Lisbon to Timbuktu - BMW F650GS
| Who | Paulo Belém ~ email |
| Profession | filmmaker |
| Born 1970 | Nationality portuguese |
| Previous travel experience | A lot but not in a “overland mode” |
| Previous bike travels | A north to south all off-road 1200k in Portugal and a 2 week trip to Morocco (on road) |
| This trip | Lisbon to Timbuktu (via Atar, Tidjija and Nema), south to Guinea, and back |
| Departure date | November 2007 |
| Number in group | 1 |
| Trip duration | 10 weeks |
| Distance covered | 19000k (5500k off road) |
| Cost of trip (not incl. bike) | 2100€ |
| Best day | Lots of them. m12 and m13 tracks, resting in ouadane, atat-tidjikja-kiffa track, nema-timbuktu track, the niger river by pinasse, the forests tracks in guinea |
| Worst/ hardest day | the day I got home |
| Favourite place | ouadane, oualata, the sahara desert, niger river |
| Biggest headache | oem bmw plastic cases |
| Biggest mistake | heading off like crazy without water and gas on the atar tidjija piste (luckily the 4x4 I was with found me 1 hour later…) |
| Most pleasant surprise | You can go anywhere you like |
| Any illness | 2 days of diarrhoea |
| Other trips planned | Russia, Mongolia and the Stans, and of course RIM again |
| One travel tip | Just go, and live through it |
| Bike Model | bmw f650gs |
| Age/ mileage on departure | 2002, 65000k |
| Modifications | bar raisers, renthal handlerbar,motor bashplate |
| Mods you wish you'd done | metal cases, better shocks |
| Type of baggage | oem bmw plastic cases. broken at least in 4 dif. places, a big headache |
| Tyres used | tkc80 |
| Number of punctures | 2 |
| Bike's weak point | soft suspension ground clearance |
| Bike's strong point | economy reliability |
| Bike problems | none |
| Number of accidents | 0 (but lots of falls crossing sandy sections) |
| Same bike again? | why not? |
| One biking tip | when alone off road, go “doucement” |