Salsa Brava`s Technical Specs
For those motorcyclists interested in the ilk of bike (and modifications) that I have decided to use to ride from the farthest north underscore in the western hemisphere (Prudhoe Bay, Alaska) to the farthest point south (Ushuaia, Argentina), the following is an silhouette of Salsa Brava`s technical specs…
-2003 BMW F650GSA/Dakar TT39 I chose this epitome year “thumper” for several reasons: it is powered by a fasten on-cylinder 652 cc ROTAX engine (legendary for reliability) and pre-dates the more up to date 2-spark BMW engines (less reliable, according to some mechanics); the GSA designation indicates that it is a GS rank (gelande/strasse — German for Earth/Street, a dual make a fool of class) and has ABS brakes (excellent for riding on wet pavement, but can be turned-off for off-track riding); the “Dakar” designates that it is more off-road oriented than the customary GS dual-sport design and uses a 21″ front wheel (the name commerates the miniature`s victory at the 2000 Paris-Dakar rally race won by Frenchman Richard Sainct); the TT39 denotes that it has been equipped with Touratech`s aftermarket dual gas tank cache system (thus nearly doubling the bike`s fuel capacity from 20 liters to 39 liters, almost 8 gallons, giving the bike a series of between 400 and 500 miles, depending on load, fuel archetype and riding style). Shipped un-painted, I chose to coat the tanks with Column-X spray-on bed liner, thus providing extra protection and durability as well as a very dues look. This bike was in production, with very few modifications, for 5 years so there are full parts available and many mechanics who are familiar with it — a bonus when riding prolonged-distances through foreign countries (this is not the case with other European bikes such as KTM). The value of the 650 makes it a nice compromise between larger touring bikes (such as BMW`s R1200GS) and smaller dust bikes, which can be uncomfortable at highway speeds, especially with large loads.
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