krtw that does clarify things a lot, thanks! :)

You DO have a difficult decision ahead! Weight versus comfort is always the hardest thing to balance.

Keep this in mind: Sjaak Lucassen said on our Achievable Dream video series "Don't look for the perfect bike... take the bike of your heart" - this from the guy who rode a CBR900RR and an R1 on two trips around the world, and is working on riding an R1 to the North Pole.

MOST important in other words is that YOU LIKE the bike. You'll put up with it's foibles and flaws, but if you hate it to start with, you won't! So forget perfection - what do you WANT to ride?

And it's not always the weight - an 800GS weighs a fair bit less than a 1200GS - but people say the 1200 is much easier to pick up because the 800 falls flat, and the 1200 never quite does because of the big fat cylinders.

I second this.

I've bought things because they made more sense or were cheaper (not just bikes) and then still hankered for what I'd left behind as it had been what I really wanted.

What's gonna put the biggest smile on your face?

Whatever bike I get I am going to modify with the intent to lose weight. I've been studying ways to accomplish this.

I think the process in dealing with the pandemic is this: Keep getting ready to go. Be patient and informed. And I await a vaccine.....

You have clearly stated how I feel about this....no bike is perfect, and neither am I, but we have to be partners on a long voyage....thank you.

Great advice. Having done a lot of trips on a bike, I have a fair idea of some things I want and need....For the most part I plan to build what I want in regards to comfort....I have some things to learn about the actual setup of the bike for my size and riding style. That learning will come into play when I get the bike. Also when I start to accumulate the clothes, and gear I'm taking with me......

Honestly - this is like standing naked in the world - and re-defining every element of my life. Shoes, socks, underwear....all the way up to computers and internet access. And the process is breathing new passion for being here on this planet - and I am fortunate enough to be healthy, capable and in a position to do this.....and I know I am fortunate.....It is also a process of letting go - cause I am going to say goodbye to people I love and care about - and a whole life that's pretty cool.....and I'm ready.

So I paid paid for this series of video's - Vimeo says I own them - but when I hit the play now, nothing happens and I am unable to watch...What am I missing?

I have never purchased anything from Vimeo before.

I found the stream...but only one video is there. I paid $26 and believed I was buying the series....Part 2 Which Bike. is all that appears.

I think it's horses for courses. I ride 2 bikes, 2005 F650 Dakar (176 kg dry) in South America and 2001 R1150GS (230 kg dry) in Europe. I have fallen off both all too frequently and the 1150 is a helluva lot easier to pick for the engine configuration, even for a geriatric of 75 years of age. That said I have found the Dakar with Mitus E07s to be a good compromise for slab and off-road. The Rotax engine is unbustable, consumption is 70 mpg and FI allows operation between sea level and 15000 ft without a problem. Only issues with this model are headstock bearings and water pump seals, neither of which are show stoppers.

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Do you have an opinion on the newer BMW's. Say from 2010 up? Some really great points were made about getting work done on a bike with an ECU in the middle of Africa, for instance.

The 1200 is a lot lighter than the 1150 but I have no experience. I would limit yourself to a 650 for a solo RTW. But don't agonize over which bike because any will do, the limits are defined by the rider. I have been corresponding with a guy riding a 650 Vstrom, From Australia across Russia then through South America and he swore by the bike. On my recent travels I met a girl rider from Belurus on a F650 GS with 180K miles on the clock. So it's not the bike but the journey!

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A lot of truth in that and it lends weight to the notion of going for the bike that gets your juices flowing!

I recognise your dilemma mate, that's why I built two very different travel bikes. One from scratch with a bomb proof engine for two up and one from two bikes to make a solo offroad oriented bike. You have the time now to go custom, I'm so glad I did..!!

I'm supposed to be doing the full TCAT east to west right now but for covid, real game/life changer for sure...

Interested to see which direction you take with both bike choice and trip detail, keep posting [emoji40][emoji41]

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I went into the centre of Derby to get a job done with younger daughter and we wore our masks. Unlike about 75% of the people there. The worst people were the pensioners, I really can’t get over how dense people are. Arses.

I didn’t even get the bloody job done as Vodafone’s back office system, that I needed to be working, wasn’t. Arse.

Still, on the the other hand, I have handed myself a perfect opportunity to go again next weekend (when everyone in the UK has to wear masks in shops - still the muppets will put the mask over their mouth but leave the nose exposed - arses) as this evening I managed to tread on my glasses that had fallen out of my pocket so I am now using the spare pair. Arse.

Still, on the other hand, I have got to get some new glasses as I realised today that my prescription has changed sufficiently that I now am only marginally better off with glasses when driving than without - in other words my eyesight is getting longer sighted and correcting the short sightedness that I have had since I was 18 years. I can’t see anything with my glasses on near to so I am going to have to get bifocals. Arse.

So on the basis that the UK populations are made up of 75% idiots and at least one clumsy, ageing motorcyclist I suspect that, firstly, the Covid situation in the UK will get worse and we have a second national lockdown (I have little doubt that the idiots of Derby are not alone) and secondly, that I will still manage to lose my new glasses regularly.

Pretty much the same down here in 'rural' Oxfordshire - virtually nobody wearing masks unless they're forced to (on buses for example). Tuesday is market day here and more or less consists of people in their 50's and 60's selling stuff to people in their 70's and 80's. All in the high or very high risk category but when I went past the market last week the number of people wearing masks was - none. Not one single person. Be interesting to see if that changes when masks in shops becomes compulsory - do market stalls count as shops? My local barber (I really need a haircut!) was wearing one when I went to check out the queue in the shop, but covering his chin only. doh

I've been building (rebuilding really) a bike for the last 9 months for a travel project that in the innocent pre Covid days of last autumn was meant to start on 1st August - 10 days time. The effect of the virus has been to knock that on the head but its effect on some of the businesses I've had to use during the rebuild has been quite striking - some have been swamped with work from people on furlough while some others have been kicking their heels. Three months to get a rebore done vs vapour blasting 'while you wait' for example. Still others have just packed up. Just as well the 1st Aug departure date has been binned as the bike is still in bits but I've rescheduled a shorter trip (to the French HU event) in mid Sept. Whether that goes ahead is anyone's guess.