Trip advice - two up on a R80 Paris Dakar
 

Hello all,

Need some words of wisdom.

The plan so far:

1. 11 months of travel time
2. October 2015(!) start....which may present a problem for point three
3. Route option
(a) Anchorage to Argentina (or along those lines - open to alternatives/suggestions), with an East-West US
(b) East to west US, down to Argentina...ship/freight to Cape Town, easy ride North to London....
4. Bike: BMW R80G/S Paris Dakar

We'd like to be able to do the above without rushing through everything we pass.

We'd love to hear from you regarding logistics, timing of proposed routes and realistic expectations etc..

Daniel and Polly.

hi, me and my wife are planning a similar trip on a nearly identicle bike (r100gs)
we live on the west coast of norway, but im english and have some family in the UK. my initial plan was anchorage to argentina or something, but ive been thinking more about shipping the bike to the east coast, then travvelling route 66 and some back roads, then down to argentina.

2UP on an R80 G/S
 

Hi Daniel and Polly,

Your route sounds fine, the start date could be a problem if you want to leave from Anchorage. October is getting pretty cold to be that far north and there could be a good chance of snow. Maybe the latest you want to be there would be early September.

When route planning always check out the weather for the areas you are intending to go to. The last thing you want is to be caught in the snow or the raining season in a particular country. Winter is the perfect time for Mexico and Central America.

11 months will not give you much time to travel the length of the Americas and Africa to London with out feeling rushed. You could easily spend 11 months just in the Americas and this would give you some time to have a look around and not be riding every day.

To cross the Darien Gap the boat I would recommend is the Stahlratte, book in advance as spots fill up quickly.

I ride 2up with my husband Ken on our R80 G/S. We sold everything and left on our 2nd RTW Sept 2007. We had only planned to spend 18 months in South America and ended up spending 3 years there!!

Hope this has been of some help. If there is anything else just send us a message.

Carol & Ken Duval

Thank you for your kind replies.

Since initially posting we've re-thought things slightly and will actually now start in Argentina around October time and head north to Alaska - hopefully meaning by the time we get to Alaska the weather will be more predictable!

Glad to hear from other (successful?!) R80G/S users...

Many thanks again, will undoubtedly have more questions as planning progresses.

D&P