Planning Cross Africa Trip -- Some Advice Needed for a Newbie

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dsislen

Puppy
Joined
Jul 2, 2011
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Bike
BMW F800GS
Friends,

A buddy and I are planning a proper adventure, likely Jo'burg -> Addis Ababa. We are both experienced riders but this will be our first serious African trip. We are just in the initial stages of planning, so as we get further along I will come back with a lot of detailed questions, but for the moment a few basic questions on bikes and gear. We will both be on F800GSs. I know that these are fairly basic questions, and really appreciate the help... so here goes:

1. Tires. Any recommendations/thoughts on tire choice? We don't plan to do any real hard core technical riding, but obviously we need something more versatile than the stock tires. Also, anything that can be done to reduce likelihood of blowouts/punctures

2. Tools and Spare Parts. Any thoughts on what additional tools we should bring? I've seen some tool kits specifically designed for BMWs (with a set of torx wrenches, etc.). Equally importantly, what are the minimum set of spares that we need to bring with us given what all of you know about these bikes? While we're obviously trying to pack as light as possible, am very curious to know about what you all think are the critical spares to pack.

3. Auxiliary Gas Tanks. The issue which most concerns me is the size of the gas tank on the F800GS. I've done some internet research but wondering what others have done to bring auxiliary gas along.

Again, there will be many more questions coming, but thanks again for any help on these first few!

David (in Pretoria)

 
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