4.5 years on the road (117,000 km) — the gear that survived on our F800GS
Posted by takemeeverywhere@reddit | overlanding | View on Reddit | 12 comments
We’ve been traveling full-time on our 2014 BMW F800GS since August 1st, 2021.
So far: \~117,000 km across 45 countries (not only by motorcycle, but mostly).
Over the years, we tested a LOT of gear… and honestly, most of it didn’t last.
Our bike (Falkor) slowly turned into a mix of solid gear, random fixes, souvenirs, and a few questionable aesthetic decisions 😄
Here’s what actually survived the journey 👇
Fuel range
– Camel Tank (7.1L): additional tank connected to our main tank, gives us close to 480 km (300 miles) range. Huge help in remote areas like Central Asia.
Luggage
– Heavy Duties panniers (2x 48L): massive capacity, super solid, great value.
We actually met the family behind the brand in Romania and stayed at their place.
– Zulupack waterproof bags: 60L rear + 2x \~20L side bags. Never had issues with water.
– Cheap straps (AliExpress): nothing fancy, just solid straps for under $10 that never failed.
Foot pegs
– Pivot Pegz: amazing off-road. They move with your feet and have great grip.
Tires
– Heidenau K60 Scout: riding 2-up, fully loaded, with a fair amount of off-road…
→ 0 punctures in \~90,000 km. Still don’t fully understand how 😅
→ Very long lifespan (\~15,000 km per set for us)
Navigation & cockpit
– Carpuride W702 Pro + TPMS: probably one of our favorite upgrades.
7” screen, super easy to install, works with gloves, great visibility in sunlight, waterproof and heat resistant.
We’ve tried GPS units and phones on mounts before — this is by far our favorite setup.
The TPMS gives real-time tire pressure, temperature, battery info, even lean angle — way more useful than we expected.
Comfort & long distance
– Tall Touratech windscreen + cheap extension: absolute lifesaver on long days
– Touratech comfort seat 👍 Comfortable for sure, but the bike is a bit higher 😅
– Kaoko throttle lock: simple low tech gadget but perfect to rest your wrist on long straight roads
Maintenance & protection
– Scott Oiler to take care of our chain while riding
– Touratech headlight protection (plexiglass): pretty sure it saved our headlight multiple times
– QBag crash bar bags: 2x 32L waterproof bags for tools, tarp, maintenance stuff… basically everything we don’t mind smashing in a fall
Extras we love
– Cheap auxiliary lights (AliExpress): surprisingly powerful and reliable
– Insta360 mounts everywhere: handlebar, crash bars, random spots… makes filming super easy
And then… there’s Falkor himself 😄
Over time, the bike became something else:
souvenirs, small gifts from people we met, random lucky charms…
and a full white “fur” wrap with blue/pink highlights as a tribute to Falkor, the luck dragon 🐲
Not the most practical mod, but definitely the most important one 😜
Happy to answer any questions about the setup 👍
[That's Falkor, our BMW f800GS from 2014]()
[Overall front view of the bike and accessories]()
[Overall back view of the bike and accessories (camel tank, panniers, tire, etc.)]()
[Carpuride screen, Quadlock mount (we don't use it anymore because it damage our smartphone...), Insta360 mounts]()
[Rear view with our duffle bag and panniers]()
[The Kaoko throttle lock (low tech speed regulator)]()
[Scott Oiler]()
[All the accessories, view from the back]()
[Somewhere in the Pamir mountain, Tajikistan]()
blackcatwizard@reddit
Man, I've done 2000km+ road trips on my street fighter and can only imagine the bliss if having a windscreen like yours. Trip looks awesome.
takemeeverywhere@reddit (OP)
Niiiiice 🥳 From where to where 👀🗺️ ? Yes, the big windscreen is really great, and since China, I'm a big fan of the additionnel "universal windscreen" I added 🙏 Life changing ! Even more when you ride with an ADV helmet that take a lot of wind and can tense your neck. Have a nice day
non_hero@reddit
Question about the quad lock since I'm thinking about running it myself. Did you have the quad lock vibration dampener installed?
takemeeverywhere@reddit (OP)
Yes, I have the vibration dampener and it's really important to have one. Few years ago, I did a trip in India with a Royal Enfield and no dampener and the screen of my Iphone X was cracked after only 3 weeks ride. Our Quadlock system was really great but we are currently in countries were it's so hot and humid that we had to find a better solution to protect our phone. As I said in my post, my phone is now maximum 70% battery and this is because it was always on charge with crazy heat (at least one of the reason). So yeah, Carpuride screen for us is the our ultimate setup and last upgrade during this trip. Have a nice day ✌️
DominusFL@reddit
I came here for the list of what didn't work. What can you share?
takemeeverywhere@reddit (OP)
The “comfort pad” that you can see on picture 2 and 3. It’s not that great, not very comfortable and make the seat even higher 🫣
It’s our third and favorite navigation system. First we had a TomTom GPS “World edition”, but unfortunately for this brand, “world” is only Europe + US + Canada so as soon as we were in Asia it was not useful anymore. Then we had a phone mounting system (Quadlock), the product was nice but my phone was always overheating and I had many problem because of the rain. No my phone battery is only 70% thanks to those years on the heat and cold. Now with the Carpuride system we are perfect, phone is protected and it’s super cool to use 👍
Scott oiler is great product BUT right now the oil seems stuck in the tube… So not the best.
Otherwise when we started we had a bigger duffle bag on the back. Something like 80 liters ! But we are really happier with a smaller 60 liters bag.
I will sleep now but if I think of something else I update my answer. Thanks for your message and wish you all the best from Thailand ✌️
Aethermancer@reddit
Yyyyeeeeeaaaaahhhhh!
takemeeverywhere@reddit (OP)
Faaaaaaaaalkor 🐲🐲🐲 Next step, make him fly 😜
Valorantify@reddit
takemeeverywhere@reddit (OP)
Thanks for the message and the tips 🙏 I'm really really amazed by this. Before leaving, I was checking a lot of videos from YouTubers/Travelers and always saw them having punctures, I feel so SO lucky so far 😅
IronChefScottish@reddit
Awesome post. Super helpful. Where did you get the windscreen extension? That would be an enormous upgrade for me.
takemeeverywhere@reddit (OP)
Many thanks 🙏 I order it when I was in China, so I took it on Taobao, but you can find exactly the same on AliExpress or any website like that (Temu, Wish, etc.). I pay 8$ for it in China ;) And I really love it 🤩