Toolkit

Have added the following toolkit to the bike, whilst i thought it was on the expensive side It really is a great kit especially the 3/8 ratchet, fit nicely under the seat. see http://www.advdesigns.net/f800gstoolkit.html
I also added the tyre change kit see http://www.advdesigns.net/cotichkit.html These kits include motion pro tyre levers...

Sprocket change

After taking the 800 down some single tracks I found it difficult to keep the bike at a slow pace whilst climbing and negotiating obstacles. In order to gain better control I will change the standard sprocket ratio of 17/42 to 15/42 (without altering the chain length). The idea here is to take both front sprockets on the trip and interchange where fuel economy is of concern. We also have the option of changing the rear sprocket to 47 if required however the chain will need to be lengthened to cater for the extra teeth.

Rear brake lever

I am now much more farmiliar with the bike now (my WR feels quite foreign) however I am still finding the rear brake lever missing when a need it most, I have ordered the touratech extension to see if this solves the problem

Minor Adjusting of the suspension for dirt

With our baseline out of the way we decided to alter a few things before the ride today.

1. change tyre pressures from 28/28psi to 18/22 psi front/rear.
2. alter the rear rebound adjuster from midway Hard/Soft to full soft.

What a difference, the bike handled so much better, the rear now held the track with much more control and was much less bone jarring over corrugations. The front also felt less harsh. As the confidence level increased we moved onto some single tracks, these were quite difficult as the gearing on the standard setup did not allow an easy takeoff on steep tracks nor allow easy control in the tighter sections at a slow pace, this is to be expected I guess with the standard 16/42 sprockets.

Note: Be sure to reset the tyres and rebound to standard before hitting freeway speeds, the rear move around quite a bit at +100km/h particulary with panniers fitted.