Are there any spares worth carrying on long trips. This is for the Twin Cam model. I am thinking Alternator belt and then I run out of ideas. Anything else worth carrying even if I can't fit it myself a competent mechanic would be able to do so.
Touring Spares
- Thread starter B4ndit
- Start date
hutchy
Registered user
That's all I have
Along with a few bulbs and puncture repair kit and a drop of engine oil (half litre)
Anything more than that and I'd be onto breakdown cover
H
Sent from my iPad using Technology I do not understand
Along with a few bulbs and puncture repair kit and a drop of engine oil (half litre)
Anything more than that and I'd be onto breakdown cover
H
Sent from my iPad using Technology I do not understand
Depends........
Where you are touring, Europe or Outer Mongolia ?
How long are you touring for, a few days or a few months ?
If something breaks can you afford the time/cost of hanging about in a hotel while a part is shipped to you?
Are you 2 up (ie do you physically have room for spares)?
Come on fella, giz a clue.
Where you are touring, Europe or Outer Mongolia ?
How long are you touring for, a few days or a few months ?
If something breaks can you afford the time/cost of hanging about in a hotel while a part is shipped to you?
Are you 2 up (ie do you physically have room for spares)?
Come on fella, giz a clue.
Just round Europe over a couple of weeks and single. Although another GSA will be in company.
I have the oil already along with the puncture repair outfit and air pump. Once I have the alternator belt I can't think of anything else.
I used to have a 1150 GS and ended up with a spare lambda and HES.
I have the oil already along with the puncture repair outfit and air pump. Once I have the alternator belt I can't think of anything else.
I used to have a 1150 GS and ended up with a spare lambda and HES.
donny1972
Registered user
Doubt very much that you will need an alternator belt,however you might be better taking a spare final drive lol.
Breakdown cover and visa card. Puncture repair kit. Job done.
Delboy777
Registered user
If you had a toilet you would need a clutch, gearbox, windscreen pins, rear subframe..............etc etc but since you have the best model, light bulbs and some dosh is all you need. 
Don't take anything you can't fit yourself.
Make sure you've got decent breakdown cover.
Make sure you've got decent breakdown cover.
Providing your bike is within its 24,000 mile service interval for alternator belt change, I wouldn't bother. I have seen one break over the past 10 or so years on Wanders or on the Easter Dashes and that was on an 1150.
From a very rough wracking of the memory banks of roughly 160,000 miles of touring - or more accurately jaunts into Europe - over 10 years (average of 10 bikes on a trip, that is 1,600,000 man road miles) I reckon I have seen:
5 crashes, none of which would have been repairable
3 bikes that fell over, no serious damage. One of the most useful uses of gaffer tape was to tape over the very sharp end of a snapped clutch lever.
No more than 10 punctures, I'd be surprised if it's that many even
One leaking valve
Two fuel pump controllers (one mine, before I had left home)
One erratic worn ignition barrel (mine)
3 rear tyres that were worn down to the canvass, but not punctured (one mine)
A stone jammed in a radiator fan, blowing the fuses
2 run out of fuel, completely
A couple of blown headlight bulbs / tail lights (one mine)
1 bent key (mine)
1 overheated bike (mine)
A broken throttle return cable
One complete set of keys and a glove that fell down a ravine. Yup, the spare keys were in a locked pannier, the only time a screwdriver has come in really useful...... to lever the lock apart.... and gaffer tape to hold it shut again.
Two burnt out regulators
A broken wing mirror
Luggage that came off / pannier that came open, whilst thrashing down great roads
Not all of those by any stretch of the imagination involved GS's.
The most useful things to take? Much less and a lot cheaper than you might think.
Breakdown / Travel insurance. The chances are you won't need either but both will get you out of real (and possibly very expensive) trouble a lot faster than any alternator belt. Trust me. This is cheap.
Mobile phone with its bloody Continental adaptor / charger. Or you won't be able to charge your phone whilst you sit in the Tavern des Sports, waiting for the pick-up truck. This is cheap.
A half decent proper map of where you are. This is very cheap.
A clean sheet of paper and something to write with. You will be writing stuff down, trust me. Very, very, very cheap.
A watch set to local time, not the time on the clock on your mum's cooker at home. Cheap, again.
About £30 in local currency, in cash. Sort of cheap or expensive depending on rate of exchange.
A credit and / or debit card, to use when you have exhausted the £30. Sort of expensive / cheap, depending on your circumstances at any one moment of the day or night, the weather, the state of the nation and / or your bank balance and credit limits.
A real sense of humour and one of perspective, that things are not like they are at home. The shops shut, they eat at funny times, they don't all talk English, they don't care that Thursday is not a saints day holiday where you come from. Cheap , again.
From a very rough wracking of the memory banks of roughly 160,000 miles of touring - or more accurately jaunts into Europe - over 10 years (average of 10 bikes on a trip, that is 1,600,000 man road miles) I reckon I have seen:
5 crashes, none of which would have been repairable
3 bikes that fell over, no serious damage. One of the most useful uses of gaffer tape was to tape over the very sharp end of a snapped clutch lever.
No more than 10 punctures, I'd be surprised if it's that many even
One leaking valve
Two fuel pump controllers (one mine, before I had left home)
One erratic worn ignition barrel (mine)
3 rear tyres that were worn down to the canvass, but not punctured (one mine)
A stone jammed in a radiator fan, blowing the fuses
2 run out of fuel, completely
A couple of blown headlight bulbs / tail lights (one mine)
1 bent key (mine)
1 overheated bike (mine)
A broken throttle return cable
One complete set of keys and a glove that fell down a ravine. Yup, the spare keys were in a locked pannier, the only time a screwdriver has come in really useful...... to lever the lock apart.... and gaffer tape to hold it shut again.
Two burnt out regulators
A broken wing mirror
Luggage that came off / pannier that came open, whilst thrashing down great roads
Not all of those by any stretch of the imagination involved GS's.
The most useful things to take? Much less and a lot cheaper than you might think.
Breakdown / Travel insurance. The chances are you won't need either but both will get you out of real (and possibly very expensive) trouble a lot faster than any alternator belt. Trust me. This is cheap.
Mobile phone with its bloody Continental adaptor / charger. Or you won't be able to charge your phone whilst you sit in the Tavern des Sports, waiting for the pick-up truck. This is cheap.
A half decent proper map of where you are. This is very cheap.
A clean sheet of paper and something to write with. You will be writing stuff down, trust me. Very, very, very cheap.
A watch set to local time, not the time on the clock on your mum's cooker at home. Cheap, again.
About £30 in local currency, in cash. Sort of cheap or expensive depending on rate of exchange.
A credit and / or debit card, to use when you have exhausted the £30. Sort of expensive / cheap, depending on your circumstances at any one moment of the day or night, the weather, the state of the nation and / or your bank balance and credit limits.
A real sense of humour and one of perspective, that things are not like they are at home. The shops shut, they eat at funny times, they don't all talk English, they don't care that Thursday is not a saints day holiday where you come from. Cheap , again.
Loads of info on here if you do a few searches, here's my post http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?243029-Another-what-essential-parts-to-carry-question. I don't know if that list would suit you as i had the bike shipped out to me in S E Asia to continue my world tour. The only things I did use till I down sized the bike was a clutch slave cylinder and a couple of ignition coils. The big crash I had in the desert needed a few more things but that was due to unforeseen circumstances ;-)
And if you don't have any HIDs or LED lights fitted, get them sorted as they are a Godsend
Plus Motorworks phone number.
And if you don't have any HIDs or LED lights fitted, get them sorted as they are a Godsend
Plus Motorworks phone number.
The question the fellow is asking about is two weeks away in Europe; the standard sort of Brit's holiday in the summer. That sort of thing.
Tales of daring-do, requiring reservoir changes, links to a spares list that would shame an average BMW dealership (curses be upon them) and crashing in deserts are probably not relevant, unless he gets very lost.
Tales of daring-do, requiring reservoir changes, links to a spares list that would shame an average BMW dealership (curses be upon them) and crashing in deserts are probably not relevant, unless he gets very lost.
Not in any particular order and not what I advise to pack - more what I have accumulated from several trips and now always seems to be on the bike or on my person:
Credit Card + a bit of cash (never leave home without it anyway cash is good if you struggle to get fuel at a self service station...)
Breakdown cover (Europe wide)
Phone
(Tools or parts)
Spare bulbs
Small bottle of super glue (I have used glue twice now, 1. to glue a tab on the back of my sat nav to keep it water tight 2. to glue a split seam on my boots to make them do until i got home on a 2 week trip)
Puncture bungs (already have glue on them and look like a "cat turd" but saves fecking about with glue compound....- search the internet...)
Puncture kit bradall
Miniature Air compressor (I have a lead that plugs to the Optimate lead that is constantly fitted to my battery - note: always run bike when running compressor...) - I have used this 3 times in the last 4 years and never for myself always to help others sat at the side of the road....
Small tool kit comprising of:
Multi tool with pliers and a good knife (this gets used every day anyway for opening cans or cutting bread etc)
Small T bar with socket and interchangeable bits to fit: rear wheel bolts / front pinch bolts / body panels (these are mainly for tightening anything that comes loose rather than removal...)
Flat and Pozi drive screwdriver (interchangeable shank) from BMW tool kit.
Couple of cable ties - which I have never used but take up feck all room.
All of the above fits into an adventure warehouse locking tool kit that is bolted to the inner side of my offside pannier rack they're always on the bike and have toured most of Europe with me and seem to do the trick.
I look at it this way - I can buy oil from a garage (but I have carried oil in the past but now don't see the point) - I have stopped a few times to help other bikers that have had a problem (3 punctures and 1 electrical problem) each time we got them all going and on their way). I am sure if I carried less there would be someone along within and hour or so that did carry a tool or part I needed but in real terms I havent taken up any "luggage space" with the few items I have.
Rik
Credit Card + a bit of cash (never leave home without it anyway cash is good if you struggle to get fuel at a self service station...)
Breakdown cover (Europe wide)
Phone
(Tools or parts)
Spare bulbs
Small bottle of super glue (I have used glue twice now, 1. to glue a tab on the back of my sat nav to keep it water tight 2. to glue a split seam on my boots to make them do until i got home on a 2 week trip)
Puncture bungs (already have glue on them and look like a "cat turd" but saves fecking about with glue compound....- search the internet...)
Puncture kit bradall
Miniature Air compressor (I have a lead that plugs to the Optimate lead that is constantly fitted to my battery - note: always run bike when running compressor...) - I have used this 3 times in the last 4 years and never for myself always to help others sat at the side of the road....
Small tool kit comprising of:
Multi tool with pliers and a good knife (this gets used every day anyway for opening cans or cutting bread etc)
Small T bar with socket and interchangeable bits to fit: rear wheel bolts / front pinch bolts / body panels (these are mainly for tightening anything that comes loose rather than removal...)
Flat and Pozi drive screwdriver (interchangeable shank) from BMW tool kit.
Couple of cable ties - which I have never used but take up feck all room.
All of the above fits into an adventure warehouse locking tool kit that is bolted to the inner side of my offside pannier rack they're always on the bike and have toured most of Europe with me and seem to do the trick.
I look at it this way - I can buy oil from a garage (but I have carried oil in the past but now don't see the point) - I have stopped a few times to help other bikers that have had a problem (3 punctures and 1 electrical problem) each time we got them all going and on their way). I am sure if I carried less there would be someone along within and hour or so that did carry a tool or part I needed but in real terms I havent taken up any "luggage space" with the few items I have.
Rik
The only things I've taken before are
1: a bottle of oil, wouldn't bother again after it leaked in the bottom of my pannier, besides I've done a few 3.000 plus mile trips and not had to put any oil in at all. And believe it or not you can easily find some at a petrol station when you stop to fill up with fuel.
2: Bulbs, never had to use one, but if your low beam should go just swap the Bulb with the high beam then buy another at the first garage you come to.
3: a tool to undo the stupid oil filler cap on the cylinder head, ( see number one above, you may not need it)
4: BMW assist, got my bike back to England after interfacing with the rear of an Audi A3 near Millau in France,
Stop worrying and go and enjoy your trip,
1: a bottle of oil, wouldn't bother again after it leaked in the bottom of my pannier, besides I've done a few 3.000 plus mile trips and not had to put any oil in at all. And believe it or not you can easily find some at a petrol station when you stop to fill up with fuel.
2: Bulbs, never had to use one, but if your low beam should go just swap the Bulb with the high beam then buy another at the first garage you come to.
3: a tool to undo the stupid oil filler cap on the cylinder head, ( see number one above, you may not need it)
4: BMW assist, got my bike back to England after interfacing with the rear of an Audi A3 near Millau in France,
Stop worrying and go and enjoy your trip,
I take puncture repair kit, first aid kit, a few bulbs and breakdown and travel insurance.
Before I had breakdown cover my Thundercat sheared its front sprocket on a day trip to France. It cost me about £800 quid and I finally saw my bike again about 7 weeks later (don't break down on a Sunday on the first day of August in la belle france). Just trying to get a pickup truck to take your business is hard if you cannot quote a breakdown insurance reference number.
My rider policy includes free European breakdown cover so lesson learnt.
I will either get it towed back to the ferry (if near enough) or leave it with a local BMW dealer. On the positive side labour charges are generally much cheaper in French garages and they did a lovely rebuild on my Thundercat. Furthermore I had to have another little jaunt to France to pick it up again
Neil
Before I had breakdown cover my Thundercat sheared its front sprocket on a day trip to France. It cost me about £800 quid and I finally saw my bike again about 7 weeks later (don't break down on a Sunday on the first day of August in la belle france
). Just trying to get a pickup truck to take your business is hard if you cannot quote a breakdown insurance reference number.My rider policy includes free European breakdown cover so lesson learnt.
I will either get it towed back to the ferry (if near enough) or leave it with a local BMW dealer. On the positive side labour charges are generally much cheaper in French garages and they did a lovely rebuild on my Thundercat. Furthermore I had to have another little jaunt to France to pick it up again
Neil
Couple of cable ties, spare bulbs as its the law in some countries, bit of gaffa tape, basic bike tool kit and enjoy it.
S
t happens can't plan for everything.
S
t happens can't plan for everything.
Couple of cable ties, spare bulbs as its the law in some countries, bit of gaffa tape, basic bike tool kit and enjoy it.
S
Yup. I also carry a spare front brake lever, clutch lever and gear lever. Also the tools needed to change them. A low speed drop could brake* these, although I would like to think the handguards would protect the brake and clutch lever. Anything more complicated and it'll need a garage anyway.
I've never carried an FPC or FPC bypass lead, simply as I don't have one.
*See what I did there?
A pair of plastic comedy breasts are invaluable , in my humble opinion.
Bendy toy
Registered user
The Adventure has a huge tank but a fuel gauge that's fairly useless for the last 50 miles and a hyperactive trip range indicator. You'll never be able to safely use more the 90% of its capacity an even then it gets stressful - will I get to the next fuel stop. 
A 2 litre (or 4 litres for the paranoid) spare fuel carrier will take away all the worry. 1 litre will give 10 or 12 miles so hardly worth the bother. 2 litres is a more useful reserve and wont take up too much space. Why cant we have a reserve fuel tap? The 2 litre fuel friend http://www.fuelfriend.de/ is 25cm x 14cm x 9cm so should fit neatly behind the RHS pannier case.
A 90 degree angled tyre valve adaptor is great for avoiding broken valve stems while trying to use a garage tyre pump. Cost under £5 on eBay.
A 2 litre (or 4 litres for the paranoid) spare fuel carrier will take away all the worry. 1 litre will give 10 or 12 miles so hardly worth the bother. 2 litres is a more useful reserve and wont take up too much space. Why cant we have a reserve fuel tap? The 2 litre fuel friend http://www.fuelfriend.de/ is 25cm x 14cm x 9cm so should fit neatly behind the RHS pannier case.
A 90 degree angled tyre valve adaptor is great for avoiding broken valve stems while trying to use a garage tyre pump. Cost under £5 on eBay.
Great earmuffs, too. As proved in Blackadder.
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