Author Archives: Gary

About Gary

Over the past four decades I have travelled more than 400,000 miles by motorcycle, while my 2002 BMW R1150GS Adventure has covered more than 260,000 miles of its own. In 2011 I was honoured to be selected by the Ted Simon Foundation as one of the inaugural Jupiter's Travellers, an experience that encouraged me to look beyond the motorcycle itself and focus on the people, places and experiences that make travel so rewarding. Tyclyd is where I share the photographs, stories and memories gathered from a lifetime on two wheels.

So what is in my Africa Twin toolkit?

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I have had lots of requests to make up toolkits for riders and my advice is almost always the same, you only need to worry and carry the tools you both know how to use and will fix the bits on your bike you know how to fix… That said, as promised, apart from spare tubes here is what I carry in my CRF1000L toolkit…

  • 8mm, 10mm, 11mm, 12mm and a 15mm open end and ratchet spanner (all these will do the chain adjusters, and all the remaining odd nuts and bolts on the CRF).
  • Three MotionPro tyre levers (08-0284 12-13mm), (08-0288 27mm), (08-0286 22mm).
  • Two MotionPro Rim Shield II plastic covers.
  • 27mm and 22mm socket and drive (you will not break the rear axle torque with the MotionPro levers so either under torque your axle or carry these).
  • 8mm, 10mm and 12mm long reach socket and small driver.
  • HW5 Hex.
  • 17mm Axle key.
  • Flat and cross head screwdriver.
  • Tube patches, glue and rubber gloves.
  • Cable ties.
  • Spare brake lever (53170-MEJ-016) – the only thing that has stopped me dead on the CRF is a broken front brake lever.
  • All in a Kriega tool roll and wrapped in a Karrimore waterproof kit bag.

Africa Twin Toolkit

Reflections on solo travel

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One of the luxuries of solo travel is not worrying about knowing where you are, I might never be truly lost, I always have the choice of a left or right turn and sometimes stopping and looking back is all that is required to get exceptional clarity on life – being dwarfed by nature often puts things into perspective.Reflections on solo travel