BMW MOTORCYCLE EQUIPMENT. - BMW Motorrad Polska

FOR AS LONG AS THERE HAVE BEEN
MOTORCYCLES, THERE HAVE BEEN AD-
VENTURE RIDERS, USING THEIR MACHINES
TO SEE THE WORLD AND EXPERIENCE
LIFE-CHANGING JOURNEYS TO FAR-FLUNG
CORNERS OF OUR PLANET. MANY OF
THESE “GLOBERIDERS” SHARE A LOVE
OF BMW GS MOTORCYCLES, WHICH THEY
RELY ON TO TRANSPORT THEM SAFELY
ACROSS SOME OF THE MOST INHOSPIT-
ABLE TERRAIN FOUND ON EARTH.
HAVE MOTORCYCLE,
WILL RIDE AND RIDE ...
Riding solo around the world is hard enough, but
imagine the challenge of taking 30 riders on an epic
40,000-mile, 248-day motorcycle adventure through
27 countries and across six continents? That’s just
what GS fanatic Kevin Sanders did on his recent
record-breaking, eight-month ride around the globe.
Knowing that there were plenty of riders who wanted
to explore the world on their GS, but didn’t feel confident
enough to venture out alone, Kevin decided
that there was sufficient demand for an organized
and guided journey-of-a-lifetime. The “Discover
Our Earth” trip took 18 months to plan and was put
together by Kevin and the team at Globe Busters
Motorcycle Expeditions, in association with Edelweiss
Motorcycle Travel.
It attracted riders from all over the world on a range
of BMW motorcycles, including the R 1200 GS
Adventure, F 800 GS and F 650 GS. Starting and
finishing in the Austrian Alps, “Discover Our Earth”
lasted around eight months and saw a combined
total of 1,000,000 miles completed by 30 riders.
Each motorcycle used around five full sets of tyres
and around 4,000 litres of fuel during this amazing
journey through 27 countries, ranging in altitude
from 27 metres below sea level up to 4,800 metres
above. On returning safely, expedition Leader Kevin,
who is the founder of BMW Travel Partner Globe
Busters, said: “Our epic journey was a truly incredible
motorcycling experience. Along the way we
watched the Dakar Rally start in Buenos Aires and
the sun set over Uluru. We trekked up to Machu
Picchu and climbed the Great Wall of China. We
crossed the Andes, the Sahara, the Russian Steppe,
the Urals, the Carpathians, the Alps, the Equator,
the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, the Golden
Triangle, and the Panama Canal. We also rode two
legendary routes – the Silk Road and the Pan
American Highway.”
Like the majority of riders on “Discover Our Earth”,
Kevin relied on a BMW R 1200 GS Adventure and
has in fact used GS bikes throughout his many years
of travelling. During this incredible journey, Kevin
says the bikes performed amazingly, never letting
their riders down and even managing to convert the
few motorcyclists who were riding other brands.
“Over the course of the 40,000 miles, we experienced
all conditions from -7°C to more than 44°C.
We rode everywhere from deserts to mountains.
We had rain, heat, humidity, cold, dust, mud and
river crossings, but the bikes stood up to every challenge
we threw at them. We had a mix of R 1200 GS
machines and R 1200 GS Adventures, as well as
R 1150 GS, F 800 GS and F 650 GS bikes.
The majority of models were the R 1200 GS
Adventures – these always come out top in terms
of problems or any fixes needed en route. You just
put fuel in, turn the key and away you go. Every bike
made it home in one piece!
“We normally have a couple of non-BMW riders on
our trips and once they experience first-hand how little
maintenance the BMWs need compared to other
bikes, I think they do return home thinking about
changing brands.”
Kevin cites this latest journey as his hardest challenge
to date, which might sound strange coming
from someone who holds a Guinness World Record
for riding around the world on a BMW R 1150 GS in
19 days.
“This was a totally different challenge. On that
World Record it was just me and the road, so it was
quite a selfish exercise. “Discover our Earth” was
a marathon with a huge team of individual riders
to manage. That made it very tricky – but very, very
rewarding, too.”
With the ambitious trip making headlines wherever
the riders went, Kevin has already received sufficient
interest to start planning the next “Discover our
Earth” journey, which will take place in 2013.
For more details on how to join the expedition or
to find out more about a wide range of tours, visit
www.globebusters.com
90 91