As mentioned I ran into tire trouble near Ayers rock- in fact 8km from the Yulara resort. The rear tire went flat, but thanks to local bus driver Tony Fox (and some patient passengers, 2 of whom I met today) the luggage was taken to the resort, and I pumped the tire up and staggered in, and took the wheel into the resort mechanics to change tubes. The tire did come off the rim, but wasn’t damaged too much – at least it got me, with replaced tube, to Alice.
So here in Alice I got the bike serviced, and both tires replaced, today at the local KTM shop. They lent me the demo 690 enduro which I took down a few tracks (I want one.)
They also showed me the last picture, which is the remains of a KTM 950 Adv with the Safari tanks (i.e. Exactly like my bike) which hit a rock or tree stump, punctured or split the tank (I’ve heard different versions of the story) and set the bike alight when the fuel ignited. That’s not a lot left over.
I’ll be watching out very closely for tree stumps. And rocks.
Lance Wiggs 