London to Cape Town ~ Yamaha XT 660 Z Tenere

Who	Luke Steele ~ email
Profession	Diesel Mechanic
Born 1978	Nationality New Zealand
Previous travel experience	USA, Canada, Central America, Sth. America, China, Tibet, Nepal, Europe.
Previous bike travels	UK to Turkey via Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, return via Greece, fmr Yugoslavia and Switzerland.

This trip	London to Cape Town via West Coast of Africa.
Departure date	June 2009
Number in group	3
Trip duration	3 Months
Distance covered	24 000km
Cost of trip (not incl. bike)	$20 000AUD

Best day	Crossing into Namibia from Angola after completing the 5 Day Transit Visa Dash.
Worst/ hardest day	Crossing Ekok to Mamfe (Nigeria-Cameroon) in the wet season. Equally hard as the Dolisie to Brazzaville (Congo) slog.
Favourite place	Windhoek, Namibia.
Biggest headache	Trying to find decent food & accommodation.
Biggest mistake	Not changing engine oil in Spain before hitting African continent.
Most pleasant surprise	Finding Visa-friendly ATMs just about everywhere. Too bad I took a Mastercard.
Any illness	Crook stomach.
Other trips planned	Not at the moment.
One travel tip	Grow a beard to scare the locals, works wonders when crossing borders.

Bike Model	Yamaha XT 660 Z Tenere
Age/ mileage on departure	2008 15,000km
Modifications	Yamaha Genuine Skid Plate, Crash Bars, Hand Guards, and Headlight Cover.
Mods you wish you'd done	Wish I had not fitted crash bars, caused no end of trouble, ended up throwing away in Western Sahara.
Type of baggage	Yamaha Factory Panniers, Tatonka Barrel Bag.
Tyres used	Metz. Tourance, Conti TKC 80, Mich T63.
Number of punctures	3

Bike's weak point	Sags in rear end when fully loaded.
Bike's strong point	Fuel Range
Bike problems	Broken frame, broken skid plate, cracked engine bars, dusted engine.
Number of accidents
Same bike again?	Maybe, looking at KTM 690E or 690 Adventure if ever produced.
One biking tip	Go with friends you can trust in an emergency.