Testing Gear on the Trans Morocco Trail

A large portion of our attention goes into product field testing. Yes, we can do trial fits with many different bags in our workshop to ensure it works with our racks, but there is no replacement for getting out there and riding. Living from the bike quickly shows things that don't work smoothly and is an endless source of inspiration.

Granted, most of our testing is done locally, riding the TET and other trails in the Balkans. Then, every once in a while we embark on a longer, more exotic trip.

This year, the destination of choice was Morocco. Nikola on Yamaha Tenere 700 Rally, Oleg on tricked out KTM 690 Enduro and Koska on his trusty BMW HP2 Enduro.

For us, Morocco trip starts with a long highway stretch from Belgrade to Genova. We're smarter now, so the bikes are loaded onto a trailer and we enjoy the comfort of a car. What follows is a two and a half days at sea, crossing the Mediterranean.

Once in Morocco, the plan was to ride Trans Morocco Trail, TMT. And that's what we did over the next two weeks.

Without going into full ride report mode, TMT covers most of what Morocco has to offer. We had some super long pavement days, full days on pistas without seeing another human being, some deep sand and dunes. Dust, rocks, corrugations, wind, camels, oases, old towns... It's all there to be experienced.

We were not planning on camping, so tents and sleeping bags were left at home. This meant we had to rely on finding accommodation along the way. Sometimes we could choose between several options, but on some days the choice would be made for us.

Arriving to a small village at dusk and finding no hotel or pension... With the next small village being 150km away, we were grateful to meet a local who had a spare room for us.

Sandy sections of the trail were a lot of fun, but demanding. A couple of spills here and there, thankfully hurting just the pride.

Pistas were generally easy riding, but there is no relaxing. Even on a fast-flowing road we would come across a surprisingly deep rut crossing the entire width of the road. Not something you'd want to hit at speed. But, most of the time it was just pure joy.

For us, TMT ended in the far south of Morocco. We had plenty of highway miles to cover to reach the port near Tangier. Strong winds from the Atlantic turned this into a less pleasurable experience, but we do what needs to be done.

Now, remember the testing part? Nikola was running the Mosko moto Alpine 60 on his Tenere. The bags were mounted with the Gnoblin using our Gen2 Luggage rack and Tie-down brackets. This setup gives plenty of storage space and proved to work well.

One gallon Giant Loop water bladder was strapped to the rear end of the rack at all times.

One issue he had was caused by endless miles of rocky and corrugated tracks. A safety nut holding the Gnoblin button onto the rack managed to work itself loose. Two spacers were left somewhere along the road, but luckily the Gnoblin was held in place by the bags. A couple minutes later a spare bolt and safety nut were fitted and trip continued.

How does our rack holds up after a couple thousand kilometers of sand and dust?

Powder coating has been a bit polished where water bladder was attached. At the corners of the rack, underside of the Alpine 60 harness and water bladder did wear through the powder coat. 

Tie-down brackets will be as good as new after a quick wash.

Oleg ran with Mosko moto Reckless 80 (v4) on his KTM 690. The bike has our Luggage rack, Extension plate and Heel guards, and the bags are secured with the Gnoblin. This is Oleg's go to setup and it worked perfectly for him.

Koska uses combo of Wolfman and Kriega bags on his BMW HP2 Enduro. Again, a long term setup which works perfectly for his needs. No Perun moto products involved with this unique bike.