Rodrigo
Lobo van W.

Because it has everything I look for in a travel motorcycle. I had been following the model for a long time before I set off across the Americas, and it is the bike I always had in mind.

It is powerful, it is genuinely capable off road with the right tyres, and it takes the weight. That last part matters more than people think: once the bike is loaded for months on the road, the extra kilos change how it behaves.

No. I live as a complete nomad, so I cannot justify a second bike. If I could, I would have a BMW Nine-T for riding around the city and the roads near home.

The first stage was 2015: crossing the American continent from California to Chile. Eight months, thirteen countries, thirty six thousand kilometres, on the F800 I bought there and still ride today.

Before that I did a test ride through California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona, through Yosemite, Sequoia, Death Valley and Zion. Then down through Tijuana and Baja California, the ferry to the mainland, and Central America. The motorcycle had to go from Panama to Colombia in a container, and from there it was the Pan American south to Santiago.

Tierra del Fuego came a couple of years later, a month and four and a half thousand kilometres. Then Europe in 2019: two months, twenty two countries, ten thousand kilometres, in two stages.

The Jack Russell always caught my attention for how clever and agile the breed is. Jacko was the right size and the right intelligence to learn to live as a traveller.

After two months he was already getting on the bike, and he took to it immediately. He enjoys every outing and he has learned the habits: how to climb on, how to get into his bag. He loves wild camping and running in the woods while I set up the tent. He is also a useful alarm if anyone goes near the motorcycle.

In a dog bag, in the same position a tank bag would go. It is one of the few places on a motorcycle that never touches the ground in a fall, so it is the safest spot for him, and he looks forward over the front.

Sometimes he rides on the back seat instead, secured with a harness. He likes it there when the weather is very hot.

I set a destination first and work out the route, counting the countries, the kilometres and the alternatives to the main road. I always have an idea of the route in my head, but it changes constantly once I am moving: local people give advice, new roads appear, destinations shift. That is the good thing about travelling by motorcycle. Everything is adaptable.

I always look for the alternative: the narrower road with less traffic, the one that crosses somewhere interesting, even if it takes longer. The idea is to enjoy the road itself.

A normal day is a hundred and fifty to three hundred kilometres. Not more. I like to stop constantly.

Plan the destination, mark a route, and then do not hold on to it. Once you are on the road everything can change. Someone recommends a place you should not miss, or it rains hard for two days and you stay put. Keep the schedule flexible and trust your instinct. That is the main advice.

Second, have the motorcycle gone over properly before you leave, especially if you are going somewhere the language is different and a workshop visit is not simple. Fit the protections, the luggage frames, a mount for the phone or GPS, waterproof bags. Carry the first aid kit, basic tools and spare tubes. They are never wasted.

Third, pack in advance. Load the panniers at home with everything in them. That is how you find out what is missing and what you do not need.