World Record Rides

Bike

We are taking a beautiful black BMW R1150GS Adventure with full overland kit. The Adventure bike has various bits that have been changed over the standard GS, including a larger windshield, more travel in the shocks, steel braided hose lines, knobbly tyres, and a one piece seat. Click here for the BMW R1150GS Adventure details.

bike

Of the BMW overland package the main features we have are:

  • 30 litre tank – we should get about a 300 mile range from this which will be sufficient to get us between our longest stops.
  • Engine protection bars – we don't expect to come off, but with the amount of gravel road we are covering, it's always unpredictable
  • Aluminium luggage, topbox and panniers – if there was one thing from the last Guinness World Record that we would have changed it was the luggage system (we previously had the side loading standard BMW system). Top loading panniers are so much more convenient and we have the inner bags to ensure that loading and unloading is straightforward.

We have made some other small modifications:

  • bike_frontRemus exhaust – to cope with really nasty fuel and makes the bike several kilos lighter.
  • Verholen side stand adapter – without it the bike leans a long way and it's all extra energy to get it upright. Not needed when you are tired!
  • Touratech perspex headlight protector – full protection from any small stones and chips that may kick up from the gravel.
  • Touratech centre stand bash plate – providing full under protection, particularly in the mid-section by the Y-piece.
  • Touratech steering stop – prevents the handlebars banging into the tank in the event of a spill.
  • Additional power socket for pillion – so that Julia can use the heated vest!
 Bike

In This Section

How did the bike perform?

It's a BMW GS. If you wanted horror stories of breakdown and the bike falling to bits, we should have taken a . . . . . . we'll leave that to your discretion! On the Trans Americas World Record this bike did five years worth of riding in five weeks.

And not just your normal cruising along. It was loaded to more than maximum capacity and rode through dirt, mud, sand and snow. It rode out the mother of all pot holes, albeit breaking six spokes, and then still continued for another 1,000 miles with all the weight until we got spares spokes in Colombia.

Come rain or shine it always started and as you can see it got us where we wanted to go in the time we wanted to achieve. Marks out of ten? Eleven!

Servicing and tyres

The bike was fully serviced and checked by Balderston Motorcycles in Peterborough prior to the start of the ride. En route, the bike was serviced three times at BMW dealerships;

  • Iron Horse Motorcycles in Tucson, Arizona
  • Bavarian Motors in Panama City, Panama
  • Williamson Balfour in Santiago, Chile

We used four pairs of tyres whilst on the record, Continental TKC80s at the start and end and the Metzler Tourance for the road use in the middle of the ride. And no, we did not get a puncture!

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