As soon as I got home, I called Yobo and told him about the bike I had to have. He said four words to me, "Watch Long Way Around." So I did in September 2007 and then knew exactly what I wanted to do on my motorcycle. By October I had passed my motorcycle permit test and signed up for the Motorcycle Safety Course, which offered me my first opportunity to ride a motorcycle. By November I had my license and all I needed was a ride.
For me the choice really came down to a used BMW F650 or a new KLR 650. I was anxious to ride and came very close to pulling the trigger on a new KLR 650. The 2008's were out and they had made some major improvements. Then I happened to stumble upon a used F650GS Dakar on ADVrider. It had just shy of 20K miles and came with some Ortlieb dry bags, a tank bag, GPS, and some other farkles. I was lucky to find it early enough that no offers had yet been made. Done and done.
Here's the picture straight from ADVrider that had me sold...
Below are some modifications on the bike that I kept:
Tank Bag: Wolfman Rainier Tankbag
Below are some of the modifications I've added for this trip:
Seat: Wunderlich Ergo Tall
Panniers: Touratech 41L Zega Cases
Center Cargo Rack: Touratech Cargo Rack
Dry Bags: Ortlieb Dry Bag Q (Qty 2)
Fuel Storage: Rotopax 1 Gallon Gasoline Pack (Qty 2)
Blinkers: Touratech Mini Blinkers
GPS: Garmin GPSMAP 60csx
GPS Mount: Touratech RAM Handlebar Mount
GPS Power: Garmin Hardwire Kit
Tires: Continental TKC80
Rotopax Fuel Pack Setup
Since Yobo's KLR has a six gallon capacity and my Dakar only has four gallons, I wanted to add at least two extra gallons so I wasn't limiting our range (especially on the CDT). I searched the web for some Jerry cans that were rugged and also had a good mounting system. I wasn't impressed with anything until I stumbled upon Rotopax, who makes some bomber fuel packs for ATV's, snowmobiles, and general off-road use. I loved the design and mounting features and ordered two 1 gallon tanks along with their basic pack mount plate and extender so they can be stacked.
I was originally planning to mount to the back or bottom of my Zega cases, but didn't like the idea of drilling through the walls of my panniers. Instead I bought the Touratech Cargo Rack and had my friend Rich modify it slightly so that I could use the pack mount system. Below are some photos of the modifications.
Below is the Touratech Cargo Rack with pack mount plate. I used the Rotopax backing plate to sandwich the crossbar of the luggage rack. There are two additional bolts that go straight through the rack to prevent it from rotating.
Rich made some custom aluminum spacers to raise the rack above the Touratech bracket about 1 in. This allows me to access the bolts that hold the pack mount plate and remove it in case I want to store stuff on the rack. We bumped up to 1/4-20 bolts to mount the rack to the bracket. There is a recessed head so the bolts don't interfere with anything I could end up storing on the rack. All mounting bolts are stainless steel.
Here's a shot from behind.
Below is a shot of two 1 gallon tanks stacked and mounted.
Another shot from behind with the tanks mounted.
Overall, I'm very impressed with the Rotopax product. These things don't appear to be going anywhere. The Touratech brackets and modified mounting scheme were definitely the way to go and should serve their purpose nicely on this trip.
Wunderlich Ergo Seat (Tall)
After riding Yobo's KLR 650 I realized that a new seat was in order for my Dakar. The current Sargent Seat limited my fore and aft position by adding a riser. It was nice to be tucked into a pocket, however my 6'4" needed more leg room and height. I was looking for something flatter in design and also better suited for the long haul. I opted for the Wunderlich Ergo Seat Tall. It adds 1 3/16 in. to the standard height and is super high quality with an anti-slip material and very comfortable foam. The pictures below show the difference in geometry compared to the Sargent.
Old Sargent Seat
New Wunderlich Ergo Seat Tall
Helpful Links
The Chain Gang
BMW Owners of America
Hermys BMW
