Start of the Renovations

Isn't it pretty in white??
Well looks dont account for much (wonder where I have heard that before!) This bike would not pull the morning skin off a rice pudding in its current dress. Talk about disappointment.....this bike is supposed to be a 650! The engine is drastically strangled to meet emissions, the suspension is so soft you darent take it off road and the brakes are a reflection of the suspension.
Ok so why did I buy it if I dont like it? As I have mentioned it is simple and because of this it has potential. There is also what I call a cult following on these bikes. There is forums and websites solely dedicated to these DR650's - people out there love 'em!
The photo was taken the day after I picked it up - 16/05/09.
Over the past 3 or so months I have been slowly changing things so the bike will do the job I bought it to do. I have to remind myself, often, the DR is a Tool, not a Toy. Pity really I could have alot more fun if it was a toy. With this being the case the modifications are for practical purposes. The first thing to go on was a alloy bash plate by B&B Engineering in Aussie. I did look into building one myself, but unless you work in an alloy shop, just buy one. B&B's plate also looks great and is easy to fit.



Currently I still have not put many k's on the clock, still less than 1000. With the mods done to date I still have not touched the engine - yet! The biggest improvements have been rising the bars 25mm ( I used a set of Triumph Speed Triple bar clamps I had lying around) and the fitment of a screen. Never would I have thought that a screen fitted to a dirt bike would make so much difference to rider comfort when at cruising speeds. And for those who know me - No! I am not fitting one to my WR450.

Another RTW hopeful

Well it's been about nine months since I did anything with this blog. Why so long? And why start it again? To answer the first question seems irrelavent as writting a post for this blog or writing in my diary is something that I do when I feel like it not a daily chore - still nine months is a bit of a long wait.
So.....why start again. I didn't stop because I lost interest in motorcycles or riding, quite the opposite, I got more involved but at a different level. For along time I have wanted to travel the world on a bike, just could never see my clear to how it would be done. In reality I still can't but one hurdle at a time please. Keeping a short story shorter, J'ean (John - South African you know) a work accomplice who is a vintage motor cross bike lover/racer asked if I would be interested in riding across Russia. Me being me there was only going to be one answer - Hell yes! Then worry about logistics 2 minutes later. That was October 2008.
Had I been more focused and not so scatter brained I would have kept this page up to date with the things that I (we) have been doing to get this trip underway.
Here is a condensed version events.
Do nothing for the first three or four months because we have plenty of time to get things done and organised. After all we have not put a definite date on this or so I had thought.
Read about other peoples adventures in magazines, forums, blogs etc. This keeps the enthusiasim up and get an insight into what works and what doesn't.
With sudden realisation our trip we had been dreaming about seemed very close. Although we had not set a date to leave, it was a mute decision at some point that it would happen in the Russian summer of 2010. We had not decided on what bikes to take, although it was narrowed down to two, Suzuki DR650 and the BMW F650 Dakar.
We decided on the DR's, for two reasons, they are simple and cheap.
We have riding gear but will it hold up to the rigours of 3 - 4 months of constant daily use. Most of us have riding gear that we say has lasted us for years and we love it, but, most of us dont ride in it every day in some of the harshist conditions known. Now there is a subject I know little or nothing about - camping. Me I am a 5 star boy generally, so the lessons here are going be hard and hopefully not to painful.
That was a quick update to where we are, I hope and I say hope, to be better keeping this updated more regularly and with more insight on what we have achieved.
The trip route has been devised, we will travel east to west across Russia, starting in Vladivostok, and then down into the Ukraine, Hungary, Austria and finishing this journey in Paris, France where J'ean has friends who have a place to store the bikes.