The Suzuki DR650 has remained unchanged since 1996. A dinosaur in the adventure touring world, this single cylinder 'thumper' with carburetor, harks back to simpler times. With a dry weight of 147 kg (324 lb) and a budget price, it has become a legend among RTW adventurers.

My bike is a 2007 model I picked up 2nd hand with 3500km on the clock. Off the shelf the DR needs a few modifications to prepare it for long distance travel, and to help the torquey 644cc motor breath better and thus improve on it's rather tame 46 HP.

All up I've spent $8200 to both purchase my bike and prepare it for a trip around Western Australia. $3600 has gone into mods.

I will be going offroad to remote locations so needed to take camping gear, enough water and food and tools and spares to repair any possible problems like flat tires or broken chains.

As I work as a professional videographer, I will also need to be carrying enough production gear to do work for tourism business while on the road.

This video goes through what modifications I have done to my bike and what I will be carrying on my trip.

On my website overlander.tv, I have included a list of my gear, but for now will give a brief overview of each section - bike mods, gear selection and what filmmaking gear I will be taking.

Bike
I was lucky that my motorcycle already came semi prepared for outback travel. It had a rear rack added, bark busters, stronger renthal bars, a bash plate and performance rear suspension spring set to 100 kg's.

On top of this I have added a 30 Litre fuel tank, re-upholstered the seat and added softer foam, added a staintune performance exhaust, a screen, a usb charger, performance fork springs.

There are further performance mods I would have done if I wasnt taking such a long trip (at least 8,500 km) I would have removed the exhaust baffle and airbox snorkle to help the DR breath better and thus improve performance. I would also drill a extra hole in the carb slide for better throttle response. My Dr will be a beast of burden, so the extra HP sauce from these mods may have effected fuel economy, not something I need!

Cooking
With regard to my camping gear, I am not taking any cooking utensils. I really enjoy cooking and I just find cooking on the road a little disappointing. So I will adjust my diet, eating raw veggies like carrots, salads and nuts. I will sometimes eat takeaway and sometimes find a public bbq to cook a steak or seafood. Given the dietary changes, I'm sure I will loose a few unwanted kilos!

Camera Gear
I wanted one camera with a small footprint that could do both video and stills. I purchased a Panasonic Lumix G7 for this trip. It is not the ideal video camera given sound restrictions, but the micro four thirds format is definitely going to improve my trip photos! I'm also carrying way too many sound options - a zoom H5 audio recorder, a Rode Ntg1 shotgun mic, a Rode videomic pro and a rodelink wireless mic kit. I made a budget $8 shoulder mount so as to get smooth shots with the G7. As you can see it is not exactly the type of camera you can hand to your dad - autofocus was crap and audio blew out!

So here is the extended list, hope you find it handy if you are planning your own long distance motorcycle trip:

see www.overlander.tv for extended list

All footage copyright of overlander.tv and not to be used without prior permission

Business Enquiries Only : biz at overlander dot tv

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