michnus

12th May 2015

Which dualsport adventure motorcycle, hard parts, equipment, gear, and tips.

How do you go about selecting the best motorcycle for long-term travel or an extended round-the-world trip?

These are just some important points, thoughts and suggestions on what to add to the bike when deciding on the correct motorcycle and what to add to it when planning that epic trip.

The motorcycles:

The best motorcycle for a long overland trip?

• Probably always the one you have plus a healthy dose of adventure spirit.
• Basically, any dual-purpose bike, but depending on the terrain, some motorcycles perform better than others with regards to suspension, carrying ability, reliability and cost of repairs and parts. For example, riding Africa off-road is a whole different ball game than Cape to Cairo on tar. Having to carry a pillion limits choices and needs careful consideration of the type of roads and weight. 
• Your budget for a bike.
• Route planning and what the motorbike can handle are very important.
• Maintenance, reliability, and cost of parts.
• Don’t let people convince you otherwise, weight and size do matter. Lighter & smaller = better.
• Ask yourself if you would be prepared to walk away from a mega Dollas bike if something serious happens and you have to leave the bike in a country. Accidents or instances like in Peru, where you donate the bike to the state for a day over your visa.
• Try to keep your ego in check. Just wanting to look at the part on the new BMW1250LC to impress people and hit the likes on Instagram is not a wise decision. It is your trip, your money, be sensible about the brand and bike. Maintenance, the cost of ownership, and your route will be dictated by a heavy motorcycle.

Many gnarly adventurers would want to take a Chinese 250cc or smaller-capacity scooter as a weapon of choice just to try to save a bit of money or to prove a point. In the end, a big part of their travel funds would be spent on repairs as the bike and suspension just can not handle the load and roads and was never designed for it. Not that it is impossible, as it has been done and not in all cases, but you get my point.

That’s how dual-sport bikes were born.
The alternative route would be the asphalt main roads which are as exciting as watching paint dry in their quest to spare the bike and body due to lack of skills. That said there are many adventure seekers happily riding CRF250L Honda’s around the world, which is more suited for this application.

On the other hand, buying into the bigger is a better overweight block of flats with all the bling and pretty shiny stuff is also going to get you into trouble. You will quickly realise when cruising on your 1200GS you will not go into places as your bike and luggage are over 350kg and the dynamics of the trip suddenly are not what you imagined them to be.
The 450-650 range is a good Goldy locks ratio. Not too big and not too small. 
Remember, people have been riding long distances on motorcycles ever since they were invented and most on small-size machines. Travelling minimalist takes some practice and planning but the sheer enjoyment of adventure riding is in the simplicity of it all.

450cc to 650cc sizes are about the best around the world long-distance bikes. They are light, easy to handle and cheaper to maintain and run than litre bikes. Also, the cost of shipping is cheaper than for bigger bikes.

But then do you need a bike that can cruise at 150km/h when you are going around the world? Obviously not, so you don’t need all those 1200cc’s. The maintenance and upkeep cost is much higher than on smaller machines. The 200% Carnet you are expected to pay as a guarantee to the AA for Egypt is a lot of money when wanting to use a new 1200 GS BMW, Yamaha or KTM1190.

Your bike will dictate where you go. Starting with a BMW 1250GS 250kgDRY (270kgWET) as an example, beast adding 30kg-45kg luggage and fuel, most people will avoid trying to conquer rougher dirt trackback roads as it can have dire consequences for their bike and body. Using a smaller, lighter motorbike makes venturing off the beaten track so much more rewarding.

We have experienced this first-hand. Receiving messages asking us to share trails we have ridden. When we later asked how it went, all sorts of excuses were made for why they did not even attempt to ride the routes.

Although the stretches sitting on tar/asphalt would test anyone’s patience,. Weight eventually trumps skill. Even if you think you are a killer rider with über skills, a loaded bike offroad will wear you down. Then try to pick it up a few times on a sand track. Consideration is key, travelling alone. You do not want to get into places where, if you break a leg or your bike, you can’t help yourself. TR15A wrote a great article on his use of a BMW and why he won’t use a big bike again on an adventure overland trip.

There are not that many choices of bikes in the 650cc class. Nevertheless, some new bikes, like the Husqvarna701, YamahaT7, KTM890 Triumph Tiger900 are excellent mid-size options. The KLR, DR650’s, Xr650L’s, DRZ400e’s all are good choices, but with carburettors, they are not as fuel-efficient and reliable as the Fuel Injection motorcycles. The 640 KTM was a great option except for not being able to buy new anymore.

Big booty lovers: For riders that love more of the long tar distances and odd dirt roads, the new Honda Africa Twin, Triumph Tiger1200, and Yamaha Tenere1200 are all perfect options.  The one thing to look out for is the cost of servicing and repairing these bikes. In most countries with limited dealer networks, the cost will burn a hole in the wallet quickly. I have to admit that sometimes on those lonely highways in the USA or Chile, the need for speed and big bikes would be very welcome.

Furthermore, for example, the new 170 rear tyres of the BMW1250GS cost a fortune and those sizes are not available in many countries.

It all boils down to your ability and skills, the terrain, the cost of shipping, repairs and budget.
Do not let your ego and the company’s marketing hype overrule your common sense when making a decision to buy the correct bike. 

We owned Dakar’s and decided to use them. It is the Toyota choice of Overland vehicle, reliable but a bit boring. Our bikes did give some problems with the water pump and we had a fuel pump die on us in Ethiopia.  Shipping parts is a costly affair and will always mean an indefinite delay. The 40usd fuel pump in our country ended up costing 400usd by the time it reached Sudan. That was partly why we chose to replace the Dakars as lighter, easier less costly bikes, – DR650’s Choose a reliable bike with good parts backup. 

The first rule for companion travel is to use the same bikes. Parts are interchangeable between the bikes and will aid with troubleshooting if a bike breaks down. It’s common sense, really.

Suspension:

The single most important part of a motorcycle must surely be the suspension. Whatever money you have left after the bike is spent on the suspension. It is the most costly item that will stop your trip for you.

The suspension must carry the weight, deal with rubbish roads and then deal with braking and help not shake your filling out of your teeth. Most motorcycles’ standard OEM suspensions are not designed for heavy loads and demanding road surfaces on round-the-world trips. Hell, most are barely able to cope with potholed asphalt roads, though KTM comes standard with some of the best OEM suspension setups.

We had the original suspension refurbished in SA, but they did not make it and then had to order new Ohlins in Kenya. Expensive lesson learned.

Motorcycle suspension is quite expensive when compared to 4×4 suspension setups. Good brands like Cogent which supplies and builds shocks for other brands such as Suzuki DR650 and KLR650 are serviceable, generally more durable and better made and will last many thousands of miles.

Luggage options:

The safest option is to spend much more and buy aluminium boxes. By safe I mean security-wise, as for stealing stuff out of the panniers. The thing is, we do not do safe, the benefit of soft luggage for us outweighs the security benefit of metal panniers. This option is growing strongly in popularity. Motorcycle soft saddlebag is hard to beat when it comes to weight saving, cost and repairs.

Some pros and cons:

• Soft luggage is not as secure and theft-proof as aluminium panniers. Only due to being able to lock. Products like Pacsafe Stainless steel net can solve that problem. To date, after travelling Africa, Europe, America, Central America and part of South America since 2010 we were lucky enough to have zero stolen.  But that said, it’s as easy to open a locked metal pannier with a screwdriver.
• Soft panniers cost much less than metal panniers. 
• The pannier frames for soft saddlebags do not have to be as heavy and sturdy as metal panniers, thus saving weight and can be repaired anywhere by anybody with a welder if need be. And soft luggage does not have that dubious reputation for cracking and breaking subframes
• Some current-day, newly designed soft panniers can carry as much weight as metal panniers.
• The cost to repair soft luggage is minimal compared to aluminium panniers.
• Soft panniers can be repaired anywhere in the world. Metal panniers can only be welded or repaired by a specialist for a proper fix. 
• Overall weight is much less for soft luggage compared to hard panniers. 
• Metal panniers have a reputation for breaking legs when adventuring into the rough or ploughing through the sand. Aluminium panniers can damage and bend a motorcycle subframe in a fall. 
• Soft panniers are more suited to single-rider applications and rougher terrain. 

It might be a bit of luck but we had no slashing of bags or theft from our bikes, as so many warned us. The damage to the bags after a nice slide on a dirt road in Uganda was easy and cheap to repair. Since then, we have manufactured our own motorcycle soft luggage. TurkanaGear

Wide mouth duffels:

This is one piece of luggage that is always used on bike trips. Good for weekend trips or long extended trips, basically one bag for all your travels and adventures. Motorcycle luggage tends to cost a bit. These duffels have more uses than just being a bike-use-only article.

Why a duffle bag?

Carry the odd 6 pack of beer to a campsite from a shop, and best of all, it’s waterproof and dustproof. The wide-mouth duffel is by far the best piece of gear to carry additional luggage. Easy to pack gear and get it out even when needing to do so in a hurry, like when you have to pitch a tent before the rains come down. We have used side stuff bags, packsacks and in all of our decades of travel on motorcycles, 4×4’s or just normal travel the duffle is still the go-to design.

They are also easier to tie down to a bike. We have found a 40L or 50L wide-mouth duffel that can carry what is needed and is just big enough not to add too much weight higher up on the motorcycle.

Tank bags. 

There are a million shapes and sizes. Some brands cost as much as a Louis Vuitton bag, not that they look the part or make you feel any more special. The size and shape are a personal choice and also dependent on the shape of the tank of the motorcycle.

We found the cheapies work well, bar the zips and normally the waterproof covers never last that long. That said the Touratech bag we got as a present from our German friends after the other German brand failed us did the job quite well. Keep the size small and lightweight! Big bulky bags are a drag to carry around and sit like a suitcase between your legs.

It is easy to fit an electric socket inside to charge batteries and such.

Charging and auxiliary electrical  points:

To the left, this is rubbish, try and avoid using Hella style and the old cigarette-type connectors to power your pump or camp light and such items.

They corrode easily, bend, and break for nothing and pins never make proper contact. Throw the shit away! Most of their uses are inside cars, trailers or caravans. On motorcycles, they are exposed to the elements.

The pictures are of the SAE connectors. Much more durable. Will not short-circuit. They will still make contact even when a bit corroded and the quality is generally good. Attached directly to the battery with an inline 15Amp fuse or whatever your liking. Use the same connector on the air pump, camping LED light, and battery charger to connect to this one.
The SAE can also connect to any choice of tank bags with an inexpensive kit like this. 

About aftermarket lights:

Proper additional flood or directional lights are important. But there is a line between going overboard and having lights that makes a rider visible and more importantly lights for nighttime riding in places like Africa or South America.

For a start, we try not riding at night as it just increases the risk of accidents, especially in places like Africa where animals loiter on the road or your chances of hitting them late in the afternoon. As for being visible to other vehicles, if the person can’t see you with some additional lights they won’t see you with 8 of the best most expensive ones.

Many people waste their kid’s university fees to look like a Christmas tree with not much more benefit other than being a moving lighthouse. Also, when riding offroad those expensive lights will break at some stage. Especially those that are fitted to the crash bars on the sides of the bike. Try and keep the emotions in check when adding lights to a bike. There is no need to go overboard.

The safest place is as close to the headlight especially for offroad riding as it is the safest place to fit lights and limit the damage. Also the least vibrations. 

Motorcycle saddlebag frames:

Well-made saddle frames work well with saddlebags. Keep them in place and offer good support. There are many aftermarket brands available for most brands of motorcycles. The frames are different for use with aluminium panniers.

They do not need to be as heavy or robustly built to carry the weight of aluminium panniers. The frame’s purpose is to support the bags and keep them away from the bodywork or exhaust. Local companies produce lightweight frames at decent prices.

Motorcycle hard parts:

Crash protection and engine protection are a big part of the process when preparing a motorcycle for adventure and overland travel. Most bikes are fitted standard with handlebar protectors and some flimsy dodgy engine protection covers. The BMW OEM handguards are on the soft side and there’s no fun in riding with a broken clutch or brake levers.

Barkbusters, as an example, are great, proven brands. There are many brands offering hard parts for motorcycles, it’s best to choose brands that actually design and have a reputation and history with off-road use. Using inferior bike protection can end a trip prematurely and result in a costly affair.

The biggest single weight-adding exercise is going overboard with farkles like these. The cost can also make a huge dent in a budget. These are some companies with well-priced products:
Trtecadventure  OutbackMotorek

Some of the most important add-ons: 

• Crashbars.
• Bashplate.
• Handguards.
• Wind-protection.
• Wider and more comfortable footpegs

Take your time, do the homework and be very careful and particular not to over-pimp and overspend on the bike. There is no need to go buy the entire range in the Touratech catalogue. People realise quickly that on a trip they need much less stuff than they thought necessary.

Keep it simple, keep it minimalist.

PS: We are not sponsored, the products listed we have used and are happy to share the info.
Updated November 2021