Which Bike?
Part of the fun of planning the long way home is choosing the bike. We, that's Dean and I, both rate the KTM Adventure 990. Dean's a bit of a BMW fan, having one of their older models and home, and I have a couple of Ducatis, so had high expectations of the new Multistrada. The Multistrada costs about the same as the BMW 1200 and seems aimed at the same market sector. All the road tests I've read rate the Multistrada over the 1200GS, so I was excited about seeing it in the flesh. What a disappointment! The Multistrada has the most stupid indicator position you could ever imagine, in the leading edge of the hand protectors! How long are they going to last! The standard mudguards are way too small, apparently bigger ones are supplied with the bike, but why not fit them on the demo model? The whole of the front engine area looks very vulnerable, the radiator gets all the sh1te from the front wheel and icky bits of plastic stick out everywhere. Compare that to the KTM and you realise what a serious bike should look like! The KTM it is!
Bolt on Goodies
Number one bolt on goodie will be a pair of Akroprovic cans, loud cans save lives! I’ve also heard that tweaking the engine management system to match the new cans helps with the low speed throttle response.
Dean’s very keen on a gel seat to keep his delicate cheeks in tip top condition, but we have to have matched bikes, so I suppose I will have to get one as well.
A bigger windshield seems like a good idea, I’m on the tall side, so the less of my bonce in the wind the better.
Apart from that, we hope the stock 990 will be up to the job……
Dean’s very keen on a gel seat to keep his delicate cheeks in tip top condition, but we have to have matched bikes, so I suppose I will have to get one as well.
A bigger windshield seems like a good idea, I’m on the tall side, so the less of my bonce in the wind the better.
Apart from that, we hope the stock 990 will be up to the job……
GPS
I’ve got a Garmin 276c which I’ve had for about 6 years. The Garmin unlock codes on the maps drive me berserk, but when you’ve finally remembered all the numbers and paid vast quantities of cash for the maps it’s not a bad system. Add to that that you can get Open Street Map maps in Garmin format for free and it starts to look like a winner.
The Garmin 276c is an ‘old fashioned’ or should I say ‘proper’ GPS, it has a real map, not a cartoon of the streets and tells you things like course made good and direction to head, essential if you’re trying to get somewhere when the GPS map and reality don’t quite match.
I bought a Garmin 62s as a backup GPS and like it so much it's going to be the only GPS, the mount for the 276 is too big and wobbles too much, so the 62s is going to do the trip solo.
The Garmin 276c is an ‘old fashioned’ or should I say ‘proper’ GPS, it has a real map, not a cartoon of the streets and tells you things like course made good and direction to head, essential if you’re trying to get somewhere when the GPS map and reality don’t quite match.
I bought a Garmin 62s as a backup GPS and like it so much it's going to be the only GPS, the mount for the 276 is too big and wobbles too much, so the 62s is going to do the trip solo.
Jacket
It’s looking like the KTM Rally Jacket. I’m not normally a fan of clothes marketed by bike manufacturers, but the Rally jacket looks to be good and good value for money, and it has a camel back integrated, which could be very useful when slogging through Saudi. In the end I found a second hand Belstaff Adventure, nearly identical, and it's in KTM colours.
The integrated camel back is a mere 500ml, which lasts about 10 minutes in this heat, so I bought a proper Camel Bak with 3 litres and a few pockets for putting vital stuff in.
The integrated camel back is a mere 500ml, which lasts about 10 minutes in this heat, so I bought a proper Camel Bak with 3 litres and a few pockets for putting vital stuff in.
Boots
Boots
The Altberg Borego looks like a clear winner. I visited the factory in July for a fitting, and lo and behold, they had a pair in stock! I wore them all day and on the flight home, OK, it's not the same as riding in them, but they are a nice boot!
The Altberg Borego looks like a clear winner. I visited the factory in July for a fitting, and lo and behold, they had a pair in stock! I wore them all day and on the flight home, OK, it's not the same as riding in them, but they are a nice boot!
Helmet
My first idea was a Boxer Roof, but I heard a few bad reports about the Roof on the internet, then stumbled across the Givi X.01. Apart from a combination of names which almost prohibits conversation (Givi? Jivi? ex oh one? ex dot oh one etc), the 'lid' is good, I like the removable chin protector, the openable top vents and the flip down inner tinted visor, so I visted DesignerHelmets.co.uk, checked out the Roof, and yes the clip is crappy, and ordered the X.01 thinghy. Horror or horrors, the X.01 thingy only comes in L, not XL and it was so painful as to be a non starter, so I swoped it for a Schuberth J1, much more expensive, but at least it fits and it's open faced with a chin bar, a suitable compromise.
Camera
We’ll take the ubiquitous digital pocket camera, but I feel the need to splash the cash on a helmet cam, there seem to be two options, a bullet cam linked into a box of tricks, or an all in one jobbie. The X 170 Action Camera seems to do the trick. Can we justify 250 GBP? In the words of the 44th president of the US of A, ‘Yes we can’!
But then again, another gadget, another battery to charge, will anyone really be interested? I think I'll just take a few spare 16gb SD cards and use my Panasonic camera with integrated GPS.
But then again, another gadget, another battery to charge, will anyone really be interested? I think I'll just take a few spare 16gb SD cards and use my Panasonic camera with integrated GPS.
