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Actually...your fingers have not recovered.

It's so unlike you to have typos.

Ooops! Fixed.

I've ridden those DRs, they're great bikes!

BTW I'm sorry to have to inform you, but you missed your chance for a cameo in one of MacAskill's videos!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... Vgpw0AXzcA

Wrider wrote:I've ridden those DRs, they're great bikes!

BTW I'm sorry to have to inform you, but you missed your chance for a cameo in one of MacAskill's videos!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... Vgpw0AXzcA

Hey Wrider. The DR? It's nuts. I love it to bits. I did a lot of careful research to find the best bike for the trip, but in the end it was a spur-of-the-moment purchase - I saw it, I liked it, I bought it - and I haven't regretted it since. I'll try to get my act together and post a couple of pics now that I have it all kitted up for the job.

LOL As for the Danny Macaskill video, I've been missing my chance for years. I'm determined not to miss out on this one though.

With less than four weeks to go, my last-minute planning now seems to consist either of sitting for long hours in front of a laptop trying to sort out visas, travel insurance, etc, or running around making lots of expensive purchases - something I promised myself I wouldn't do. My latest aquisition is an Alpinestar Tech Road Armacor jacket from the London MCN motorcycle show. It was pretty pricey but I'm very pleased with it. It looks smart and everything about it seems perfect for the job. It's also nice and simple - and on a journey like this I don't want to stand out too much as a flashy westerner.

Here's a link for the jacket. (Blimey, 10 lines of it. Is that a link, or is it machine code for a moon landing?)

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=alpin ... B600%3B600

I was originally planning on doing this trip without any electronic gear apart from a camera - and maybe even not a camera. But as time has gone by I've been cajoled by friends into taking 'stuff' - mainly so that I can keep touch. Having decided to take a laptop, I was advised by someone in the bike club that I also needed a smartphone with roving wi-fi to make sure I can keep it connected to the web. Up to now, the most expensive phone I've had cost me £18 in Woolworths. (My image as a backwoods man is in tatters.) And now, having bought a loptop and an smartphone, I need chargers that will work off the bike battery. I've just ordered them (from Amazon, I'm ashamed to say). I've also had to buy additional chargers for my camera battery, and, of course my Kindle - for those long nights camping out on the Russian Steppe. I only just stopped myself buying a solar charger as well. Too big!

As I'm planning on taking the 'M41' up into the Pamirs which, at over 15,000 feet, is the world's second highest motorable road, I'm going to have to do something about the DR's carburation. I'm trying to keep the bike as standard as possible. Rather than rejetting (which will affect the bike's running at lower altitudes), I've gone for the simpler option of making the fuel/air 'pilot' screw more accessible. That way, it can be adjusted as I get higher. The existing screw is sealed off with a brass cap and will need to be drilled out before the new longer one can be installed. When I get up high, I'll just open the side of the air box and hope that keeps her breathing.

All these mods are making me realise the hidden costs of buying an American import bike. The only source of an adjustable pilot screw for the DR is Pro-Cycle in the US. So, beside paying the price of the screw and a centre-stand, I am having to shell out an additional £55 in shipping costs and a further £40 for import duty. Ouch! The absurd thing is that the centre-stand is manufactured and sold to the US by SW-Motech in Rauschenberg, Germany - a short hop across the North Sea from here. They have an outlet for other products in the UK but not this one. By the time I get it, it will have crossed the Atlantic and most of the American continent twice, a distance of over 11,000 miles - which is more than half the distance I am planning to ride. The world we live in is nuts!

t has just occurred to me that it might have been cheaper to take the bike over to Germany and get the centre-stand directly from the manufacturer. I doubt whether the price of a ferry ticket and a couple of tanks of petrol would have cost any more and I would have got a decent ride into the bargain.

Would a K&N air filter be an option for making that baby breath a bit more???

Attention to filter condition would be very important especially in dusty conditions so a cleanable filter would be a must.

Cheers both. Attention to air filter is on my to-do list. The standard one is very small by anyone's estimation and reduces inflow. It needs replacing. If I'm going to open up the box at altitude, it also needs to do a good job.

It's getting scarily close to launch date now (12 March) and I still have loads of things to do and yet more information to obtain. I get my finger prints taken at the Russian embassy this week. I'm riding out to Travel Dri in a couple of days to pick up a couple of travel items. The bike is going in for a final service on 5 March. I'll trek back down to Somerset for the panniers on the 9th. In the meantime I have to learn how to use all the electronic gear I will now be taking and... just loads more things.

I've sorted out my list of things to take. It's based on my usual motorcycle camping gear list with necessary extras. It seems like a lot! I'm working on ways to cut it back. Some of it I won't need immediately and can buy on the way.


spare clutch cable - fitted, spare throttle cable - fitted, spare chain, spare plug, spare levers, spare bulbs, 3 tyre levers, puncture repair kit with extra glue, bead breaker, spoke spanner, upgraded tool set, tyre pressure gauge, straps, electrical pump, rags, clean cloths, grease, small tin WD40, (petrol jerry can ?), bungie cords

tent, carrymat, sleeping bag, (small folding stool ?), backpack, head torch, torch/lamp, wind up radio ?

washbag, towel, loo paper, universal washing liquid

glasses in case, spare glasses in case, wallet, keychain, lanyard for spare keys

base layer, motorcycle jacket, motorcycle trousers, motocross boots, waterproofs, lid, neck tube, gloves

1x woolly hat, 2x teeshirts, 4x pants, 1x jumper, 1x shirt, 1x fleece. 1 pr light walking trousers to double as undertrousers in cold weather, 1 pr shoes or DMs, 2 pairs socks, needle and thread

walking boots or DMs, 2 pr walking socks, backpack, mapcase, compass, whistle

petrol stove, tube for siphon, saucepan, lighter, knife/fork/spoon, small tin opener, chopping knife, small chopping board, plate bowl, plastic mug, plastic bags, bin bags 2 spare containers, heavy duty elastic bands, dishcloth, scourer, water bottle, camelback, rice, lentils, salt, pasta, herbs/spices

body belts, document case, passport, driving licence, insurance documents, IDP, visas, permits, European health card, fake laminated driving licences, fake credit cards, vaccination record, debit card, credit card, maps

pen, notebook/diary, address book

sunblock, DEET or equivalent, mosquito net, mosquito spirals, anti-bite cream/spray, charcoal for Delhi belly, anti-bacterial/viral/fungal remedy, grapefruit seed oil, artemisa, standard anti-malarial tablets, anti-tic cream/spray, tic remover, antiseptic wipes, plasters, bandages, moleskin

camera, spare memory card, spare camera battery, camera case, mobile & case, laptop, hard (rubberised) case for laptop, kindle, audio recorder, batteries for audio recorder, 12v charger for camera battery, 19 v charger for laptop, charger for kindle and mobile, spare battery for audio recorder, external memory for laptop

I love my LaCie external drive...

https://www.lacie.com/ca/products/range.htm?id=10036

Big list. Lighters can malfunction. Get some matches instead...or take matches also.

Also..if you see some rok straps..... http://www.rokstraps.com/moto.html


They are so much better than bungy cords.

And don't forget the dehydrated water....saves a lot of space.