DRZ400 - Simpson Desert Planning, Preparation & Gear for an Unsupported/Unassisted Crossing

Inspired by Nerb1, RidingwithTom, and Shadower75, I plan to cross the Simpson Desert on a Dual Sport Motorbike (modified Suzuki DRZ400e) unsupported and unassisted in April 2020.
This video discusses the gear I am taking, route across the Simpson Desert, distance and weight calculations as well as fuel and water consumption calculations to complete the journey. Also electronics and communication gear, DRZ400e modifications, safety gear, camping and cooking gear.

[@justgjt]

Great to see someone who compiles the science and thought process behind the concept.

[@darylzampese1855]

Thankyou... This is on my bucket list. I am slowly preparing with the same bike. Cheers!

[@hockeyj85]

Champion. What a great in-depth run down of how you're preparing for this journey. I just bought myself a drz400e and plan to do some big trips myself. Your video has really helped me get my priorities in order (suspension rather than engine). Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.

[@nsrlegaltech]

Excellent details and narration. Good idea connecting UHF to headset. Safe trip.

[@FirstLightAdv]

What a great video! Thanks! 3:46 Route 5:11 Time 5:43 Permit 6:03 Fuel 7:52 Weight 13:52 Emergency communication

[@waadventure.5840]

awesome stuff man love it. Suspension is king

[@whiteunicornDR659]

Great vid and inspiration to actually make the trip happen 👍

[@JustTex]

Pretty wild all the detailed prep work you have done, i'm sure it will help a lot of people. I did it solo unassisted in 2018 on my way back from steep point and a lot of the setup and gear was very similar but i didn't plan or practice much at all hahaha, but still survived...... i went to the beach a couple of times but the sand was nothing like the simpson. Cheers

[@bargie9879]

Thanks for sharing

[@03DaveW]

Great video looks like you have thought of every thing well planned hope all goes well will be watching ,trying to get a crew together to do east to west then back again to watch Finike race in June out of Birdsville

[@bargie9879]

Many thanks - hope it goes well for you and that the video was helpful..

[@ianchivers585]

Sounds that you have really prepared well, hope it is successful

[@bargie9879]

Can’t wait to get out there next year

[@kymstock1852]

There are also a lot of sand tracks between Casterton and Dergholm in western Victoria to practice on. The Little Desert tracks can be treacherous when soft. I was setting up my DRZ for the APC Rally and went there to test out my tyres for the weight with 28L fuel . I broke my leg! Never use Mitas E09 front tyres in deep sand! I did settle on Pirelli Scorpion Rally front as a compromise in wear rate and traction. For the Simpson I would use sand tyres if I did it again.

[@whatupg1]

Awesome! Its on my bucket list as well. Very helpful Thanks for sharing mate👍

[@bargie9879]

No problem 👍

[@bernardcommerford8107]

Thanks great info as I ride the same bike same year my son and I intend doing it in august 2024 from Perth to Birdsville he a very experienced adventure rider I'm pretty much average off road rider we're hoping the have a back up 4x4

[@FirstLightAdv]

Amazing preparation!!! Thank you.

[@bargie9879]

Cheers

[@sausagesandwichSA]

Good luck with it...I'll be watching with interest as I'm planning something similar in June. Not sure yet if I can get everything I need on the bike....but we'll see.

[@bargie9879]

CRF250 Rally that my mate had was awesome in the sand - I will have videos up by June - I hope it all goes well for you!

[@sausagesandwichSA]

@@bargie9879 The bikes ability far exceeds mine :)

[@BeeFus6541]

Nice job mate,, logistics... well done

[@bargie9879]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Rustsamurai1]

Baden Powell's motto well & truly followed.

[@bargie9879]

I had to look him up - thanks..

[@andrewheadland50]

Thank you I've been toying with the same idea for sometime just trying to work out which bike is best suited, riding from the east coast of nsw & back. The drz is high contender cheers 👍

[@chrisb9156]

Great video cheers 🇦🇺👍

[@demzunoplayer]

Terrific.

[@Itchybite]

Great video. Thanks. I’m doing the same just after you in the second half of April.

[@bargie9879]

How did you go? I hope you got to go through the Simmoa as would have been awesome after significant rain!

[@Itchybite]

Hi mate. We postponed our trip to get some cooler weather. I just got back yesterday. Me and my mate successfully crossed unassisted. You sound like you have all the information but if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. On another note, I plan to put a short video together of my trip that I may upload to KZbin. Would you mind if I used a few snippets from your video? Obviously I will credit you with the content.

[@bargie9879]

@@Itchybite no problems for snippets. Would love to see how accurate my calcs are! Congrats on crossing! Love to see your video!!

[@bargie9879]

DRZ400?

[@Itchybite]

WR450F

[@aaahillshandyman..bellavis864]

You may want to consider a steering stabiliser. I put one om my 17 DRZ400E and with stiffer front and rear springs made a huge difference to the front end feel at above 100 kph and in the sand. Not cheap but well worth it.

[@bargie9879]

Thanks AAA, which one do you have?

[@aaahillshandyman..bellavis864]

I am running a scotts but any reputable brand will do. Have a look at this guy and his set up. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYS0Z6FuaL1poNE

[@gc1862de]

Lovely

[@MidCoastAdventures]

Lots of thought put into the trip mate 👍 About to up-size / date my bike and the DRZ400E is on the list. How do you find they ride / rev at 100 kays? Bit worried they will hate any hwy sections between dirt. Cheers for any info.

[@bargie9879]

G'day Mid Coast, thanks for your comments - I have altered the gearing to 15:44 instead of 14:47, which makes a huge difference and allows the little DRZ400 to cruise easily at 100-120kph and tops out at est 150kph (pb 145kph). I recently did an organised road ride from Eastern Suburbs of Melb to Wilsons Prom and back and these guys were amazed I could keep up (GS1200s - they were not trying too hard) and that I was on road knobbys..When you get them balanced out right they aren't too bad.. can't beat the bang for buck..parts availability etc.. From memory you have gone from a CRF250 Rally to a BMW 310 ...There was a guy that had one of those on the same ride and there wasnt much diff between that and my 400.. what next?

[@bargie9879]

Tenere 700?

[@MidCoastAdventures]

@@bargie9879 Cheers Bargie for the detailed reply-much appreciated! Yep CRF Rally. Great, reliable bike- hates hwy runs- 6500 rpm at 100 kays. BMWG310GS. Great bike, very comfy, semi hates hwys- 6000 rpm at 100. Rode a DR650. Great bike, loved the hwy runs, felt heavy in the bush- arghhh! But still a terrific bike and I may well buy one soon. Was hoping the DRZ, being lighter, and with a gear change, may not rev it's ring out at 100. You seem to think the sprocket changes make it 100 kay friendly.

[@bargie9879]

My build is based on Murrays DRZ kzbin.info/www/bejne/f6LIo6aBgJx-m8U

[@fjrsteve]

Hi Bargie, I'm assuming that you haven't been able to do the trip yet with the various state closures due to Covid. Do you have a ball park figure for the suspension modification? I'd like to factor that into my budget for turning my DRZ into a midi adv bike.

[@bargie9879]

I paid $1500. Basically told them that I was 100kg with my gear on plus 50kg of luggage/fuel/water etc..

[@2Meerkats]

👏 Bargie - You might have said it and i missed it? - is the plan for a solo crossing? I'm curious about other adv riders weight sitting on their bike with a full camel and everything in their pockets etc/vs rider-naked weight (real weights not estimated) as some guys carry heavy packs and others near nothing, plus some guys are wearing 2kg MX boots and others work boots etc. Your weights table is impressive but your boots are not listed, or armour etc? (maybe I missed it) - 💪Will be tuning-in mid April - Good Luck bro. PS: for GoPro5 shoot with stabilization OFF and use ReelSteadyGo in post :)

[@bargie9879]

Hi 2Meekats, I enjoyed your videos last night - you guys had a ball! Thank you.. My ride will be an unsupported ride in that there are no 4WDs accompanying us - there are 4 riders, all on DRZ400's. So, the Simpson crossing itself won't be solo. However, the rest of the ride will be for me - which means that I cant share air pumps, tubes and tools etc.. In terms of the weight calcs, I excluded boots, armour, riding apparel, etc. I am 100kg with all that stuff on and it's pretty much a constant. I was more looking at variable weights at different stages of the ride - weight is a concern and I am still trimming where I can. Thanks for the tip on RealSteadygo - presumably I can stabilize in 4k post. Cheers,

[@2Meerkats]

@@bargie9879 4 riders 👍 - nice ; sorry still not sure what all your rider-gear actually weighs so i can compare to mine? yeh weight is the real game, I have even changed my tripod to a carbon one haha...OTT - RSGo is a 5 star product imo - yep it handles 4K no issues - just make sure your GP5 is set to un-stabilised so RSgo can access the IMU data it req's in post.

[@bargie9879]

I will weigh and post shortly ( may take a day or 2) - thx

[@bargie9879]

My my riding gear excluding gloves etc. Alpine Tech 1 MX boots 2.9kg RST Pro Series Jacket 2.2kg RST Pro Series Pants 1.2kg Fox 2017 Limited Edition Monster Energy V2 Helmet with Cardo Packtalk and gopro comms fitted 1.5kg

[@peterdd4994]

Tyres, if you starting in Melb with new rubber? then the tyres are likely to be half (or more) gone by the time you get to the start point, specially if your going by bitumen to get there... Personally, consider more water, its better to have and not need than... Is there a wet weather plan?

[@bargie9879]

G'day Pete, Agree with the tyre situation - I will be taking dirt roads and running high pressures as much as possible on the way up. Take a look at shadower75 recent crossing where ridingwithtom's WR250r ran D606s which looked fine at MT Dare before the Simmo, So hopefully I will be ok.. I have a max capacity of 23lts water so I may take a bit more depending on other riders in the group. Weather and QLD rainfall is something I will keep an eye on - also track closures and the crossing/diversion at Eyre creek. These may impact/add to water and fuel provisions. I will most likely trailer the bike from Melbourne to Peterborough (and back) to reduce the km on the bike. Cheers..

[@peterdd4994]

@@bargie9879 Hi, it is good to see the amount of thoughts / plans going your trip, and agree with everything you've said so far. That old conundrum of taking too much or too little... What part of the word adventure, dont you understand... Safe travels, it will be good to see your video when its available... P

[@NeverMindCedric]

What is your experience with the Safari 28L tank? How much of the fuel is actually used and not stuck in those wings below the petcock?

[@bargie9879]

I have had to lay the bike on its side a few times to get to the last 2 ltrs - each time gets you about 20km..

[@fjrsteve]

Oh and which screen did you fit to the bike and was it effective?

[@bargie9879]

It is an Eagle Screen. Works really well, especially on the long commute stuff at 100kmph

[@ciccorilla]

How many nights are you camping along the track?

[@bargie9879]

The plan was that we would do at least 5 nights over the journey..

[@jaisabai4155]

I may have missed it but did this ride ever happen?

[@bargie9879]

Delayed due to covid. I am leaving 26 mar 2021...