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Motorcycle to South America–Gearing Up and a Little Wrenching

By Brandon Edward

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We are now 10 days from departure and getting excited, and a little nervous.  Two people for 10,000 miles on a motorcycle crossing, in some cases, unsavory territory.  What in the world do you bring?  What can you bring?  Space on this trip is limited, very limited – bare essentials only.  I thought some of you might be interested in the process of getting the bike ready and what gear we’re taking.  Keli has laid out a yoga mat on the floor and declared that we can only take it if it fits on the yoga mat.  I would have never thought of that, but it’s a great idea.

Motorcycle Maintenance

The Shadow is in good shape to begin with, but we pulled her in the shop this week and ripped her down for a good once over before the trip.  Here’s what we did:

  • Changed all fluids – Oil, oil filter, coolant and brake fluid
  • Checked valve clearance – good on all counts – good sign
  • Inspected and adjusted brakes – about 60% life left
  • Replaced spark plugs
  • Replaced chain and both sprockets
  • Cleaned air filter
  • Adjusted clutch cable

She’s in good running condition now and I have no mechanical concerns.  That’s a good feeling.  Now comes the hard part, keeping it that way on the road.  In our roadside arsenal we’ve collected the following:

  • A metric motorcycle tool kit from Cruz Tools
  • Spare pads and shoes, oil filter and filter wrench from Babbit’s Online
  • Spare chain and sprockets – used off of bike
  • Tire Tackle repair kit
  • A can of sea foam and a can of fix-a-flat
  • Large adjustable wrench for chain adjustments
  • Duct Tape
  • The Shadow manual

The Gear

Both of us being in the outdoor industry we had a good bit of our gear already and fortunately haven’t had to buy too much.  Aside from our clothes, this is what we have on the gear list:

  • One Watershed 80 liter dry bag
  • One Watershed 30 liter duffle dry bag
  • One Hinman Double Self Inflating Sleeping Pad
  • An Alps Mountaineering Equinox 2 tent
  • Double sleeping bag
  • A vintage Coleman 502 single burner camp stove
    • Will beat the pants off of your fancy MSR stove any day
  • Various pots, pans and cooking utensils
  • Headlamps
  • Camelbacks
  • Knives and fire starter
  • Cam straps and fasteners

Add some clothes, a few days worth of food and water, maps and Sjoerd Bakker’s book on cheap places to stay in Mexico and Central America and we’re all set.  If you’ve got any recommendations on additional things to squeeze in I’d love to hear them…

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Filed Under: North America, South America, Travel Tagged With: Motorcycle

About Brandon Edward

Greetings, I am the bar keep of this fine establishment. In the tradition of a good bar keep I want to know what you think about the article you've just read and the service we're providing here at freewheelings. Can't find your particular brand of scotch? Maybe we have it in the back, just ask. Use the comments section below.

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