Saturday, September 11, 2010

What are we doing and what do we have?

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain


The Plan: Ride our BMW motorbikes to South America from British Columbia, Canada.
How: First we will ride the Continental Divide Trail through the United States of America with my dad, Graham. We will continue to ride through Mexico, Central America and South America with the goal of reaching the tip of South America before the weather gets to unfriendly. After that we will return to Peru to explore and relax.
 
Team Members:

Name: Naomi

What I am Wearing:
-   BMW Enduro Helmet
-   Oakley XS O Frame Dirt Goggles (these goggles are essentially for children but i have a small head and the helmet has a small opening. These gave me the best fit, but unfortunately not a lot of lens options)
-   Rev’it Sand Jacket
-   Baselayer top: BMW Long Underwear longsleeve, and then layer with Icebreaker as temperature requires (I also have a Exo2 Stormrider heated vest for serious situations)
-   CamelBak Rogue hydration pack
-   Rev’it Sand gloves (Rev’it Tempest H2O for colder/wetter weather)
-   Rev’it Sand pants
-   Baselayer bottom: BMW Long underwear
-   Sidi Adventure Gore-tex boots with Rev’it Enduro socks

My Bike:
-   2010 BMW F800 GS Lava Orange
Mods:
-   Wunderlich Headlight Guard
-   Wunderlich Radiator Guard
-   Barkbuster VPS Grips
-   Gear-it-technology Crash bars and bash plate (sufficiently crash tested)
-   Touratech folding brake/shift lever
-   Wunderlich sidestand enlarger
-   Hepco-becker lock-it side racks with 1430 pelican cases (used caribou cases ALS mounts and modified to fit smaller cases)
-   Guard-it-technology rear cargo plate
-   Rotopax Fuel and Water container

Gear:
-   Rok straps X7 (you can never have too many of these)
-   Seal Line Baja Dry Bag and Seal Line wide mouth duffle bag
-   Sea-to-summit eVent Compression Dry Sack
-   Sea-to-summit eVac stuff sacs
-   MSR Dragonfly stove
-   MEC Apollo 3-person tent (it’s easier for us to fit ourselves and our gear in a larger tent, and it packed down to about the same size as the 2 person tent, bonus!)


Name: Alberto

What I am Wearing:
-   Shoei Hornet Sonora Helmet
-   Von Zipper Snow Goggles (hey I’m on a budget here)
-   Rukka All Road jacket
-   Icon Field Armor Vest
-   Baselayer top: Rukka A.W.S. baselayer (short sleeve)
o    Extras: I layer merino wool and a Gerbing heated softshell vest on cold days
-   MEC H2O hydration pack
-   Alpinestars SP-X gloves
o    When it’s cold/wet I have a pair of Gerbing 12v T5 heated gloves
-   Rukka All Road pants
-   Baselayer bottom: Rukka A.W.S. baselayer
-   Sidi Adventure Gore-tex boots with Sidi summer socks

My Bike:
-   2010 BMW F800 GS Alpine White
Mods:
-   Wunderlich Headlight Guard
-   Wunderlich mirror extenders
-   Wunderlich sidestand enlarger
-   Wunderlich bar risers
-   Wunderlich brake fluid protector
-   Wunderlich Handlebarclamp
-   Wunderlich carbon tank protector
-   Touratech folding brake/shift lever
-   Touratech Pinion Gear Guard
-   Touratech Radiator guard
-   Touratech Frame Guard
-   Touratech Engine Guard extension
-   Touratech rear cover brake reservoir.
-   Touratech clutch cover carbon protector
-   Touratech universal tube manifold cover
-   Touratech frame guard
-   Touratech alternator carbon protector
-   Touratech heat sink guard
-   Clear front and back LED indicators
-   Pivot Pegs
-   Mivv Suono carbon fiber exhaust
-   Rotopax 7.5L Fuel container
-   Denali LED lights
-   Nippy Norman’s radiator guard
-   Barkbuster VPS Grips
-   Gear-it-technology Crash bars and bash plate (sufficiently crash tested)

It was a long winter.

Luggage:
-   Pelican 1300 case with SW motech tank mount
-   Hepco-becker lock-it side racks with Pelican 1440 cases (with caribou cases ALS mounts)
-   Guard-it-technology rear cargo plate
-   SealLine 40L Duffle Bag
-   Pelican 1400 case

Gadgets:
-   SPOT 2
-   TomTom Rider 2
-   GoPro HD sport camera
-   Collett racefone X2 (rider communication system)
-   Canon EOS Rebel T2i DSLR camera
-   Acer Aspire One Netbook (my regular laptop decided to die 3 days before we were leaving so this was an emergency purchase)
-   Iphone 3G
-   SolarFocus SolarMio charger


Name: Graham
Graham is my dad and he will be joining us for the United States leg of our Journey. He has been riding motorcycles since he was a teenager back in North East England. He recently owned a 2008 Kawasaki  KLR but he was clearly jealous of our BMWs so he joined the team with a BMW F800 GS. I think he's had a huge smile on his face ever since.

“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” -- Paul Theroux 

Click on "Gear List" at the top

8 comments:

  1. hey Nomes and Beto!!! I am so excited for your trip and am looking forward to updates as you head south! Good luck and please ride safely!

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  2. Too COOL! Fantastic, wish i could be with you, sounds like a wonderful trip...don't think my FZR 1000 would make it though! Be careful out there, drive safe and take lots of pictures for the blog. Bonnie and I will be following your adventure from afar. Graham, be careful, damn it!

    Peter and Bon

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  3. good luck, and have a safe trip. C-ya Brock

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  4. Great reading this ... fantastic journey safe trip home .val.x

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  5. Thanks everyone! Parts arrived from Germany and the engines are been put together as we speak. We'll be hitting the road very soon! and will be updating the blog too.

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  6. Holaaaa... me llamo Edgar y soy de Paraguay, por casualidad encontre este blog, y me encanta ver los lugares y aventuras que van encontrando a su paso... Es mi sueƱo poder dar la vuelta a America en moto... sigan, que yo los sigo... ;-)

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  7. Gracias por acompanarnos Edgar :)

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