Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB - Europe to ozz, when/time/cost and more

Hi, we did Europe -> Oz with my girlfriend 2-up on one DL650 a bit more than a year ago.

How long did you go?
We spent 6 months, but I really think it was too short, 8-9 would be the minimum acceptable in my view, since there are so many things to see, and plenty of very cheap countries to just relax and enjoy. We never felt like we´re in a hurry, but on the other hand, could not stay in one place very long.

How many kilometers did it take?
About 34.000 from Helsinki to Sydney.

What budget did you need?
Havent counted exactly, but I think we spent a total 15-16 thousand euros during the trip, and that includes everything. We payed about 600 euros for the bike, and 200 per head to fly from India to Thailand, and about 1200 (that was unplanned & expensive!) to airlift the bike from Indonesia to Australia; those flight tickets were about 250 p.p. We payed less than 500 euros to ship the bike home by sea from Sydney, but had to pay 180 at the harbour in Helsinki. Flights Sydney-Helsinki were about 1000 per head, could´ve gotten a little cheaper, though. The rest of the money went to fuel, guesthouses&cheap hotels, restaurants and bars. We also cooked our own food at first, but sent the cooker home from India.

Which things you took with you were really essential?
I guess my camera was something I didnt want to lose! I´d also try and find some good maps before leaving, those can be a pain to find in some countries. We left the GPS home, because we felt we already carry too much expensive stuff with us, so cannot comment on how useful it is in Asia.

What spareparts did you take and need?
We had wheel bearings, clutch&brake levers, pedals and all sorts of electrical stuff (but not very expensive)... amazingly we never needed any of them, did not even get one puncture on the whole trip (we did take some sharp objects off from the tyres many times, though)!

Do you need to avoid certain countries in certain months?
If you plan to go through eastern Turkey, it may get cold in late October, and northwestern parts of Iran also can have a severe winter. The tropical areas north of equator have their rainy season, when Europe has a summer, and it continues towards autumn. This of course will be reversed in the southern tropics, and we had a lot of rain in parts of Indonesia. But other than that, I think we had great weather during our trip. We rode from eastern Turkey to South India literally without a drop of rain, that is something like 9500 kms on the road! Also in southern & eastern parts of Australia, the weather favored riding in March-April.