In 2010 my brother and I bought two new TTRs here in New Zealand and shipped them to the Philippines where he lives in Cebu City. Since 2006 we had used a couple of XT Serows (bought new locally) to do long distance riding there, previous to that a DT125 and an XR200. The Philippines comprises of some 7000 islands so there is lots of choice... we had already covered quite a lot before buying the TTRs.
A notable ride in 2007 was riding right around the island of Samar. This is a large and most eastern island in the Visayas group so it gets hit with tropical storms and typhoons. The map showed a road going around the north eastern corner, turned out the map was wrong... The road went right up to the waters edge and stopped. From there on it was several local boat rides with the bikes balanced precariously... avoiding local marxist guerillas adding to the interest. Pic below.
We bought the TTRs because the XTs, while being great little bikes, struggled a bit on some of the higher altitude mountain roads and were a bit under-braked with a 100kg Kiwi plus luggage trying to avoid sailing up the arse of a bus from 80km/h.... despite fitting hi tech Ferrodo pads etc.
My criteria for new bikes was stone cold reliability; they must be simple and they must be light (for lifting on and off local boats) That means no liquid cooling, fuel injection or have any hi-tech electronic systems. Fine in developed countries, but in the Philippines heat, salt air, rough roads and typhoon quantity rainstorms will expose the slightest weakness. And if one has a problem in rural Philippines with, say, a leaking coolant pump or fuel injection line, it rapidly spirals into a nightmare of epic proportion. Welcome to a week sleeping in surroundings you could never imagine.... and there are the local cobras to think about...
After looking at all the well known brands I decided on the TTR. We had such a good run with the XTs, and a year of riding the XR200 (overweight undergeared gutless pig) had made me appreciate the quality and attention to detail Yamaha provides.
Done 3200km in four weeks on the TTR and I'm loving it. Removing the exhaust restrictor and completely removing the airbox snorkel made a huge difference to performance - night and day. It's an Aussie spec model with a fairly high overall gearing 14/44 (3.14:1) Hardly use 6th and it needs a bit of clutch slip on very hilly starts so we will go to 14/46 (3.28:1) and fit a short primary pipe to help passing busses. Which, in the Philippines, is a black art....
Good choice of machine, Lin. It sounds as though the terrain in the Philippines is on a par with Devon but we don't have as many islands or ferries. Nor do we have cobras - we have "badgers" and "squirrels" instead. Martyn
Good choice of machine, Lin. It sounds as though the terrain in the Philippines is on a par with Devon but we don't have as many islands or ferries. Nor do we have cobras - we have "badgers" and "squirrels" instead. Martyn
Terrain varies from excellent concrete surfaced highways to volcanic rock riverbeds. No badgers or squirrels. Pigs, chickens, goats, dogs and snakes. The odd horse and cow. Water buffalo (carabou) and the deposits they leave are a constant feature to avoid... The locals use braille to see if anything is approaching before they cross the road. Hence we have fitted two super-loud horns with their own dedicated relay on each bike.
Cor - braille drivers are something we don't have - ours use bathchairs and white sticks!
In Devon whilst riding the trails a "badger" is a term used to describe one's progress when the bike goes down unexpectedly and throws you on the ground. A "squirrel" is similar to a badger but where the bike takes a 90 degree turn and up a tree/bush/bank with the same outcome as a badger. Terminology that gets used plenty hereabouts a lot!
Ah! Local wildlife has interesting meanings! We just call it "arsing off". BTW, the braille is used by pedestrians. Drivers don't use any system except size matters and first in first served.
