Index

The Dakar version is so named for the Paris to Dakar Race in which a modified type of the bike has won several times.  The difference between the Dakar and base model is that it has a larger front wheel and stronger suspension has been added to the bike. 

This both makes the bike taller as well as more capable and durable with it's off-road handling.

Considerable effort has been put into modification of the bikes to prepare them for the journey that lies for each of us.  (aside from just paying the all too expensive things off)

Detail of what has been added is as follows.

The key criteria we were looking for was the obvious:  Durability and capacity and cost (never forget that word - it is the motorcycle tourists greatest foe)

There a many different types out on the market which will work with out bikes the main ones being:  Jesse Luggage; Touratech; Happy Trails . . . . . which gave us plenty of range to chose from.  There are a number of smaller one stop shops which will also make luggage to your own specifications

We also looked at a number of other options in the quest to save money (these bags can be expensive) - one of note being buying military ammo boxes from the local surplus dealer and modifying them for the bikes.   Ammo boxes are relatively cheap going for around $40 for a good size box as well as being strong and waterproof (resistant).

The difficulty lies in attaching the boxes to the bike.  A welder of certain repute must build the means to do this and also preferably with the ability to detach the bags at will.  Taking these complexities into account and also the fact that having boxes on our bikes that were marked as belonging to the U.S military helped convince us that this was maybe not the best of ideas.

Bags finally chosen were Jesse Luggage for Henning and Shaun and Matt chose Happy Trails.

Typical features to look for apart from the above mentioned is the ability to attach objects to the outside of the bags.  Jesse Bags optionally come with racks for the top of the bikes as well as latches for strapping items to the bottom.  This greatly increases storage capacity other than what just fits in the bags.