7. Test Ride BMW F800GS

I recently I took a short test ride around Sydney on the BWM F 800 GS, the bike I will ride to New York.

Mostly I wanted to check out how comfortable it was and decide if I would choose the low or standard seat option (my inside leg is 31"). The bike was great to ride, light and easy to manoeuvre (thanks mum!). The engine (798cc parallel twin) was smooth and quick to pick up speed, quite different to my current bike, a BMW R850R which has a 'rougher' boxer engine (horizontally apposed flat twin). The first time I checked the speedo I was doing 100 in a 60 zone.

The standard seat height was no problem, comfortable to ride and able to get one foot down at a stop. Even though it is quite high at 780mm the narrow seat allows your legs to go straight down to the ground rather than out and down as would be the case with a wider saddle.

The lower seat option is 750mm, but the reduction is achieved entirely by removing some seat padding. Considering the trip ahead those 30mm are going to count for a lot!

6. It's all a far cry from riding a motorbike!..

During the trip from London to New York there will 8 countries that require a visa to enter.

So that means 8 visa application forms need to be completed (and 3 of those in duplicate). The translations on the forms can be quite a challenge. But after printing, filling out, signing and sticking on photos the admin is done, it's like being at work!

Here's the list with notes and links to forms & embassies for anyone who is interested:

Turkmenistan: 3 pages, 31 questions [print hard copy, fill out, sign & stick on photo] x 2 copies
The Republic of Uzbekistan: 2 pages, 16 question [print hard copy, fill out, sign & stick on photo] x 2 copies
The Russian Federation: 1 page, 21 questions [enter on-line, print, sign & stick on photo]
Mongolia: 2 pages, 49 questions [enter on-line, print, sign & stick on photo]
Kyrgyz Republic: 1 page, 12 questions [enter on-line, print, sign & stick on photo]
The Republic of Kazakhstan: 2 pages, 27 question [print hard copy, fill out, sign & stick on photo]
Islamic Republic of Iran: 2 pages, 35 questions [print hard copy, fill out, sign & stick on photo] x 2 copies
USA: not required - visa waiver available online (so I lied, it was only 7 visas)

Finally got them done, what a day. It's all a far cry from riding a motorbike!