The Bike:
660cc liquid-cooled 4-stroke single-cylinder engine
5-speed transmission
48hp (34kW) / 43ft. lbs (58NM)
206kg wet weight (incl. fuel & oil)
23L fuel capacity
Added accessories: Acerbis handguards, aftermarket H&B bash plate, H&B luggage racks, Caribou 40L hard plastic panniers, Famsa tank bag, Michelin UHD tubes, 2x accessory power ports, center stand
I bought this second hand, though with only 1,700kms on it. I've already put ~1,000km on it commuting back and forth to work. It's a tall bike -- I'm 5'11" and can just barely touch both toes on level ground. Get me on a hill and there's no chance of flat-footing. The height of the bike combined with panniers and bags on the back also means swinging my leg over the seat is pretty advanced yoga move for someone who could never touch fingers to toes straight-leg...
I'm hoping all the equipment will compress the forks a bit and make things more manageable on the road. I think my challenges come from having a rocket of a naked bike as my first ride (Yamaha FZ6N S2 with twice the power, same weight, lower seat height). I'm sure I could go around Australia on the FZ6, but it wouldn't be half as fun. And it would have no chance in the Gobi Desert...
The Stuff:
- Samsung NC10 Netbook and Virgin Mobile 3G broadband card (in Pelican 1080 hard case)
- Clothes (3x Underarmor briefs, 2x long-sleeve all-weather shirts, 2x pair boot socks, 3x casual t-shirts, 2x board shorts, jeans, belt)
- Hygiene stuff (toothpaste, deodorant, etc) incl. ibuprofen, antihistamine, gastro kit
- Washing stuff (laundry detergent, dish soap, etc)
Right Pannier:
- JVC GZ-HM400 HD Camcorder (in Pelican hard case)
- Tool kit (incl. 3/8" drive T-handle set)
- Coleman multifuel stove
- 1-person pot/pan/mug set
- Firestarter
- MSR fuel bottle
- Funky fork/knife/spoon (spknork?)
- Few spare parts
- Tire levers
- Chain lube
- Spare gloves
- Portable tire pump / air compressor
Roll Bag on Top:
- 5' x 7' silver tarp
- Vango Helium Superlight 200 Tent
- Vango 10°C 225 Down Microcompact 740g Sleeping Bag
- Kinda self-inflating foam pad
- Random bag of food
- Towel
- Flip flops & shoes
Tank Bag:
- GoPro Hero HD helmet camera + mounts
- Cigarette lighter adapters for all electronics
- Spare batteries
- Earplugs
- First Aid Kit
- Tire Puncture Kit
- Leatherman
- Tripod head
Camelbak Backpack:
- Important documents (passport, visas, motorcycle registration, etc)
- Portable HDDs and DVD-writer
- Lots of water!
Elsewhere on the bike:
- Garmin GPSMAP 60CSX (mounted on handlebars)
- Spare tubes (on top of roll bag)
- 6L fuel + 2.5L oil plastic jerry can (on top of right pannier)
- Manfrotto tripod (on top of roll bag)
- Canon T1i (500D) dSLR + 18-55mm + 55-250 lenses + Lensbaby and remote shutter release (in Pelican box behind roll bag)
As you can see, it's a lot of stuff...I actually had two (so far) decent-sized culls to get things town to size. Threw out some things I needed (including phone charger), but mostly things that I already had or was sure not to need (two sets of spare tubes). I'm sure along the way that I'll find that I don't need X but need Y. I'll work on detailing that below, and hopefully by the end I'll have a pack that exactly suits my needs and is nothing I don't need.
I'm still not happy that I can't fit the spare tubes in the panniers or the roll bag, and I don't like my camera and tripod out in the open. I'll need to throw some more things out to get there, but I've got my eye on a few candidates and we'll see if I can work it out!
