The Bike....

The motorcycle that I'll be using for this trip is a 2004 Suzuki DL650 V-Strom. This bike was purchased used from a Doctor down in Memphis Tenn. I bought it while on a cross country trip that I was taking with my youngest son Seth in 2004. After paying for the bike, I rode it to my friends house in southern Missouri and continued on to California via Rt66 with my son. Upon returning home, I then flew to Missouri and spent two weeks riding the V Strom back home. That was a great trip through Kentucky, Tennesse, W.Virginia, Virginia Maryland and due north. But that's another story....

The V Strom was chosen for many reasons. It's relativily inexpensive, gets great gas milage (60 mpg), is as reliable as tomorrow, easy to work on and being an "Adventure Bike", it can be used on highways and on unimproved dirt roads which we will encounter in Canada and Alaska.

The modifications I've made to the motorcycle are as follows:

I've added 42 Liter GIVI side painers with a Pelican Case top box. This luggage will carry all my camping gear, photo equipment, fishing gear and anything else I can cram into them. Tied on top of the rear seat will be an Ortlib 100% waterproog duffel bag with my sleeping bag, clothing and toiletries. A large tank bag will be used to store items I might need to be readily accessable.

Electronics that have been added are:

Audiovox Electronic Cruise Control

Sirius Radio receiver

Passport 8500 Radar Detector

Garmin 2720 GPS unit

Amplirider Headphone Amplifier

Signal Dynamics Headlight Modulator

MRA Vario wind screen

Gel Padded seat

Auxilary fuse box, power ports, lighter socket in the tank bag, and heated clothing outlet.

All of these modifications and more can be seen in the photo album

http://public.fotki.com/Rbertalotto/motorcycle/v-strom/