Written before or during the trip

EQUIPMENT

WHAT BRAND COMMENT

MOTORCYCLE GEAR
Helmet Arai XD Would have loved to keep my Schuberth flip-up but couldn't handle it more than 2 hours
Gloves, 2 pairs BMW 1 pair summer and 1 pair rain. No winter pair as I have heated grips
Jacket Rukka Air Power  
Pants Rukka Armacor  
Boots BMW Savannah  
Kidney belt      
heated vest BMW  
Rain suit, 2 pieces First Gear Even if my riding gear is waterproof, I rather have the rain suit in heavy rain, it dries quicker.
Hydration bag Osprey heavy to wear… might ship it home
       

MOTORCYCLE TRANSFORMATION

  
Extra low seat Wunderlich was necessary when I started but now could deal without it
Shock Works Perfomance My bike was already 40,000 miles when I astarted the trip and the BMW shock is known to brake with heavy load
Hand protectors BMW I wrecked many times with those plastic ones and never broke anything on the bike. I save a $70 Acerbis pair!
Heated grips BMW would never consider riding without them
Cruise control ?? Handy on freeway but not necessary. Could deal with throttle rest only
Carbon fiber skid plate Touratech lighter and longer than the stock one but coulc deal with the stock one
Crash bars Touratech  
Washable air filter K&N No need to carry or find extras, however, wouldn't use it if I was only in North America or Europe
Washable oil filter Scott No need to carry or find extras, however, wouldn't use it if I was only in North America or Europe
Chain oiler Scott No need to oil your chain but mess up the rear wheel

PACKING
Side cases Jesse Luggage  
Top Box BMW it has been bolt on the Jesse racks
Tank side pockets with map pocket Touratech no tank bag because already enough space and not practical when I stand on my pegs
Top box inner bag BMW packed all my cloths, toileteries, sandals, towel and laptop; very handy when I come to a hotel, I just have to grab the bag and leave the bike where it is!
small cargo net     I leave it on the back seat and put food or anything necessary during the day
Compression bags Eagle one for clean cloths the other one for dirty cloths
Plastic bags      
Lunch boxes      

SPARE PARTS

 All of that has been placed under my seat
Extra bulbs      
Spark plugs      
Connectors      
Wires      
Clutch cable      
Throttle cable      
Fork seals     I don't have fork gaiters…. Long story but I should
Oil drain washer      
Oil filter gasket      
Front brake pads     I changed my rear pads in Arizona
Front inner tube     In case the rear tire gets flat, I can always use the front inner tube for a few miles
Jesse hooks      
Misc nuts, bolts and washers      

TOOLS
tork wrenchs      
halen wrenches      
7 to 19 mm flat wrenches      
24 mm big wrench     for rear wheel and oil drain
10 mm socket      
feeler gauges      
spark plug gauges      

SECURITY
thin 6 foot cable with lock     useful to lock helmet, jacket, pants and boots on the bike
thik 8 inches cable     useful to lock the bike to a tree
chain lock     make it hard to steal the bike
     

MOTORCYCLE ACCESSORIES
Oil     small bottle
Coolant     small bottle
WD40      
JB Weld     Dude!! I use it all the time
Bike cover Aerostish  
Air filter soap and oil K&N  
Chain lub      
Cycle pump      
Tie-downs     had 2 big ones at first and switched to 5 small BMWs
2 ft hose     in case of gas emergency!

NAVIGATION
Central America and Mexico guide book Footprint  
South America guide book Footprint  
State maps for North America AAA  
Country maps for Central and South America Nelles  
Eco travel guide      
GPS Garmin 76C model with basic maps only
compass      

PERSONAL GEAR
2 thermal shirt Arcteryx best underwear ever had, easy to wash and dry, very good in cold weather and ok in hot weather
2 thermal underwear Arcteryx good to wear under motorcycle pants; moto pants not sticky on legs and can remove moto pants without being naked in the front of everybody!
2 lycra tee-shirts      
2 pairs of zip-off pants      
1 fleece      
2 sport bras      
3 pairs of socks     had liner at first but got rid of them as they were extremely smelly
6 lycra penties     had bought REI dry fast penties but hated then, I deal very well with my old lycras
2 head scarfs Buff good to hold hair in helmet and good looking as a regular scarf (you know the French like scarfs!)
1 cap      
1 scarf     just my lucky silk scarf that my mom made me when I was 12 years old; I always carry it!
Sunglasses      
Cross country running shoes Salomon good for running and hicking
Sandals      

TOILETERIES
Liquid soap      
Shampoo     Think I will shave my head soon because it is a nightmare to have long hair!
Conditioner      
Moisturizer      
Toothpaste      
Toothbrush      
Comb      
Contact lenses fluid      
Nail cutter      
2 small light towels      

CAMPING
Mug, bowl and spoon      
Swiss army knife      
Head light      
Sleeping bag sheet 50% silk, 50% coton cleaner in sleeping bag and useful in sketchy hotels
Sleeping bag REI Sub Kilo down, not very performant when cold and humid but packs in my boxes
Air mattress Thermarest  
Tent North Face Roadrunner2 sent from Arizona to Peru
moskito net     not yet but should have one

COMMUNICATION
Laptop Apple PowerBook G4  
USB drive     easy to download website in internet cafes
digital camera Canon Powershot S40 compact and easy to set on the handlebars
3 batteries for the camera      
1 camera charger      
1 camera bike charger     never used it until now!

ADMINISTRATIVE
Passport      
Driving licence      
Motorcycle title      
Motorcycle registration      
Credit cards Visa and AMEX 2 French and 2 Americans
Laminated copies of driving license, passport and registration     handy to give at hotels or check points
Copies of documents and medical prescriptions      

MISCELLANEOUS
Baby powder     for non-smelly feet inside the motorcycle boots
Contact lenses      
Sun block      
Natural moskito repelent      
Pharmacy      
Laundry line      
Toilet paper dry bag Ortlieb GOSH!! Probably the best trick on the bike! So good in countries where they don't give you paper :)
Small backpack      
Extra DVDs      
Watch      
Ear plugs      
Moskito head net      
Boot polish      
Spanish phrase book      
One spear wallet      

LEFT AWAY
Video camera     was nice to have not a must
Helmet cam     sent back to provider - was luxury
Hammock     thrown away in AK but would be handy in Central America
Swimsuit     thrown away in AK, now swim in my underwear
Stove and cookware     thrown away in AK
Pair of jeans     thrown away in CO
Coton tee-shirst     shipped back home, was too heavy and smelly
Gogles     was nice to have not a must
Stool     was luxury
Sleeping bag North Face replaced by smaller sleeping bag that fits in boxes

 
 

BUDGET

TOTAL

34,000

 

 

DAILY EXPENSES ($30/jour)

7,500

Food, Accommodations, Visits

CAMPING

500

Tent, Sleeping bag, Pad, Stove…

MEDICAL

1,000

Medical Insurance, Inoculations, Pharmacy

ANNE TRAVEL TICKETS

1,800

Boat Seattle-Anchorage, Plane Panama-Caracas, Plane Buenos Aires-San Francisco

NAVIGATION

700

Guides, Maps, GPS

MOTORCYCLE

6,000

BMW F650 GS

RIDING PREPARATION

1,500

Motorcycle Safety Class, Mechanical class, Off-road training

MOTORCYCLE EQUIPMENT

3,500

Tools, Spare parts, Side cases, Tank bag, Insurance and other documents

MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE

4,500

Gas, Tires, Regular maintenance

MOTORCYCLE TRAVEL TICKETS

1,500

Boat Seattle-Anchorage, Plane Panama-Caracas, Boat Buenos Aires-San Francisco

MOTORCYCLE GEAR

2,000

Helmet, Goggles, Gloves, Jacket, Pants, Boots, Hydration pack, Heated Vest

VIDEO & COMMUNICATION

3,500

Digital camera, Video camera, Laptop, ISP