Are you nervous about your bike?

[Michael R1150GS Adventure]

Asking for trouble here, but if you had to carry spares with you for your well loved 1150 GSA and a prospective two week europe trip, what would you carry.

41K miles, full service history except for last one where I have done the oil myself.

Not normally worried about sh1te like this, but something is nagging me.
Hall sensor? Rear wheel bearing and seals? I know the coils are a bit rusty. Fork seals? Oil glass and seal? Various hoses?
Any thoughts on anything exotic worth chuckin in the boot?

My bikes had a good life but the last couple of years I've been enduro'ing it and offroading it as well - deffo not just pootling on green lanes.

I'm not a worrier, just interested in people's experiences and not knobhead superiority based w@nker comments and irrelevant feckin input thanks. Please

 

[Felters]

Wouldn't bother too much... I take a few bulbs and tools, recovery insurance and an iPhone. I'm not sure why I take the bulbs really apart from there being a legal requirement. They're all available in just about any French supermarket.

I've only ever broken down once and the battery had died. I rang Carole Nash/AA and a nice man took me and the bike to a Yamaha dealer who had a battery that fitted.

 

[Michael R1150GS Adventure]

aye cheers - done many many miles including morocco abroad, but its just this summer I have a feeling something might just....!

bikes at an age where it wont be a waste of cash (thats up to me anyway) as the bike will most likely need the bits anyhow at some point soon, may as well carry them away with me JUST in case

 

[Mutley]

Recovery card & phone. Credit card to buy oil & petrol. Mushroom type tyre plug kit and pump. Spare bulb pack.












Never needed the spare bulb pack

 

[Michael R1150GS Adventure]

Recovery card & phone. Credit card to buy oil & petrol. Mushroom type tyre plug kit and pump. Spare bulb pack.












Never needed the spare bulb pack

exactly what my kit list has in it (normally!) plus camping kit.
im worrying too much - the best trip i have had in ages was when my mates brand new GS800 blew up in morocco.
still gonna start carrying tech bits from now on though....

 

[Cogs]

'96 R11GS 75K miles. Just back from 2.8k tour of Spain, Portugal and France. I took bulbs, cable repair kit and a few zip ties and Duct tape.
Didn't use any but a friend used some of my zip ties, another mate's CB1000 fried its regulator (RAC recovered to shop, new reg fitted, 280 euro bill! ) and someone blew a fuse (there were 16 of us on 14 bikes. one GS.

Biggest prob was some wazzuk pinching my spark plug covers (both sides!?) in Santiago

Couldn't do full 72K service before I left so just changed oil, oil and air filters and cleaned the plugs. Never ran so smooth.

 

[ChrisH Kerry]

im worrying too much

Same here - off to France etc next month .... hopefully

 

[Womble]

At that age and mileage, and knowing some of the terrain you've ridden over/through, I'd recommend popping out the seal on the real FD bearing and checking for issues. Steppers has a good howto on the procedure and it's a lot cheaper than an FD failure while abroad.

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=159180

 

[bowser]

credit card and an RAC international cover card, away you go.
However the comment about the drive bearing is a good one, the only problems we had on our recent trip was a set of brake pads that should have been done before we left and my fd bearing which was not hard to fix on the road but again should have been done before we left however neither was much of an issue or caused much grief.
RAC international cover was fantastic really easy to deal with and quick.

 

[tyclyd]

Based on my current experiences - AA European Breakdown Cover

 

[Fanum]

NO.



All you can guarantee by taking a spare HES etc etc, is that your HES etc etc won't break down, it'll be something else

 

[Sleepy]

NO.



All you can guarantee by taking a spare HES etc etc, is that your HES etc etc won't break down, it'll be something else

How on earth did I miss your ride report... a bit late, but thanks..

 

[Michael R1150GS Adventure]

quality responses guy, thanks for whats come in so far..

 

[Fanum]

How on earth did I miss your ride report... a bit late, but thanks..

Thanks...it was a good trip

Part of it (and this is going to sound a bit odd) was the guilty knowledge that there wasn't a plan, there weren't any spares other than duct tape, cable ties and a leatherman, the preparedness to go with the flow and deal with whatever happened



Good shit happens when things go wrong

 

[MattW]

FD bearing and seal (not necessarily for a heroic roadside repair - could be provided to a garage for them to fit).
Hall sensor (my 15 year old one which I changed for a new one as a precaution).
Clutch cable (doesn't apply to you).
Clutch actuator arm (doesn't apply to you).
The last alternator belt I took off.
2m of automotive cable and few crimp connectors.
Araldite rapid and cotton wool makeup removal pads.
The usual tyre plugger kit and bulbs etc
Duct tape and cable ties (to fix anything that the above doesn't cover )

All fits into a Tupperware box which lives in the bottom of my Vern topbox.

 

[STUBBS]

stop your worrying and enjoy the trip

 

[Micky]

Sods law rules supreme

Whatever you carry, take with you, it will be something else that is required

Europe? .... what e're you want t'is only a 'phone call away

 

[Mike L]

Recovery card & phone. Credit card to buy oil & petrol. Mushroom type tyre plug kit and pump. Spare bulb pack.












Never needed the spare bulb pack

+ a can of GT85* to lube the gear linkage every so often.


*Much better than WD40

 

[JackoUK]

Sh-t can happen anywhere

Sods law rules supreme

Whatever you carry, take with you, it will be something else that is required

Europe? .... what e're you want t'is only a 'phone call away

Done quite a bit of solo riding in foreign lands, always carry a spare Hall sensor, ignition loom section and alt. belt. Often found myself, when riding alone on some distant places like Turkey, the Balkans, Morocco, getting little niggling insecurity worries about possible break downs and how I'd resolve them. By working out a little strategy in my mind, it was easy then to put the niggles in their right place and enjoy the ride.
Actually, carried the stuff all over the place, often wondering if I'd ever use it. Well, the ignition loom proved itself in Morocco in May. After a hair raising tow into Tetouan, 45 mins in the hotel car park had the bike back on the run again.
Truth is, anything can happen, and getting the problem sorted can often be the talking point of the trip. Take what you think you need and get on with it! What Mickey refers too is right, it's only Europe!

 

[Engineer]

With the benefit of hindsight I would take a Deer Radar