Bikes
 
There seem to be quite a few options when it comes to bikes. As with most things, it depends on how much money you've got available.
For the more well-heeled traveller, the bike of choice seems to be a BMW. The GS-series BMWs or the F650 Dakar are the obvious choices, the 1150GS Adventure popularised by LongWayRound and many other overland travellers. Both the 1150GS and the F650 are solid bikes and are purpose built for adventure travel - but they're also (very) heavy which isn't great. BMW 1150GS Adventure
BMW F650 Dakar The GS has the advantage of being shaft-driven (no chains - hooray!) whereas the F650 is lighter. However, they are both expensive, in terms of initial outlay and also in terms of spare parts - original BMW bits are not cheap! - and they are like the proverbial rocking horse sh*t in South America...
The second option is to go Japanese. Here there are a number of options. The Honda Africa Twin is one possibilty. The Yamaha Tenere is another, as is the Yamaha XT600 or XT600E. Suzuki and Kawasaki don't seem to feature too heavily in the overland stakes with perhaps the exception of the Kwak KLR650.
Yamaha XT600E
Kawasaki KLR650
Honda Africa Twin

The common factor in all the bikes is that they're all either single or twin cylinder machines. The key point seems to be simplicity - with the Japanese machines being more so than the BMWs. Simplicity means that there's less to go wrong - and when it does go wrong, it's easier to fix and the parts are easier to obtain!

So - our criteria were:

  • Not too expensive
  • Easy to fix
  • Air-cooled (water cooling means a water cooling system to go wrong and radiator to hole)
  • Light, so they're easy to haul out of mud/ditches/etc
Based on these, we decided on Yamaha XT600Es. There is a ton of information on the web about them. The new models have electric start (woohoo!), are widely available in the UK and have been made up until 2004 (I think) so newer models are available. Pannier racks are available for these from several manufacturers, the engines are robust (apparently the same engine since 1979!) and they're air-cooled 600cc singles, reliable and easy to fix.
 
Matt's bike was initially fitted with Dunlop TrailMax tyres. The rear wore out (partly due to a 90+mph ride to the Nurburgring in Germany (!)) in about 3000 miles and also resulted in a nasty speed weave at about 85mph. Maybe that was the rider... Anyway, the TrailMaxes are going to be changed for Metzeler Enduro 3 Sahara tyres before leaving.

Will's bike was fitted with Metzeler Tourance tyres when he bought it, which are supposed to be great for commuting and general road riding but probably aren't up to the gravel road riding we're expecting in Central America. Again, these'll be changed for Metzeler Enduro 3 Sahara tyres.
 
Acerbis 23-litre long-range fuel tank
Fuel tanks - the XT600E has a 15-litre tank as standard which won't really provide much of a range. We've fitted both bikes with Acerbis 23-litre extended range tanks to give us a better chance of avoiding being stranded in the middle of nowhere! An impromptu range test on the A12 by Matt (he ran out of petrol) indicated that the maximum range from these tanks should be somewhere in the region of 200-220 miles, maybe more, as the A12 test was conducted at about...cough...70mph.
We've fitted CRD bashplates to both bikes in place of the crap standard bashplates. The CRD ones are solid 2mm (? - it's thick anyway!) aluminium which will do a great job of protecting the bottom engine casing and the oil tank tube from damage if/when we ground the bikes out on rocks/small Peruvian gentlemen/etc.
CRD bashplate (cool angle!)
Acerbis handguards
 We've replaced the original Yamaha brushguards with Acerbis-pattern reinforced handguards to the bikes to protect the brake and clutch levers from damage if/when the bikes get dropped - these attach in two points so are far more robust than the standard Yamaha items and should help us avoid carrying numerous spare levers!!
One great piece of kit found by Will was a replacement oil filler tank cap. Made by Kedo in Germany, they have a metal dipstick with a built-in temperature gauge and sensor which is a straight swap for the standard filler cap. The temperature gauge is really easy to read and (best of all!) the metal dipstick avoids a common problem where the OEM dispstick melts in the (really) hot engine oil!
Aftermarket oil temperature dipstick
Corbin seat (Matt) Seats - the standard seats on the XT600E are...umm...plank-like to say the least. Matt's bike had already had the original seat re-covered by Corbin in the US so it was a lot wider and more comfortable with a durable woven cover. Riding to Germany and back in two days proved the worth of an aftermarket seat (minimal numb bum!!) so Will got his re-covered too.
Both bikes are fitted with Motrax chain oilers, which are an essential piece of kit...no more propping the bike up to oil the chain after each day's riding - the chain oiler constantly oils the chain while the bike's being ridden and prolongs chain life enormously. One option was a Scottoiler, but the Motrax oiler (controversially!) looked a bit neater, as it fits under the left hand fairing panel (as opposed to the numberplate) and also runs off the bike's electrical system rather than a vacuum feed. It comes with a neat electronic control box to control flow and while it's more complicated than the ScottOiler, we think the extra complexity trades off against the convenience.
 Motrax electronic chain oiler
To carry the GPS unit, we've got a TouraTech handlebar bracket that clamps the unit in place. We'll wire the DC power and external GPS aerial into the bike, terminating at the bracket - so when we stop we just have to disconnect power and aerial and remove the GPS unit.
Touratech GPS mount
GPS receiver taped above tachometer

Other modifications...

  • Will fitted some "proper bling" stainless downpipes, as salt corrosion had reduced the OE headers to a state close to that of swiss cheese.
  • Acerbis handguards were fitted by us, and then re-fitted properly by David Lambert and his guys - they're now so sturdy that the bikes can be towed out of ditches, lakes etc by attaching a rope to them...!
  • Aftermarket windscreens were fitted to keep some of the wind blast off our chests...we'll see how effective they are when we're on the road!
  • We've also fitted Sola alarms to the bikes - these have the advantage of a multi-level shock/tilt sensor (great if someone is wobbling your bike around trying to nick it), and REALLY LOUD siren - cool! - and finally they can be totally disabled to avoid killing the battery when left for long periods of time.
Shiny downpipes (minus heatshield)
Windscreen
Pannier racks and panniers - see panniers