Thursday, July 12, 2012

Sidecar project is progressing


 I got word from the sidecar builder that the sidecar has arrived :) The sidecar wheel and tyre are also ready and the alu boxes also came. And these pics will give a first impression on how it will look like    COOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLL .... Oh I love it and I can hardly wait to get going - still so many days before take-off. On the other hand, the time is also needed to take care of all the required preparations ... like installing the helmet camera and reading the manual of the Canon video camera. On yeah - I also need to work (occassionally) :D

This picture shows the sidecar and the box from behind. As one can see the markings, there needs to be done some modifications to shorten the sidecar and as well, the backrest's angle position is not in favor of having such a box there and it needs to be straighten. We will have two of those Zarges alu boxes and those ALONE give us a total of 2x116 = 232l of storage room - bikers on solo bikes are only dreaming of those kind of figures :D
Lets see how this monster will drive later ;)


And here is the supporting frame for the sidecar - looks quite solid to me ... lets see what I will say after 25000km of African roads ;)
Now the sidecar will need to be send for the modification, open issues are also on how to fix the extra gas canister (either 1x20l or 2x10l), the painting of the sidecar, the door/slope for the dogs to climb into the sidecar and heaven knows what else.
Its amazing how much time it takes. Good for me, we did clarify some major issues conc. the tyres in an early stage. Also I allowed to order already the critical parts to build the front wheel since this takes time as well.
Well, I must say this reminds me soooo much of my work - basic project management with all the goodies like critical chain (s. E.M. Goldrath).


~ Wolfi

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

One more word about travel and bike insurances


Travel insurance
I contacted several insurance in Germany (why in Germany – well I am a German and its easier for me to communicate) and ask for quotes. None of them are able to provide what we need. For all, it is a mandatory pre-requisite to have a permanent place of residence in Germany at the time you sign the insurance papers. Secondly, the maximum amount of time when the insurance would be valid was two years – not enough for us.

So far the only company which covers 5+ years and does not demand residency in a particular country is: www.worldnomads.com
They have also restrictions regarding which countries they cover, however this seems to be right now the only choice.

Motorbike insurances
Since the bike is registered in Finland, we have Finnish insurances. The 3rd party liability insurance covers Europe and a few countries outside of Europe. Typically the collision insurance is valid only in countries where the Green Card is valid and even then there are typically some restrictions e.g. theft excluded.

In Africa and South America (I am not yet thinking beyond that scope) third party liability insurance seems a matter of taste. Our Finnish insurances and the green card are no use here. So in case we get into an accident since somebody else hit us – we are most likely not getting any compensation. In case we caused the accident, we might need the paper to avoid prison. Otherwise the paper seems to be just a piece of paper. Consequently our Finnish kasko/collision insurance is not valid either, which means that any collision with an animal might cause us to stay longer in a place so things can be fixed.

Just wondering – will this affect my driving style?

~Wolfi

Thursday, July 5, 2012

After Europe we're on our own!

...that's basically what we learned last Monday when we met our insurance lady. Our health insurances are valid only on max. 3 months trips. We could get 9 months extension to it for an extra fee, but it doesn't really make sense 'cos our trip will be several years! To have a continuous health insurance we should live after each year at least 6 months in Finland! Great!
So most likely after 3 months and also meaning after Europe we're on our own! Luckily I have taken really good care of us with my healthy foods and fitness programs. So we shouldn't be in too bad shape and hopefully won't need to see doctors for such health issues. Accidents are of course a totally different story...

Bike insurances don't have any time limits, but they're just not basically valid outside of Europe! The list of countries that except Green Card is ridiculous! In other countries we should then always buy insurance at the border if it's compulsory.

Wolfi had some ideas of different kind of insurance companies in Germany or so. Lets see if he'll find there any better options.

Yeah and no need to ask how is the situation with dogs insurances! No hope after Nordic countries!

Well we'll all have doctors checkups and vaccinations before the trip so there shouldn't come any big health surprises on the trip, at least not in the beginning!

~ Ilta