[QUOTE=brclarke;426852
I.. am giving it some serious consideration....[/QUOTE]

You and me both mate. Head varies between yes and maybe, heart says yes!

15 months to save up though. Thanks for you help gentlemen.

Andy

My wife has just declared she will be riding her own bike in Sth. America !!!!
Which is very good news for me as I can send my BMW home and take my New 2012 Royal Enfield C5 for the rest of our RTW.
Andy can you give me some tips on how I should change anything if anything ?
Someone told me I should have the wheels re-spoked & a new chain ?
I was just going to throw on some aluminium panniers a bit of a windscreen & a smile & be on my way ????

Cheers
Paul

__________________
....rather Die Living.....than Live Dying !
www.globetrekkers.net.au

Nice one, can't wait for the reports

My '05 iron barrel wheels would have been OK IMHO. I'd have put a new battery on and stocked up on clutch cables though.

OldBMW will tell us more I'm sure.

Andy

Check both sprockets. they seldom give trouble and are unlikely to need anything. buy two chains the same brand. not Indian made. Elite are good value as are others. (think HD chains will fit) Running them as a pair means in an emergency you can change a chain in less than five minutes with just a pair of pliers and a screwdriver. Generally I use one a s goingthere chain and regard the spare as a getting home chain. Often this does not get fitted as wont be needed. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN the chain, the later suspensions are gas and have a longer stroke so it is easy to set them too tight when on the centre stand. you want about an inch play with the bike loaded and on the suspension with you on it. You will need someone to help. Also do not trust the chain adjusters to be correctly marked. put the bike empty on the centre stand and spin the back wheel backwards. check the chain runs freely equidistant from both sides of the rear sprocket. carry a spare clutch/throttle cable sealed in a plastic bag.
DO NOT INCREASE the gearing ratio. it will slow you down anywhere except when going downhill with a following wind on a motorway.
Spare spokes can be fitted on an assembled wheel I have seen it done but never had the need myself. That bike was overloaded, overgeared and hotted up and struggled going up hills whilst mine trundled up them easily. It is worth carrying a spare rim tape to fit if you need to change a tube.
Note also tyre pressures are meant to be lower than is often common for tubeless tyres.

Service your bike and keep all of the tools needed together as your toolkit.

that should do it.

So I take it that only the chain could be problematic ? What about re-spoking the wheels ? Yes/No. Also Heidenau Tyres ? Can you run tubeless ?.
Also I don't really understand the bit about running 2 chains side by side.(I am not mechanical minded) Yes I will be taking the 2 cables !!!

Thanks
Paul

__________________
....rather Die Living.....than Live Dying !
www.globetrekkers.net.au

Heidenaus worked well on the Bonneville so if they'll fit do it.

Chains and sprockets wear together. A new chain on a 10000 mile sprocket can only "stretch"/wear pins until you have a set of paired up parts that'll look like it did 11000 miles. As there is more room for wear on the sprockets and a clip link chain is a ten minute job to get on and off (use the one on to pull the next one through), you can run chain number 1 from zero to 1000 miles, chain 2 1001-2000, chain 1 2001-3000 or whatever the numbers are. While you have the part worn chain off you can also boil it up in wax or give it a serious clean in paraffin to really get as much grit and rubbish off as you can. Two chains and one set of sprockets cycled through is cheaper and will probably outlast two full sets , you are just adding work as the trade off. Not so much work with a clip link, more hassle than it's worth with rivet links on more powerful stuff and hence a lost art.

Andy

Chains not really a problem, but on Enfields they are not x or o ring so wear faster than those. A new elite will run 3,000 miles without needing adjustment. I like to start with a new one on and a new spare. They take just 2-5 minutes to change if you do not need to adjust. I have never in my life needed to replace aspoke whilst on aride, but it can be done. just suggest you take a few as getting spares might not be easy and they cost little and weigh less.