‘Time to think less is more’

By the time we’d made our way to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska’s northernmost navigable road, I’d outgrown the F650 GS. During our time together she incurred regular wear and tear issues, although her Rotax engine never missed a beat. But I’d come to realise that my workhorse’s on-road capabilities outshone her off-road ones. Heavy for her class at 240kg fully laden, my wish to ride more dirt dictated the need to embrace “less is more”. It was therefore time for a change and the weapon of choice was a 2001 Suzuki DR650 I imported from Canada. It glides effortlessly over gravel, permits me to shift my weight around and has transformed my dirt riding. At 45kg lighter, DR650s are a best-kept secret among moto-travellers. We’ve upgraded the lights and suspension on the DR, attached a bigger tank, added new plastics, re-jetted the carburettor, opened up the airbox, fitted a lighter exhaust and a digital display. And to make it mine, we fitted a new screen, handguards and a lowered custom seat. Luggage wise I use a Giant Loop 68-litre horseshoe saddlebag and reduce what I carry to ensure I reap the rewards of the reduced weight of the bike. I also invested in suspension lowering links to pare the bike down to my 5ft 5in height, which funnily enough, still gives me more ground clearance than Jason has on his 2008 F800GS. Jason started out on a BMW R1200 GSA but swapped it for the lighter and more nimble F800. His two complaints with the 800 were an iron-hard seat and a useless screen. He now uses an Airhawk seat cushion, which gives him twice the distance before his backside goes to sleep. A new Touratech fairing wasn’t cheap, but it does a solid job of protecting him. Having tried multiple systems, his panniers of choice are the 35-litre Adventure Spec MK2 Magadans.