Bikes and GearPekka Heikkinen. BMW R1100GS, 1998, 47.500 km.About the bike and tyresTwin-cylinder air-oil cooled 4-valve boxer with fuel injection. In summer motor oil is normally 10W-40 or 15W-50, now 5W-40 oil was used. I did not use fuel anti-freeze and there were no problems. I detached the bottom armour plate because I was prepared to heat the oil sump with primus cooker if necessary. Finally it was not needed. I protected the front of the sump with a piece of a tent mattress. I did not protect oil cooler because the importer's technical staff told that the circulation is controlled by thermostat. I used Original windshield with an additional piece of polycarbonate plate on top. Original two level grip heaters with handlebar mitts. Front tyre Metzeler MCE Karoo and rear Michelin Desert worked well with unglued van studs. On bare asphalt the studded tyre is a little more slippery than unstudded tyre in the summer. In summer tyre pressure is normally 2.5 bar front and 2.7 bar rear. Now 1.2 bar in front and 1.5 bar in rear was OK.A Special Self Made Toe Heating System (A.S.S.M.T.H.S)Alpinestars Tech 6 boots, only with Rukka Thermastat sock. No wool socks. Under the leather insoles in my boots I glued the separate handlebar heating elements. The wires with couple of connectors ran from the boot to the battery of the bike. There was a switch I could operate to heat my toes when necessary.Ari Peltola. Honda XRV750 Africa Twin, 1991, 114 000 km.The bikeMichelin T63 tyres with about 240 van studs in each. In the front glued studs a la Jukka Rastas Ltd, Hämeenlinna, Finland and rear without glue a la Jari Ourila, Motorengas Ltd, Sammatti, Finland. Tyre pressures between 1,2…1,5 bar. The rear tyre operated well 2.000 kilometres but after that the grip got worse because of the wearing of the studs. After 3.000 kms the front tyre is still in good shape despite the thing that at least half of the kilometres were done on bare (dry or wet) asphalt. In the bike the left-hand cooler and oil cooler was covered with piece of cardboard. The needles of carburettors were lifted up by one stop. Motor oil synthetic 15W-50 which I use also in the summer. Front fork 10W synthetic oil.The riderRukka motorcycle wear: Windstopper underwear, fleece underwear, R-Maxx suit and all this covered with PoroPro-overall. Fingers stayed warm with the help of the grip heaters and Scott handlebar mitts.In neoprene gloves I wore thin wool gloves during the coldest days. Boots Alpinestars Vector size 44.5 when my normal size is 42. There was enough room for two thick socks. One of them was factory-made Lectra battery sock operated with 1.5 V battery. The battery case is located on the top of the sock leg. One pair of batteries gives gentle heat for about 5 to 6 hours. My head (actually there is nothing much to protect…) was protected with Scott neoprene full mask and Arai DS helmet. In Scott goggles double lens works best with nearly no condensation at all. Marko Savela. BMW F650GS Dakar, 2001, 28 km before start.About bikeBoth front and rear tyres were same kind of Michelin T63s as Ari's rear tyre. I experimented with tyre pressures during trip and ended up with about 1.0 bar at both ends, tyre pressures recommended by manufacturer for summer use are 1.9 bar front and 2.1 bar rear. After the trip the front tyre was almost as new but studs in rear tyre were visibly worn.Engine oil was changed after first day of riding to synthetic 0W-30 oil and after that I had no problems with cold starts. I didn't have very much time to ride my new bike before trip, but one thing that I noticed was that front suspension was very stiff when temperature was below -20 centigrade. I replaced original fork oil with synthetic 5W oil and front suspension worked flawlessly. I covered about half of the radiator with cardboard to make sure that
engine was up to operating temperature. In addition to that I installed
a self made plastic fairing to protect engine and feet from icy wind.
Only problem I had with bike was mild surging at about 4000 rpm. I have
learned afterwards that it is very common problem with f650gs.
Riding gearI wore Rukka Thermastat and/or Windstopper underwear, fleece shirt and trousers, Rukka Airpower motorcycling suit and PoroPro snowmobile overall. Because my bike is equipped with heated handlebar grips and handlebar mitts I could use reasonable thin gloves. I used Alpinestars motocross boots with A.S.S.M.T.H. system. At first my heels were getting cold because heating element is positioned only under toes and ball of the foot. I solved the problem by making additional thermal insulation from a piece of tent mattress and fixing it with duct tape to boots. I used motocross helmet and Scott goggles with Airflow double lens and my face was protected from cold with neoprene mask. |