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entry 1: choosing the bikes : 03/15/05

I was assigned, and relished, the task of finding a good mount to get us down the road. When I started to look for bikes to take on this trip, my research concluded that the Kawasaki KLR 650 was the best bike for the job. Rugged, inexpensive, easy to work on and it had been on the market for almost two decades so spare parts wouldn’t be a problem. Lynne and I went to the local Kawi dealer and they had one on the show room floor. As we approached it we realized just how tall it was. Now Lynne is 5’ 7” and when she settled into the seat we knew right away that the five or six inches of air under her toes would result in way too many falls. Nix on the KLR. Because we had read that taking similar bikes on such a long trip reduces the amount of spare parts and eases maintenance, we continued our search.

Our trusty mounts awaiting our return - Snoqualmie National Forest, WA.

We checked on the other models that were dual sports and after ruling out all other bikes due to height, we settled on the BMW F650GS. With the lower chassis (about 30.5 inch seat height) Lynne could put both feet flat on the ground. I selected a yellow standard chassis model and Lynne picked out an ice blue model. They cost more then we wanted to spend but we put it down as part of the price of a trip we really wanted to take.

Outfitting the bikes was based on what we had read on-line plus a few calls and e-mails to my brother-in-law DeVern. He has been a bike fanatic for years and he knows what products work and what doesn’t. We went with the Jessie luggage for rear panniers and a 52 liter Givi top box. From BMW we purchased a soft luggage bag and a tank bag. To help even out the load we bought tank panniers from Aerostich. We wanted to talk to each other while riding so we installed two Baehr CAPO II FRS bike-to-bike intercoms.

Loaded bikes (and riders!) for the northern Wyoming climate.

The only modifications we made to the bikes were in-line fuel filters and K&N air filters – just in case a bike gets laid down in water, I didn’t want to worry about a wet paper filter. I guess we will see if BMW has put enough grit into their bikes to take us where we want to go!

From Lynne: I especially love the low center of gravity of my bike - which is helped by the gas tank placement under the seat. It's a good thing!