UPDATE 2 - UK PREPATATION

02 Mar 06 (Thu). Take delivery of two BMW R1150 GS Special Edition Adventure motorcycles. Add all the bits.

08 Mar 06 (Wed). First service @ 800 miles

10 Mar 06 (Fri). Deliver bikes to Marchwood, Southampton for shipping to the Falkland Island on the SKAFTAFELL. Not too much of a rush!!!

We are in the process of building this website and working out exactly how it will be used, how it will work and what functions it has; that’s down to Dave Cox who will be our home link. We do not expect to get any serious information on it until next week (17 March 2006) and those of you who have already got the web address (obvious statement as you’re reading it) and are keen for some information, please bear with us as we get it underway.

THE BIKES: Well what did you expect; vespa’s! For the techno biffs a full list of additional equipment will be added, plus we will give our views of each bit as we progress. More information on all the kit will follow, in greater detail when we’ve got some miles under our belts. What we have achieved so far is to buy a couple of bikes, BMW 1150 GS Special Edition (SE) Adventure add a load of BMW, Wunderlich, Touratech and Bykebitz bits and confirm which continent we fancy a bit of a ride-out on. We delivered the bikes to Marchwood at Southampton to be loaded onto a ship call the SKAFTAFEL which will take them to Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, arriving about 20th April 06. We expect to arrive in the Falklands on the 21 April 06 when we will have about 4 days to ride the Islands and sort our bikes out. We only had the bikes for approx 8 days before we delivered them for shipping, so you can imagine that we still need to do some work on them before we start the trip in earnest!



22 March 06 (Wed) MARCHWOOD PORT UK

The bikes were delivered to Marchwood docks at Southampton on 10 Mar 06 and held in the safe keeping of Colin Mann and his team at the Falkland Islands transits warehouse. They were loaded onto the SKAFTAFELL this morning, ready to sail tomorrow and arrive at Port Stanley on (about) 20 Apr 06. Colin said that the lads who moved the bikes from the store to the ship, albeit only a few hundred metres enjoyed the ride and hot grips on a cold dockside morning; could that stir them to greater things? The bikes are not fully loaded with our expedition kit yet. We will add the remaining kit when we reach the Falklands.

Commercial disclaimer. We are not supported, sponsored or funded by any individuals, organisations, businesses or dealer. The inclusion of the companies and their products in this website is not a commercial endorsement. They are the companies that we have bought products from, with some discount. The aim of including the list of equipment that we have added to our bikes is for interest only and possibly to help anyone else planning a trip of this kind. However, we will give our comments on the positive and negative issues as we find them along our journey.

http://www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk/
BMW 1150 GS ADVENTURE SE - obviously
Fork seals – to replace fork seals
Quick Release couplings + o-rings - spares
Pipe clamps - spares
Improved Headlight bulb – to see and be seen
Kenwood radios with Lead – bike to bike comms
Oil filter tool – to remove oil filter

http://www.wunderlich.co.uk/
Big foot - side stand plate wide plate
Blue filter air filter – washable, long lasting air filter
Filter Plus – magnetic plate attached to the oil filter
Magnetic sump plug – collects any metal debris
Signal minder – enables indicators to remain on permanently. Increases the visibility of the rides - safety
Lifting handle – assist lifting bike onto the centre stand
Splash guards for feet – reduces splash to the feet
Fenda extenda front mud guard – reduced splash onto the front of the bike
Rear extenda rear mud guard – reduces splash at the rear of the bike
Oil filler plug lockable – prevents tampering with oil filler
Cruise control – for those long straight roads
Puncture Repair Kit – could state the obvious!!
'Micro Flooter' spot lights – additional spot lights to be seen; not to see with - safety
Black side panels – covers the brake reservoir, prevents tamperingBattery; improved ampage – greater amp out put when running all the electrics
Handle bar risers – shortens the reach to the bars – more comfortable
Foot peg lowers – longer leg reach – more comfortable
Foot brake enlarge – makes it easier to make contact with the foot brake
Pro Com 7 – to provide bike – bike comms, mobile phone, IPOD and GPS audio feed
GPS BMW Nav II (Garmin 2610) – although there is little digital mapping for South America it all helps

www.touratech.co.uk
Oil cooler grill – to protect oil cooler
Centre stand protector (Belly plate) – provide greater underside protection
Exhaust Y Centre box (Exhaust non Catalytic) – prevents fouling when using poor fuel.
BMW to cigarette lighter Socket adapters – to power equipment
Headlight Guard – to protect the headlights
Sondersystem 41 litre pannier system with lockable lid – to provide a large and robust carrying system
Top case 33 ltr with lockable lid with bracket – carrying system
Hand guard extenders – to provide addition protection to the hands
Bottle Holder brackets holds x 2 primus bottles – one pair of bottles on each pannier provide an addition 4 ltrs of capacity. One lt oil three ltrs fuel.
GPS handlebar bracket (lockable) - the stock BMW GPS cradle is plastic and although very competent in general use it would not withstand the rigors of our trip.

http://www.bikebitz.co.uk/
Airhawk seat cushion – provides a comfortable cushion