Insurance company: Do you have any modifications...? This guy: Get yourself a cup of tea, sit down and we'll begin...

You get this kind of upgrades from years of riding experience. Thank you for sharing! Super inspiring.

Amazing bike, this is truly a dream machine! I rode a CRF150 across Vietnam, started in Saigon finished in Hanoi. Took 3 weeks,I had my GF on the back + all of our luggage. The first week it was fun the remainder was a pure painful slog of being in 5th gear with the throttle wide open trying to stay at 85+ Kms. We had bugger all protection, when I think back to that I can't really believe how silly I was thinking that was a good/cool Idea. We rode a mountain pass that took 4 hours through the night, not a single car passed us we really were in the middle of no where, how easily a flat tire or a pot hole could have taken us out. The standard light was so bad I had to squint to see and when it would rain my helmet had no visor so I just had to slow right down. At the end of the journey I realized that I want to do this again but properly, like you are doing. So i moved back home and for the last 1 year have been saving my ass off and planning my next proper big trip. Unfortunately Covid has other plans but I hope it all settles down soon and I can be off on my maiden voyage. Again awesome bike, I wish I had someone like you in my life to guide me a little but I guess that is part of the fun/learning process. Cheers.

Looks like a great build Paul, thank you for sharing with us all! Really like the tiny turn signals, overbuilt hand guards w/mirrors, I know that Taco Moto worked with you on a lot of those goodies! Good luck with your travels, looking forward to seeing your next update!

Perfect presentation of this machine. Have a good time and ride and all the best for your trip.

So jealous of that build! Perfect! I miss my 2014 500exc. Amazing bike. Love it for all the exact reasons you stated. Thank you for this incredibly well thought out overview. "Light is right"

Heck of a setup there, looks like you’ve got it all covered. Best of luck on your journey.

I'm 15 seconds in, "This 500 exc is going around the world for the next 4 or 5 years" LIKED AND SUBSCRIBED!!!!

The quality and feel of your stuff is epic and this 500 is friggin awesome!!! Great choice, Adam Riemann picked for motonomad, 500exc, he dround his in motonomad 2 and still finished, fantastic build!!!

Really glad to see another Mototrek video. Great subject and material. Thanks! Keep em coming.

That's what I call a dream bike! Great upgrades and a proper bike to travel light!

Five years ago today I left Connecticut for a trip to Guatemala and back on a 2007 KTM 450 EXC. I did the cush drive, enlarged oil cooler for increased capacity, custom racks for soft luggage, larger tank, etc. It was primarily road riding, 100% across the USA, 100% across Mexico and some light trail riding in Guatemala. It was like riding a chainsaw for 7-10 hours a day. I would never take a small single cylinder race bike on a trip like that again. For this trip, I guess if you're doing lots of off-road, the experience would be drastically different, but for me, my CB500X with a RR L2 kit has been the sweetest setup yet for my travels around Honduras and Guatemala (I live in Honduras currently).

Awesome video, with great production and content. Bravo! May we all live vicariously through you RTWPaul!

Man....you know what you're doing. Preparation like a Dakar winner. The best presentation how to I've seen. Welcome back and great riding ....

Excellently presented and upgrades are well thought out.

Nice bike. I have a 2015 xcw 500 that I’m slowly converting into an adv bike. I’ve done maybe half the things you’ve done already but definitely learned a lot more here. Thanks!

Massive tnx,ur the 1st person that gives me much better info mods..👍😀

Wow! Just wow! You’ve thought of everything! I really love the fact that you pointed out I’m not racing this bike around the world, I’ve shied away from husky and KTM because of service intervals but you were absolutely right!

That is one beautiful bike, great set up. Can't wait to see more videos. My 640 and I will be following you. Keep the rubber side down Brother.

Thank you sir for sharing all this amazing information based on your experience and needs!! Finally a well informative video. Enjoy and have safe travels!

Wow ! So glad you made it. Its ages since I saw you ON HERE when you were setting off that's great supercool bike too. Well Done PAUL.

Sir you got all the bases covered. Awesome bike great presentation. Stay safe enjoy the ride.

Great video and no doubt that bike is going to be amazing on your RTW trip, Paul!!! Safe travels buddy!

Yeah, an impressive build up of a global traveller motorcycle. (Glad you anticipated the fuel pump problems.)

i lik your humility and the fact that this bike is made for you and what you wanna ride.. indeed it's an awesome bike but not suited for everyone ! Good ride and hi from France!

Good stuff. Best of luck! Looking forward to following your adventure.

Think you Sir... this was really nice to watch :-) Great to see your setup and your tought's behind it :-)

Those are the right boots as well. Tried many others and found them to be the best. That is quite the wind deflector. Makes sense for those long days. Have a great trip sir.

Hell yeah !! Went the same route on my 2010 Ktm 530 and it's been completely awesome, in fact just got home 🤟

I rode my 690 Rally throughout Europe, the UK and Africa covering 12k in eight weeks. Once I got back home to Alaska, I sold it for a 500exc that I now have 9000 miles on. I haven’t found a seat yet that doesn’t kill my ass after a few hours of riding! I’m taking it to Ushuaia from AK next year. The 500 hands down is the best of all worlds. Not great at any one thing but brilliant at everything!

I have no plans on adventure motorcycling. I ride a small 115cc bike as a daily commuter. But, I enjoyed your video so much because I appreciate people who do what they love. Thank you so much for sharing your setup and knowledge. That's 14 minutes and 20 seconds of my life not wasted.😉 Take care!

A true no BS kind of video, the man told y'all what worked for him and left it at that. 👍👏 Take it or leave it. Pro rider or future rider, everyone can appreciate his thoughts and effort into upgrading a bike for HIM. The whole point of motorcycling is that your bike represents you as an individual

Awesome overview and details of why you went with extra/after market solutions. Thanks RTW

I want to do a similar build to my 6 Days! I had thought about selling this bike but I’m kind of inspired to have an ultralight adventure bike!

Great setup on an awesome bike! I would love to do this. Great explanation on the parts you used too. Thanks for the video.

FANTASTIC overview of the bike!! just found your channel, looking forward to following travels. Your friend in Texas, John.

Great setup, look forward to your upcoming videos. Safe travels!

Thanks for great content. Because of what you said, I'm now on my second exc, started with a 2022, now getting a 2014 for friends and family who visit. Everything you said to me personally in emails past or in your videos has been spot on. I didn't listen originally to your advice and bought a Honda 300L, thinking the 500 was too much power. All I can say is...Ooops, that bike needs to go. Since I got the 500, literally every time I ride it, I'm smiling at what the engineers and testers did to push this platform. Amazing, always outside my skill level, and infinitely capable. I'm like you demographic-wise in many ways for those curious. I'm not a racer or mx or enduro guy, but like to as Paul puts it, be able to go wherever I want to go on the bike, and when not loaded down with gear, push the bike on trails pretty hard for a non-pro. It does it all. Love the 500's.

Like it a lot! You´ve made your homework. Safe travels from Switzerland, you are welcome any time! (Bernese Mountains)

That's one hell of a prep. Hoping it doesn't all feel too heavy? So many tips, thanks for sharing the knowledge. Ride safe and enjoy the moment. A new subscriber.

When you get to Norway - remember to take the coastal route and NOT the E6 that goes from south to north.

Great video and thank you for covering the elephant in the room. I’ve been having sleepless nights about what to get, 690 enduro or 500 exc. It’s definitely going to be the exc now👌👍

Wicked video... Thanks for sharing & Good Luck on the Trip... Have Fun Brother.

An inspiration. Though the trickiest change I've found so far when modding my ride has been swapping all of my T:s to D:s.

Went to the website. Great stuff! Thanks for sharing. You certainly know how to live.

Best video on setup for Adventure travel I've seen yet! I've done a tiny bit compared with you... About 70,000km in past 2.5 years from 3 trips; South America (top to bottom), USA/Asia/Europe and crossing USA (miami to L.A ... Montana...). I used a F850GSA on my last trip from Miami to Thailand. I rode 70% tarmac and 30% off-road. I find the F850GSA heavy for me 5'9". I love the bike though -- I also own a 2018 R1200GSA. Anyway, I'm always thinking of my next bike which I will take to Africa in 2021 -- Top of Africa to bottom. Anyway, keep the vids coming ... I like the fact that you are a do-er... not just a talker.

Love it, have a good ride. Will check in on your website now and then.

Glad I waited to the end of the video to comment cause I kept thinking about maintenance. Seems you have it covered. Wish you well on your trip.

Great overview Paul. Thanks for sharing.

Smart Lad all makes perfect sense I’ve just bought 2016 KTM 250 EXC-F > Six Day I live in Laos so it’s the perfect machine to use in my back garden gives me the option to ride quick or slow I’ve done a few I’ll be using some of your ideas lice the sump guard with the tool tray Enjoy the ride Bro...!!!

It's incredible, actually, this almost EXACTLY the same year bike, same rally tower, wheels, even same luggage, that I was thinking of building, but ended up going with a 1970 Honda Trail 90 instead.

Wow, with a few exceptions the upgrades and modifications that you’ve done to your bike are pretty much exactly what I did to prepare my 2016 KTM 500 EXC for round the world extended travel. Your windscreen from MotoMinded looks to be much larger than the one that I got from them and your console dashboard setup is pretty slick as well (I just setup two different NAV’s on my handlebars). I’ve debated long and hard about attaching a rack setup but after seeing yours I may have to give that a rethink. I’ve been putting it off but I know that I should get a new set of heavy duty wheels with a Cush rear from Woody’s Wheel Works, too. 👍🏾

Always looking forward to your videos.....Thanks Bret and Paul!!!

Great video!!! 👍 and I love how you get down on the ground lol next to the wheels to explain things hahaha a true dirt rider 🤙🏼

LOVE your bike and your upgrade. Thank you for sharing

Treasure trove of great info, things to think about and common sense features. Thanks for posting!

Shout out to Paul! I'm a new subscriber and loving it! Thank you!

Paul, great video. It's like an article I'm reading in Men's Journal magazine in that it makes me want to be there. Just got back from an annual 4-day ride in Colorado so I'm currently in the market for some upgrades (read: repairs). Thanks for the great info!!

Watching this video for the first time and I have to say, I am impressed with what you have done to modify your KTM 500 XC. I was not aware you could add a kick start on a bike with electronic ignition. Sweet! Will be following you!

Awesome bike! I really like that skid plate/tool box!

Great videos and appreciate you taking time to share your riding wisdom. Have you done any episodes about route planning? Entry requirements, places to avoid, how you determine where to ride while still being able to stay mostly off road? I'd love to hear and learn about that.

Dream setup and nice video! Hope to see more

Great video, all of the best for your trip!

Man!! So nice....I was raised in the Mojave desert....I really miss it for the riding.

Wow! What a set up Paul, awesome job! I learned a lot from watching your video and will look to use your advise on my bike for some of the upgrades. Pleasure to meet you on your travels, we met in beautiful Caraz, high in the Peruvian mountains back when you had your DR 650. Cheers Ged.

Sic! nice quality sound on the video too! FYI, those of you wanting more details I see HoboMoped has a 9 minute video of this same bike.

This is a magnificent and enviable setup!

This is so satisfying to watch!

I love how this bike has it's origins from my country, Slovakia! 😁 Stay safe on your trips

That bike is AWESOME!!! Good job!!

Very nice setup! Looks like a fun beast.

Knew Taco was involved with this build ... their signature KTM mods... great bike! safe travels ...

Great video for RTW prep. Thank You

Nice thanks for sharing, safe travels i am building my 2019 500 up for adventure love it.

What a shame this didn't happen Paul, I wish you the best of luck for 2021.

Great setup. I envy you. Man what a dream. Be safe and have fun Paul

Nice Paul great work Enjoy around the World Cheers

Awesome brother good luck on your trip

Nice bike I have a 2013 ktm 300 xc but have been looking for a 2013-2015 ktm 500 exc your bike is set up like I want mine set up very nice !!

Rtwpaul!! Great vid mate. I hope we cross paths one day my man 👏🏾👏🏾

Beautiful bike you have there Paul with a lot of common sense aftermarket upgrades! Looking forward to the luggage video and if you could go into detail on everything you'll be bringing with you from spare parts, to tools, to clothing would be awesome. Will you be recording or blogging about your journey throughout? Looks like an amazing route you've chosen.

Gday Paul Looks like a well set up machine. I also have a ktm 500, i have added grip warmers and same on the seat, huge difference on a winter ride. I also installed gel in my seat, keeps the vibrations off your ass. I use tubliss on Heidenau k60 scout dual sport tyres, on the dirt I take down to 5 psi grip is excellent. Ride safe i look forward to following your progress.

I love these videos, this is not the best bike, its the best bike for me.

very good video and very informative. Thank you.

Cheers Paul. Sweet ride ✊

Great job!.. Enjoy your trip!.. Looking forward to following up with you 🇩🇰👍

Damn, NICE build man!!!!!

There are many parts on that bike that I think I need on my Tenere 700. Super cool bike

Really nice build! When around south-east France don't hesitate to him me up (around Nice area). Have a nice trip!

I just finished a 2400 mile ride through Baja on my 2013 KTM 500 EXC. I was with a KTM 790 Adventure and a KTM 950 Adventure and after all was said and done I’m convinced this is the best bike for the job. I could tackle anything from single track, sand, mud and hills with confidence and still chew up highway miles with no problem. Wish I had tried the Moto Z tire. I used a Metzeler Karoo 3 and it was thrashed. Thanks for posting the vid, I’m gonna have to borrow some of your mods for my future trips. Have a great adventure!

i love this video it like a dad showing off his lawn mower gear to his other dad friends! I coudltn help but laugh at some of the poses he was in! Reminded me of surfs up where to penguin is talking about his trohpies

Hit me up when you get to Ulaanbaatar. Or even before. I live there and ride a 1993 Transalp.

Dream machine farkel supreme

Nice build, thank you for sharing.

Nice bike and extensive upgrades. Based on other videos and reading, I was glad to see you upgraded the fuel filter. I'd filter the fuel as it went into the tank, and I'd carry a spare fuel pump. That's been a KTM Achilles heel. Adventure bikes should have a 5+ gallon fuel tank. No exceptions.

Yeah ive seen the name rtwpaul before but never followed you. I just subscribed and look forward to following your journey mate.

Nicely modded. I'm gonna have to get me a KTM 500 of my own ;)

Excellent set up!

I stopped riding 10 years ago because my knees just can't take it any more much to my distress (had to sell my completely customised XTZ 750 - rather heavy but a ground-up custom build by me). I live vicariously on two wheels through guys like you. I love every single piece of detail you cover in your vids. Your EXC set up looks utterly droolworthy. Expensive maybe but on the other hand, lotta fellahs drop at least £$30-40k on a totally impractical two seater car so it's still collossal useable value to be on the best pair of wheels you can get.

I have a very sensible crf250 rally 2019 and trust me it is prime but I must confess that I like this ktm 500.