Holy Crap! No Bikes!

That's right! Just over 70 days to go and no motorbikes!!!

Sam has been talking to the KTM dealer about our steeds and has found out that we won't have them until the 30th of April. This presents some issues as we are all set to leave on the 26th of May:

• Little time to set the bikes up, both mechanically and weight distribution of our gear.


• Little time to run them in and make sure that they are ok mechanically.
  
• Little time to get used to riding them with full load.

But, it could be worse I guess.

For those who aren't' familiar with the machinery we've chosen: Sam and I will each be riding a KTM 640 Adventure(which can be seen above), whilst Scott will be riding a modified Suzuki DR650(http://www.suzukimotorcycles.com.au/modeldetail.php?intBikeID=116). Scott will no doubt have his bike long before we do.

We had planned to have them by about February, but despite being assured there were plenty available, it seems that every man and his dog watched the Lisboa to Dakar(http://www.dakar.com/) at the beginning of this year and snaffled every last one of the 2006 models up. Bastards!

The 2007 models are currently on a ship somewhere between Austria and Perth. It had better not bloody sink!

The good news is that I've had a bit of fun buying up equipment for the trip. So far I've got hold of the following items:

• Autocom Bike intercom, so we can communicate on route, and also listen to music.


• Garmin 60CsX GPS. I don't want to get lost!!!


• 80 Gb iPod, to assist with the boredom of some of the long transport sections.


• Canon IXUS850is camera, for obvious reasons.


• Sony HDR-HC7 video camera, this is about the best prosumer Hi-Def camcorder available at the moment.


• BlackWolf Dragonfly tent, has the ability to be tent, mosquito net and a fly shelter. And,


• Trangia stove, if you want lightweight cooking equipment, then check these out.

There's still a fair bit of kit to get yet, including some new riding gear, but we've still got a few months to sort that out. It anyone feels the need to buy a whole heap of cool equipment then just plan an extended trip away, you can justify buying anything!

In the mean time it's back to more planning!