Thanks Ozranger, for the advice. My bike had a lot of stuff on it, granted but i had the missus on the bike as well so both our stuff was on there. Still, i could of left some of it at home in hindsight.

Quite simply, it is your bike and your adventure. You can ask for some advice or opinions but the final say is what you want to do...rather than swaying to the latest trend or way of thinking.

If you are comfortable with the bike in its present trim, and considering the amount of money you must have spent getting it that way...you are going to be crackers if you strip off the parts unless they are causing excess weight or other problems.

There is a lot of evidence that the 1200GS is one of the best, if not the best, all round bike for two up riding; after that, obviously the amount of stuff you carry will be refined as you gain some experience including taking into account the needs of the pillion.
It looks like you are camping rather than using other accommodation on route.

If you have an unhappy pillion, the journey can be utterly miserable.

The yellow bags do show off the red bike very nicely

__________________
Dave

I am not debating the merits of the gs (that has been done enough already to sink a ship) simply stating that you don't NEED one. the trip can be done on a range of bikes.

VERY IMPORTANT POINT! i would carry double the junk i already carry if it will keep the missus happy!

Its not required at all. some people have lots of $ and can afford it all. Me I cannot so I have a DR 650 and a set of used happy trails panniers. I was going to use soft luggage and then I remembered a friend just finished touring with his Tiger and did not want to do any more so I swapped him some other kit i had for his. Some people have toured with a old Honda CT90 and a backpack made it around the world , just depends on YOU

You don't mention how far you plan to travel for or for how long so assuming it is a full RTW trip lasting at least a year I would say leave with what you have and send back/sell/give away anything you have not used after a couple of months, with the obvious exception of spares and first aid.
No matter how many times you have packed your bike it will take about a month on the road to refine it to the neatest setup that allows access to the things you use most.

what you need & hat is advisable or not depends, as has already been said, on what you're doing & where you're going & where you're staying.

a long trip using a majority of paved roads or at least "roads" will require different equipement to a long trip predominantly off road & for various reasons, weight not being the least.

if you're mostly camping the you'll have more stuff than if you're mostly hotel or hostel sleeping. you may well need to adapt bike a gear for various stages of a longer trip.

there would appear to be no single correct answer, up to you, your plans/ needs/ budget etc.

after all, is not the original idea of motorcycle travel one of choice & freedom?

Hello


I have met only a few 1200GS on the road.
Most of them stay on the tarmac.
If you ask them why they travel with that bike , they always say something like this:
There's a lot of evidence around that you can do it "even" with a 1200GS.

Jason

Since you already have the bike and bought some TT stuff then go with it.
If you haven't bought all, then just stop buying.
Except for this:
Frame protectors BMW R 1200 GS/Adventure silver | Touratech AG
or your frame will brake.


sushi

__________________
My RTW:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrXt660ztenere

I would never ride two up on my XT.
Anywhere, or any distance, and particularly not with the wife on the back (I have to live with her after all).
Incidentally, those who choose to advocate suchlike should say something about their marital status and just how they are getting along with their "better half".




So, how was the GS on top of the Stella last year? There were quite a few up there in 2011.

__________________
Dave

I'm doing the americas this year with my 1200gsa and Lisa the missus will be on her f650gs. The weight of my bike could be a issue as i intend to ride it on terrain it was designed for but i'm confident i shouldn't have any real problems. I've had it off road before.

There are a lot of pros and cons about which bike to take for a trip.

For me, a bike has to be
- easy to repair
- lightweight
- good to handle offroad
- robust (nothing gone after a crash)
BMW 12GS -> very comfortable, but NOT really a light bike (better: the old R80G/S), good for most gravel roads, but heavy, mechanically robust, but a lot of stupid electronics
KTM LC8 Adventure: Best offroad bike of the big ones, quite comfortable, very robust, but NOT easy to service (need to have some mechanical skills to change the spark plugs e.g.)
KTM 640 LC4 Adventure: More or less light, very good offroad - but a nightmare for the pillion, "good" vibrations
KTM 690 Enduro: With some mods it would be my choice for the next big trip. Low fuel consumption, light, strong engine.
Yamaha XT 660Z Ténéré: Very good compromise, easy to repair - but needs some mods for the big trip, which are already built in at the KTMs (crash plate, fork springs, rear damper)
BMW F800G/S: Good compromise as well for single riders and with pillion, not too heavy, but would choose it as single rider only

After 30000km last year, the most important things for the next trip for me would be:
- Weight: Take as few luggage (and the lightest) as possible with you
- luggage system: If you're alone, take soft luggage instead of alloy boxes (like Wolfman, Kriega, Enduristan). They don't hurt, when you crash
- Clothes: Rather take a light jacket and some additional layers, than a heavy, all-built-in jacket
- If you have enough time, you can lift up the heaviest bike.

What I want to say: Take your time, it's a journey, not a race

And in every situation, these Two words out of a famous book helped me a lot:

DON'T PANIC

Thanks for your advice

Exactly my thought. But, let me go a little bit deeper.
As someone said on this forum:
-"While on the road, the first thing that you will wish for is less weight, not power, not comfort: less weight!"

In order, what you should look for in a motorcycle should be:
1) Lightweight:
Maximum 170 kilo. You should be able to pick it up and go with it anywhere.
2) Reliability:
Buy a motorcycle that you KNOW will not fail you in the middle of no where. Bring spare parts with you: what other owners say usually fail.
3) Easy to service/repair:
No over-complicate electronic stuff. The bike that you own should be repairable in the most remote workshop with the most simple tool. For instance in a small town in Africa, in old soviet countries or even with a rock (sometime...).
4) Off road capability/ robustness:
If you want to go anywhere&everywhere... you should be able to!
5) Cheap:
Why would you buying a motorcycle worth 20 000 USD? When you can buy one which will do the job (sometime better) for less then 2000 USD? All the money you save when buying your bike, is money that you can spend while travelling. Plus, you won't cry when a part of your fairing has been scratch/fall-down with those.

Some of the bike that, somehow, fit into this are:
-Honda: XR400, 600, 650 ; Old Transalp 600, maybe Africa Twin 650.
-Suzuki: Drz 350, 400, 650.
-Yamaha: xt600z, 660z.
-Kawazaki: KLR650.
-KTM: 640 Adventure (Very reliable after 2003!)
-BMW: R80gs, bmw 650gs(single cylinder one).

Of course, any bike can make the journey, but after the journey is over, you will kind of regret to not have been able to take some small roads because you knew your bike was too heavy/expensive/unreliable/fragile to go there.



Luggage:
-Use soft luggage: cheaper, lighter, won't break if you fall/easily fixable if it breaks (Wolfman pack are great/ Military bag also).
If you are afraid someone will took your stuff: use impermeable cover on them, it make them less desirable, if you are really afraid, use pack-safe net.
-What to put inside your luggage:
Think versatility/flexibility/lightness.
If you definitively need it and won't be able to find it on the road, take it. If you maybe need it but you can buy it on the road: Don't take it.
Do not forget: Tools, Spare parts, duct tape, superglue... and positive attitude in every situation!

Sälü
Mucho_Gusto_68
u n'ä Gruäss i mi Heimat nach Bärn.

back to topic:
Aswell for the luggage system.
On my crash the heavy but strong alloy boxes saved my leg.
The best thing about the 1200GS is the big cyliders which will protect you, aswell prevent the bike from lying flat on the side so together with the boxes it's easier to lift it up.

sushi

__________________
My RTW:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrXt660ztenere

Nor am I debating the relative merits (it's not one of those eternal "which bike" threads after all).
But, Jason doesn't say much in his first post about his background, which bikes he has owned previously etc etc. In fact, I wasn't going to bother at all with this thread until he mentioned that he has a wife to keep happy which was the main point - there are masses of pillions in this world travelling about on the back of a Beemer GS who are very happy with their lot compared with some other passengers on other makes and models of bikes.

+ he actually does own a 1200GS right now, even if we don't know for how long etc etc etc, and so on and so forth.
i.e. he doesn't need one because he has one already; there again, you can never have enough of a good thing.

And, now I notice this is in the past tense so Jason has been somewhere, done something with the GS; which bits of the Tourawhatsit stuff he may not like is up to him and his wife basically, but those yellow bags are still quite fetching.
It is always possible to remove the Toura stuff and sell it on - someone will buy that stuff.

__________________
Dave