Overland Journal Winter 2007

Keep it Coming I discovered your magazine at the Land Rover National Rally and I must say, what a pleasant surprise! The quality of your content rivals pre-90s National Geographic issues and I've thoroughly enjoyed the first issue of my subscription. I especially appreciate your refined, upscale take on off-highway travel, something that is missing from every other four-wheel-drive magazine on the newsstand. I would also like to commend you on your commitment to conservation and environmentally responsible travel. Encouraging minimal-impact tourism to threatened areas is the best way to protect them. Keep it coming! Chris Snell, 1994 Land Rover NAS Defender 90 Error My son gets your excellent magazine and I enjoy reading the articles. I would like to advise you of an error in the Subaru diesel engine article in the Fall 2007…

A couple of stories in this issue—Scott Brady’s midwinter Arctic expedition, Lois Pryce’s epic motorcycle journey—spurred me to resurrect an old investigative hobby: survival kits. I’ve always been fascinated by the concept and design of a compact package containing the tools necessary to sustain life for a certain period of time in certain conditions. Some of my interest is purely practical. On my sea kayak’s rear deck I always carry what sailors call a ditch bag: a dry bag packed with items calculated to keep me alive and attract help should I become separated from the boat. On remote trips in the Land Cruiser I carry a day pack filled with everything I’d need to walk out of wherever it is I’m driving. But I also have fun looking through books and…

“And nine . . . nine rings were given to the race of Men, who above all else, desire power.” —The Fellowship of the Ring (movie version) Let me tell you: A Ring of Power would be a great thing to have—invisibility and all that. But it won’t keep beer cold. Cold beer—or cold Coke, milk, steak, even ice cream—requires a different kind of power: a steady flow of 12V DC current sufficient to keep a portable fridge running without draining your vehicle’s entire electrical system. And that calls for dual batteries. One is reserved for primary duties, especially starting the engine; the other powers the fridge, interior lights, radios, GPS units, and in many cases the electric winch. For a dual-battery system to work properly, you must be able to isolate the…

Adam C. Jeske Adam Jeske is a genuine farm boy from Wisconsin. He grew up on an XR80, then a KZ750, and a CB360 that never ran, since it was older than he. Freshly married, he and Chrissy moved to a remote mountaintop in Nicaragua for a year. Then he commuted in the U.S. on a Kawasaki Concours, in temperatures often below freezing. After two years in China, he volunteered for a few years with a non-profit in South Africa. With Phoebe (4) and Zeke (2) on the scene, he’s thinking about getting a sidecar rig as the family car. He rides, thinks, writes, does good, and tries to have amazing days. His words and images have appeared in Farmer’s Weekly, The Gardener, Relevant, and a slug of bike rags. See…

Volkswagen’s Rolling Diesel Showcase Volkswagen’s “Dieselution, The Clean Diesel Tour” began traveling around the country this October. The message is quite clear: Buy diesel, it is the clean fuel of the future. The tour consists of a large trailer containing interactive diesel and sustainability displays and, most importantly, a genuine German engineer available to talk about the finer points of the new engines. Several new clean diesel and Blue Motion VWs are also on display, including the new 345 hp, V10 TDI Touareg R50 that will likely never reach U.S. shores. The host of new technologies incorporated into these engines is impressive, as is the movement toward environmental sensibility. However, the focus is still on petroleum-based diesel fuel. The new engines cannot run on anything higher than a B5 (five percent) concentrate of…

BMW F800GS With the end of the BMW 650GS adventure motorcycle production run, we anxiously awaited Motorrad’s replacement. At last, BMW has released specifications and images of the new F800GS, which will feature a compact, 800 cc, 85-horsepower, parallel-twin engine, trellis frame, chain drive, double-strut swing arm, 6-speed transmission, 400-watt alternator, and dual-rotor front brakes with ABS (which the rider can disable). Additional trail equipment includes an engine guard, hand guards, and other specialty accessories. Early weight estimates place the bike at less than 400 pounds. Look for more details and a trail report on this exciting new BMW in a future issue. bmwmotorcycles.com F-stop Tilopa F-stop camera bags were developed with the outdoor photographer in mind. The design focuses on maximum trail and climbing performance, and all-weather gear protection. The Tilopa 45-liter…