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BMW R80G/S Paris Dakar from Argentina to Alaska.....
Dear all,
I posted a while ago with questions about the suitability of a R80G/S for a long trip two up....(under a different username which I've since forgotten...).
A quick update for those interested - we (my girlfriend and I) arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the end of October 2015; followed quickly by my R80G/S PD. After pointing our noses briefly South along the East coast of Argentina towards Tierra del Fuego and the end of the world (actually not so briefly as it turned out - it's a long, dry windy road from BA to Ushuaia!), we promptly turned Northwards and have been doing so ever since over the preceding five months and 30,000km.
The bike (our 'Horse') - stock with the exception of an Ohlins rear shock (original subframe even...) - has behaved faultlessly, has never left us stranded and has asked for (almost) nothing in return. It has selflessly taken the two of us plus (too much) kit through the winds and rains of Patagonia, the deserts and infamous Carretera Austral of Northern Chile, winded its way up and down 4,500m mountain passes and altiplanos through Bolivia and Peru, jungles in mainland Colombia and Ecuador and several thousand kilometres of generally terrible dirt roads throughout both South and Central America.
I say almost faultlessly. The forks have leaked more often than not, despite fork seal changes, although apart from some interesting slow speed handling and pogo-sticking down steep hairpins, has resulted little in the way of hesitation or worry. The second 'fault' has been some understandably stubborn starting in the mornings following a wet night in the open, confounded by altitudes above 3,000m. I've done nothing in the way of fiddling with the carbs/jets/mixtures and apart from some sluggish acceleration, its generally behaved respectably at altitude. Undoubtedly I'll now curse our remaining five months through the rest of Mexico, USA and Canada, but our third and final woe was a solitary pinch puncture after (badly) changing the rear tyre the day before. I've changed the engine oil and checked/adjusted the valve clearances every 5,000 miles and the remaining oil reservoirs every 10,000 miles. And of course added petrol when necessary - ranging from sediment ridden low 80s octane Bolivian petrol to high 90s familiar green stuff. The 32L PD tank has provided confidence and a more than adequate range throughout.
We're currently in Mexico City for a few days before continuing to follow our front tyre Northwards into the USA and Texas, where we'll then head properly East for the first time along the coast, passing through New Orleans, Florida and skirting up towards New York. The abruptly west to San Francisco before settling back in our Northerly groove, all the way to Alaska.....
For those interested, and with the appropriate social-media-skillset, you can see photographs of the old Horse and us on our journey via Instagram: @motorsurgialdiaries (searching Motorsurgical Diaries on Facebook will yield similar pictures, but leaning more to non-motorbike interested parties...)
Thanks for listening - after five months of all day adventures, I can wholeheartedly understand the admiration, obsession and passion that these wonderful motorcycles attract. At least on this subform of crazies.
With best wishes,
Daniel
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