traveller I ’ d met on my journey , I ’ m not alone in these seemingly unlikely events falling in place once you commit to actually ‘ doing it ’. A friend gave me a dog-eared copy of Ted Simon ’ s classic motorcycle travel memoir Jupiter ’ s Travels ; a German motorcycle traveller who ’ d just ridden through Africa turned up on my doorstep . His advice was invaluable . And when I bought my TT600 , right there on the shop floor at Yamaha Pitmans in Darwin , was a second-hand set of heavy-duty leather panniers and frame for $ 500 . It was all custom made in Switzerland for a guy who ’ d just finished his ride around Australia . With a few minor adjustments , the frame and panniers fitted the TT600 perfectly .
Realistically , I should have chosen a smaller , lighter bike . The TT350 had nearly the same power as the 600 but would have been much easier to ride . The TT600 was also kick start , but with automatic decompression I soon mastered the art of starting this beast . And it proved to be the perfect motorcycle for Africa as its single cylinder big bore engine had more than enough grunt to carry me and my gear up over mountain roads , through mud and sand and over rocks on roads that resembled goat tracks . With a dry weight of 120kg , it was also light enough , once I ’ d off-loaded my luggage , to cross rivers in a canoe or be hoisted up on top of a truck or train .
I also fitted a 21 litre Acerbis petrol tank which , depending on fuel quality , gave me a range of 450 kilometres . My TT600 was the very last of the pure enduro models and before KTM ,
the TT600 was the bike of choice for the Paris Dakar . With its deep , almost primeval sound that says power and strength , this bike became my companion , my loyal friend , my protector . Yes , we made the ‘ bond ’. I was also lucky enough to receive support from Mobil , Yamaha and Tsubaki . Mobil provided me with free petrol and oil from their depots throughout Africa . Yamaha provided me with a bevy of spare parts and Tsubaki provided four motorcycle chains . Back in the early 1990s , overland motorcycle travel was still unique and so it wasn ’ t too difficult to convince sponsors to support you in exchange for media coverage : magazine articles and radio interviews . While hundreds , if not thousands , are out there travelling the world by motorcycle , with online blogs , video diaries and social media posts , there ’ s even more opportunity to share your journey and promote your sponsors if you need this support . And with the boom in adventure travel , there ’ s even more companies eager to have their products promoted .
Two months before my travels , I must admit it was with a great
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