In 4 days I fly to London, collect my motorbike, and point her south towards Africa. During the month before I loaded her onto the boat, I fussed neurotically about every mechanical detail, piece of gear, tool, and spare bolt that I might send her off with. At one stage I found myself lying in my driveway at midnight with two piles of bolts in front of me trying to decide which ones to bring and which to leave behind. This did not feel like normal behavior.
Nobody puts baby in the corner. Time for a moto makeover.
No matter how much you may plan not to ride in the dark, sometimes you get caught doing exactly that. An LID headlight that puts out 1000 lumens should make it a bit safer.
Wind protection is critical for lessening fatigue on long high speed stretches. It’s amazing how the adjustment of just a few inches of plastic can have on your comfort level.
I slid all over the place in the mud in baja leading to a few less than graceful dismounts. I’d rather not repeat the performance somewhere in the middle of the Congo, but I also need tires that can last a good distance rather than wear down quickly like knobbies do. I’m hoping that the Mefo Explorers prove a decent compromise between traction and durability.
Fresh drivetrain for a weary girl
I’ve run out of gas enough times to decide that I don’t really like pushing my motorcycle for miles on end. A 5.5 gallon Acerbis tank should help.
Essential storage for items to keep Dyna running her best.
I broke some bits off in Baja that required some welding to reattach. I reinforced all of the brackets on the frame that hold the exhaust and my toolbox.
Along with new heavier straight rate fork springs, Dyna got a fresh shock rebuild with a Race Tech gold valve installed to improve damping performance over the bumps and lumps.
An extended fuel screw provides easy adjustment of the air-fuel mixture in the carburetor at anytime. It comes in very handy when gaining or dumping lots of altitude quickly.
I built a set of mini jumper cables with 10 gauge wire that live under the seat, just in case…
Tappy valves are happy valves. Keep her tappy, keep her classy.
Scrub the Wyoming dust out of that carby..
She’s Serengeti ready
You are doing it!!! yay!! go Gary! So awesome! what an amazing adventure, stay safe my friend!
YES!!!! What board are you running?
Good luck mate, I am sure it will be a blast.
Saw this via Josh Trenter. Any details about shipping the bike over the Atlantic? Looking to do something similar in the next few years.
yo Matt! hows it going man? Ward Coffee in Santa Cruz made me a 5’11” quad fin with a full outline – about the volume of my standard 6’6” semi-gun. I’ve got 2 sets of fins, 1 with a bit more surface to them for more curvy faces.
hope to see you out on the road somewhere…
hey Erin! thanks so far its been kinda wild. I’ll try to keep the rubber side down the whole way down..
@ Andy – the agent in Oakland is called Alladin Shipping who seem to be a broker for Kingstown Shipping. It’s about $900 in total to get the bike there, clear customs and collect. No special crating or anything – just drop the bike off with less that 1/4 tank of gas and disconnect the battery, and you can leave gear strapped to the bike. Alladin don’t seem very organized but Kingstown Shipping are – very responsive to email – I would recommend