First Time Adventurer - The Americas 2016
Hi There!
I'm really new to all this so please bare with me!
I'm planning my first bike adventure for next year, having been inspired to actually get out there by reading 'Lois on the Loose.' I've been riding just over a year (currently Yamaha XJ6N) and have got the two wheeled bug big time!
I don't have a solid plan yet but the basic (but flexible) idea at the moment is this -
Depart mid/june 2016, currently thinking Calgary as it's not too far to the US but also get to ride the Rocky Mountains towards Vancouver. Cross the border to Seattle and meander south towards San Diego (LA/San Fran etc. on route). I want to then follow the Pan Am highway all the way down to Panama, through Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile as far as about Santiago, then heading east across Argentina towards Buenos Aires.
My choice of bike is a 1996 Suzuki DR650 SE, which has arrived this week from Germany. Once I have it registered I'll start thinking about modifying it for the trip. I'm currently looking at a Dirtracks rear pannier rack set, Wolfman Expedition soft panniers and Acerbis long range tank as the major purchases, along with heavy duty tubes and new service parts prior to setting off.
My budget for everything, apart from buying the DR650, is somewhere around the £10k mark (with strict saving!) I have a tent to save on sleeping costs and hope to vastly increase my mechanics knowledge to hopefully maintain the bike as much as I can myself.
Apologies if I've rambled on a bit,I've never posted on a forum before! I would really appreciate any advice/tips/recommendations/thoughts on my rough plan. i.e. does this all sound feasible?
If you've read all this, thank you ! I look forward to hearing what you think!
All the best,
Sam
Bath UK
|