In some ways motorcycles are the ideal overlanding platform. They’re inexpensive, sip fuel, can get through stalled traffic, or down the narrowest trail. In my experience, they’re two to three times faster over rough roads than 4x4s. And, as this beautiful video shows, they even work for very long distance travel. Between 2010 and 2012…
Rally Heaven
Drive goes to a product launch for the Pirelli P7 Corsa Classic, a new vintage rallying tire, and gets driven around the Italian Alps by racing greats, Markku Alen and Juha Kankkunen.
Photo Essay: Four Corners Wanderings
About the Author Chazz Layne is an adventurer, designer, and photographer based in Prescott, Arizona. Since early childhood he’s had a passion for travel and exploration, a passion which continues to fuel both his creativity and modern nomadic lifestyle. In addition to his work in design and photography, Chazz is a regular contributor to Expedition…
VOTD: Ray Mears – Desert Survival
Via West County Explorers: Here’s an informative video on 4×4-based desert survival, including tips and tricks for sand driving. It also tells the tales of others that have been trapped in the desert and made it out alive, and others that weren’t so lucky. Thanks for the tip, Greg!
Maya Rally 2012 – Teaser is out!
Thanks to the great work of Enrique Vega (E. Vega Studio), and footages from various teams, those of you who have missed the first edition of the Maya Rally can now get a sense of this fabulous adventure! The complete series should be released soon.
VOTD: Russian Ice Buggy
Via West County Explorers Club: Here’s something you don’t see everyday: a Russian ice buggy with a trick up it’s sleeve.
Camel Trophy Sulawesi
This is one of my favorite Camel Trophy videos. It takes place in 1988 on the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi. It also shows a bit of the driver training in England. Great footage.
See the rest of the videos after the jump.
How We Prep for a Trip
A new year brings new adventures. As you go about planning your trips, I thought you might like to see how we prep for ours. If you have any trip prep tips to share, please add a comment. Thanks.
Winch Trick
Via West County Explorers Club: This looks like a great trick for winching a truck that’s pinned against a tree or rock.
In a nutshell, here’s how it works. Turn the front wheels toward the object you’re pinned against. Take the slack out of the winch cable. Put the truck in reverse. It will pull against the cable and crab sideways away from the obstacle.
In the video, the guy reverses while winching forward, which I imagine only works in slippery conditions.
Has anyone tried this?Two Wrench Leverage Trick
Via West County Explorers Club: Here’s a great trick for getting extra leverage out of your wrenches. Uploaded by YouTube user, WheeliePete.
Vintage Offroad: Early-70s Grand Wagoneer Dealer Promo
via West County Explorers Club: Here’s a dealer commercial for the 1973 Grand Wagoneer. Things were definitely simpler then. The narrator enthusiastically states that the rear seat is standard, not an optional extra.
It’s funny to look back at the history of the SUV. On this full-time 4-wheel-drive system, the lock-out for the center differential was in the glove box!
Dirt: The Off-Road Movie
via West County Explorers Club: If you’re in the mood for a smorgasbord of vintage, off-road action, check out this 70s-era documentary called Dirt. It covers just about everything from swam buggies to desert racing, and features a RV-ing grampa for a narrator.
Into the Mind
Captivating
Vincent Urban: In South America
via West County Explorers Club: Vincent Urban and his crew of friends have just finished another journey, this time through South America. Last winter I posted his first big video, a beautifully shot and edited Land Rover tour through Asia. This is one equally great. Go Vincent! And thanks again for the tip, Greg!
KTM 450 Adventure
Not available from the factory, but a potent exploration weapon nonetheless
KTM Zweiradcenter Bernhardt in Germany has performed an impressive conversion the to KTM 450 EXC, a factory dual-sport motorcycle with a considerably bias towards short-distance technical dirt travel. The interesting result of Zweiradcenter’s modifications is a motorcycle better suited to long distance, remote exploration, with expeditions into the Sahara, the Road of Bones and even the Trans-America Trail all coming to mind. The concept of this platform has considerable appeal, combining the athletic performance of the 450 with additional range and greater rider comfort. The brakes are bigger, a rally computer has been fitted, along with 37L of fuel. The complete modification list is impressive, but additional oil capacity or improvements to the service intervals seems to be absent from the line-up. I could easily see strapping a Giant Loop bag to the back and ripping up the Skeleton Coast. Zweiradcenter Website
Driving in Russia
Even with the distinct possibility of death, it is so worth it
Along the Road of Bones, far eastern Siberia
VOTD: Town of Ghosts
via West County Explorers Club: Here’s a beautiful video of Bodie, the ghost town in the Sierra Nevada a few miles from the Nevada border. We visited there on our Mark Twain trip. Click here, if you’d like to read more about it.
Thanks for the tip, Greg!
VOTD: 4×4 Winter Driving Recoveries
via West County Explorers Club: Winter’s on the way. To help you get ready, here’s a video showing some snow recoveries by the Search and Rescue Unit in Pierce County, Washington. One involves raising the truck with a Hi-Lift to pack snow under the tires. In the other a Hummer gets winched out of the snow.
When using the Hi-Lift, always keep your head (or any other body part) out of the area between the Hi-Lift frame and the handle, so the handle doesn’t accidentally snap up and whack you. One way to keep yourself out of the “whack-zone” is to put a foot on the base of the Hi-Lift and work the handle with your opposite hand, pulling with the weight of your entire body.
VOTD: A Day in the Life of a Fire Lookout
via West County Explorers Club: Having visited a couple of fire lookouts this year, I found them to be pretty fascinating places. In this age of electronically monitored everything, rangers and volunteers still head to the tops of mountains to scout for forest fires with nothing more than simply surveying gear.
When smoke is spotted, a bearing is taken using something called an Osborne Fire-Finder, basically a circular map and a sight on a rotating turntable. Once the fire’s bearing is recorded, it’s shared with other towers, who, if they are within visual range, also report a bearing. With a bearing from at least two towers, an approximate fix on the fire can be made. Using the line of sight across the circular map (the lookout tower is located in the center of the map) estimates of the fire’s location can be made if no other lookout is within visual range.
This video, about the Mt. Tamalpais fire lookout in Marin County, just north of San Francisco, is more about the view but I’ll hope you’ll enjoy it just the same.