The KTM 1190 Adventure R was a 150 hp off-road beast that actually had quite a bit of finesse. It also looks like the last KTM Adventure bikes to come with analog gauges. The video above shows amazing, beautifully shot off-road action. The one below is more of an in-depth review. If you speak Australian, you might understand a bit. 😉
If you’re at home, and you have some time on your hands, check out this 1986 documentary about the Paris-Dakar Rally. You may remember that that was the year Porsche got their rally program dialed and pulled off a 1-2 finish with their newly-developed 959. There’s some great footage of the 959s in action across Africa.
The Fast Lane Car makes a compelling case that the 1st-generation VW Touareg is the ultimate off-road sleeper. I didn’t know they were available with optional front and rear differential locks. Apparently the front locking diff. is a very rare option.
This video, touting the suitability of the venerable Unimog 421 for military use, captures some great off-road footage. There’s the standard test-track stuff but also some great shots of it out in the wild climbing waterfalls and the like (presumably before “tread lightly” was a thing). The Unimog 421 was manufactured between 1966 and 1989. Judging by the video’s soundtrack, this footage is from the early side of that production run. The video is in German but YouTube offers an auto-translated captions if you click the gear wheel in the lower-right corner of the frame.
In this video a Volvo C304 owner talks about finding this truck in a field and rebuilding it. Great off-road footage to boot. Short and sweet.
In 1939 a 55-foot-long, 37-ton snow vehicle with a planned 8,000-mile range was deployed on Antarctica to explore the continent. It was called The Snow Cruiser. How did it fare? Not so well. If you saw my post from a couple of weeks ago, you know how it’s done today.
Maxtrax are often the first thing overlanders grab when they get stuck. They’re easy to deploy. Just do a bit of digging and stick them in front of the wheels. A set will cost you about $300, which seems like a lot for two injection-molded plastic planks. Have you ever wondered if knock-offs are a viable alternative to an original set of Maxtrax? The verdict seems to be favorable according to this video.
My partner’s partner, Nathan, introduced me to a YouTube channel called MotoTrek recently, which looks like a great place to learn skills and techniques related to off-road adventure riding. Bret Tkacs, the guy doing the instructing, gives clear overviews of the techniques and explains the basic physics involved. Check out this video of him showing how to tackle deep river rock. What he can do with a motorcycle is impressive stuff.
If you’re thinking about buying a Range Rover Classic (or even if you’re not), you might enjoy this Australian promotional video for the 1988 model year.
