this is definitely the wrong place to safe money! good quality equipment is not only safer but it also last much longer and will be cheaper in the end

helmet
do yourself the favour and get a lightweight motocross helmet with a "sun-roof" and extended breathing space in front of your mouth. the best brands are arai and shoei. (it's probably a good idea to write your blood type on the helmet - just in case)
body armour
it can get hot in africa - very hot! a good alternative to leather combi's are motocross body armour and motocross pants with knee protectors. if it gets colder you can wear a sweater and a rain suit over it to keep off the wind. dainese has a good selection
boots
again it's the motocross industry that provides the best equipment. heavy,high motocross boots protect your ankles in case you have to step down hard. they might also be useful against dog bites or burns, should you fall, and end up under your bike. check the sdi website

better material costs much more, but it's smaller and lighter - and you'll feel the dollar you've saved every night!

- tent: salewa has good, lightweight tents
- sleeping mat: 'thermarest' makes inflatable sleeping mats which are comfortable and can be folded up to a very small package
- sleeping bag: again, get one that is really light-weight. they should protect down to about 5 degrees

stove: MSR "whisperlight" (it's small, powerful and runs on regular gasoline)
pots: frying pan, cooking pan and small plates that fit into each other
cutlery: fork knife and spoon
knife: swiss army
plate: cheap african plastic plate
micropur: water purifying pills

olive oil: in a 250ml pet bottle (stronger and lighter than glass)
herbs: i carry salt, pepper, Italian herbs, peri-peri in used film containers
i carry zip-loc bags which are useful for all kinds of things

make two sets of photo copies of all your documents. carry one with you and leave one with your friends at home. and scan them and keep them in your internet mailbox. i laminated most of my documents to give them some chance of survival

- passport: make sure it's valid for long enough and there are enough empty pages (african officers are stamp-happy)
- drivers license, international drivers license, vehicle documents
- carnet de passage
- international insurance policy (some countries will only accept their own)
- international certificate of vaccination (you'll need to have proof of yellow fever vaccination for many countries
- passport photos: scan your photo print and A4 page full of photos on photographic paper. you then just cut them out when you need them
- a letter of recommendation from one of your embassies can be very useful
- maps: michellin 953, 954 and 955 (1:4'000'000) are very exact and easy to read
- guide books: lonely planet "africa on a shoe string" gives you just enough information (best are the city maps) / daerr's "durch afrika" (in german) is great for the sahara region, but pretty useless for the rest of africa
- travellers checks: in euro or us dollars (keep the receipts!)
- credit cards: VISA is the card you need in africa (many ATM's don't accept EURO/MASTER)
- cash: bring a lot of us dollars and euro in cash. you can hide them in different places on your body, on the bike and in your luggage. in some countries you'll need dollars or euro and it's very expensive to buy them

accessoires

- gps: garmin has a good selection. gps with 'mapsource' display a simple map with main roads and towns - but the african maps are not very accurate
- signal rocket: just in case
- emergency blanket
- pocket lamp
- mosquito repellent
- mosquito net
- looking glass: nice to have
- ear plugs: you'll need them if you travel with me…!
- sun blocker
- moisturizing cream: the skin of your face will suffer in dry regions
- rubber snake: to shock police officers and make them laugh when they ask for your papers (works wonders!)

vaccination
consult a doctor a couple of months before leaving. some vaccinations need to be repeated before they are effective. here are some ones:

- yellow fever: proof of a yellow fever vaccination is required by many countries in western and central - - africa
- polio
- meningitis
- hepatitis A and B
- typhoid
- rabies
- tetanus

medicine and first aid kit
ask your doctor to prepare a list with medications and other items for your first-aid kit. and let him explain you how to use them in case that no doctor is around. here is a list of what i am carrying with me:

- "where there is no doctor" is a book that allows you to determine your illness and how to treat it (in case that there is really no doctor around)
- syringes and needles: you can't always be sure that african clinics can provide clean syringes and needles. so it's better to carry some with you. bring a 'medical certificate ' from your doctor which states that you're allowed to carry them. (or make one up).
- scalpel, tweezers, sewing kit, local anaesthetics, and gloves - for the worst-case scenario
- thermometer
- band aids (7cm x 50 cm to be cut in appropriate pieces)
- adhesive plaster
- sterile compresses
- antiseptic spray (for wunds)
- merfen (drops and cream)
- antibiotic cream
- cream against stretched muscles and bruises
- antibiotic cream and drops for eyes
- antibiotic ear drops
- aspirine
- paracetamol (against pain and fevers)
- alcacyl (against pain and fevers)
- fenistil (pills against burns and sunburns)
- tavanic (stops diarrhoea)
- lysopaine (against oral- and throat infections)
- malarone (emergency treatment against malaria)
- lariam (prophylaxis against malaria)
- noxigyl (against amebiasis and giardiasis (tinidazole)
- flagyl (against amebiasis and giardiasis (metronidazole)
- cyproxin (broad antibiotic)
- bactrim forte (broad antibiotic)
- ibuhexal 800 (super-strong painkillers for worst-case scenario (broken bones…))

(i took all the pills out of their boxes to safe space and keep the descriptions in a separate bag)