road rides into out-of-the-way places in 2014. The Janda Baik Adventure weekend joins their annual Mat Daling ride/camp event as a way of promoting sustainable usage of Malaysia’s rainforest treasures and to develop a supportive community of like-minded dual sport enthusiasts in the region.
For more information about the Rimba Raid Adventure Weekend – Janda Baik, please visit the Rimba Raid Facebook page or contact Dato’ Capt. Nik Huzlan at 019 231 0005. See Addendum 1 for the event schedule.
13th November 2017, Siem Reap, Cambodia – The GIVI Golden Triangle Adventure 2017 epic ride has finally started today, leaving Thailand behind for the neighbouring Cambodia.
I said “finally” because Ismadi and I have ridden into Thailand since the 9th, hence it was time to release all that pent-up energy.
Participants were allocated their bikes last night after dinner. The convenience of having large-capacity GIVI side and top cases, besides tankbags and other storage accessories was not lost upon us, as we could carry virtually anything be brought in for this ride, with much space to spare.
We got together for the final briefing before the ride began. The 25 participants were split into four groups, each led by a Marshal. “Assistant Marshals” were also picked to help, especially at stop lights to keep the riders from straying and losing their way.
There were two support vehicles, one carrying tools, drinks and essential gear, the other as a medical vehicle.
We rode out of Pattaya and headed to the Thai-Cambodian border town of Sa Kaeo, 209 kilometres away.
The ride out was smooth, with traffic getting thinner and thinner the further we got away from the city. Thankfully, the day was overcast although it was still humid. Excitement and the freedom of the open road was apparent among the riders, smiling and laughing everytime we stopped.
For me who’s grown accustomed to Thailand, the scene at the Sa Kaeo border crossing kind of took me by surprise. There were many people pulling on large wooden carts in and out of Cambodia and poverty shows.
Anyway, the border crossing was painless as Trans Asia, the tour operator contracted by GIVI, had assured so well in advance.
We got our passports stamped and signed the paperwork for all the 25 bikes within 30 minutes and we were in Cambodia, although we had to stop at the Immigration Office a kilometer away for the officials to verify the details of the bikes we rode in.
We were advised repeatedly about what to expect in Cambodia, and how different it would be to ride here compared to in Thailand. We were told to watch out for Cambodian traffic, particularly how chaotic it would be. Traffic in this country is lefthand drive, by the way.
The road was rough at the border crossing but it was actually pretty smooth as we travelled further into the country, heading to our hotel in the ancient city of Siam Reap, 212 km away.
Traffic was thin, but true enough, bikes, car, trucks, even pedestrians will cross everywhere without looking closely. They’ll also pull out onto the road without thinking twice. We kept the group as tight as we dared to avoid being cut off.
The scenery in the countryside was natural and beautiful. Lush rice paddies stretched into the horizon like a green, plush carpet.
Our pace was much slower than in Thailand, although steady. It was dark when we reached Siam Reap, but the Aspara Angkor Hotel was thankfully not too far into the city.
We freshened up for dinner at a large restaurant called Tonle Sap not far away. Here, there was a large selection of cuisines, Cambodian, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean.
We split up as a group headed back to the hotel rest, while the rest visited the Night Market and Pub Street.
This is Siam Reap’s nightlife centre. There’s everything from pubs, restaurants, massage parlours, small hotels, bazaars, street food and just about everything else.
We soon called it a night, more than elated that Day One of the GIVI Golden Triangle Adventure 2017 has been a success.
Adventure riding is fun in many more ways than one.
Why not ride an offroad trail or better yet, blaze your own trail to some waterfall in a jungle where no one has been to before, compared to visiting an easily accessible waterfall that’s overcrowded, dirty and dangerous with rubbish and human effluents?
But how does one go about with adventure riding? Some people may cynically say, “It isn’t an adventure unless something goes wrong.” It’s not as bad as that. Think about discovering the many God-made beauties our country has to offer.
Here are our top tips for adventure riding.
1. Get a Proper Adventure Bike
Starting with say, a Kawasaki Versys-X 250 or a Versys 650 ABS. Or just go ahead with a Kawasaki KLX150BF or KLX250 (you may want to leave the KLX450R for the pros, though). But for the sake of simplicity, we’ll just stick to the Versys-X in this article.
The Versys-X 250 fills the role of a lightweight adventure and commuter motorcycle nicely, as it has a good balance for adventure riding when standing up on the footpegs. It’s also equipped with spoked wheels instead of cast aluminium ones. Spoked wheels are more desirable for adventure riding as they are usually lighter, absorb shocks better and can be adjusted back to shape if dented.
The KLX range is a no brainer when it comes to adventure riding, as they are enduro motorcycles – super lightweight, slim, long travel suspension, big spoked wheels, and torquey engines. The KX models, on the other hand, are competition models for motocross, supercross and conversion to supermoto, thus they are not road legal. But you could always truck it to the starting point of your ride.
Depending on the severity of offroading on your adventure ride, you may need to replace the Versys-X’s stock tyres to more adventure-oriented ones, otherwise the standard tyres are fine. Adventure-specific tyres not only offer more offroad grip, but they also allow the pressure to be dropped safely (more on this below).
2. Get Proper Training
Adventure riding has its specific set of skills. The route you’re going to travel on may not be severe, but it’s always good to be prepared.
Best way to learn this is at Most Fun Gym (MFG), operated by Malaysian veteran GP rider and legend, Oh Kah Beng. MFG may seem to be a hardcore motocross school, but it’s otherwise in reality. You don’t have to do the jumps. Learning offroad means learning the skills to control a motorcycle over low to no-grip situations through mastering throttle control, brake control, body control, body positioning, vision.
You’ll find your road riding skills improve too. That’s why MotoGP champs ride offroad on their off days.
3. Packing Up
This may seem frivolous but packing plays a big role in a safe hence enjoyable adventure ride.
A few extra items should be brought along:
For one, heavy items such as tool kits, or camping equipment should be packed low in the panniers. Locating them high up results in a high centre of gravity and causing the top-heavy feeling (the bike likes to tip over at slow speeds).
Important items like the wallet, phone, cigarettes/vape, lighters should be packed in a waterproof or ziplock bag, and be easily accessible, so you don’t have to dig through everything to look for them.
Not least of all, hook the motorcycle’s key to a large keychain. It’ll give you a good chance of locating it should it be dropped into a pool of mud or water.
4. Riding Gear
Adventure riding gear is the best as they are designed to be tough, protective and comfortable.
However, if there are certain constraints, motocross wear is fine, but do wear full body armour including knee and shin guards.
The subject of boots is open to contention, however. Many choose to wear motocross boots but this writer prefers adventure riding boots such as the TCX Track WP. First of all, the latter is more flexible, which increases comfort greatly. Secondly, adventure boots have more “aggressive” sole patterns compared to MX boots. That’s important in case you get off and push the bike. MX boots’ soles are smoother, made for sliding across the track while cornering, which means you may not have much traction in the rough.
An adventure helmet (full-face with a peak) is good, so is a motocross helmet, as they provide optimal airflow. A roadracing full-face will have you out of breath in a jiffy. An open-face is inadvisable as it doesn’t have the protective chinbar.
5. Tyre Pressure
With all that out of the way, it’s time to ride.
But hang on! We need to work on the tyre pressures first!
Again, if the adventure ride consists of serious offroading, the tyre pressures needs to be reduced.
Reducing the tyre pressure lets the tread “open up” for a wider footprint. The lower pressure also allows the tyres to absorb shocks from irregular surfaces, rocks and tree roots.
Typical road pressures are anywhere between 200 kPa front to 280 kPa rear. A drop of half will suffice. For example, if the recommended pressure for your bike is 200 kPa, drop it to 100 kPa.
Remember we recommended that you bring a tyre pressure gauge? This is what it’s for. Also, keep in mind to re-inflate the tyres back up to the recommended pressures when you ride home on the road. That’s what the air compressor is for.
6. Stand Up
Get your buttocks off the seat and bend your knees a little, using your legs as shock absorbers for the rear. Lean your chest slightly towards the fuel tank and splay your elbows outwards, but do not press down on the handlebar. Use them as additional shock absorbers for the front, instead.
Standing up brings your centre-of-gravity (CoG) down to the footpegs. Also, having your body off the seat means you don’t get hammered when the bike moves around underneath you. Sitting down in the seat, will have the bike taking you for a ride as it snakes, squirms and bounces.
The Versys models have short fuel tanks; the Versys-X’s fuel tank is sloped sharply downwards at the rear so that the rider may position his body weight towards the front when standing up.
7. Ride Loose
Your grip, arms, torso and legs should be relaxed. This allows the bike to do what it’s supposed to, and letting the suspension soak up the bumps. Fighting the bike will only exacerbate a situation. Your job is just to point the bike towards where you want it to go.
8. Push Down
Cornering on the road or track means leaning your body to the inside of the corner.
When adventure or offroad riding, keep your body straight up and push the handlebar and footpeg downwards.
9. Sit Down
Standing up is necessary when you travel straight or around a gentle curve. But you need to sit back down for sharper corners.
Keep your upper body straight up and push the handlebar downward. Stick your leg out but that leg’s knee should touch the bike. Splaying your leg wide will have the bike sliding and can lead to a lowside.
10. Throttle Control
Throttle control is probably the single most important control in adventure riding (so is on the road, as a matter of fact).
Modulate the throttle smoothly when turning it on or shutting it. Roll it on, roll it off – never slam it open or slam it shut.
If the bike slides in a turn, don’t slam shut the throttle like what your instinct tells you to do. A slide doesn’t mean the bike is totally out of control. It’s just a sign that the sliding tyre or tyres have less traction.
Instead, you could maintain the same throttle position and lift the bike up slightly by either using your leg or the handlebar, or both. If you need to slow down more, remember to roll off the throttle. Cutting the throttle immediately when the bike is sliding will cause an abrupt back-torque (engine braking) and that will result in the tyre breaking all available traction.
When we tested the Versys-X, we noticed that the engine’s power is softer initially, before picking up at 3000 RPM. On one hand, that’s to not scare beginners, but it’s also meant for smoother throttle response when adventure riding. The model is also equipped with a Slip & Assist clutch to control engine braking.
11. Don’t Jump on it!
As with the throttle, you should also be smooth on the brakes. Never grab the brakes but apply pressure progressively.
Additionally, do not brake in a slide. Use the throttle.
Similar to the throttle, the Versys-X’s front brake is a little soft at the beginning of its stroke.
12. Look!
The simple adage applies: “You go where you look.”
Don’t stare at the big rock in your path if you don’t intend to hit it. Look to the sides and you will miss it.
So, there you go. Follow these pointers and you will want to forget about road riding and who knows, you may devote yourself to adventure riding. These tips may seem complicated at first, but they are actually rather simple and straightforward when you put them together.
Enjoy that waterfall!
The ambassador of GIVI Anita Yusof again made history when she was invited as a special guest in the Horizons Unlimited (Indonesia) which ran its course from 18 to 21 May 2017. The event which was held at the Sumbawa Island, Indonesia gathered many adventure riders from around the world specially for this event. Anita Yusof was invited as the special guest to share her story and experience during the ‘Global Dream Ride 2016’ where she circled the globe solo on her Yamaha FZ150i. (more…)
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