Some Bike Stats

Daryll writes:

We are now safely in Buenos Aires, and our timing couldn’t have been better with us arriving at our Hostel around 1pm on Sunday afternoon.  I’ve been looking forward to a bed in days and couldn’t wait to put my head on an actual pillow – it’s the little things that make the difference.

Some bike stats. for all those bike geeks after arriving in Buenos Aires and 30,030km after leaving Vancouver:-

Angela’s Bike:
Tires
The bike had a set of Avon Gripsters that had about 2000km on them before we left.
The rear was changed to a Pirelli MT60 after 16,520 km.
The front was changed to a Michelin Sirac after 23,988 km.  This is what the store had in a 90/90 21” size.
The second rear was changed to another Pirelli MT60 after 11,817 km.  We could have pushed it for another 1500km, but had some time in Ushuaia, so had it changed.

Daryll’s Bike:
Tires
Also started with a set of Avon Gripsters.
The rear was changed to a Michelin Sirac after 22,148 km.
The front has just over 31,000 km and needs to be replaced.  I’ve been nursing it to Buenos Aires and plan on changing it out in South Africa.

Comments:
As you can see, we got some amazing mileage out of the Avon Gripsters and will definitely use them again as a multi-purpose tire.  They do well in the dirt and stick in the wet. 

Oil
Both bikes have had 4 oil changes each and I’ve tried to stick to the 6000 km schedule.  They are now due for an oil change, but plan on doing that in South Africa.  I have used 15w40, 10w40 and even 20w50 as it’s all I could find for the oil changes.  The air filter was cleaned at every oil change, but I alternated changing the oil filter at every other oil change.  So only went through 2 oil filters per bike.

Chain & Sprockets
Angela’s bike started with a new set of sprockets and chain, so has just over 31,000 km and I plan on replacing these in South Africa as well.
My bike still has the original chain and sprockets on, so has about 38,000 km and is in desperate need for a change.  I have a set to change them out, but hoped that this can also be done in South Africa. 
I’ve lubed the chains every other day with Teflon wax that we carried and once that was done, started using engine oil.  It tends to make a mess, but our chains stay lubed.

Comments:
I’ve kept up with regular maintenance of the bikes, but I do have to take them in to a shop in South Africa to have the valves checked and adjusted.  Still haven’t learnt how to do that, but hope that once they are checked and adjusted in South Africa, I needn’t worry about them for a while.  I will also change out the fuel filters and replace the air filter to a new one.  If we had to repeat this leg of the trip, the DR650 is definitely the bike I will choose for these conditions.  The bike performed well for us and was flawless.  I may consider switching to soft luggage to save on the weight vs.. hard luggage; however this is just personal preference.