Another BMW on the block

My riding companion last time Around The Block rode a BMW R1200GS Adventure. It performed faultlessly and was an excellent choice for the ride. Hell, nearly every second or third bike seemed to be a GS. The Adventurer had a 35ltr tank, so he only had to fuel up every other one of my stops! I carried a 10ltr fuel bladder and will do so again this time. And he had enough space in his panniers to accommodate the kitchen sink to boot.

I suggested to my son that he should look seriously to a BMW to do the ride on. Last weekend he narrowed his search down took ownership of a 2010 R1200GS. A very neat machine with a set of BMW Vario panniers. The capacity of each is R 30-39ltrs, L 20-29ltrs and top box 30-35ltrs. That's a total of between 80-103ltrs dependent on whether each pannier is expanded or not! This bike should romp the ride in with ease.

My Suzuki OEM saddlebags would be lucky to be 15ltrs each! While these were a good 5ltrs smaller than the K-Drives I had on my M50, I made them do on the back end of the last trip. I'll be running a bit lighter this time round. Off loading a few bits that I really didn't need or use.

The challenge for Tristan will not to be too sloppy with the kit he pack, given the huge amount of luggage space available.