BIKES & STUFF
We decided to buy two similar bikes. We did that with the two Africa Twins with which we started in Germany and we did it again with the two KTMs we use since Kyrgyzstan. The advantage is quite obvious, you can use the same spareparts and we have to be familiar with just one model relating to defects and maintenance.
With the two Africa Twins we started, we were quite green. Standard bikes, no modifications, already over 60.000 km when we started. It was more a buy and get started thing. In Kyrgyzstan, after the Pamir Highway, the bikes were worn out. New dampening, engine revision, carb revision and more than 90.000 km. So the best was to sell the bikes there and have two new ones shipped to Kyrgyzstan the following year.
That was when we started with the KTMs.
KTM 950 Adventure S
Year: 2003
Type: 2 cylinders, 4 stroke, liquid cooled
Engine size: 942 ccm
Power: 72 kw (98 PS) @ 6.000 rpm
Torque: 95 NM @ 6.000 rpm
Carburator: 2 Keihin constant depression carbs
Drive: Chain
Transmisson: 6 gear manual
Starter: electric
Seat hight: 915 mm
Dampening front: White Power USD 4860, 265 mm
Dampening back: White Power, 265 mm
Tyre size: 2,15 x 21, 90/90 front, 4x18, 150/70 back
Tank volume: 22l
Weight: 198 Kg
KTM 950 Adventure
Year: 2005
Type: 2 cylinders, 4 stroke, liquid cooled
Engine size: 942 ccm
Power: 72 kw (98 PS) @ 6.000 rpm
Torque: 95 NM @ 6.000 rpm
Carburator: 2 Keihin constant depression carbs
Drive: Chain
Transmisson: 6 gear manual
Starter: electric
Seat hight: 860 mm
Dampening front: White Power USD 4860, 210 mm
Dampening back: White Power, 210 mm
Tyre size: 2,15 x 21, 90/90 front, 4x18, 150/70 back
Tank volume: 22l
Weight: 198 Kg
With the stuff it was the same as with the bikes...quite green. We started with tons of shirts and shorts and jackets and billions of spare parts (at the end only those parts fail you don't have with you). I think we had an overall weight of 400 kg or more when we started.
From year to year we reduced the stuff we have with us.
2009
2016
The actual configuration is:
- tent (each of us has one)
- sleeping bag
- air mattress
- 3 pairs of underwear, socks and shirts
- 1 pair of trousers
- 1 pair of shoes except the bike boots and 1 pair of flip flops
- a fleece pullover
- electrical équipement (headlamp, tablet, gopro, camera, satnav)
- a pump for the tyres
- a spare tube
- 5 to 6 expedition food packs each
and that's it for 3 weeks...the lighter you are the more fun it is!
A dream would be to have a drone for filming and taking pictures from our rides...but nothing bought yet.
One word about our bike wear. As we are self financing our trip we have to take a look at prices of all the equipment.
There is all the fancy stuff on the market and you can spent thousands of Euros to be equipped but at least the thing that counts is to get on the bike and ride.
That's why I have still the same bike wear than 2009. Good stuff for a medium price. We bought new boots in 2015 because the old ones fell apart and a new jacket in 2011 because I lost mine in Uzbekistan.