Adventure Riding Southern Laos.

Mar 30, 2010
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Adventure Riding Southern Laos.


Great 9 days away with Mike Hohman and Steve C Canyon
Steve C Canyon took some time off work at Moto Lao to join us on this epic ride.
He had an eipic 450 KM in two days himself meetinig us at Muang Nong..
Good and big effort.. No easy quick way.. He did as much dirt as possible..

The video is taking in parts of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, remote areas of Attapue province along the Xekeman river.
Lake Nong Fa as well as trails being reclaimed by the jungle along the Lao Cambodian border...

We were looking for some adventure.. not just the paved roads or wide dusty tracks.. Which is getting harder to find in Laos.
You have to go further and further away :-( Where found adventure where we least expected it..

If you can't view the video due to FB or music copyright.. copy the link to your Youtube app or if blocked in your region due to music copy right watch on a PC or Mac..

The pics and video contributed by all on the ride.

More to come shortly under the Laos Ride Report Section..

Cheers
Brian
 
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gsamui

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Nov 20, 2016
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samui
Hey, fantastic video, and you did the trip with really light luggage. May I know if you upgraded your KLX with a big bore and if yes which one? Thanks Gerry
 
Mar 30, 2010
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Hey, fantastic video, and you did the trip with really light luggage. May I know if you upgraded your KLX with a big bore and if yes which one? Thanks Gerry

Glad you enjoyed it. We all had a fantastic ride.
Believe it or not.. I had the most gear...

Tools as well as 3 spare rear tubes.. one front. Spare barings which came in useful on mikes bike. Plus Mike had two flats. One thing. The klx had spare fuses but only 5 and 10 not the 20 which went.. so the tow rope came in handy .. 20 km back to mueng nong up hills and through streams! Also camping gear . Hammock sleeping bag and food.. plus I only wore half my clothes.

Klx has 300 big bore oem kawasaki parts with api ecu and after market exhaust. The other guys are 250 with api ecu.

The best thing you can do is get the ohlins shock.. rear at a minimum . I have both.. saved me getting thrown off the bike when hitting a big hole at 70 kph. Held on so hard thought the skin was torn on my hands.. had it been the stock shocks I would have been airborne. Plus general over all performance..

Cheers
Brian
 

gsamui

Member
Nov 20, 2016
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samui
Cool, awesome, this is just my style of adventure touring. Going as far as possible as light as possible. Seems by riding on same type bikes you can save up a lot of weight by sharing tools & spares. I have a KLX myself which I use mainly for commuting and light offroad and love it for that. For real enduro I use my KTM EXC 200 (2stroke) which is just fantastic (around 100kgs, close to 40 horses, decent WP suspension, low seat height). And then I have a trials bike and a versys as well. Need to let go one or 2 bikes as I do not have the time to ride them all regularly. Seems, the versys and the KLX are the most sensible choice to keep.
The big question is, will the KLX upgraded to 300cc and aftermarket ECU be a satisfying to ride in the rougher stuff or will I beat myself up for selling the EXC. I have to add that the stock suspension is alright for me, I like it super soft and for that its alright. Can't go fast of course - but I guess the Ohlins shocks also have limited travel, so for me it's not worth the expenses.
 
Mar 30, 2010
2,136
300
83
Cool, awesome, this is just my style of adventure touring. Going as far as possible as light as possible. Seems by riding on same type bikes you can save up a lot of weight by sharing tools & spares. I have a KLX myself which I use mainly for commuting and light offroad and love it for that. For real enduro I use my KTM EXC 200 (2stroke) which is just fantastic (around 100kgs, close to 40 horses, decent WP suspension, low seat height). And then I have a trials bike and a versys as well. Need to let go one or 2 bikes as I do not have the time to ride them all regularly. Seems, the versys and the KLX are the most sensible choice to keep.
The big question is, will the KLX upgraded to 300cc and aftermarket ECU be a satisfying to ride in the rougher stuff or will I beat myself up for selling the EXC. I have to add that the stock suspension is alright for me, I like it super soft and for that its alright. Can't go fast of course - but I guess the Ohlins shocks also have limited travel, so for me it's not worth the expenses.

I have a husky te 300 for weekend bush bashing and car camping weekends.

Would never consider this bike for Laos. Not unless I can get a 2T oil tanker to follow me around.

You want reliable easy to maintain and fix in Lao. Klx I am biased over crf is the perfect Lao touring bike if you want to leave the paved roads for some adventure

Everyone I know says what a massive improvement the ohlins is on klx and crf.. especially the crf as you can't adjust the stock like the klx. Friends that didn't think they wanted to spend the money.. then did are now the biggest advocates for ohlins