longest distance without fuel was omorate in southern ethiopia to marsabit in kenya i.e. eastern side of lake turkhana. think the western side might be less distance but more sand. in omorate fuel is 2 bucks a litre (black market).

i have a 12L liquid containment fuel bladder (made in australia) and bought 5L empty cooking oil bottles in ethiopia (also avail in omorate) for about a buck each so i was carrying 22L extra fuel. also had load of water.

contact chris at jungle junction nairobi to confirm but the story is something like this - group of 6 (family) from SA rode north on F800's and all 6 needed new rear shocks in nairobi. chris has a bucket with at least a dozen BMW shocks at his place (i have a pic i can email u if you want...). i believe this group had not ridden the moyale to marsabit road which is apparently the worst section on the east coast. i avoided this section by going lake turkhana which might not have been a great idea.

personally i think the f800 should be ok if you don't overload it - 10.5" clearance against the 8" on my f650 twin.

i carry 2 panniers and a half filled 20L drybag so when not carrying extra fuel, with panniers at 6.5kg each luggage is about 50kg. i ride solo so have all tools & spares for my bike - if you have a group you can share these around to reduce individuals weight.

problem with the rear shock is the top bolt. read on adv rider beasts forum. i changed mine from the 10.something to a 12.something grade bolt (had a ethiopia made bolt shear after the stock failed, so don't get local parts - chris at JJ's gave me the new one and a spare) but from what i read, the overlander problem is the bolt failing then the rider continuing (because they didn't have a spare) and the shock and mount doing serious damage. so - upgrade and / or carry a spare. i cut a hole in my fairing (the black plastic part) so i can use an allen key now to remove the bolt and check its ok rather than removing the airbox, cable ties etc as per bmw manual.

kit the bike with the crash bars... they will save you $$$. best comment i read somewhere on hubb website was "why take a 10,000 euro bike to africa when a 3,000 euro bike [(eg DR650)] will do..." personally i am shipping the f650 home from cape town and buying a DR in SA for my ride up the west coast.

happy travels
dave