Equipment

The quality and functionality of the equipment we take is also vital. It has to be reliable and of high quality as it all plays an important role in the record. Some of the equipment below we found was absolutely vital for the World Records. Air Hawk seats in particular helped us get extra miles out of a riding day.

Sonic Intercom

In foreign places, the ability to communicate quickly and effectively is invaluable for navigating around towns or highlighting hazards. The intercom can also be used to play music when riding into the night and it keeps your spirits up! As space is key we limit music choice to some chill out and some rock – it depends how tired we are as to what gets played.

Our Verdict:

Impressive sound quality, even at high speed. The robustness of the leads and connecting sockets are of particular note and are easy to handle even with thick winter gloves on. Unusually, on this ride, Julia did not manage to lose a lead. The ear pieces fitted in the helmets also were subject to regular water treatment as we frequently poured cold water into our helmets to keep our heads cool in the excessive heat. Even this did not cause any crackling or deterioration in sound quality.

Water Bags

Not exactly a motorcycle accessory, but a key piece of kit for endurance riding. When you are travelling non stop throughout the day and in some of the soaring temperatures that we will encounter through Nevada and Arizona, taking in fluids is often overlooked but is vital for long distance rides. You can buy water bags from any good outdoor shops. We have a Macpac with Platypus waterbag (Kevin) and a Camel Bac (Julia). Both carry 1.5 litres of fluid.

Our Verdict:

We used these on the world record and to be fair, should have bought ourselves new ones for the Trans Americas but it was one of those things that did not get done. However, the principle is sound. If you ride long distance, don't under estimate the effects of dehydration, even if it is not hot, and take a water bag!

Air Hawk Seats

Covering 1,000 miles a day needs some specialist help in the bottom department. So we do not suffer from numb bum syndrome within the first 100 miles or so, we use Air Hawk seats. Based on air flotation technology, which is used in the medical world to stop patients suffering from bed sores, one can only describe this as giant bubble wrap! It works a treat, prevents serious stiffness and aids recovery rate.

Our Verdict:

Riding more than a couple of hundred miles today? Don't leave home without them. The World Record would have been a lot more painful without these seats and the Saddlesore 2000 which we did from Prince George, Canada to Tucson, Arizona would have been impossible.

Green Leopard Ear Plugs

Riding long hours without any ear plugs can cause some serious "concert head". To stop incessant ringing at the end of each day and to minimise fatigue, we always wear custom moulded ear plugs. This also assists us with recovery times at the end of the ride. We would never ride without them.

Our Verdict:

We've said it before and we'll say it again, we always use ear plugs on long rides and you cannot beat the custom made type fitted by Green Leopard. We used ones with filters in this time to help with the Sonic intercom system and it is amazing how they manage to keep out the worst of the wind noise and I can still hear Julia nagging (oops!) motivating me.