Kit and Bike
Reviews - Trans Africa
Crossing
Given this fact, I would like to review some selected
items of my kit as well as the motorbike.
All evaluations are based on my own experiences and
can not be regarded as generally right. However they are meant to show what
worked well for me and they probably could be helpful for others during their
preparation of a similar project.
Basically, on an overland adventure/expedition trip
you mostly carry things with an important function on your bike. All parts are
more or less frequently used and their flawless performance in the right moment
can be crucial for the success of the journey.
To mention the aluminium paniers of Touratech as a
positive example. They contain the most important
parts of my equipment, ranging from the laptop and the water filter to
medicines and spare parts. If such a box was not able to withstand the
vibrations and impacts of the hard piste roads and
broke off, I would have a serious problem.
Let’s start with the motorbike. The BMW R 80 GS Basic
is an often used and very proven travel motorcycle. Due to the durability of
the flat-twin boxer engine and the maintainance-
friendly set up of the machine (1996 model) it is still a very good solution
for a transcontinental longdistance ride.
BMW R 80 gs basic (Bj 96)
Oil and Filters:
Complete service at the departure with the odometer
showing 14000kms.
I renewed the engine oil after 3500 kilometers in
After another 6000kms I changed the oil in
Libreville/Gabon without taking out the filters. From there I drove down to Capetown to have the bike completely serviced again after
20000kms altogether.
Engine-Oil Consumption:
That can be quite high on the R 80 GS. Particularly
with heavy loads, heat and frequent changes of gears and speed, as conditions
are on sandy piste roads through tropical rain
forests, the oil consumption goes up to 500mls per 1000kms. This however can be
regarded as
quite normal due to the design-specifically higher oil consumption of the flat
double-piston boxer engine. Therefore it is actually important that you control
the oil level regularly and
carry the necessary quantity according to distance and
availability to be always able to refill. For me 1 liter
was always sufficient. My friend Taco drove his Africa Twin from
Transmission-Oil Consumption:
Normally this can be neglected. However, in my case
the seal which separates the transmission box from the drifeshaft
was leaky since Marocco.
Thus I slowly but constantly lost
transmission oil, which then collected itself in the rear rubber bellow.
Apparently that was not a big problem, I only changed
the seal after 20000km in Capetown.
Valves and Carburetors:
I adjusted the valves approximately every 6000kms and
also synchronized the carburetors then. I noticed
that the synchronisation of the carburetors altered
much faster on long, hot and dusty piste roads so I
had to readjust them every 2000kms then.
Starting from approx. 1500 meters above the sea the
Boxer does not feel good with its normal standgas
setup any longer. Particularly not when it comes to start
characteristics in damp and cool morning hours. I simply turned up the standgas at both carburetors one
¼ revolution before the starting and when the engine was at its temperature I
lowered it again. It was never necessary to change the jets.
Bike Handling in General:
On tarmac and curvy roads the R 80 GS is still a
motorcycle that, in my opinion, does not need to shrink from the comparison to
modern machines. Of course if you presuppose a
travel-oriented driving style.
Particularly on roads with narrow curves and moderate
tarmac quality I often found myself at the rear wheel of some Sporttourer when crossing down
With its low center of
gravity the BMW behaves absolutely agile in city traffic and on the highway in
my opinion driving pleasure is only set a border by the average brakes. The
drum brake at the rear as well as the single disk with one calliper at the
front are enough when there is enough reaction time, agressive
stops as required in emergencies of course do not compare to the perfomance of up-to-date brake systems built in the new GS
models.
On the freeway ride one may wish to have a stronger
engine on the Basic and somewhat more rigidity in the frame and fork. At speeds
beyond the 130km/h and with loading the steering slightly starts oscillating
and longitudinal grooves in the tarmac become a little unpleasant.
But then, if you consider that the bike comes with a
fork of conventional design that therefor doesn’t
require much maintainance and also won’t leak after
100000kms unlike many top notch upside down and “ready to race” fabrications
and that you have a sturdy engine that is lasting so long because of not beeing totally overpowered, you will be happy that you
chose the bike. Especially where there is no support and you need to trust
reliability rather than performance.
The only situation where the enthusiast adventure
rider might want to improve his bike is on very
fissured piste roads. Which of course is no surprise
given the all the weight.
The low center of gravity of
the motorcycle automatically leads to a relatively low clearance and pothole pistes over 800kms, as you find them in
It is very important to take such passages with
strongly reduced speed, otherwise one risks a damaged oil pan or a torn off
exhaust. The big Touratech bash plate is absolutely
necessary when such roads are to be expected!
Even on the rough piste in
combination with heavy loads the bike still reacts quite calculably. Only
speeds beyond 70km/h are to be enjoyed with caution, traversing sandy ruts in
this speed range with an rather longitudinal angle
immediately causes strong oscillating motions from frame to handlebar. Through
hard bearing straight line and immediate increasing of the rear whee tractionl through the foot
brake one normally comes again into the straight ride. This variant has proved
itself to be quite efficient with me and usually worked much better than
opening the gas, given the 50 HP of the R 80 GS with full loading, a gas impact
only affects the handling directly if you drive beyond the 4500 revolutions.
I must remark at this point that these driving
conditions are extremes that normaly can be avoided.
The fact that I remained crash free during my entire
crossing of
The Bike in Wetlands and Tropical Rains.
Constant driving through water holes and mud pools naturally
does not represent the intended purpose of a motorcycle. When crossing
Tropical rainfalls usually alternate with hot sun
after a few hours again, the roads however remain in a terrible condition
further on.
The R 80 GS has got an excellent behavior
when riding through mud pools and not even crossing ridges beeing
covered by 45cms of water brings the bike easily out of its straight line. Remarkabe for this also was my involuntary tire
combination, in the front a Michelin T 63 and in the back a
The actual problem when crossing through water holes
comes from the low air filter box with its intake facing into the driving
direction. Starting from approx. 30-45cms of water depth on 3 to 4 meters
length of passage water inevitably comes into the air box. In the
Fortunately that did not turn into a problem and
thereby only once the engine died. Then I had water in the combustion chamber,
so I had to unscrew the spark plugs, put the bike in the 5th gear
and squeeze the water out by spinning the rear wheel.
As an acute remedy in case of emergency one could try
to extend the air intake by a snorkel and pull it up laterally at the
motorcycle. I haven’t tried it.
Because the cylinders are constantly cooled down by
the submerged operation, it is difficult for the bike to reach its temperature.
For me it has usually worked well to keep the reps up by careful acceleration just before
driving through water. Thus you can avoid a dying out in the middle of a hole
through undercooling and too much humidity in the air
filter.
But care needs to be taken, if you give too much gas
and there is already some water in the combustion chamber,
that would lead to the damage of the engine. I increased the reps always
very carefully listening to the engine.
These experiences can naturally be avoided on most
parts of a journey and as said before, watergames are
good for jet skis and not for motorcycles.
Starter and Electrics
These two areas put me into larger troubles twice. It
is to be owed to the simplicity of the motorcycle that I could more or less
solve these breakdowns at the roadside. In
In
The starters made by the company Valeo
have the large disadvantage that the magnets of the electric motor are only
glued in. Through heat, dust and vibrations these can separate or break. Then
you have to pushstart the motorcycle.
If you put the BMW R 80 GS Basic in a cost and benefit calculation and
consider that durability, purchase price and relatively low costs of the Carnet
de Passage represent very important criterias of a
travel machine, then you made the right choice with this motorcycle. If money
does not count, today one naturally gets motorcycles with substantially more
modern components as well as with electronic injections and intelligent engine
management, on the extended journey through the African bush, a machine which can
be repaired and maintained easily by the driver will always remain an excellent
option!
Photo
equipment and electronic equipment
As it is my priority to extensively document my
journey I carry two cameras and a laptop on the bike.
IBM Notebook R50e
The Notebook is embedded into a Cordura
case inside one of the Touratech aluminum
boxes. Nearly 20000 kilometers, partly over the worst
pistes of
During outdoor use I exposed the laptop to direct
sunlight and temperatures over 40 degrees, to the high humidity of the tropical
rain forests as well as to the dry and sandy air of the Saharan dersert.
Often the keyboard was covered by a fine layer of
flight sand but the function was never impaired.
Now, after more than 6 months of daily use I still can
not determine a weakening of the batterie.
Panasonic LZ2
5Mpixel pocket and Panasonic DMC FZ50 10Mpixel mirror reflex camera
These two cameras are used daily and probably belong
to to most most
strained pieces of my equipment. Their function is still perfect and even
extreme heat and humidity can’t do anything to them.
GPS Garmin 60sxc
The GPS unit provides its service most of the time at
the handle barl of the motorcycle and is connectet to the electrical system. With the modern antenna
of the SIRF star generation the reception is very good. In the deepest rain
forests and even in covered parkings! I always got
the position indicated. The display does not exhibit one scratch so far, despite
mud passages and sandstorms perfect readability is given under all driving
conditions.
Also the feature of the altimeter is extremely
practical, you are happy to have it in the mountains. By its pocket size and
the option to operate the unit with two AA batteries it’s just the ideal
companion during taxi rides in large cities when the driver naturally has no
idea where to go.
Aluminium Paniers
by Touratech
They exeeded
my expectations. The boxes are still perfectly
waterproof after 20000kms, without having the slightest bent.
Camping equipment and kitchen
Tent
The tent from Salewa
fulfilled its purpose, only the zipper for the inner mosquito net gave up its
work already in Angola.So it couldn’t be closed any
more. The tent was strongly stressed through nearly daily use, nevertheless
somewhat more durability would have been desirable.
The tent’s groundsheet is sufficiently waterproof
during normal rainfalls, when it comes to tropical rainfalls water gets
through. For a minus 200Euro tent I would judge the permance
to be just sufficient, however the thing with the zipper was a very unpleasant
experience in a malarious district.
In Capetown I bought a new
tent from Capestorm.
Sleeping Bag of
Carinthia/Austria
In
Despite the indicated comfort range of around the 5
degrees I would not use the sleeping bag under 10 degrees without clothing
anymore.
Camping Stove
I sent the well-known MSR Whisperlite
fuel stove back home already from
I changed to a gas stove from Campinggaz.
This small unit cost approximately 20 Euros and now provides its service nearly
everyday. Most important, in every African country I drove through I could buy
cartridges for it. For me it is the best
camping stove, it is light, easy to be regulated and a cartridge lasts for two
weeks and costs 1 Euro.
Motorcycle Clothing
Jacket of
Clover
Before I took this jacket out for the long way round I
had been using it for 5 years. The waterresistance is
still outstandingl and all bags and zippers function
perfectly well.
For the Biker, his endurojacket
is the only protection against wind and weather and good quality is extremely
important here.
Enduropants of Dainese
Many others were tried, but if you’re up to wear a
pair of trousers daily for several hours and for many years ,
then there is no better choice. By the clever ventilation system you won’t get
too hot, not even in the tropics. It is a shame that these top enduropants were discontinued!
Endurostiefel of
Alpine Stars - Tech 4
By its
treaded sole, on journeys the endurostyle Tech 4 is
the boot to go for. If the foot is pushed fast and aggressively into the
ground, in order to prevent a crash through a drifting off rear, then one is
glad to wear these boots.