Carrying spares - what's the go?
 

Starting to acquire bits and pieces for an upcoming trip 15,000+kms.
Besides fuses and bulbs what have people taken with them. My trip will be mainly tarmac but there'll be a few thousand kms of dirt in there also.

I'm thinking wheel bearings, oil filters, chain links, clutch cable, levers and tubes. Does anyone consider anything else as essential?

If this has been done to death in other threads just post a link in the reply. I had a good look around and couldn't find much.

What's the bike, where are you going?

Well that depends on your bike. What are you riding ????

15,000 KM. You won't need as much as you think.

Change your bearings before you go and you wont have a problem. Same with your chain and sprockets if you have them. Chain oiler is a great idea here.

It's more important to have your bike prepped and in top condition before you leave than to carry everything to sort it on route.

I'd carry spare clutch and throttle 'Pull' cable. Also spare brake and clutch lever.

Fuses and bulbs like you say. I always take a selection of nuts & bolts too.

Zip ties are a must too...


And a proper puncture kit and spare tubes if you're running them.

Triumph Tiger 800xc
Russia Mongolia Kazakhstan and Northern Europe UK
Starting Vladivostok in May 16

If you're taking a bevel Ducati, take a spare crank. Otherwise as Ted says, get your bike in good shape before you go. I did a similar length trip recently in Southern Africa on my 18 year old GS and needed nothing at all- only spares I took were a spare clutch cable (would have taken levers but they are HOW MUCH???) a couple of bulbs and a small box with epoxy paste, some tape, zip ties etc. Before I left I did a full service; all fluids, cables, pads, filters etc, basically preventative maintenance. Had the rear shock rebuilt and a heavier spring fitted. I was stretching the oil change interval a bit, but the bike seems fine after a thorough service and unfortunately doesn't even look like it's been anywhere...

By the looks of your trip, you're riding into civilization rather than away from it. Best way when considering spares and servicing.

Have had the suspension done recently.
The throttle cable is something I haven't considered
Bikes only got 5000kms on it at the moment and won't have a lot more on it before I go. That said will do chain and sprockets and full service

Unless it's fly by wire..

I know it's pretty pointless taking stuff that you don't know how to fit or repair and not everyone knows about electrics. Even so, reasoning that most electrical breakdowns are as a result of something simple such as a broken wire, bad connection or corroded earth I always carry a length of wire with small crocodile clips on both ends and some crimp connectors. A miniature multimeter is always handy. Even if you don't know how to use it more often than not somebody who does will offer some help.

The list of other stuff you could carry to effect electrical repairs at the roadside is quite long but, along with the items above, some snips and self amalgamating tape should suffice.

I would not worry too much. Its a Triumph not a BMW so the only thing needet is to refil petrol and in case of an accedent or so russian people are great when it comes to repair technik. The older the better...

The Trumpy has fuel injection and ABS but nothing else i.e. no traction control or cruise control. Also the frame's steel so if something cracks it can be welded.

Thanks for the responses guys a few things in there I'll definitely consider.

Closer to departure I'll post up the full list of bits that'll be going with me

What year is your Tiger?

Just be aware of the dusty stepper motor/idle issue, upgrade the air filter and carry a spare ready to go, use filter skins, like the guys say, start with new consumables and you should be good. Id probably carry a set of front and rear brake pads, spare plugs, voltmeter, liquid metal, extra fuses, tape, cable ties, hose clamps, 2x front and 2x rear tubes, compressor, hand pump, one of those microstart boosters and fit a new battery before the trip.

Id also ride the Tiger hard at home and see if you have any issues before the trip starts.

Have a good trip!

I've got 2 Unifilter foam pre-filters that work really well at protecting the main paper filter.
A lot of people suggest brake pads. I'm not convinced that I'm going to chew through pads touring. Will replace before I go and am confident they'll last until Europe.
might do a little research on the microstart boosters
Cheer
BR

From reading the 800 Tiger forums, all above is spot on. I nearly bought a Tiger so read Tiger forums for a year or so and the stepper motor issue was about the only issue. Lots of dirt can mess things up.

Rear pads only, (but start with NEW fronts) Rears wear fast riding Mud.

Bring a nice nut/bolt/misc kit of your common sizes, plus a few odd springs, O rings, whatevers. :thumbup1:
Small elec kit, small VOM (meter). Good rain gear, elec. jacket liner (Gerbing) consider HID kit for at least one of your headlights. (brighter, uses less current)

Two part JB Weld is good for a lot of things. Spare tubes a must (not ULTRA HD ones too bulky). On the road, try to have VULCANIZED patches done (tire shop) rather than the crap stick on ones that don't hold long. I never patch a tube on side of road, just replace with new spare tube but take care the flat tube, have it repaired later with Vulcanized patch. Good as new if done right.

In remote areas tubes can be like Gold.

At such low mileage I would not worry about broken cables unless that is something that fail in the Tiger. (I never heard anything about that)

Go over luggage carefully, Loc Tite some nuts/bolts.

I swap my tubes for extra heavy duty and carry standard ones for spares. As mollydog days, Heavy duty tubes as spares are way too bulky.

Roadside patches can be permanent but it depends on a lot of things. I carry a proper tin of 'tip top' vulcanising solution and quality patches. I prefer to swap a tube and repair it at the end of the day but sometimes you get multiple punctures so dont get that choice.

Mistakes I see are people not cleaning the tube enough and not waiting long enough for solution to dry. I've got tubes hanging on my wall that I repaired on the road in Tanzania 6 years ago and they're good as new.

I've also had patches fall off every 30 minutes when forced to buy cheap rubbish.