Slippery Shit

 I have been lucky enough to be doing some decent kilometres on the Ducati of late. Some of that was because I located it in Sydney at Steve’s place so I had transport to get out to Orange to visit Dad and some is because I just love riding it. 😁

What this means is that I have arrived at the half way point to the 15 000km service. Talking “oils” usually opens a can of worms on the various forums around the net but in my opinion going 14 000km (it got a change at the first service 1000km mark) on just three litres of the slippery stuff isn’t that conducive to engine longevity.

Ducati specify Shell Advance as the only oil to use. Just like KTM specify “only” using Motorex to ensure warranty compliance. Well, a mate in the industry enlightened me to the reality of this prescribed oil brand use. Apparently Motorex give a cash kick back to KTM dealers if they sell a certain amount of Motorex. I don’t know about the Ducati/Shell tie up but I would bet all of my biscuits that it is the same kickback deal.

So, my mate, who I trust very much, is a Maxima agent (yes, I see the potential conflict here but I trust him) and as such I can access Maxima fully synthetic for a very attractive price. Obviously with this offer on the table I went ahead with a bottle of Maxima’s finest and a genuine Ducati oil filter. I read somewhere that the genuine filter has a pressure switch in it (ala a thermostat I guess) while the engine warms up, hence the genuine purchase there.

Lucy gave me a hand with the change as I had given her a hand changing the oil and filter on her bike last week (yes, she is on Maxima 10W50 as well now). The little Z400 only holds 2 litres so we will change hers every 5000km in future.

I was a bit surprised at how black the Shell Advnce oil was after just 7000km. I would be horrified to run it to the 15 000km mark! I was also amazed at the torque on the sump plug. Admittedly, Ducati use some sort of sealant on the plug but I reckon it was a 40+nM undo. I didn’t have their sealant when reinstalling so went with some Permatex Blue and used the “elbow feel” 20nM “click” when tensioning it up.😉

She comes with a magnetic sump plug, which I think every bike should come with. Like, how much could it cost? Anyway, It looked pretty clean with just some very very fine swarf on it.

So, it was a very straight forward job and the apprentice Ranga did the refilling honours for me. I am really enjoying showing her how to do these jobs as she is very keen to learn and as an electrical engineering student she is showing me a thing or two with her knowledge. Yes, proud Dad moment here.🤗

So, I am done until the 15 000km service, which I will let Ducati complete so that my warranty remains unblemished. I did stress a bit about mixing the oils put through the engine during it’s lifetime but surely getting fresh fully synthetic oil every 7500km has to be better than letting the Shell stuff run for a full 15000km? I guess time will tell.

Next job will be fitting the Unifilter when I have some spare time.

Till then, Cheers.

DDX Steg Pegz

 

Last week I was perusing the Ducati Desert X Owners Australia FB page and came across a post from a bloke in Sydney who was wanting Steg Pegz for his DX. He had been in touch with Steve, the owner of Steg Pegz to tee up a bike for a measure up and fitting. I had a couple of days free so volunteered to ride the 150-odd kilometres up to the Sunshine Coast to be there at 0730 and have my bike measured. 

Steve thought it might take all day so I organised to catch up with a mate who lives up this way for a coffee at 10am. I was surprised then when Steve rang at 0945 to say the bike was done! 

After a leisurely coffee with Deano I Ubered it back to Steve’s workshop where my bike was waiting. It hadn’t taken long to make the brackets up as they are very similar to the Africa Twin’s brackets. 

I think they look pretty good and blend in with the overall appearance of the bike.

I guess I could always paint the brackets black if they start to hurt my eyes.

The first set of Steg Pegz for a Desert X in the world. Trail blazing! 😎

So here I was, in the middle of the Sunshine Coast with my bike done and a cracking, clear afternoon at my disposal. What to do?

Best I head out west and try these Pegz out on some dirt! I have never ridden a bike with Steg Pegz but those who do, swear by them. Heading west to Yandina I stood up and was instantly a believer! The Pegz support the back of your boot, behind your calf so you go from 4 points of contact on the bike to 6. This not only feels far more stable but it takes all the load off of your hands and arms, especially on uphill sections.

I decided to climb the range up to Mapleton, then head out to Kenilworth and Jimna, via Conondale Forest. It had rained this morning so the roads were damp, yet grippy. Perfect conditions for the Pirelli Scorpion STRs that come standard on the DX.

I stopped briefly at the Ghurulla (pronounced Cheerulla) trail bike area for a look. I hadn’t been here since about 2006 on my XR400R and was excited to be reminded of it’s 18km one way loopy goodness. I must bring Will and his SWM out here.

I continued through Kenilworth for a splash of fuel then headed off for the 40-odd kilometres along Sunday Creek Road. My last visit here was in 2013 on one of my first bikepacking rides.

Sunday Creek road is a great ride through beautiful lush bush land but it does get quite rocky in the centre of the forest. This looks to be man laid as the road would be red clay otherwise and probably slippery as hell because it is often wet.

I had a couple of slips in clay puddles but just let the bike track, then corrected when I came out the other side.

😳

 These STR tyres aren’t so good in the slippery stuff.

I stood up for most of the dirt sections of the ride and must say I love the Steg Pegz. I will be grabbing a pair for the SWM now as well.

After a spirited ride up over Mt Mee, I bashed my way through afternoon peak hour traffic but I had had a great day out on the bike. 425km was a pretty decent effort and I was home before dark. (I hate these short winter days)

The hashed section depicts dirt. 

For my  trouble (getting on the road at 5am) I was given the gift of these Pegz and the dubious honour of being the first owner in the world with a set! 😎

Thanks to Steve of Steg Pegz for hooking me up. It is an amazing business he has built, operating out of a small unit in an industrial complex. You would never suspect this is where the worldwide supply of Steg Pegz comes from!

I look forward to putting them to good use with some leave I have coming up in August.

Cheers.

Dad

 Note - This post is a bit personal and mainly for Steve and I. It has been hard to write and I am still at odds with myself about what or why to post.

My Dad, Robert George Hoswell, passed away on the 19th of April 2023. 

Steve and I were able to spend quite a bit of time with him by his bedside over the last two months. For this I am eternally grateful to work for giving me all the time off that I needed and to my family for doing the same as well as being there for me.

Orange, NSW with his father, Gordon and mother, Blanch ~1942

Dad was born in 1940 and grew up in a small country town in central New South Wales. He left school at 14 years of age, as many did in the day, and worked hard all of his life. As a mechanic he WAS the guy they got the idea from for the shirt that says “ I fix stuff and I know things”. He was an old school mechanic who could look at a problem and come up with a fix to get the show on the road, working with almost nothing. We had a vague awareness but the stories that have come out about Dad helping people out who were in a pickle, back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, have been heart warming and sometimes eye opening! They certainly make us feel proud.

Marrying Mum, Forbes NSW, 1969.

Dad loved his fishing, shooting and camping which he did much of before marriage and kids slowly put a stop to that.

Mum and Dad - sometime in the '80s.

Myself, Steve and Dad ~ 1980

Dad fostered my interest in flying by supporting me into radio control model flying when I was a teenager. He built a model, paid $699 in 1983 dollars for a radio control set!! and drove me to flying lessons 40 kilometres from home. After I learned to fly Dad joined me in learning to fly himself. Not a bad effort at all in his mid forties. He went on to build and fly many more model aircraft over the years.

Dad with his much loved Sig “Kadet” in our sheep paddock airfield ~ 1985.

My interest in aviation continued as I went on to learn to fly gliders, then powered aircraft and while Dad wasn’t directly involved in that, he was the bedrock that provided the family with a solid foundation that saw we never wanted for anything.

Once I moved to Western Australia for work I bought my first motorcycle. Dad (and Mum) hated bikes but respected my choice (I think)(and later Steve’s) and helped us with our bikes whenever we asked, no questions asked.

Myself, Mum and Dad - January 1991 with that first bike..

Dad and I, March 1992. Bike number 2 about to head back to Western Australia.

I can still remember vividly Dad teaching me to use a dial gauge to set the points on my T250 post classic racer. He also spent hours with me trying to fit badly aligned header pipes to my ZZR600, which also sticks vividly in my memory. Then there was the time he used the crowbar to straighten the rear sub frame on Steve's CBR600 after he crashed it at a track day at Eastern Creek. No, Dad might not have liked bikes but he always helped us, no questions asked. 😞

During his retirement Dad turned his hand to restoring old bicycles and motors that he had been holding on to for decades. Of course, they were amazing because he knew those old motors inside and out.

But the thing he loved most during retirement were his grandchildren. Lucy, Will, Georgia and Olivia were the light of his life and I am so glad he got to spend so much time with them, despite the vast distance that separated us.

Dad and Lucy in 2004.

Dad, Lucy and Will ~ 2005

Dad with Will ~ 2006

Dad and Lucy ~ 2012.

Dad and Will ~ 2015

Olivia, Dad and Georgia in 2021.

Dad and Will 2021.

Will, Dad and I, July 2022.

Dad (and of course Mum) were great role models for both Steve and I. They worked hard, they lived their lives with discipline, honesty and integrity, traits that I think (and hope) has been ingrained in both of us. 

Over the last few months I find myself going to pick up the phone to call him to see how he is, then remembering.....

Dad 2022

Rest easy Dad. You have certainly earned it.

But shit, we are going to miss you. 😢