What's going on over there?

A few changes over the last couple of weeks. As we started planning finer details it became clear that what I had thought the riding and trip was going to look like was a little different than what Kyle and Trevor did. After much thought, I decided to step back from the trip down from Edmonton. This isn't bad, simply different.

I am still going down to Chile/Argentina with my father in Jan/Feb to ride to the tip of South America, and as I can still take a significant amount of time off, I will be in Roatan, Honduras in November to scuba dive which I am very excited about.

Last Post: A combination of a How I Met Your Mother reference and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Which interestingly I've never seen)

Suit Up! Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Gear List - Part 1 of Many

Gear. Yes. Well, there is a lot of it. I could leave it there, but there is a significant word count that can be written on this and some people may find it interesting. We will try to give user reviews as we discover short falls and highlights of various pieces.

The "Gear List" started off innocuously enough, Kyle came up with a list gleaned from other ride reports (RR) mostly off ADVrider.com. After I put my eyes back in their sockets and retrieved my jaw from the floor, I went through the list and with some very minor exceptions discovered that I really did need to buy most of the items he listed. After the jump I have posted the list from the V5.0 Gear List that includes the text list, much (but not all) of which we have bought or plan to purchase.

I'll talk about a few of the main parts in more detail, please feel free to ask questions about these and other items we may not have listed.

Bike Upgrades

Rear Shock:
Total riding distance will likely end up being just south of 30,000 km. On a loaded bike (I weigh 150-155 lbs and come close to 175-180 with gear and water) over roads that are not necessarily smooth, a more robust shock is almost a necessity. It is supposedly possible to do without it, but the chances of a seal leak or similar are pretty high. The goal is to stay under 60 lbs of gear which puts me around 220 lbs loaded.
Total cost: $544.95.

Front Shocks:
This is a flat out necessity. The stock suspension dives with no load on the bike and jumps around. Kyle and Trevor have gone to RM250 Inverted Forks while I have chosen to rebuild using a .55 kg/mm springs which is significantly stiffer than stock.
Total cost of the rebuild: ~$350 for Springs, New Valves, Oil and Seals.

Windshield:
I have been mocked for this and I don't care. I like my windshield, and I'm a complete wimp without it. I bought a bigger one while Trevor and Kyle went with a "Sport" solution. Probably will only make a difference on the trip through the States and then when we hit highways in Argentina/Chile as it makes significantly less difference below 100 km/h.
Total Cost: $100

Gas Tank:
Stock fuel tank is 13L. The new one is an Acerbis 5.3 Gallon (20L) which is a rather significant improvement. More fuel is always good, and the range increase is pretty substantial.
Total Cost: MRSP $360, available for $270

Seat:
The stock seat is like sitting on a rail. It does not provide a "comfortable" feel after about an hour. Great in town, not so much beyond that. I have a Corbin that I got from Kyle when he purchased a different DR to ride down, and he has a seat built for mutants tall people.
Total Cost: $370 New

Power Mods (Exhaust + Jetting, Air Filter):
DG O-Series Muffler w/ Quiet Insert. Procycle Jet Kit. Do I need more power? Not at this altitude. Once we start going up (La Paz for reference is just shy of 12,000 ft) it will be convenient.
Muffler: $180
Jet Kit: $70
Air Filter: $30
Secondary Breather Filter: $30
Total Cost: $310

Hand Guards:
Three advantages: Keeps wind and rain away from your hands keeping them warmer. Helps prevent fingers from getting broken etc if you go down. Keeps branches and other obstacles away from the levers.

Heated Grips:
Non-bikers might see this as a luxury similar to heated seats. You are wrong. They are a necessity. While the major weather issue I believe we will face is warmth, if it gets cold, these will save your life.
Total Cost: $~70 (Heated portion ~$50 + New grips ~$20)

Engine Concern:
Specifically a case saver that the chain will hit instead of hitting the case of the engine, which invariably causes damage and can wreck the engine completely. Second, a counter-shaft seal retainer because I like the seal to stay in rather than spewing oil out the side. Third, case armor that attaches onto the sides of the engine and takes the abrasion instead of the engine itself.
Case Saver: $40
Seal Retainer: $20
Case Armor: $100
Total Cost: $160

Tubliss System:
To simplify this, it is a tube that sits very close to the wheel rather than touching the outside part of the tire, meaning that a normal car patch kit can be used instead of taking the tire off, putting a new tube in and then remounting the tire. If everything goes properly it turns a 45+ minute stop for a tire puncture into a 10 minute one.
Total Cost: $200 ($100 per tire)

Centre Stand:
Ever tried to get a rear wheel off while the bike is on a kickstand? Yeah, I thought not.
Total Cost: $160

Luggage:
Two main portions, the first is a tank bag, I think all three of us have bought Giant Loop Fandango bags that at $160 are not cheap, but are supposed to be very close to waterproof. It has a clear top pocket that a map can be placed in for viewing while riding.

Second, we have bought 3 Pelican cases to attach to the sides as paniers and a top case above the rear wheel. These will likely be supplemented by either a dry bag or dry duffle to hold large items like sleeping bags.
Total Cost: $213.06 USD (If you can avoid it, never buy Pelican gear in Canada)

Riding Gear

Boots:

We have all bought Motorcross boots. These are a hard boot that go up to high calf and are like walking in ski boots. Not great for walking, but really good for a) Water Resistance b) Keeping your ankle intact should you go down (You break the Tibia and/Fibula rather than the gazillion bones in the ankle). Does have the potential to allow for wrenched knees which does cause me some concern.
Total Cost: $50 (Kijiji can be amazing. New they should be $250+)

Helmet:

I wear an Arai helmet that is designed for on-road riding and racing. Unfortunately, my head is shaped weird and it is in the $500-800 range for me to buy a comfortable helmet, so I don't want to buy a new one.

Kyle has an AGX which includes an external visor which is nice for tropical climates and for keeping rain off the visor.

Pants:

Personally I have a set of Alpinestars pants which I think are the Drystar model. Honestly, I've tried on all the pants in my size available in the city of Edmonton, and these fit. Decent knee protection, not much padding on the hip, but reasonable abrasion protection. Unfortunately, they don't fit over my boots, so I have to tuck them inside, which as long as I am not wearing jeans, this is not an issue.

The big problem is going to be when it gets hot. They are black and have no vents. I recognize that I am going to roast, but an appropriate solution has not presented itself.

Trevor and Kyle bought some mesh pants from Tourmaster, and they will likely be much more comfortable.
Tourmasters: $180
Alpinestars: ~$200

Jacket:

Tourmaster Transition V3. Traditionally Tourmaster zippers have been unreliable and I have stayed away as a result in the past, but I needed a jacket that fit well and this is as close as I can find. Venting works surprisingly well, though I suspect I will disagree with that statement once the weather breaks 25 degrees.

Kyle has a Scorpion jacket of some sort, and he seems to like it, unsure what Trevor is currently riding.
Tourmaster Transition V3: $224 USD

Gloves:

An eternal debate. Shorty? Gauntlets? Mesh? Leather? Textile? Hard Armor? Soft Armor? Pinky Padding? I want  need a new set, I'm currently riding a pair of Scorpion EXO Mesh Shorts, and they held up OK when I laid down a couple years back, but I do not want to ride for 4 months in them.

Hydration System:
Yet to be purchased by me, but a 2.5L reservoir in a backpack style. Possibly one of the most important pieces of gear.

No idea what Kyle or Trevor will be using.

Total Cost: Lots. I haven't added it up. Most of me doesn't want to, the rest is curious. It might happen. Estimate is in the vicinity of $3.5k.

Off-Bike Gear:

Clothing:

Not much. It may have to be burned before we can return to civilized society. Everything should be quick dry synthetic or merino wool

• 1 pair, pants
• 1 maybe 2, shorts
• 1 pair, swim trunks
• 2 synthetic T-shirts
• 1, fleece long sleeve
• Toque
• 3 pairs, socks
• 3 pairs, boxers

Sleeping:

Oh man has there been talk about this. The problem is that it will be +45 in Central America, but potentially as cold as -20 at night when in the Andes and at altitude (Salar de Uyuni!). We are bringing tents for certain areas, but the temperature swings are a challenge.

Last Post: A statement from Bilbo Baggins, the full quote bears printing:
“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” - JRR Tolkien

I should also point out that the title references apply to posts by me (Alex)

The Game

It is the little things that amuse me, and I will be playing an on-going game with you the reader. If you happen to be a gamer you may have noticed the title of the last post and caught the reference (see bottom of post). While I cannot speak for my fellow travelers, I will be attempting to include some sort of literary, pop culture, musical, or similar allusion in many of the titles of my posts, and potentially within the posts as well.

If you understand the reference share with your fellow readers in the comments. The goal here is to figure it out while using no external sources (e.g. Google), for that would be cheating! Some of them will be hard, some not. I will be including the answer to the last in each new post.

Last Post Reference - "Catch-A-Ride" - Borderlands, Borderlands 2 - A system in the game that allows your character to obtain vehicles at certain places in the game.

Catch-A-Ride

What exactly is going on? Those of you who know all or some of us have a pretty good idea. For the rest out there, this blog will be covering the preparations and trip of three gentlemen (Alex, Kyle and Trevor) planning to ride down to South America (Estimating 25-30,000 km ridden) starting in the middle of October 2013 on a trio of Suzuki DR650s.

To start off the introductions, I'm Alex, I work for a company in Nisku (Just south of Edmonton) doing Systems and Operations work. What does that mean? I ensure that things go smoothly. As you can see below, that is me and the bike I recently purchased. I still have not ridden it, but it does appear that the previous owner cleaned it with a toothbrush. Regularly.

The Steed and prospective rider

She is a 2008 Suzuki DR650 with 1862 km, and will have many parts replaced in the coming weeks (new shocks, case guard, hand guards, luggage racks, many small pieces, 18" rear rim, the list goes on for awhile).

Why replace parts that are essentially brand new? The DR650 is not a new design, it is largely unchanged since the last major rework in 1996, and their weaknesses and foibles are well documented (For example, 3rd gear in the 99-05 model years tends to be weak). The terrain we expect to see (and seek) is not all nicely paved highway. There will be gravel, trails and other conditions we do did not expect or forsee. Since we want to spend as little time on the side of a road as possible, we Kyle (Let's be honest, he did most of the research on this) did a huge amount of reading and figured what pieces were most likely to cause issues and found suitable replacements.

This resulted in a huge order of parts, tires and gear that we shipped to a location in the States and then imported ourselves. Even with Duty and GST, it was still substantially cheaper than purchasing up here. Sorry Canadian motorcycle retailers, but for example, when I can get the new model of my jacket for $50 less than the last version, I'm not going to buy locally.

We will keep you updated sporadically on the upgrades to the bikes and shakedown trips as we prepare ourselves and the bikes. We welcome and encourage your comments and thoughts.