put my panniers on the scales last nite and all my stuff for a rtw trip is 40kg is this to much for a xt600e to cross russia /mongolia etc. what is everyone else carrying ?

I'd lay out everything you have and half it! This is of course inversely proportional to your budget which you should double ;-)

Otherwise go though everthing you're taking and ask youself if you really need it or can it be bought on the road. There's plenty of info on here regarding what people carry. Usually if its your first trip, you'll be carrying way too much and bringing things like laptops when you really don't need to. And chargers for electrical gear, just charge everything off the bike. Make sure you aren't carrying to many clothes too, just wash them frequenty and buy on the road.

There's lots of ways to reduce the load.

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Mike


www.singapore-scotland.blogspot.com
www.argentina-alaska.blogspot.com
My little Vid: India/Pakistan

BMW R1150GS
Suzuki DR650 SE: Ride it like ya stole it. Oh, somebody just did...

Kito, if your asking, will the Bike carry it. the answer is Yes,

but Dude.......... you have WAY TOO MUCH gear!

if you are carrying more than 25kg then your planning needs rethinking.

Sometimes it can't be helped.

I most definately NEED to carry

Spare tyres x2 ~ 10 kilos
Spare tubes ~ 8 kilos
Sleep mat ~ 250 grammes
Tent 2.5 kilos
sleeping bag 2.5 kilos
Mozzie net 500 grammes
500 grammes of water proofs
3 kilos of clothing
250 grammes water purifyer + tabs
250 grammes medical kit
3 kilos of tools + spare bits

Thats 33.25 kilos alone

+ Asus EEPC 1kilo
+ Camera 250grammes
+ batteries + charger 500 grammes
+ panier weight 1 kilo

36 kilos minimum!


Then we need some lube / engine oil , brake fluid etc...

Hang on, you NEED to carry 2 spare tyres & 8kgs spare inner tubes? What the f%ck!! I'm dying to know where the heck you were going? Maybe carry a set of spare tubes so that's about 15kgs saved right there. 20kgs is about the normal limit for taking luggage on a plane and that a lot of weight to carry on a bike.

I find even one tyre a bitch to carry for any longer that is absolutely necessary. Inner tubes can be patched, I repaired my rear 3 times on my DR650.

__________________
Mike


www.singapore-scotland.blogspot.com
www.argentina-alaska.blogspot.com
My little Vid: India/Pakistan

BMW R1150GS
Suzuki DR650 SE: Ride it like ya stole it. Oh, somebody just did...

I carried 2x spare heavy duty inner tubes for my XRV750 going from the UK to CapeTown. They are bulky and heavy and as has been mentioned here whenever I got a puncture I just stopped and patched the tube.

Next time I am definitely taking the heavyduty tubes already installed but I will only take a normal front 21" tube in my luggage that way if I 'rip' a tube or something I can put the 21" in the front or rear to limp back to civilization. Anything more is wasted IMHO.

On the merits of carrying spare tyres, if you ride far enough you will need to replace them and carrying the tyres you need will make you self-sufficient and will be cheaper than messing about at foreign airports where you don't speak the lingo. If you carry them you'll be heavy for the first part of the trip until you change them but if you send them to somewhere on route you'll waste a day (at least) and a load of cash tracking them down and freeing them from the airline. Don't assume you can get anything you need for the bike on route - you don't want to spend thousands on the trip only to have to put the wrong oil in your bike because you didn't plan ahead. Suffice to say, having been shafted for tyres in Mauritania last time, I will be taking my tyres with me next time.

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My next trip is about finding myself...
...pretty sure that's him pottering along in the slow lane on the dirtbike.

I might cut down to 6 spare tubes (3 front 3 rear) but the tyres are a definate.

We are going out the back and beyond , while tyres can be bought OTR we are only bringing a front and a rear originally we wanted to bring 2x rear and one front. Our TKC80s will be toast by Kazakhstan, and we have to cross Mongolia which is where the trellebourg army specials go on.

Also there is an issue if you shred the tyre , my wingman shredded his tyre in the Caparthian Mountains , he was seriously stuck for days and days. While if you have a spare tyre you even if you destroy a say a rear you can carve up the rear tyre to make tyre patches internally to your wheel to limp to the next town.


As said we are entering Kazakhstan via Ataku everybody else goes to turkmenbashi (we are ok to wait for the ferry) , this out back and beyond everybody travels by train there. There are no lorries to carry you to the next town apparently , same with Mongolia.

thanks thats some good feed back that weight i said is with tyres and full camping gear .2 x 32l panniers on the back. would love to know how people get on with tank bag ,rollbag ,tool bag and 40l boxes that must be a ton