The last few days i have done a few mods on my CB500x, As my wife and i are going 2up RTW starting in Jan 2016 I decided that i needed some tool boxes and some way of carrying spare tires. I mounted 100mm aluminum tube on the crash bars and the tire slip over the top and strap in place. Pics below show what i have done, any thoughts!

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Looks like it's working! Once you're out traveling a while, you'll find out if it's OK or not.

Have you weighed ALL your luggage (empty boxes), racks, crash bars and Tool tubes (with tools) ??

I think you may be SHOCKED at the number. Don't know where you're going or how remote you plan to get ... but most times one spare tire will get you quite far. Fronts typically last double the distance of a rear tire, so it's the rear tire you may want to carry.

Those Tool Tubes are HUGE. Unless you plan to do a full rebuild on the side of the road, you may not need quite so many tools ... or tools that are 3 ft. long.

You don't need tire irons since you're tubeless. Just a good plug kit and the skill to use it correctly. You may find that a tire can fit round your pannier or up top on the box.

If weight isn't an issue and no off road planned, then your set up is fine. Depending on where you're going however, deep sand, rocks, mud can be an issue on a heavy bike. (read: overloaded)

When I switched from my Hard GIVI bags to soft panniers, I lost 35 lbs. off the bike. A lot on a 360 lbs. bike. And now the bike is actually ridable off road. (safely)

But two up riding is always a challenge. If you love camping then OK, things will be crowded and heavy. I'd go Hotels and carry less junk and stay closer to Cities that sell tires!

mollydog,

We don't intend to go off road as such, however we will encounter some dirt roads at times.
Yes just like every motorcycle adventure going around the world weight is a never ending problem. Unfortunately we have to go 2up as my wife does not ride. Additionally our pockets are not deep enough to hotel everywhere. I intend to do a couple of short trips in the next month or so to see how it goes.
I deliberately, rightly or wrongly mounted the tool tubes and tires forward to try and spread the weight.
I did consider soft panniers but decided against them because you can't lock them, and theft will be a problem in many parts of the world if made too easy for opportunists! However I have chosen only small panniers 32lt because i figured what ever one takes you will just fill them.

Those tyres will be just dead weight most of the time. A set of tyres will last the length of Africa no problem, just buy as you go along. At the risk of crossing from another thread, Mitas E-07s will last and give decent grip in most situations.

I went with hybrid soft luggage (Mosko Moto) to save weight and for crash survival- they are loads lighter than metal boxes. Don't think that metal boxes are that secure either, they are pretty flimsy mostly and anyone with a screwdriver could get in so always have the stuff you really can't lose on your person when you are away from the bike at borders or wherever.

If you're going to add weight you may consider reinforcing your rear subframe- and what is in those big old tubes???

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The tubes will hold spares, tools and a few other knick knacks.

I guess one can break into anything, however I have changed the locking on the panniers and I doubt one would get into them without spending considerable time with just a screw driver.

One of the reasons i mounted the tube tool boxes forward is to reduce rear weight to avoided having to reinforce the rear frame.

Good move. Everyone evolves their rig to suit their needs on the road, but shedding weight is top of most people's list I reckon. Good luck with the trip!

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I think your bike, and certainly your tires are going to be severely overloaded. I am sure you could, through research here and elsewhere, determine what stuff you don't need. If your bike repair needs more than a few spanners and a set of hex keys, your not fixing it on the side of the road.

Tires. If I were you, I would get a rear tire of the size 160/70-17 designed for much heavier bikes. Your 160/60-17 tire has a load rating of 325kg (716lb). while the 160/70 has either a 365kg (805lb) or in the case of the Metzler 880 a
rating of 437kg (963lb). Since these tires are made for heavier bikes, the won't overheat and will wear much slower. You could probably make it around the world on one rear tire and save the headache of shlepping spares around.

The Metzler 880 is a cruiser tyre, I want something that will be a little more stable on dirt roads!
A 160 70 i suspect would have clearance problems!

Carrying spare tyres is a pain. I changed tyres in Tukey but the front was (and still is) not worn out so I've been carrying the replacement front since then. The Heidenau wet K73 front just refuses to wear and I have seriously considered just dumping the new MT60

I have shed quite a lot of "stuff" that I thought I needed along the way and there is more that I will "lose" as I go along. Carry too much things that you think you need is ok for a while, but gets harder as you travel.

Take everything you have got - take a good long look at it and don't take half the things you think you need.

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http://chasingdreams2014.blogspot.co.uk/

I carried a spare tyre all the way from the UK to Malaysia then fitted it because I was fed up with carrying it and have never carried one since, they are also available a lot more places now. Your bike does look overloaded especially with carrying a passenger, I would leave the tyres at home, remember more weight puts more load and increase wear on suspension as well as making it more difficult to handle.

The Metzeler 880 is a truly incredible tire. I'd look into that to see if it fits, I'm betting it WOULD FIT!

It will be no less stable than any other road tire off road. It's tough as hell and last nearly forever. A great solution for riding long distance on a heavy loaded bike! ... and could mean you need not carry a spare tire!

As mentioned, you'll learn what you can live without once on the road a while. You'll also learn to pre-schedule maintenance stops long ahead of your route, so that critical items like tires, chain, sprockets can be replaced as needed and at YOUR convenience rather than at an inconvenient time somewhere far from a source of parts.

Me&my wife carried tires like that on a DL650 on our way from Europe to Australia 7 years ago. We would do it again, but only for certain areas, it's no use to carry them in areas, where you can get tires easily. Availability will depend on sizes as well.

But even if you did not carry tires, when you travel two-up, trying to find solutions to place some of the weight of your luggage on L/R sides (and top) of the fuel tank is a good idea, as opposed to carrying all weight on the rear. Our DL650 became much more rideable that way.

You should seriously consider the ME880 for what you are planning. I have used the ME880 on lots of dirt travel. Noteable: Dalton Highway in Alaska to Deadhorse and back. A 500 mile all gravel ride in the middle west. Creel Mexico to Botopilas in Copper Canyon before the road was blacktoped. Plus, many other gravel rides of shorter duration. I ride a R1150RT with this tire. It won't serve you well in soft mud, but you are two up so you are heavy as it is, and any tire will be difficult in mud on a heavy moto. No matter what the tire, heavy motorcycles are difficult in soft road conditions. That said, I have been on soft roads with this tire numerous times on my RT and kept vertical and continued on. As a travel tire, this tire gives you lots of miles.

My wife and I rode that same bike around Thailand this year 2up & it was a great bike !!! I would change the seat tho Lacks a little power going up some steepish hills, but hey you are not doing that every day. I think it is a great bike for a RTW trip 2 up. You want to enjoy the trip with your wife so you don't go fast anyway !!!! & yes I use hard panniers & no one set of tyres will not get you the length of Africa 2up, but if it was me I would not take a spare tyre either as you can buy some sort of tyres almost anywhere, (I bought a tyre for my F800gs in Zambia & my wife needed a tyre in Malawi for her bike that we found), just enjoy the trip !!!

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Done a good job buddy! It is always better to be excessively equipped than suffer from a flat tire in the middle of nowhere!