How long did it take you to put everything back together? Which tools did you use?

I hardly have any experience so I'm not overly confident with my mechanics skills. Especially when it comes to brakes and other important parts. Before I start the trip I will ask a mechanic to teach me a few basics (how to fix a flat tire or change oil) but I'm not sure if that's gonna do the trick.

Do you think it's doable even with little experience?

To be honest, the bike was actually put into that crate by the dealer staff... guess they didn't want us messing around at their workshop!!

But we did basically the same dismantling/putting together with the wooden crates before. Generally quite easy, even though I'm not much of a mechanic... some brake caliper mounting bolts were a bugger to work on, but only because our tool was not the right shape, couldn't reach them properly.

Knowing how to work on the wheel at least, would be good for the trip anyway I think. So maybe do some practice, before you leave? If you feel nervous, I'm sure the Suzuki guys can get you to some workshop, where the mechanics can help if needed. Probably would be good to check out, how to get to the air filter & plugs, how to change oil, etc. at the same time.

Off-topic, but what's your general route plan from Malaysia? And how much time have you got?

I'll do just that. Today I called Suzuki and arranged a little mechanics workshop.

My (very rough) plan looks like this:
Malaysia (10 days)
Southern Thailand (10 days)
Cambodia (10 days)
Laos (28 days)
Northern Thailand (+ shipping to Nepal) (14 days)
Nepal (12 days)
Northwest India (15 days)
Pakistan (25 days)
Iran (30 days)
Turkey (21 days)
Greece (10 days)
Albania (4 days)
Montenegro (2 days)
Croatia (6 days)
Slovenia (1 day)
Italy (6 days)
Switzerland (2 days)
Germany... HOME

I might shorten my second Thailand stay a bit and add this time to Nepal. I just wanted to be on the safe side and plan in 4-5 days for shipping. Of course I'll prearrange everything so that I simply bring my bike there and off it goes (in a perfect, non-existent world ). Also Turkey might be shortened to have some more time in Nepal/India.

The above planning is taken from an excel sheet I put together to calculate the total cost. That's one reason why I'm taking my time in Nepal - Iran (I haven't been there + it's cheap) and rather rush through Europe.

Do you think this plan is reasonable?

So 6-7 monts? That should be enough time. Dont know your timing, but rainy season in the tropics, extreme summer heat in some deserts, and winter cold mostly in mountain areas (esp. Turkey) are the most important weather factors to take into account.

edit. For me it also makes sense to spend more time in faraway countries. For a European, it'll be relatively easy to do Europe basically any time you want, but harder to go to the more remote places again. Also I don't know exactly how much the euro crisis has affected things, but at least some years ago the countries east from Turkey on your route were cheap or dirt cheap compared to Europe.

@AlgarveNick:
I contacted Malaysia Airlines along with several other shipping companies and they sent me a first offer. They're asking EUR 1.300 without dangerous goods charge and other customs fees. So their real price is probably around EUR 1.600 which is about average so far.
EURASIA Saga GmbH was by far the cheapest company at only EUR 1.031. Do you have any experience w/ this company? It seems a little low to me as (compared to similar offers) it's a solid 40% cheaper. I can't really see anyone making 40% net margin in shipping.
DHL was the most expensive offer at EUR 1.980 but they include more services that might prove to be helpful in Kuala Lumpur.
Right now I have 5-6 offers and will just wait a few more days and then decide. I'll let you know which company I chose and also how it went, of course

@pecha:
You're absolutely right! That's pretty much the trade-off I faced when planning the trip. I'll start rather early to have nice weather in the first few months. In Nepal it will still be cold, but not freezing and Iran/Pakistan will be very hot (in slight opposition to burning hot :P). The only downside is India as most mountain passes in Jammu/Kashmir will still be closed. I would have loved to drive there but you can't always get what you want (writing this line always makes me start whistleing the Stones song^^).

Thammasat. Seems expensive to me but the price I mentioned is KL to Amsterdam. Probably more expensive out of Europe. I've no 1st hand knowledge. All from a post on here. Are your quotes the bike in the hold on the flight you are on. And I take it the bike doesn't need crating.

The fees will be significantly lower for the actual bike. I asked them to ship a bike sized 2.290 x 835 x 1.404 mm. The actual shipping cost will be lower than that because I'll ship it on a smaller crate (the one postet by pecha). I just kept the above measures to be able to compare the different companies. So it'll be a little cheaper in the end.

hi thamasat,
we will shipping into KL at the begining of Jan
and we are following roughly the same route as you but were heading to the UK
Would be great to meet up with you somewhere,we are also on a DL650
cheers Clive and Chris

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