The myth of the lightweight adventure bike

I’m in the middle of my plans to transform an enduro steed into a lightweight adventure machine.

Currently running the following:

2015 Husky FE350
20L Acerbis Fuel Tank
Steg Pegs (great for standing over long distances)
50T Renthal Sprocket at the back (to give it longer legs on the tarmac)
Motoz Tractionaror Desert Tyres (good combo between longevity and offroad capability)
Tubliss system
Midwest Mountain Engineering clutch Lever (makes 1 finger clutch operation a breeze)
Kreiga OS-Base with 2x 18L and 1x 10L luggage attached

Then there are the upgrades on their way:

Seat Concepts foam & cover upgrade kit
Nomad-ADV Rally tower and screen
Custom built wiring system for 2x 2.1A USB, 1x12V cigarette style plug, and 2x spare terminals for future use

I have planned a mini long weekend adventure for the mid December so hoping to have it all finished by then.

Yeah, I might have got a bit carried away when planning. I used mostly routes found on this site, and linked together as many as I could. Used Google MyMaps’ suggested times (so sections like the Molesworth Station should be quicker on the bike than the estimate).

So far it’s going to be a solo journey so I figured I should plan carefully so as not to miss any ferry or flight times.

As for the FE… because I also use it to commute, and it sadly doesn’t see too much serious off-road action here in Auckland, I have oil changes at every 15-20hrs. I use fully synthetic 10w60, with a stainless steel reusable oil filter.

II could probably stretch it out a little further. Earlier this year I was in Johannesburg visiting a friend that did Dakar 2017. Whilst perving on his KTM 450 Rally Replica, I noticed his abandoned KTM EXC 500 in the corner. He used that for rallies before he got the Rally Replica. He said if he wasn’t racing, just adventure riding on it, he pushed 20-25hrs between oil changes quite comfortably.

Adam Riemann and his Motonomad companions seem to change oil in their EXC 500’s every 2000km or so on their big adventures.

But yeah… hopefully the little FE lasts me a good few years to come.