my travel list? yours????

[Jeff Saline]

Listers, Sometimes when I hear folks talk about how the guys did Long Way Round I get kind of disgusted. Not with Ewen and Charlie but with the guys saying how wrong it was. How about picking a number. Pick any number. Use your favorite number, or one that has significant meaning for your, or even just a random number. Now ask someone else to do the same thing. Did they pick the same number as you? Probably not. You might have picked an even number and they might have picked an odd number. Maybe your number is divisible by 3 and theirs is divisible by 5 or 7 or GASP by 11. Maybe yours is a single digit and theirs is two or three or even four digits long. Is your number better than their number? Is their number better than your number? I'll suggest the answer to both questions is a solid NO. It's just a number. One number is no better or worse than the other, they are just different. But one is a better choice for one person than another. That's why they picked the number they chose. You could do the same thing with colors, or music or food or cars or tires or hobbies or oil, well heck, you could even do it with MOTORCYCLES and motorcycle travel. So give me a break when you diss someone's choice of ride or travel method or just about anything else that doesn't directly affect you. We're all entitled to our choices and responsible for them and their results too. The way Charlie and Ewen traveled probably wouldn't have worked for me. But I might have enjoyed being a part of that adventure. They saw some pretty neat stuff that I'm comfortable in saying I won't ever get to see in person. I appreciate that. Hope you're good with my choice to post this message. I'm good with you reading, deleting it or making a comment about it. It's marked NKLR as this isn't about KLRs, it's about acceptance of stuff that is different. Best, Jeff Saline ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650 . . ____________________________________________________________ Get Free Email with Video Mail & Video Chat! http://www.juno.com/freeemail?refcd=JUTAGOUT1FREM0210

[Eddie]

Agreed. To each his own and good on the fellows that bring motorcycling exposure in a good light to the masses. I for one, enjoyed the Long Way Round series. I have the DVDs + the Long Way Down and Charley's DVD on the Dakar Rally. All fun stuff! With the $$$ needed to put on any of the trips, I'd be left out. But, given an opportunity ro ride along as a guest, I'd say "sign me up"!! I have mini-adventures daily on the KLR just going to the supermarket or laundromat. Folks come up and ask about the bike, how I can get so much crap packed on there so well, etc... There are at least two other similar KLRs in town. I wonder if the guys on those get stopped as much, too? I hope so. =) eddie

[Tony]

Interesting thought. I was just paging through the AdvMoto magazine (electronic copy), and having a look at all the 'stuff' being advertised and reviewed and commented on, and thinking just how different the very small number of self-styled 'adventure motorcyclists' are to the millions of folks who use motorcycles as everyday transport in the third world. I'm in the process of retiring to the Philippines (there right now), and my YBR125G is regarded as a 'big' bike by the gf, who cannot manage it due to height and weight. So we bought a Chinese 125 auto scooter for her, listed at 88kg (almost 30kg less than the YBR, although I suspect Chinese kgs are a bit heavier than Japanese), and have been using it 3-up around the island. No need for an aftermarket tank, the 3.2 gallon unit on the YBR is good for 240 miles or more, I would need 5 or 6 gallons to match that mileage on most of the bikes used by most westerners. The bike is built for commuting, so is about as comfortable carrying 2 or 3 people as a KLR, and way better at that than my Husky TE610E, which while being a blast to ride, would need serious subframe work to carry the kind of loads the YBR and most local bikes see daily. By far the most common bike style locally are the 100 to 125 (even a few 135 or 150cc, woohoo) underbones(Honda Cubs or lookalikes), followed by commercial bikes in the 125 to 175cc range. There are a few YBRs fitted with Givi top boxes, and mine takes the Ortlieb saddlebags just as easily as the Husky (more easily in fact). No real need for a $700 helmet and 1000s of dollars in riding apparel, speeds are low in SE Asia (most locals here ride at 40 km/h, with a few speed demons hitting 60 to 70), and in any case most can't afford that, you can pick up a 125 scooter or underbone for around $900 if you buy Chinese. Commercial bikes are used for carrying serious loads with minor mods, up to 6 people or huge baskets of goods being common. One of the expats here tours the islands on his Honda TMX155 commercial bike, basic reasoning being that spares are everwhere, they are really rugged, and are built to take endless abuse. Having a Ewen/Charlie style bike would really preclude him seeing a lot of the stuff he has, as he often loads the bike onto the pump boats to get to the next out of the way place (think motorized canoe with bamboo outriggers, and you would not be far off the mark). A fully rigged GS would be extremely difficult / impossible to load, if it did bit sink the boat outright. Pretty common to at least walk the bike down a 2 or 3 foot wide gangway to get it on a small ferry to the next island. Also much easier to paddle a 250 lb bike through deep, sticky mud and over the rocks, or pick it up than even a KLR, let alone a GS. BTDT... So while I have enjoyed the E&C shows, I can also say I've seen a fair bit of the same territory much more cheaply, and probably had more local interactions. Plus I've been places where their type of expeditions just would not be feasible. They are quite welcome to carry on doing what they do. The real negative about it for me is the knock-on effect on the MC community, where people get the idea you need a big GS and tons of 'stuff' to go adventure touring, where in fact you can do it much more cheaply, probably have much more interaction with the communities you pass through, and likely be able to do it much sooner if you just go with the bike you have now. Heck, I can live quite comfortably for 2 years here on what a fully loaded Adv GS will cost. Alternatively, buying a cheap bike in a foreign country, setting it up with some soft luggage, and going with basic gear will get around many of the issues that advers spend years planning for. My YBR cost me $1600 brand new, with insurance and 1 year free service (I pay for oil). You could do it for just over a grand if you go with one of the Chinese commercial bikes that are becoming common in SE Asia and South America. Just the shipping on your foreign bike will cost you much more than that, and then you have to deal with carnets, documentation charges, trying to source spares, tires and all the rest of the issues that the big bikes will have. This approach also opens up countries like Philippines and Vietnam, where it is almost impossible to bring in your own bike. Just a different way of looking at it. ________________________________ From: Jeff Saline To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 10:16 PM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Pick a number, any number NKLR Roughing It thread related Listers, Sometimes when I hear folks talk about how the guys did Long Way Round I get kind of disgusted. Not with Ewen and Charlie but with the guys saying how wrong it was. How about picking a number. Pick any number. Use your favorite number, or one that has significant meaning for your, or even just a random number. Now ask someone else to do the same thing. Did they pick the same number as you? Probably not. You might have picked an even number and they might have picked an odd number. Maybe your number is divisible by 3 and theirs is divisible by 5 or 7 or GASP by 11. Maybe yours is a single digit and theirs is two or three or even four digits long. Is your number better than their number? Is their number better than your number? I'll suggest the answer to both questions is a solid NO. It's just a number. One number is no better or worse than the other, they are just different. But one is a better choice for one person than another. That's why they picked the number they chose. You could do the same thing with colors, or music or food or cars or tires or hobbies or oil, well heck, you could even do it with MOTORCYCLES and motorcycle travel. So give me a break when you diss someone's choice of ride or travel method or just about anything else that doesn't directly affect you. We're all entitled to our choices and responsible for them and their results too. The way Charlie and Ewen traveled probably wouldn't have worked for me. But I might have enjoyed being a part of that adventure. They saw some pretty neat stuff that I'm comfortable in saying I won't ever get to see in person. I appreciate that. Hope you're good with my choice to post this message. I'm good with you reading, deleting it or making a comment about it. It's marked NKLR as this isn't about KLRs, it's about acceptance of stuff that is different. Best, Jeff Saline ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650 . . __________________________________________________________ Get Free Email with Video Mail & Video Chat! http://www.juno.com/freeemail?refcd=JUTAGOUT1FREM0210 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Jim Tegler]

Howdy, I feel kinda like Jeff in that I am intolerant of intolerance. I know that makes a lot of sense and I struggle with that. My personal favourite adventure traveler(by moto) has been loisontheloose.com that tells of a UK woman in her 20's who takes extended bike trips by herself. I always thought she was living on the edge. Regarding the latter though, she tells of coming to a river crossing and getting really nervous about crossing. She's riding a 225 Yamaha Serow and is unsure about trying to ride across the stream until a local Senegalese guy rides up on some little moped while wearing flip-flops and smiles/waves before trundling across the river on his little 50cc moped with its 12" wheels. To me that shows that we are really well equipped and when I was watching the Long Way Round, I was mostly noticing that Charley/Ewen were having angst over things that seemed of little consequence to me. Maybe they were trying to create drama/excitement for TV? Sometimes they suffered though - for sure. It was good to watch generally. Back to lurking. Jim A5 Sent from a lovely big desktop

[ron criswell]

I carry a Starbucks bottled Mocha and a bag of Corn Nuts (breakfast of Champions). Cheetos and a Coke will work in a pinch. I have various surfer/ mermaids icons zip tied to my handlebars to ward off flats. I have a Milagro Cross that I carry if things look dicey and deer are around. Seriously, I carry waaaay too much stuff in my tailbag. I could probably do an engine tare down on the side of the road. I don't carry too much clothes like undies. Dogs like me. Criswell Sent from my iPad

On Apr 2, 2012, at 5:36 AM, "achesley43@..." wrote: > > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "eddie" wrote: > > > > There has been some talk on this newsgroup about long trip so I post below my Travel List. How does it compare to yours? Note that I brake down what I carry based on the rooms in a house. > > > > > So, what do you carry? > > > > Eddie > > > I keep mine simple. Don't camp no more, stopped that at 62 years old, so all that stuff is out. > Tank Bag W/ > Map of area > water bag, tube and bite valve > notebook and a couple ball points > Camera > .380 Auto > ear plugs > mp3 player with ear buds > > Top box gets > Chain lube > Tool kit > Tire repair kit and pump > umbrella > rain gear > assorted stuff > > One Givi bag gets 2 pair of jeans > 3 t shirts > 2 long sleeve t shirts > 2 pair of shorts > 2 pair of socks > ( Wash the shorts and socks and t shirts every night and dry them in the micro wave inthe room when available. > > One Givi bag get electric vest and gloves with wiring > shoes > laptop computer > 2 towels > assorted stuff. > > on the handle bars > radar detector > GPS > > generally use motel laundry services about once a week when available. > Carry about the same stuff on either bike The KLR or the 1250S bandit. Just soft saddlebags on the KLR vs PLX givi on the Bandit. > > Andy Chesley > Jennings, La. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]