Beyond the comfort zone
The Tuareg gets put to the off-road test as Saffron faces her adventure rally debut
After spending the past three weeks covering 4500 miles on a Harley in America during a family holiday, it felt downright odd to be back on the Tuareg. But what better way to ease myself back onto the Aprilia’s saddle than taking part in a competitive rally event in Wales… despite the fact I’ve only been offroad three times?
Rounds one and two
We arrived at the Sweetlamb Rally complex in Wales late on Friday to sign on. As I unloaded the Tuareg out of the van, heads were turned and a couple of doubtful glances shot my way as I explained the 204kg kerb weight. That reaction wasn’t great for my anxiety levels... but I’d fitted Bridgestone Battlax Adventurecross 50/50 tyres, handguards, touring screen and crash bars, so I knew there wasn’t much else I could do to the bike.
The Sweetlamb Baja is designed so that both experts and newbies can tackle the same course, so I wasn’t the only first-time racer here, but on Saturday morning as I waited in the paddock amid the hustle and bustle of engines, chatter and dust, my stomach was doing somersaults.
Before the start proper, we all did a sighting lap, which was my first taste of what was to come. Right off the line, the course dipped into a rocky gully which culminated in a muddy ditch. I took my time and kept the Tuareg in first gear and picked my way through.
Climbing a steep, muddy and rutted hill put the Tuareg through its paces, but it clambered to the top and stuck it out through wet grass and muddy puddles.
Lap complete I decided to take off the centrestand which kept catching, and then did another two laps of the 15-mile circuit before lunch. Unfortunately, on lap one I parted company with the Aprilia at the top of a steep, rocky hill which resulted in a bent handguard, but lap two went by without a hitch.
After a lunchbreak, fatigue was setting in. But with new-found confidence and the Aprilia still going strong, we covered another two laps until the aches in my arms and back became a hindrance. I finished the day with a broken handguard and a few scuffs, but the Tuareg had handled itself well.
Total mudbath
On Sunday there was just one round of racing, but it had rained for pretty much the entire night and after seeing the amount of mud and grass on the track the day before, I wasn’t sure if I was up to the job.
It was so much more slippery than the day before. It was even a struggle to stay on the gravel and I found the gullies torture. No matter what I did, I couldn’t find grip.
Bikes carpeted the first muddy hill, and it wasn’t long before I joined them. More gullies had been added to the track, and it was difficult even to keep the bike in a straight line. I broke the screen on a rock during one of these lowspeed falls, and I think half the competitors assisted me in pushing it up the hill after I’d buried the back wheel in the mud. But even then, I only had one annoyance with the Tuareg: when trying to get up steep ascents, although I was in off-road mode, the traction control kept trying to kick in and the revs didn’t pick up. I didn’t realise that was the issue until I got back to the pits, but by then I was done, along with about a third of the competitors.
The quiet after the storm
I feel at a little bit of a loss as I write this as the Tuareg has gone off to be repaired. The bill (yes, we paid) was disappointingly steep considering there was no significant damage. Aprilia position the Tuareg as a rugged adventure bike, but in truth, it’s not well suited to repeated low-speed drops. At the end of the Baja it was perfectly rideable, but the damage to levers, handguards, bar ends and other sticky-outy bits resulted in a steep four-figure bill.
So, if you’re thinking of using yours in line with its supposed intent, you should be prepared for it to take a few knocks and make a few extra mods to protect it.