Afraid I am prepping some onld 125 pizza bikes for some desert racing so my bike budget is blown at the moment (along with my new roof and food budget!), plus I am taking the wise step of restricting my bikes to ones that fit down the gennel to the back of my house and into the shed - would need a crane to get the GS off the street and I am 'vehicle theft prone'.....

If it irks you that much why don't you go up to the rider of the fully Tourateched GS/RT and demand to see their "adventure motorcycling" C.V. ?
All the grey-haired old farts I know have been travelling the globe for decades on everything from BSA Bantams to the QM2. There'll be a few at the Scottish in a couple of weeks. Go up and ask.
Does the phrase "been there,done that" resonate?


What's wrong with Wales anyway? the place is fantastic now the hotels are staffed by Eastern Europeans that actually try to speak English.

And remember, jealousy gets you shot outside The Dakota.

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Interesting as this thread is, I'm not sure I'm any clearer as to what DIY-ing is?!

I'd agree there is a void and maybe backlash after E&C, but this is, at least partly, filled by loons in jumpsuits on a Ural, todays must have

Making your own panniers makes you a hard core DIY-er though? Why the panniers specifically? TT boxes but a screen made from marg tub lids and Tizer bottles doesn't count? Home made boxes on a shiny new GS does? I'd have to say the two bikes at the HUMM last year with dishwasher racks as panniers do score highly though!

I passed my test so I could buy an 1150 GS, but found at 5'6" it was too big, so didn't buy anything. Nugget huh? Slightly before any E&C the 1200 came out and I could just ride it, so I bought one. Having hunted around for something to wear year round, I also bought a matching red "twat" suit which has been ace for the last 7 years! The ventilation is better than anything else I've looked at without taking scissors to it (but that would increase my cred since the holes would be DIY?!) The only thing that would stop me buying another when this one falls apart is looking a twat! (Unfortunately the current colours don't match my bike, so I'll have to change that too, of course

I think the whole thing (AM) revolves on you actually going anywhere, wether a few days away from home or across continents. If you do neither (and really never intend to) then maybe you are a twat, regardless of engine size, plywood panniers or Beemer suit?

Until someone else can ride the bike for you its always DIY though, IMHO

Yours grumpily,

Jason

(currently away on 4 wheels, but fully customised all by myself with a signed by Lois (herself!) and Austin (himself!) (no really!) sticker )

Totally agree

Oiiii!?!

Woss-rong with Urals then?!


3 guesses what I've been out on today...

__________________
Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

I would class myself as a combination of the two overriding descriptions put forward so far. I don't have the skill (or patience?!) to build the whole thing myself, but when I go away I'm definately looking forward to NOT taking many mod cons with me (I'm primarily thinking about laptops / internet / always-on phone connection).

As good as the UK is (hope this doesn't start another rant!), I'm looking to have a simpler experience when I go away. I thought about a laptop, and have rejected the idea. I'm taking a phone for emergencies, but am telling my family that unless they hear from me I'll be fine - I'm going to leave it switched off for 99% of the time. I plan to have a mixture of accomodation, depending on whether I'm staying in one place for a few days (hotel) or just over night (tent).

Does this mean I'm a DIY-er? I don't know. Am I that concerned either way? Probably not! What I do want from the experience is to interact with the locals, to see the view from my bike (an 800GS!) and 'commune with the world', for want of a better phrase. My life here, the 'target-driven existence', will be well and truly left behind, my greatest joy being a full fuel gauge and the possibilities that will bring.

My life has been, by many global standards, quite sheltered; I want to experience the world in which I live. The DIY part, for me, comes not from having built the bike and accessories from scratch (although, if you can, good on you!) but from getting out there and doing it on your own; by that, I mean organising the thing yourself. I have gone on organised holidays, and they're brilliant. I personally, at this point in my life, want the enjoyment of Doing It Myself.

As with all things, c'est la vie and each to their own. I don't want anyone telling me how to do things, and would do the same.

Lots of interesting and valid perspectives on this thread, although I think it is bad news for Lois, because, well, as far as I can tell there is no "DIY movement"--everyone defines DIY in their own way, and properly so.

Lois,
You and Austin are the best at telling people to just get on with it. I hope that you both keep pushing this philosophy.

We all know how comforting it is to browse the Touratech catalog and see that all we need to cross the Darien Gap is the black anodised cluch lever cover with ipod connection that we don't have yet. It is nice to know that there is no point in going far from home without the latest kit and so we have a wonderful ready-made excuse for procrastinating. We realise that it is best not to set off too early until all the kit has been assembled and all the planning has been done.

so you and Austin are great antidotes to the "Touratech Tarts" by just saying just go and get there - it will be OK I promise.

So keep your message flying please, D.I.Y. is possible and much more fun.
Nigel

There seems to be some predujice creeping in here - those who make their own panniers claiming some extra 'cred' points and those who can't be bothered claiming that they are just as resourceful and independant as those who do (or more experienced maybe because they spend more time travelling and less time fettling).

I only looked at this thread in the first place because I wondered what DIY had got to do with AM or travelling. After reading Lois's introduction I got the idea that the term DIY was a way of distinguishing the independant traveller for the commercial tour traveller or maybe the E&C travelling circus.

I DIY in the true sense of the term to save money - not because I can't afford it but because I can't see the value in some commercial stuff (shiny metal boxes for example) but I also DIY so that everything is as I want it and I don't have to 'rough it'. If cooking up a simple meal or packing up and stowing the tent is hassle free and I'm doing everyday for 6 weeks on the trot, the easier it is the more time I have to enjoy riding the bike and seeing new places. I can get as animated about the benefits of a petrol stove over a gas stove as the next bloke but that is not why I'm travelling. I'm cooking my food to live and I'm travelling for the experiences and, for me, the experience would be dulled by travelling with a back up vehicle or on an organised tour - but that is just me and I don't cliam any more 'cred' for the way I do it.

If this is the distinction, do we really need some catchy and misleading label like "DIY"? It's "independent travel", nothing more or less, and really has absolutely nothing to do with whether you make your own panniers, etc.

Frankly, I still have no idea what "DIY adventure motorcycling" is supposed to mean.

Lois? Care to elaborate?
I'm starting to think I missed the point in my own post, too!

As someone said, you are getting a different definition with every post: not sure if that helps or hinders your research

__________________
Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

Oh, where to start

Andy

Love it.

Regards, Mick

Could not agree more

Do we have any economists amongst us? They tried to split the descriptions of how different parts of the world dole out their resources. There was the command/planned economy where the state said who got what and the free market economy where supply and demand decides. Finally there is the mixed economy where there is a little of both. Trouble is, the first two can't really exist. You'll never stop even the most ardent North Korean Stalinist swapping cigarettes and chocolate for nylons or whatever and a state can't really function if the courts and army go with the highest bidder.

I think we have the same here, the biggest TouraTart on his pre-booked adventure holiday and the guy riding an old Pizza delivery bike to see how far he can get will never agree on everything but they'll do a bit of home made/self planned and a bit of bought it. The discussion then is really about how far in either direction people want to go.

The very word adventure seems to be changing in peoples mind. By the dictionary definition you can have an adventure in the London Underground on a Friday night if you are an American tourist. The blokes who work in the city might laugh at this. The world is now so lacking in truely unexplored regions everyone is a tourist really. We therefore have the split between guys who consider being up a gravel track ten miles from home on their Adventure bike to be an adventure and others who'll split the concept of a ride out, tour and adventure somewhere else. The fact the US has lots of gravel road ten miles from a lot of peoples houses while borders with guards that need bribing could be ten times the distance away a European needs to travel I think is what's not helping the definitions.

Do we really need the definition though?

Andy