This is more about all the things that have to be done before you can turn up at the airport and catch the flight to your destination. Preparing ourselves is the easy part!! Having both done long trips before, we know pretty much know what to expect, although for me it is going to be a different experience travelling by bike instead of public transport

Our starting point was organising the shipping of the bikes to Los Angeles. Air was too expensive so we started collecting Ocean Freight quotes from various sources. It was interesting to note that the actual cost of the sea freight was pretty similar (around $80US per cubic metre) but charges for paperwork and documents varied wildly. Arno got a couple of crates sorted out and we played around with crates and bikes, trying to get the total size as small as possible.

The next big project was getting our camping equipment sorted out. Most of the equipment we needed, we already had from previous trips, two new additions however were tent and cooker. Previous trips have seen us squeezing into a 1½ person tent, leaving most of our stuff outside in waterproof bags - not recommended in Central/South America!! So we splashed out and got a Macpac tent for a great price from Sian’s employer Lauche & Maas, the source of most of our equipment.
As for the cooker, Primus won over MSR, and we are the proud owners of a liquid fuel cooker.

For anyone that is interested, have a look in the archives for a complete equipment list of what we started out with.

Technology has changed completely since the last time we both travelled (no email address then!) and we had to decide how much of this tech we were going to take with us. The list of ‘useful’ gadgets was loooong, and our budget small, so some decisions were made quicker than others. eg no GPS, no mobile phone, no pocket PC. It took a lot longer to decide which items to take and more importantly which model etc.

We both already have SLR cameras, but the versatility and possibilities offered by digital was extremely interesting. After a lot of questions at various camera shops, internet forums etc, we decided that the Sony MVC CD range fitted our specs, but not our budget!! Will have to make that decision nearer our departure date. Also a laptop would be very useful, mostly for Arno to write his book on but also to keep all our information on. However, we could live for a good few weeks on what a laptop would cost, so maybe we will stick to good old fashioned pen, paper and internet cafes.

Most of the injections and stuff you need when travelling away from Europe, were still valid from the last time, just one with a shorter life needed doing again. Also learning from previous experience, we prepared a small medical kit, with just the basics. Anything else we can buy along the way when needed.
Staying on the subject of health and in particular health insurance, always a hot potato! Here in Germany, things are quite complicated, private health insurance is compulsory and normally paid from your wages. Paying this whilst travelling would eat a huge hole into our budget and having no insurance wasn’t really an option, so we looked around for alternatives. One possibility is something called “Anwartschaft” normally available to people working abroad for long periods of time. You pay about 10% of the normal premium, your insurance is suspended but if the worst were to happen, it would be reactivated on your return. Our travel insurance was with a German firm and surprisingly contained no exclusions regarding motorcycles in the small or very small print.

Sponsorship is always an interesting subject, something not easy to come by and as is often the case it is a case of who you know. Arno had worked hard at interesting sponsors for his last trip, through contacts and many phone calls. Having secured sponsors, he made sure that they got lots of publicity by doing radio, newspaper and TV interviews and writing magazine articles during his trip.
For this trip, we approached the same sponsors, this time with a presentation and also with different objectives. We were successful and now must organise some publicity along the way.

We left it until the last minute to sort out our flights. This was necessary because of the possibility that we might have to fly to Australia if we got our visas, but I wouldn’t recommend it! There were many alternatives; so called “round the world” tickets offered the best value for money, but then limit you to a years travel - which is not always a bad thing. Another point we had to consider was that we were flying into the US, practically the only country that rigidly enforces the rule that you need to have a return ticket. There are a few tricks to get around this, read more in our September journals.

Well, that’s about it for the preparation we had to do. For us the preparation is part of the trip and, like a long journey, it was mostly fun sorting everything out, sometimes stressful and very occasionally frustrating. Time will tell if we have done enough!!

The majority of the work on the bikes was done by Arno, he is more mechanically minded and has lots of experience from his first trip. I helped where possible and tried to learn more about my bike where I could.

Arno’s BMW R100GS PD Classic (Black Betty)

Arno’s bike had had a complete overhaul recently, as she had about 120,000km’s on the clock and has already completed the overland route to Australia. In addition the drive shaft and the cam shaft chain had been replaced at 100,000km.
The Engine was taken apart, the cylinders checked and found to be ok, the piston rings were still within their limits but exchanged anyway. The valves and guides were worn but had no play (amazingly good for 120000km). Willi Wegramf took a look at the gearbox and the drive unit, a few seal rings and one big bearing needed replacing and that’s it! Again surprisingly good for 120000km. The clutch plate we exchanged too, as we had the gearbox out anyway and it doesn‘t cost much.
A little welding and painting followed by a new rear shock absorber and she was ready to go again.
Black Betty was already equipped with aluminium boxes made by Arno’s brother, each with a capacity of around 45 litres and an aluminium plate fixed to the centre stand to protect the gear box. A single seat replaced the normal seat, providing more secure storage space behind the rider. Last but not least a medium size tank bag complete with side pouches, great for keeping water bags in.
Just before the bike had to be shipped, the gearbox had to come out again, as the gearbox exit gasket leaked. Why? who knows. The spark plug cable had a few cracks in the insulation and let water in occasionally, No big deal, but to find the problem took some time. Finally the Carburettor gaskets were replaced, as they go hard after a while.

Sian’s XT600E needed a bit more work !!

The first decision was about luggage, should it be soft (Ortlieb bags) or hard (Alu boxes). After lots of discussion, research and sleepless nights - well OK, night, I plumped for alu boxes, mainly as they offer more security and also more protection for me and the bike when I end up dropping it for the nth time!! I was lucky that a friend had recently sold his XT, but still had a pair of Därr boxes and a carrier system lying around in his garage. Arno got it fitted onto my XT with a bit of adjustment, so saving him the job of having to build a carrier. (Thanks Phillip!!)

Next job was to make a windshield, we had a look at a few bikes, to get some ideas, then drew a template and cut a shape out of a sheet of Perspex. We had to shape it, to fit the bike and make it somewhat aerodynamic, so made it hot over our new Primus multi fuel cooker and bent and shaped it to the right size. We filed it a little and added a rubber rim, (to satisfy the boys in blue - or green) then bolted it on and Voila!! Not a bad result, a bit more wind noise, but a lot less wind (and rain) to my body.

The biggest problem was finding a second hand Acerbis tank to fit, we have already tried 4 :- ( Two of which were long shots anyway, but the other 2 were bought from people who should know better!! Luckily we had made sure that we could return the tanks if they didn’t fit. It Looked like I was going to have to shell out 200 Euros for a new one……………

Well I got away with 180 Euros but the tank came without a fixing kit. Just the excuse Arno needed to go off and get himself a thread cutting kit!! He fixed up the tank, also mounting petrol filters in between the petrol taps and the carb. Now with a few extra spare parts to fill my alu boxes, and a new tank bag, the bike is ready to go!

LIST OF EQUIPMENT WE STARTED OUT WITH.

BIKE EQUIPMENT
No ‘rocket science’ here, just common sense! The Spare parts and tools we take, will take up a lot of space and are relatively heavy, however, they will, we hope, give us more chance to help ourselves if, or when we break down.

SPARES
Bulbs, sparkplugs, fuses
Electrical cables and connectors
Small sheet each of rubber and aluminium
Tubes for tyres, valves
Throttle and clutch cables, for both bikes
Assorted nuts and bolts and washers
Litre of engine oil, grease, aluminium paste, copper paste
Oil & Air filters
Sealing paste
Fibreglass repair kit,
Clutch and brake levers
Cylinder head cover (BMW)
Black box (XT)
Ignition coil (XT)
Chain & Sprocket set & spare links(XT)
Distributor (XT)

TOOLS
BMW toolkit plus - file, metal saw, 12mm allen key nut for shaft, sandpaper
XT toolkit plus - decent pair of pliers, spanners and screwdrivers
Bit set
Various sorts of tape
Tyre levers and puncture repair kit
Pump
Handbooks for both bikes (not the minimalist ones you get with the bike)

CAMPING EQUIPMENT
Tent
Sleeping bags and liners
Sleeping mats (Thermarest)
Mosquito net
Cooker
Pots, pans, utensils and mugs
Water sacks
Head Torch (thanks Biljana)
Folding sink (Not from the kitchen though!)

RIDING EQUIPMENT

Helmets, boots gloves, scarves
Cordura type riding jackets and trousers with removable waterproof liners.
Glasses and sunglasses
Kidney belts
Earplugs
Thermal underwear
Walkie talkies & accessories
Multi charger 12V
Lots of spare keys for everything!!

CLOTHES AND STUFF

As far as clothing goes, we are not going to list every pair of pants and socks!! We will take what we normally take for a week or so away, the only question yet to be answered is do we take a pair of hiking boots or a pair of trainers?
Well we have gone for the middle road, a pair of light mid height, walking boots, as we won’t be doing any extreme hiking with heavy rucksacks, just the odd day here and there. Still not sure if we will be treading where the Incas trod, I think we will see what the oxygen situation is like when we get there :-)
A washing kit each, a first aid kit plus a day pack, round it off.
Our clothes and personal stuff will be transported in rucksacks, that will stay with us, while the bikes (together with Alu boxes etc) are being shipped. We have big Ortlieb sacks to put the rucksacks in and these will be strapped onto the back rack when riding.

A MOUNTAIN OF PAPER
I am sure that this will end up weighing much more than the tools, but it is all just as necessary. We have with us copies, colour and B&W of all original documents.

Passport and identity cards.
National driving licences.
International driving licences.
Bike ownership and registration papers.(German and International)
Health insurance documentation.
Letter of introduction in 3 languages.
Lots of spare passport pictures.
International student cards.
Address books
Journals
Book to read (only one!)
Small amount of writing paper and envelopes
Guide Books – with lots of notes already written inside:
Lonely Planet Mexico (from my last trip), Footprint Central America, Footprint South America
Maps:
Mexico & Central America 1:2.5m
South America - North 1:4m
South America – South 1:4m
Central America 1:1.7m
Peru, Equador 1:2.5m
N.Argentina 1:2.5
Chile 1:2.5m

I'm sure I have forgotton a few things..............