Anybody have ambition to ride around the world?

skibum69 · Jan 9, 2020

five posts later o the same thread by a different inmate

My BMW G650GS - DR Comparo:

The two year comparo is done. In 2009 the wife and I bought these two bikes new. I have ridden both for a total of about 29,000 miles.
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The ride:
The BMW feels planted, sure footed, regardless of the surface it’s on.
The DR is an athlete, light and quick to respond. It wants to go faster, faster.

Reliability: Both are legendary.
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Points in favor of the DR:
Ignition switch easy to reach. Turn signal switch is smooth and easy to operate. The BMW switch is stiff and has an uncertain feel. The gas cap lock on the BMW broke. In short, all of the controls on the Suzuki are easier to use and are of better quality.

DR is 75 pounds lighter.

DR cost exactly 1/2 as much!

Maintenance is easier on the DR, with a sight glass to check the oil. Changing the oil and filter is simple, unlike the BMW which requires the removal of numerous bolts, facades, and covers. Battery in the DR is sealed. BMW uses an old fashioned wet acid/ plate.

Ergonomics and windshield: I constantly struggled with the BMW in search of comfort, changing the seat, adding bar risers, trying multiple windshields. A number of specialty aftermarket windshields are available for the BMW at $300 ~ $400. None of them work to my expectations. Any one of a number of less than $100 windshields simply bolt to the Suzuki and work fine. A left over $60 Slipstreamer is on there now. The ergo’s required no change, but the seat did.

Those bird beak fenders on BMW’s make no sense to me. A sub fender is then required, to clog with mud. WTF! Adds weight too.
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What the BMW does have that the DR does not:
Fuel injection.
More than enough wattage to power heated clothing, aux lights, etc.
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What I figured out: A lot of little things like stiff switches and overly complicated maintenance kept bugging me about the BMW. Bottom line is, I prefer Japanese engineering. I took wholesale value to get rid of the BMW.

skibum69 · Jan 9, 2020

Everyone makes their own decisions but this is some real world feedback from people who have put in the time and miles to know.

powwow · Jan 9, 2020

vark said:
I don’t view this as an “American thing.” Prior to their epic rides, Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor underwent some pretty intense personal-safety training provided by professional security experts. They practiced self-defense and hostage situations, including operation of small firearms. It wasn’t their leg across the usa that they were worried about, either.

Additionally, for a large section of their transit across Africa (“The Long Way Down”), they were accompanied by a hired security detail consisting of extra vehicles and mercenary guards armed with AK-47s.

Seeing to one’s own self-defense isn’t an american cowboy attitude. Throughout Africa and much of Central and South America, carrying defensive firearms is not unusual and much more commonplace than in the US.

While I don't disagree with the points you've made, I suspect Charlie and Ewan's security was related to the fact of their celebrity. They could likely have been targets for ransom demands that the average, anonymous traveller would never have had to deal with.

vark · Jan 10, 2020

powwow said:
While I don't disagree with the points you've made, I suspect Charlie and Ewan's security was related to the fact of their celebrity. They could likely have been targets for ransom demands that the average, anonymous traveller would never have had to deal with.

Very likely. Certainly a lower profile helps.

But anyone transiting areas where Al-shabab is active in Africa is taking a certain amount of risk. Their m.o. is to seize western hostage to use as bargaining chips or for propaganda purposes. It’s difficult to do a north-south ride across Africa without passing through regions where Al-shabab has a presence.

The risks are real. Although the probabilities are certainly debatable. Individual risk-tolerance is an important consideration in the calculation. As is factoring self-defense options.

powwow · Jan 10, 2020

vark said:
Very likely. Certainly a lower profile helps.

But anyone transiting areas where Al-shabab is active in Africa is taking a certain amount of risk. Their m.o. is to seize western hostage to use as bargaining chips or for propaganda purposes. It’s difficult to do a north-south ride across Africa without passing through regions where Al-shabab has a presence.

The risks are real. Although the probabilities are certainly debatable. Individual risk-tolerance is an important consideration in the calculation. As is factoring self-defense options.

If Al-shabab makes a decision to kidnap you for ransom, I highly doubt having a firearm is going to help you that much. In fact, I would think it's more likely to make the situation worse.

AKsuited · Jan 10, 2020

No mention of the added risk of dealing with Third-World drivers?

I worked two years in Saudi Arabia where the death rate on the highways was astronomical. They weren't drunks, they were crazy, and deadly. Other areas of he world have a huge problem with drunks or just plain idiots.

I'll think long and hard before I commit to the Montana Rally. World travel on a bike? Thanks, but no thanks. It's been done - I don't see the point of doing a round-the-world trip by bike.

Harry

vark · Jan 10, 2020

powwow said:
If Al-shabab makes a decision to kidnap you for ransom, I highly doubt having a firearm is going to help you that much. In fact, I would think it's more likely to make the situation worse.

I never advocated that carrying a firearm would help. I was responding to your suggestion that Ewan and Charley were potential targets due to their notoriety, which I agree with, but I also wanted to point out that anyone is at risk, not just celebrities.

Earlier I responded to another post which stated that guns were an "american thing", by pointing out that guns are much more ubiquitous in some parts of the world than they are in America.

Case in point: Couple Travels from NZ to UK in Toyota Landcruiser

brownie0486 · Jan 10, 2020

vark said:
I never advocated that carrying a firearm would help. I was responding to your suggestion that Ewan and Charley were potential targets due to their notoriety, which I agree with, but I also wanted to point out that anyone is at risk, not just celebrities.

Earlier I responded to another post which stated that guns were an "american thing", by pointing out that guns are much more ubiquitous in some parts of the world than they are in America.

Case in point: Couple Travels from NZ to UK in Toyota Landcruiser

Less about the two boys personal security from being famous, more about the entourage of camera crews/support staff making a spectacle everywhere they were riding.

skibum69 · Jan 10, 2020

I agree travelling with a crew makes you much more conspicuous and sure plenty of places everyone carries guns but being a foreigner with a gun in those countries may not bode well.

vark · Jan 10, 2020

brownie0486 said:
Less about the two boys personal security from being famous, more about the entourage of camera crews/support staff making a spectacle everywhere they were riding.

That was certainly a factor. But those folks in their Toyota (linked above) weren't exactly high profile and didn't have a film crew with them, and encountered need for armed security escort as well.

skibum69 said:
I agree travelling with a crew makes you much more conspicuous and sure plenty of places everyone carries guns but being a foreigner with a gun in those countries may not bode well.

Yes, there are all kinds of logistical difficulties that arise when carrying a firearm, even in some parts of the United States. As a foreigner travelling in other countries, it is not really feasible unless one is willing to chance doing so without license. The guy who first mentioned preferring to have his 9 mm handy also said that is one reason he doesn't have much interest in an ATW trip. That wouldn't be the deciding factor for me, but I can still appreciate his viewpoint.

brownie0486 · Jan 10, 2020

skibum69 said:
I agree travelling with a crew makes you much more conspicuous and sure plenty of places everyone carries guns but being a foreigner with a gun in those countries may not bode well.

FIFY;

I agree travelling with a crew makes you much more conspicuous and sure plenty of places everyone carries guns but being a foreigner with a gun in those countries WILL not bode well

I wouldn't even bother taking a pistol through Canada heading to the arctic circle summer of 18. Could have in hindsight, I leave the pistols home when traveling even outside my state. Too many regs that are different in each state to even bother with the potential.

I'd have unconventional weapons close at hand doing a world tour like that.

powwow · Jan 10, 2020

vark said:
I never advocated that carrying a firearm would help. I was responding to your suggestion that Ewan and Charley were potential targets due to their notoriety, which I agree with, but I also wanted to point out that anyone is at risk, not just celebrities.

Earlier I responded to another post which stated that guns were an "american thing", by pointing out that guns are much more ubiquitous in some parts of the world than they are in America.

Case in point: Couple Travels from NZ to UK in Toyota Landcruiser

I wasn't referring to you personally, just a general observation about traveling those areas. Sorry for the confusion in my response.

vark · Jan 10, 2020

powwow said:
I wasn't referring to you personally, just a general observation about traveling those areas. Sorry for the confusion in my response.

No worries. And your point was perfectly valid.

Although, I’d say it’s more of a coin toss whether having a firearm in that situation would make matters worse. If they take you hostage, it’s pretty much sayonara. It might actually be gratifying to take one or two of them out before going down.

patm · Jan 10, 2020

I met a couple of Austrians on KLRs a few years back, somewhere in the Appalachians. They had ridden all the way to Tierra del Fuego and were on their way back.
Their biggest issue had been theft. They had everything tied and locked on their bikes and had a switch to turn off the rear tail light / brake light at night.
The idea was to be as little conspicuous as possible when stopping to camp.

skibum69 · Jan 11, 2020

this thread grew some legs...

chadwick · Jan 11, 2020

skibum69 said:
this thread grew some legs...

Indeed! But it's all good. It's given me a lot of thoughts and ideas and places to search for information. Little by little I'm outlining routing, deciding what I want to accomplish, what dangers to prepair for, how much information is too much information. I'm enjoying touching base with this thread every day to see the new posts as I dredge up more and more information on how to actually accomplish each leg of this adventure. I have found some very fun ways to overcome many of the obstacles and also some very unexpected ones as well.

As for the weapons portion of the conversation, it's great to hear others' thoughts. They are not indifferent from my own. I'm a huge proponent of carrying a firearm at all times and I hate when I have to disarm. I've decided the danger from government is greater than the danger from criminals, therefore I won't be strapped. I've also decided I won't allow this to be a no-go issue for me. I'm clever enough with making nearly anything into a viable weapon that I'm willing to rely on that and chance the universe.

stinkypete · Jan 11, 2020

I would count anyone who chooses to ride around the world by motorcycle as a true adventurer. Such journeys would not be undertaken without lots of research and reading, communicating with other such travellers, careful planning, weather considerations, personal and medical fitness for such a journey, most importantly with proper risk assessments for the areas in which travel is intended. Those who set out to ride around the world do so with full knowledge of the risks and the rewards. While such an adventure is not for me, I fully support and endorse the adventurous spirit of those who rise to the challenge and take the risk. We get one crack at life, and we must each find our own goals, challenges and adventures, as we gather our life's stories to tell our grandchildren.

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow what a ride!”
Hunter S. Thompson, The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967

skibum69 · Jan 11, 2020

Yeah good planning is necessary but being open to change and adversity and rolling with it is important too maybe even most important.

powwow · Jan 12, 2020

skibum69 said:
Yeah good planning is necessary but being open to change and adversity and rolling with it is important too maybe even most important.

Sorta like the Mike Tyson quote "everybody has a plan...until they get punched in the face".

akbeemer · Jan 12, 2020

No plan survives first contact with the enemy.

Anybody have ambition to ride around the world?

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