Long on-road trip advice request

[virco]

Hello my fellow beemsters.
Last autumn I did a test ride with the GS1200, I am now the happy owner of a 2005, yellow one with 2500km on the clock. It must be said it is my first Beemer in 20+ years of motorcycle riding and about 7 previously owned bikes.
I am planning for this year a longer European road tour that will probably take me and my new bike through most of the old continent.
Can please the ones of you that have been on 10.000+ km on-road trips, tell me what are the most important elements/accessories you have found to be useful or even must-haves on the bike / in the bag(s) for such an endeavor?
I already have the cylinder crash guards fitted and I plan to mount the original BMW panniers and top case. Considering that I will do none or very little off-road riding I don’t consider necessary to go for the more robust adventure model or the tough Touratech ones.
In this respect (90%+ on-road riding) what you think about the need to change the alloy wheels that are now on the bike with iron spoked ones?
I have seen last summer in Greece on silver GS1200 some nifty feet protectors mounted on the subframe in front of the driver’s footpegs. Does anyone have those or tried them on their bike for long distance riding? They seem rather good for protecting your footwear from the water thrown by the front wheel when riding in the wet but I would like the opinion of someone who actually used them.
In what navigation accessories are concerned, what would be your recommendation for GPS and radar detection devices? Anyone using equipment of this sort and having good (or distinctly bad) experiences with them?
As there are a lot of aspects to take in consideration for such a trip, from personal luggage to tire make and model, I will be grateful for any advice, suggestion and/or tips from fellow riders that have some long on-road ride experience. Thank you.

Cheers, Virgil

[StuWG]

Hi Virgil,

Get a comfy seat, many on here will agree. I personally have a Wunderlich Ergo seat and I've done over 800 miles in day without any complaints. The original seat had me in agony after 500 miles.

For traveling across Europe I recommend a small tankbag, very handy for the odd occasion you take the toll roads and need to get to you credit cards.

If you decide not to go off-road (I don't when I'm on a big trip), I'd go for 100% road tyres, my choice is Michelin Pilot Roads, great in the wet and the dry.

And always carry some spare headlight bulbs, (or a selection) I've only had 2 go in 3 years, but always at dusk, 100's of miles from home.

Thats my bit, other than that, ENJOY!

[Disco]

Virco,

I have had a R1200GS for 12months now and have done some long trips through Australia on a mixture of probably 80% bitumen and 20% good dirt, not much rough stuff. My bike has the alloy wheels and I have had no problem, although I have heard some stories about the wheels cracking under severe conditions. Best all round tyre seems to be the Michelin Anakee which grips well on wet and dry tarmac. By all means fit road tyres, but you will never get the Anakees to let go in dry conditions and they work better if you see some dirt road that looks interesting, and trust me when you are on a GS it happens.

I hated the seat when I first got the bike and looked at all sorts of options. Tried an Airhawk for a short while, but gave it away due to the remote feel it gave me. Now the stock seat seems to have bedded in and I can handle a 1200k day without any problem. One key is to stand up regularly and a big help here is to fit some wider pegs. The GSA ones fit, bit I think the Fastways are better and they are cheaper. The bike can be riden at speeds up to 100Km/h standing up, although I generally do it through the towns.

As far as luggage is concerned, I have a BMW topbox and a Touretech seat bag on the pillion seat. I am not a big fan of paniers, but then I do the longer trips solo and stay in motels, so don't need the space.

I have fitted a Wunderlich cruise control which is handy to give the right wrist a break on longer straight bits of road, but the main comfort item I have is a set of fitted earplugs. The BMW screen creates turbulence at any setting (at least for my height) and the earplugs reduce the noise and make the whole trip much more comfortable.

My GPS is a Garmin Zumo 550, which I think is a fantastic product. It comes with both bike and car mounts and in fact we are going to use it in a hire car when we go to Italy later this year. Mine has been subjected to rough roads, dust and pouring rain and looks like it is very well made.

Thats about all that I can think of for now. You have the greatest touring bike available, get out there and enjoy it. Once you have started the long trips, the bug will bite and you won't want to stop.

Regards

[what the..?]

Hey there,
I would suggest a puncture repair kit, a small first aid kit and a small role of gaffer tape.
Cheers

[tor12gs]

virco,
Good questions.

In 2006 my wife and I took a 3-month trip. We crossed Canada twice, covering 27000 km. We did this 2-up on an 04 R1150R (traded in last month for an 07 GS). I've listed a complete packing list on my site (www.motorcycle-overland.com), but will address some of your concerns here in point form.

We did this on a road bike, so tire options were limited. We managed well on gravel, dirt, stones and mud. I attribute this mostly to taking a basic off-road course which taught me how the bike handles and reacts to the loose stuff.

I had the BMW cylinder guards and an aftermarket windshield. Other than that I had no other protective add-ons, other than an Aeroflow headlight cover.

Luggage was the BMW system cases, a BMW tank bag, Helen2Wheels roll-bags and a Marsee 22L tail bag. Save the regular bungy cords and try to locate ROK straps. What a difference!!

This all worked tremendously!

I tried a beaded seat cover for comfort and cooling, but found it far too slippery while wearing a textile suit. BTW...save the leathers for a Harley. A complete liability on an extended trip...IMO.


I took an assortment of tools and spares (filler cap o-rings, all bulbs, mirrors, sparkplug covers, tie wraps, duct tape, wire...) and a 500ml Nalgene bottle of motor oil. All I ended up needing was the headlight and license plate bulbs. I also had a bicycle hand pump with a flexible hose to keep tires topped up.

As for navigation, maps are #1, accompanied by a GPS. My GPS is a small Garmin eTrex Legend Cx. Worked fantastic. I created the routes using Mapsource before leaving and loaded them in. I ran the unit off the accessory plug.

Try to travel light. In North America it's easy to find camp spots and places to do laundry, so no need to take 6 of everything. Not sure if it's the same in Europe.

What I found helpful was to take extra gloves for various weather situations.

Enjoy!!

[andyclift]

Lots of good advice here but I think the most important is wear the right kit.

In summer getting overheated makes riding a very unpleasant and dangerous experience and it's no fun getting off the bike for a bit of sightseeing soaked in sweat.

My summer kit comes from Heine Gericke and consists of a lightweight textile jacket with a large removable panel on the back that just leaves a mesh covering with similar panels each side of the front plus sleeves with zips that undo to reveal mesh panels. The trousers also have ventilation zips and removable legs for when you are not on the bike. It's not waterproof but I take a lightweight one piece rain suit as well.

I use a BMW System 5 helmet and when its hot I can remove the chin section and fit two covers on the mechanism to make it into an open face helmet. The visor still works as normal but sits a little higher up when closed. The open face makes a massive difference when its hot but I can quickly change it to a full face if the weather gets bad. Also wear the lightest boots you can find.

It's a good idea to have a way of safely leaving your kit on the bike when sightseeing as well. Walking around in the heat in full bike kit is worse than riding in it. I use a steel mesh net made for securing rucksacks from a company called Paksafe. All my kit goes in it and it padlocks to the bike.

Finally, if you sweat you need water so think about a hydration pack so you can drink while driving. I use one from Kriega which is made specially for bikers. Very good quality and it keeps water quite cool. It has a big filler opening so its possible to throw in a handful of ice.

You can go on forever thinking about spares but all I carry is some spare bulbs, tyre plugs, small pump and a set of rear brake pads because those on the GS only last about 5000 miles and worn out brakes on a mountain pass is not a good idea.

[buttso]

I did a 8 thousand mile trip in the states 2 years ago, the only thing I would add to the already mentioned items it that if you arent sleeping well you dont have the stamina to ride for long periods....and dont enjoy it that much either

I bought a compact airbed in wal-mart ($15) and a compact cigarette lighter air pump ($8) pumped up the bed in under a minute

slept like a king every night and had the energy to enjoy every moment of my trip....

some people can sleep on a roll mat, but not me....

[The Veg]

Originally Posted by buttso

I did a 8 thousand mile trip in the states 2 years ago, the only thing I would add to the already mentioned items it that if you arent sleeping well you dont have the stamina to ride for long periods....and dont enjoy it that much either

I bought a compact airbed in wal-mart ($15) and a compact cigarette lighter air pump ($8) pumped up the bed in under a minute

slept like a king every night and had the energy to enjoy every moment of my trip....

some people can sleep on a roll mat, but not me....

Absolutely. In fact, I find my air-mattress packs to about the size of a larger college text-book, which is a smaller and easier package to carry on the bike than is a rolled-up Thermarest or similar pad. The folded mattress rides nicely in the bottom of a pannier or tailbag.
I've also found that making a pillow out of t-shirts and towels just isn't cutting it. You can pay $15 for the fancy inflatable camp-pillows, but I found a nice little pillow at (of all places!) Ikea for 99 cents. It is covered in light-blue cotton fabric and stuffed with good old-fashioned poly-fill and is comfy. It doesn't crush down much, but isn't very big to begin with so not really a problem, especially for the price.

[JPB]

I agree with most of the previous suggestions. Also, a throttle-lock (or at least a throttle-rocker) will save your right hand from cramping up. For some countries, spare bulbs are a legal requirement. My best tip is to learn a few words and useful phrases in the languages of the countries you will be passing through; there's nothing worse than always expecting them to speak English. Can you imagine how someone from France or Germany would get on in England or North America if they spoke no English? Take the trouble, locals really appreciate it and that will make your trip immeasurably better.

One word of warning: the thing about touring Europe on a bike is it's highly addictive.

Have a great trip!

[Wolfgang]

Virco,
You are doing what we all want to do.
I would suggest two bottles 8oz each of Ride-On.
Inject one bottle into the valve stem on each new tire.
It will keep your tires balanced perfectly for the life of the tread & help keep you on the road if your tires do pick up a nail or two.
I use the stuff in all my bikes & truck.
It really works.
It has been the best insurance I can buy for my tires & saftey.

Have fun & post a lot of pix so we all can enjoy a bit of your adventure.