Met plenty of folk doing similar trips on bikes, and by far the happiest folk were those on the cheapest nags, travelli,ng light. Tiff Coates from cornwall was on her fourth year on an ancient R80GS (called Thelma), and three guys from the states on DR650s with not so much as a sniff or a problem.
Also met a japanese guy on an Africa Twin that spoke no english or spanish whatsoever. He'd already made it from Alaska to El Salvador when I met him, proof positive that rule book was made for ripping up!
Plenty of info on my site for anyone wanting to do it on four wheels. Next time I'll be on two...
Cheers,
ali
ps: For shear madness you can't beat a dutch bloke we met down south. Up to his axles in mud. On a fireblade.....
Now travelling on a much more sensible machine:
http://www.sjaaklucassen.nl/apus/ren...mplate=default