It’s that time of the year again, when we get to dream big with empty wallets. In an ideal world, one where either Santa exists or bank accounts are bottomless, what would you get to prepare for next year’s riding season? Here’s what I’ve been hankering for.

Let me say at outset that there are already a few goodies either arrived or en route for my BMW f650GS. I busted my rad in a stupid tip-over in sand so figure I should have listened to my intuition and bought those upper crash bars earlier in the season. I’ve looked at them all and, given that I’ve already got lower engine protection with my BMW engine guard (the cage), the only ones that would fit are by Touratech or by Holan. TT have only one anchor point at the front, so the bar is kind of floating and kind of useless. Fortunately, Holan make one that anchor front and back, and their customer service is excellent. After a lot of back and forth, I managed to negotiate a slow, cheaper shipping option from Poland, where they are made. 

It’s those upper two bars that are currently somewhere over the Atlantic. They fix onto the centre spine and at the back on the frame by the preload adjuster. They will protect the fragile radiator and the faring without getting in the way of my leg position.

The other thing I got is an inline fuel filter. My bike’s filter is supposed to be changed every 40,000 kilometres, but since the filter and the fuel regulator are one unit, it costs over $200 to change. So I’m adding a Golan (no connection to Holan) Inline Peak Fuel Filter ahead of the OEM filter, which should mean I never have to change the expensive unit.

Mine is the mini on the far right.  It’s not available in Canada so I had to order from Revzilla, and whenever I do that, I add a little something else to make the shipping worthwhile. In this case, it was a pair of Baja Designs turn signals. 

Seems whenever I drop the bike, those front flashers get the worst of it, and I’ve already glued them back together a few times, but they still look a little worse for wear. The Baja signals have a flexible stalk, which makes a lot of sense. And being designed for the Baja Rally, they are built tough. They look the same as OEM, but should stand up better when I and the bike do not.

I’m also building a more comprehensive travel took kit based on a great thread at ADVRider.com. I won’t bore you will every item, but just say I’m gathering sufficient tools to fix just about anything on my bike in the field. I figure if I’m going to ride to remote regions, I have to be able to fix pretty much anything that might break. The tools actually is the easy part; the tricky bit is deciding what spare parts to bring along. You can’t bring a spare of everything!

So I’ve already bought this wheel lug wrench/tire iron in one. It’s light enough to carry everywhere but is good to 90 ft/lbs. T-handles, steel-reinforced epoxy putty, a tow strap, etc. — I love tools!

The one item that was a little out of my budget so went on the wish list is the Motion Pro Light Weight Chain Breaker and Chain Press Tool.

When your bike is chain-driven, like I said, you have to be ready for anything that can happen in the bush.

Okay, tools aside, I need a 50/50 tire on the front. I’m still riding a Metzler Tourance, which is fine for dirt roads but not for too much more. I’ll get and mount Heidenau K60 Scout on the front to match the back, and this will allow me to GO ANYWHERE! Yes, I’m that confident that once I get this tire, no more tip-overs in mud and sand. Nature in all its awesome power and trickery will bow down before me and my machine.

Next up is some body armour. I know, I know: what happened to Nature bowing. Well, I may win the war, but that’s not to say the trail won’t win a few battles along the way. My new Klim Tourance jacket that I bought for off-roading is just a shell and comes with no padding. That suited me perfectly because I decided I’d rather get full-on armour for those spills, something like the Leat Body Protector, than the wimpy pads that are in most motorcycle jackets. 

The nice thing about this option is you can wear it under a motorcycling jersey on those really hot days. That should complete my off-road gear necessities. I now have boots, Klim Dakar pants, the Tourance jacket, a LS2 Pioneer helmet, goggles, and gloves.

The other fairly big ticket item I need is a good, dedicated motorcyle GPS, or as they call them in Europe, a navsat. I’ve been making do with a combination of Google Maps on my phone while in Canada and an old car (i.e. non-waterproof) GPS while in The States, but neither is perfect. I’ve tried apps but none work reliably, and lord knows, navigation is an important part of any ride. The one on my wish list is the Garmin Montana, a unit designed specifically for off-road use. 

As you can see, it includes topographical maps, a glove-friendly colour touchscreen, access to both GPS and Glonass satellite fixing, HD camera (with the capability of taking geotagged pictures), a smartcard port, Basecamp, geocaching, wireless capability . . . it’s got it all and is the GPS of choice by most adv riders. It’s also got a price tag to match these capabilities, so I’m going to have to be extra good for Santa to spring for this baby.

And really, that’s about “all” I need. One luxury item is a Sea to Summit mattress, something that was on my wish list last year too. Yeah, my Thermarest is pretty good and at the end of a long, hot day of riding, a bed of nails feels pretty good. But eventually, for the long tours, this premium outdoor mattress would be pretty nice. This insulated mattress has a dual layer construction, allowing you to inflate the top layer to comfort and the bottom layer to even out uneven ground. That jagged tooth of a rock under back will feel like a pea, and the whole thing weighs less than 1 pound 12 ounces and packs up to 5″ x 9″. And as I’ve said before, when you’re roughing it and saving money on accommodation costs, why not have the best camping mattress money can buy?

So that’s my list: some tools, a new front tire, a better GPS, and some body protection. But the main thing I wish for is another year of health and safe riding. That is all that anyone can ask for, and with God’s grace, receive if one is so lucky.

Got a few items on your wish list? Don’t be shy. Stick them in a comment and maybe there’ll be a few things there we haven’t heard of.

Merry Christmas to you and yours and safe riding in 2018.