Milage on a big single?
 

I am planning a trip in april-may 2015 hoping to spend 3 weeks in morocco on my Aprilia Pegaso. Doing lots of planning! I am hoping to get as far into the Saraha as I can on some of the really desolate routes in Chris Scott's book.

I have a lot of experience green laning on Betty, my bike and am aiming to be super lightweight as ever but there is one thing that is niggling me, how many miles/gallon I can expect on the piestes? On the road, I ususally get around 55mpg from the Yam 660 single, but what sort of mileage could one expect in a hotter climate tootling along the rocky roads?

I only have a 16 litre tank so my range on normal roads is 130 to 140 miles to reserve.

Any advice on good places to go is always welcome. I like big mountain tracks, the duney deserts (but not touristy places), and interesting local people.

cheers

Dave

I find I normally tootle along in Morocco at around 70-80 kph and rarely reach the 100 kph speed limit unless the road is boring. So fuel consumption is great and on a BMW F650GS twin or Yamaha Tenere I get as much as 25 kpl (70 mpg).

On the pistes I normally travel at between 30 and 60 kph on good surfaces and the fuel consumption is pretty much the same as 70-80 kph on the roads. On bad slow tracks and difficult sand this will drop a bit, but your major enemy with fuel consumption is actually climbing hills and high speed wind resistance.

(I learnt a lot over the years watching the instantaneous fuel consumption readout on the BMW's fuel computer)

Your norm of 55 mpg works out at 20 kpl so with a 16 litre tank you have an absolute range of 320 km or 200 miles. I'm about to leave for a trip on my KTM 690 Enduro which has a 12 litre tank. Some of the distance covered in the signature below was motorway mileage but if you click on the signature you will see my best consumption to date was over 30 kpl.

http://badges.fuelly.com/images/sig-metric2/251250.png

I expect to see 25 kpl or better in Morocco and leaving 2 litres for reserve gives me a operating range of probably 250 km. If I feel I need more range, I can always carry fuel in a 1.5-litre water bottle and stick it in the tank after 50 km.

There's many more fuel stations in Morocco than the UK, probably because the cost of fuel relative to typical earnings is so high and locals tend to only put in small amounts. If you have a Garmin GPS you can download the Olaf maps and my fuel station waypoints.

With three weeks in country you should be able to cover a wide area. You could meander down the country visiting the Rif Mountains and the Middle Atlas (Azrou and the monkeys) on the way. The Anti Atlas around Tafroute is one of my favourites, coupled with a couple of nights in Sidi Ifni on the coast. When it comes to the return you can always hop on the motorways back to Tanger.

When travelling on tarmac try to avoid main roads and look for the green-edged roads on Michelin or Reise KnowHow maps. April/May is a great time to visit and the country will be really green with lots of wild flowers.

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Thanks for that Tim,

I am glad I got a reply from you, you seem to know the place rather well!

I will take a 5 litre can with me for the deep desert bits. Pegs don't like to get low on fuel! I have a petrol stove, so I have a super emergency 1.5 litres as long as I don't want any tea! This should give me a good range without worrying too much.

I will take a good look at your suggestions. Its my only chance and I want to get the full cup full!

cheers

Dave

I get the impression you're rather attached to your Pegaso.

You're a braver man than me... Pack a spare wiring loom. doh

I don't know who you are and don't know how brave you are.

My Pegaso will go wherever a 250 KTM will go and after 15 000 miles on her and going a long way from home, she has ever only gone pop once, and that was the ignition switch.

Never known or heard of the wiring loom to be a problem.

Thanks for the encouragement. :thumbdown:

There was no discouragement... Just a tip of the hat to you. Travelling on probably the most unreliable bike to ever be made in the history of mankind.

But that's half the fun isn't it :)


Joking aside, have a chat with Paddy Tyson from Overland magazine. He's done a lot of miles all around on his so he could give you some great advice..

It's always better to know your bike.

Can you tell me how it its the most unreliable bike in the world? Seems a bit judgemental?

I think you'll find Paddy's bike, Peggy, was the mk2 pegaso. Paddy, does get upset with Peggy, but it is 15 years old, and isn't likely to be in good shape after all the many miles he has done on her.

All bikes break down, and bike snobery really gets on my goat. My Pegaso mk3 is a great bike, wonderful for small people (you can laugh at my diminuitive stature if you want to, in a kind of top gear way), but I and her get me to the places I want to go. Far from the madening GS adventure crowd!

And, funnily enough, I do know my bike, I strip her down every year. I can tell you every function of the ECU pin if I have to prove it.

I am problably not what you initallly thought I was. Go easy on people you don't agree with please.

Saying that, I may just be joking.

And breath... When did folk get so serious.

No snobbery at all. You should see the old cheap things I buzz about on.

A lesson there, in think before you 'think' you know what you are on about, and then speak. doh

Where's the fun In that ?

The Peg (Trail) is a great and reliable bike. It just gets a bad rep :-)

Dave will get by ok, he will break it and he will fix it (as usual). Stop teasing him. :-)

With reference to Paddy and his Peg what a lot of people forget is the BMW Funduro was the same bike, built by Aprilia. Yet it has a good name.

And Dave, take it easy. Ted does humour much like me, stop taking him seruously

I pity anyone with the same sense of humour as me. Bruce, we should start a self help group..

Riding the Peg around the world is all the safe self help i need :-)

From my previous experience working in an Aprillia dealership, I won't argue with that :)

Well, this topic kind of went a bit :offtopic:

But I really appreciate the knowledge Tim shared in the 2nd post. That was a good primer for novice Morocco explorers. I went there years ago on my 99' Triumph Tiger and was too afraid to go off the motorways ... ALL BECAUSE I DID NOT KNOW WHERE TO GO! Still had a blast despite a shortened trip.

On the Pegaso:
Maybe I'm confused here. In the first post Davebetty said his Peg uses the Yamaha 660 motor? What year is his bike?

It was also mentioned later that the Pegaso (early versions I guess) were the same as the Funduro/F650 BMW. Same Rotax motor. Since we only got the Peg here in USA for a few years (late 90's, early 2000's only) I always assumed they ALL used the Rotax motor?

When did they change over to Yamaha 660 motor? Why?
From everything I have ever heard ... that 660 motor is a bit heavy but very reliable, no? I've NO IDEA about the rest of the bike ... I did not even know Aprilia still made it ... so I'm out of touch on this bike. Can someone fill in the blanks?

Despite Ted's comments I feel DaveBetty has a decent chance of making it.
After all, he's owned the bike a long time, knows it well and most likely has discovered most of the weak points ... or at least knows about them? Even unreliable bikes can do well ... once you've fixed everything that breaks! :Beach:

Good luck DaveBetty! :clap: (carry extra fuel!)

In that case take an old one that you can throw away because I don't think you'll need it.

On the other hand, you might want to consider taking extra water. Hopefully the weather will be a fairly warm 24ºC to 28ºC, but it can get much hotter in May. I start each day drinking half a litre of water before setting off in the morning and travel with a 3-litre Kriega hydration backpack. In remote areas I add two 1.5-litre plastic bottles of water in the panniers.

http://www.morocco-knowledgebase.net...s/tribsa-1.jpg

Don't pay much attention to nay sayers. Any bike will do, this is what I used on my first trip to Africa in 1972.

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I think Dave's is plated 08, but as I told him as soon as I saw it, it is really an 06 that had been lying around.

The Peg (Trail, Strada and Factory) started using the 660 motor in 2005 (before the Tenere 660) came out.

Why did they change ? Because the ROtax had reached the end of its usefl life with Euro emission etc (don't get me wrong, I still rate the old Rotax).

The motor *rocks*, my wife and I rode two from Canada to Punta Arenas, back to BA and then Madrid and home (24k miles) (HU Traveller Two Pegs to Patagonia's Ride Tale) . i then rode mine RTW (northern hemisphere) 15k miles with a mate on another. (HU Traveller Bruce Porter and Mike Speechley's Ride Tale)

My Peg has now done 67k miles and is still giving good service).

Yes, they break, I have had my fair share of electrical issues, but so do BMWs and other bikes. Strangely both my wife's and my pegs are the original wheel bearings and fork seals.

These bikes are under rated, fix the know faults (all bikes have known faults), take care of the obvious and they will server you well.

Dave will do what he has set out to do. :-)

Thanks for the update on the Pegaso Bruce.

Very good hydration advice. Also, if consuming lots of "beverages" the night before ... drink as much water as you can before bed. You'll be a bit less dehydrated in the AM.

1972?
Wow! bier Is that an old Norton ... or?

I really need to start converting my thousands of slides to digital one of these days. Lots from the 70's/80's pre digital.

http://www.morocco-knowledgebase.net...s/tribsa-3.jpg

It's a TriBSA 750 Cafe Racer.

The Triumph 650cc engine was overhead valve and easier to tune, so this one was bored out to 750cc, some skimming of the head to raise the compression ratio, coupled to a BSA Gold Star RRT2 gearbox with very close ratios, first was good for 70 mph. This was then mounted in a BSA duplex-cradle frame—much stiffer than the Triumph equivalent.

Clip-on handlebars on the front forks, rear-sets to move the footpegs and controls further back. Then custom tanks and other bits.

No good off-tarmac but great on Moroccan roads. I was riding it in Morocco in August 1972 when there was an assasination attempt on King Hassan II. The security forces, unbeknown to me, were on top alert, and I was doing about 80 mph on a beautiful blacktop when I saw a roadblock ahead. Came to a skidding stop just inches from the stingers (US: stop sticks).

.

I forgot to add, they stopped making them in 2010 when they decided to take all engines internal, and never saw fit to launch a new Peg :-(. There is a rumour that one is in the pipleline, but I doubt the motor will be up to the Minarelli one (that is the company that actually makes them, bloody Italians eh ? :-) )

No doubt he will make it.

Just trying to point out it's 'issues', which all bikes have.

Just trying to help Crikey doh

Rec/rect used to fry. Coils weren't great and ignition switches/barrels were another weakness.

:blushing:

Yer, but you gave the issues for the wrong bike :-P. And yes, all bikes have issues, just different ones.

The above list is more relevant to the older Rotax powered Peg. As you are now aware this is the 660 engined baby. A whole new different raft of issues. And Dave knows what the issues are, we have both suffered and compared so he is well prepared.

The real issue here Ted, is that you answered a question that was not asked. And, unfortunately, not every one knows you. And now the thread has gone well off topic, it would be best suited for the bar.

The 660 Peg has similar problems. Amongst others. I worked in an Aprillia dealership for two years. I'm not just repeating posts off other threads and forums or quoting MCN reviews like many do.. I know the old peg well too. What a hunk of crap that was.

Anyway, It's on deaf ears so I won't bother.

Happy riding and safe travels :thumbup1: :scooter:

You only saw the bad side, but no burnt coils on any that I have owned and known (it is a corrosion issue we have come across).

No wiring loom changes, that can apparently depend on if you have a USA one or an Italian one.

The fuel pump is a know (small scale) issue.

I've said it before and I will say it again. All bikes have problems, you just have to find out what they are.

Well,

I have kept meself shut up for a few days. I can get emotional sometimes.

Anyway, thanks to all who have given advice. It takes time to twiddle on a keyboard and nobosy pays you for it. The opinion has certainly been interesting and diverse.

I may ignore some advice, but I like the sound of less fuel and more water!

Go easy people!

Dave

No problems
 

Ted,

No problems dude bier, 4000 miles throught Spain and Morocco a bit of desert and smashing the old girl to bits on the pistes.

Just one rad fan relay was on the blink, problably not connected up my me right because ofbeer back on the UK strip down.

easily overidden and no wiring harness needed. Pegaso Mk3 is a decent horse. Espcially for a short arse like me. A dommie would have been nice, If I could just get my foot on the floor!

Go easy dude

Dave and bent(take that whatever way you want to), Betty!

Bestest!

I envy you
 

Hey Davebetty, good luck with the trip. I am at the early stages of planning the same trip next year so please let us all know how it went. I would be interested in your route through Europe. I can't decide if I should make it a loop or just blast down through France and Spain to get there and back. Are you camping? I hope the planning has gone well and you are all set to go or even on the road/sand as I type.
Good luck to you. Ben

DOH!!!!!
 

Davebetty
Sorry I have just found your blog so please disregard my ramblings above. This whole HU thing is new to me but so helpful. I have loved reading your blog and although only a few lines into it I will continue to read about your adventures and work out what to do for my own adventure next year.
Best wishes. Ben

Thanks Ben,

I hope you enjoy the blog, it is fairly eventful!

I woud certainly consider the ferry to norhtern spain, its only £200 each way with a cabin, less if you get an offer at a show (ususally 10% off).

Saves teh long trip through france, tolls, stopping over, milage on the bike etc, and its nice to get someone else to do the driving. the 1000km through spain is enough as it is!

And I saw some dolphins!

cheers

Dave