BIKES

Five of us are riding BMW R1200 GS of varying ages while Charlie Brocket is on a Harley. All have many extras added either by BMW at source or by Touratech based in Wales who specialise in bike equipment for longer journeys. They have everything from panniers to modified exhaust systems, engine diagnostics to camping equipment. www.touratech.co.uk

INSURANCE

Personal travel insurance for the trip was organised through Campbell Irvine who are recognised as one of, if not the, leading broker for travel insurance in the UK. They organised my first trip in 1975 and I have used them ever since. +44 (207) 937 6981 www.campbellirvine.com.

The bikes are insured through Assurantiekantoor Alessie in Holland who can be found at www.alessie.com.

CARNETS

Carnets were arranged through the immensely helpful resources of the RAC. Forms can be downloaded from the web site but they have personnel on hand for questions. Due to the fact that we are travelling through Egypt, we require either an insurance policy or a bank guarantee to the value of 8 times the value of the bikes. RAC were able to organise a group policy. It takes around 6 weeks to process.

VISAS

Visas, hotels and ground support for all countries en-route were organised through Steppes Travel. www.steppestravel.co.uk

COMMUNICATIONS

All the communications have been supplied by Autocom who specialise in audio equipment for bikes. www.autocom.co.uk