Generally you need a track record of having begun ambitious bike trips and seeing them through. Most marketing managers will have a hundred stories about people that presented a great proposal got the gear and either never even began the trip or failed to complete it. If this is your first trip, then it will be really tough. If you havent had motorcycle or travel related storied published before as well, its going to be significantly tougher again.

You should also have track record of getting material published - in travel or motorcycle magazines, books, TV, DVDs etc

It also helps immensely if you are bringing a unique angle to something. If you are doing a trip that 1000 people have done before then u dont have much of an angle at all - it will help if you are disabled or a woman or a celebrity or something that will capture the publics imagination. Remember its about Marketing.

Anyone who gives you something is after a return. They need to look at how much extra product they will sell as a result of helping you. What coverage you can offer them, what exposure, how many books you realistically expect to sell etc is all info you should include. You cant just write a blanket letter saying I am doing this, can I have one of those. They are only interested in giving you product if they are going to get a return ... you need to clearly demonstrate how.

Bike manufacturing is a small numbers game. You are most unlikely to get totally free stuff from anyone in the motorcycle or adventure motorcycle world unless you can really knock the ball out of the park re the points above. If you are lucky you will get cost price gear. Bike manufacturers almost never give away bikes. A couple of them will lend you bikes and you return them to them when you are finished your project (as they do with bike journalists). For adventure travel this will probably happen half a dozen times a year globally, if that, across all manufacturers.

Some other areas may be more likely to get free gear. Camping gear for example.

But in general it is not easy and you are taking on a lot of obligations. You are essentially a brand ambassador for anyone who sponsors you. You need to do all thats reasonable to make their product visible, well represented in your reports or photographs . You need to deliver end product, not just say you will.

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