Setting up the bike

I decided late last year to sell Helga (blue 2009 R1200GS) for this trip. Basically Helga had done 65,000kms in 18 months and I figured by the time we got to the bottom of South America the odo would be reading more like 130,000kms. After a lot of thinking and testing of various bikes I decided to stay with the BMW (it was a close call with the new Triumph) and bought a R1200GS Tripleblack.

We had a shakedown tour over Xmas to French Pass and then down the Molesworth Road to Hanmer and she was ready for her 10,000km service by the time I took her to Auckland for the shipment.

In that time I had fitted a few farkles to make life a bit more interesting:

• TKC80 tyre on the front
• aluminium panniers
• Garmin 660 GPS (off Helga)
• Touratech crashbars
• Touratech cylinder guards
• added bashplate
• guards on potentiometer and clutch and brake fluids
• Skene lights for the front
• extended rear mudguard from Touratech
• front mudguard extension
• petrol container and bracket for LH pannier.
• carrier for tent poles
• sheepskin cover for rear seat

Crashbars and cylinder guards

A little tube painted in silver for tentpoles

The Skene lights