Musings: Living without instruments

Since I took the bike for a swim in Sierra Leone the instrument cluster only displays in Klingon.

This means I have no idea what speed I am doing, I have no fuel guage, and the odometer and trip distance counters are not usable.

Not knowing my speed has not been a problem until today, I simply went as fast as it was safe to do given the road and environment. The bike is uncomfortable and vibrates too much above 130km, I know this from European motorways, so I know I never exceed that.

It nearly became a problem today when at the last minute I saw a policeman with a speed gun hiding behind a road sign. I think the speed limit was 100kph and I was probably doing somewhere around that speed when I saw him. Sure enough 1km later there was a police road block pulling vehicles over. I guess the cop with the speed gun was radioing through who to stop. Phew… They waved me through.

Not having a fuel guage has actually been a positive thing. On the way South I used to travel until the fuel guage reached halfway then stopped at the next fuel stop. I got caught out a couple of times and had to use a 5L can I had with me and other times I was running on fumes before I found fuel. My strategy now is based on knowing I get about 250-300 km on a full tank. Each time I fill I find on the map the furthest probable fuel location up to 250km away, this is my limit; I cannot travel beyond that point without risking running out in the middle of nowhere. In remote areas, if I find fuel after 50km, I refill, I increase this distance to 150km in populous areas. This technique means I refuel far more often but I am less worried about finding fuel or running out

The lack of odometer and trip meters is an annoyance but I can judge distances using the map and sometimes by roadside markers.