Asia-Europe 2012

The parts are here!

Since Palomina is the one who took the worst hits in the trip, she deserves now most of the attention. So I got her a new battery, bearings, gaskets, filters, chain kit, some plastics, a radiator fan and a better (I hope) rear shock + spring (this one I bought used since brand new would have been over $800). MaxBMWMotorcycles was nice and offered support for the upcoming trip so I was able to get most of the parts brand new OEM. Total spent ~ $1300. Considering this is the first overhaul after 41ooo km in the most challenging conditions, I would say it’s pretty good deal!

Travel guides suggest visiting Nepal after February. To be there on time, we would have to depart around 1st of December. Therefore, the trip (initially scheduled to begin in August) is postponed until then.

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July 8, 2011|01 planning|1 Comment

Plan B: Asia

While attempting to obtain visas for the countries in Africa I discovered most of them are tourist unfriendly, especially some on the Western coast. Consulates provide little or no help and requirements are difficult to meet. For the purpose of this trip, however, all visas are required and not having a visa might cause an early termination of the trip. Together with the recent unrest, this determined us to start looking elsewhere for the next adventure.

Asia was an old idea so we began studying the options. Visas appear easier to obtain and not always needed. This is the plan, as it looks for now. Will keep posting if anything new happens.

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April 26, 2011|01 planning|5 Comments

Announcement: Africa 2011

After arriving home, it took us less than one day to miss the unexpected. So we got back to the map and began planning. This is what we have until now:

Improperly called “Africa 2011” (since, in current projected form, it will be spanning three continents), our next trip will began, most likely, in August-September 2011. I say most likely because the process of obtaining visas for 15+ countries is a complicated, costly and time consuming process, not to mention recent uprisings in some Arab countries.

So please check the blog, as I will be posting more about this in the near future!

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February 25, 2011|01 planning|Post Comment »

The long recovery

During the winter, Palomina is going through a long recovery process. My father took it apart and found some broken plastic items and red mud everywhere. That, of course, in addition to bearings, suspension seals and the worn chain kit. Cleaning the bike is not an easy job, as the mud is virtually everywhere. Seeing these pictures, I am now wondering how did the cooling system still work.