Adventure Motorcycle Gear

As the saying goes "Gear up for the slide, not the ride".

This it the adventure motorcycle gear I used to circumnavigate Africa . I am of the mind safety is paramount when riding. I have had many accidents and come off the motorbike numerous times, on and off road. Good gear is important. I can guarantee you when the substantial amount of damage to your body is done because of an accident, you will pay anything to get well again.

This is just an overview, I have in-depth reviews on all the gear linked out from this post and will update for each new trip!

Here is the video, and checkout the end of this post for the complete gear list.

Adventure Motorcycle Helmets

Comfort and quality are the two main factors in choosing a helmet. I wear the Schuberth C2 flip top helmet, with tape on the visor to act as a sun blocker. The flip top helmet makes it easy to talk to people and cool down in hot climates, it's less claustrophobic. Its also known to be one of the safest helmets on the market.​

I wrote up on the quietest motorcycle helmet with my two picks for the quietest adventure motorcycle helmet. Check it out.

Crossing into Congo West Africa

Adventure Motorcycle Armor

Africa is HOT, really HOT. I went for body armor then layered with a riding jacket and for off-road or hot climates, a dirt bike jersey. When riding with a motocross jersey, make sure you have an H2O reservoir to keep hydrated.

Adventure Motorcycle Jackets and Pants

I used the Klim Traverse gear, lightweight gear with a high amount of protection, it has adequate venting for medium temperatures and after almost 100'000km riding it still looks and works like new. Both have a Gore-tex membrane so no need for a waterproof over suit.

Adventure Motorcycle Boots

Riding off-road a lot, a good pair of boots are critical. When you are tired, the boots are full of mud making them heavy it's easy to drag a leg and get court up in the pannier system causing a break. I used the Sidi Adventure boots and super happy with them. I wrote about the best adventure riding boots on this site and go over the pros and cons of the best adventure riding boots available on the market.  

Adventure Motorcycle Gloves

Use full-length high-quality gloves. And be prepared to replace them often. Most gloves don't last long and need to be replaced or repaired yearly.

Camping in a wildlife reserve in Botswana Africa. 

Adventure Motorcycle Camping Gear

When choosing a tent, always add a person to store your gear. i.e. If you are traveling alone, take a two-person tent. It's better to keep all your gear inside the tent, often packing up in the morning after a night in a West African Jungle, I was happy all the weird creepy crawlies were not in my gear.

Get a tent where you can remove the outer rain layer, leaving only the mosquito net part to sleep under. Temperatures can get very hot and just having the mosquito net system will let a lot more airflow through.

Take a silk liner for your sleeping mattress. Most air mattresses are made of plastic, in hot conditions you will sweat a lot and having this silk layer will make it bearable.

Checkout the Lone Rider ADV Tent. I designed it 😉 

Cooking systems

It is advised to use a multi-burner for cooking. You can always get petrol all over the world, no matter how remote. Another option is to siphon some from your motorbike tank. A full bottle of cooking petrol also acts as a backup if you run out of petrol on the road. A bit messy and fiddly, but a must. Gas bottles are hard to come by outside of USA and Europe.

After 3 days off-roading in Angola, I found water to filter.  

Water

Take a gravity fed system over a pump system. There are a few reasons why a gravity fed system is better. First, you can filter a lot more water in a shorter amount of time, often I would filter 3L (The side of my water reservoir) within 5 minutes.

Another reason why gravity fed systems are better than pump systems is hygiene. Often you must take water from a tap, with a pump system you must first sterilize the basin then plug the hole to pump, a pain in the ass and disgusting. With a gravity fed system, you only need to hold the bag to the tap and full. Another bonus is working parts, a pump system has many parts that can break and needs replacing, with a gravity fed system, there is nothing to replace and it's easy to maintain.
Those are my main tips! Reach out if you have any questions about the gear.

Here is a gear list:

Camping Gear

Riding Gear

Klim Traverse Jacket

Klim Traverse Pants (They don't stock gray)

Sidi Adventure 2 Boots

Schuberth C3 Helmet

BMW Rally Gloves

Dainese Body Armor


That's my tried and tested adventure motorcycle gear, hope it helps you and let me know if you would like any more info on these products, I lived in them for a year and a half. 

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