Riding around the world... on an inappropriate bike!

[paul.deitch]

Talk to my mate Andrew Earnshaw who'se done similar and written books about it. You can easily find him on social media,
Good luck.

[Birky_41]

Sounds like a proper adventure! How many miles has the engine done? Not sure how many miles those little bikes will do

[Ilikemotorbikes]

Didn't expect this many responses so quickly! Cheers for all the well wishes so far

I'll try and cover a few details

A993LAD said:

Wondering why you are choosing West Africa. Presumably you follow-itchy boots on youtube? Her West Africa trip always seems more of a struggle against adversity rather than a fun trip in my view. So much hassle with border crossings/visas/corruption/crime/menacing violent undercurrents.

Also, your bike choice keeps things simple but would be more fun with a bit more power I'd have thought. Even Itchy Boots seems to be now questioning her choice of a 300cc when she recently tried something a bit bigger.

From my research and following other trips whilst W.Africa is a pain with visas and potential corruption etc, its completely possible where as the East or Central routes aren't possible or certainly not possible with a UK passport from what I understand.

Also a bigger bike means more cost - 100mpg isn't to be sniffed at and parts are dirt cheap in the UK! So imagine what they'll be like when in less expensive countries

KTMsm said:

I'm more impressed with you talking your GF into it

If she's still with you after a month of travelling - marry her !

Haha! One of the reasons we get on so well is our agreement to never marry! Appreciate the sentiment though

-Cappo- said:

OP, you're the guy who bought a "cheap" R1 and got it sorted aren't you? I think we exchanged messages about it and mine (since sold).

Good luck with this, as others have said, a proper adventure!

I've had a few cheap R1s... I'm a glutton for punishment But yeah we did have a few chats - cheers for the well wishes

Steve Bass said:

can definitely recommend the Asian side of the adventure, I’ve ridden in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and it’s stunning.
As for your choice of transportation, nothing about a CG that can’t be fixed in the boonies by a half competent village mechanic.

Good luck with the trip and stay safe !

Cheers Steve! Excited to get over to Asia if we can - one of the many reasons we've chosen the CG is their simplicity

Birky_41 said:

Sounds like a proper adventure! How many miles has the engine done? Not sure how many miles those little bikes will do

Mine is on 23k and Lauren's is on 18k I think. Plenty of people on the facebook groups (and I've seen bikes for sale) with 40-70k miles on but who knows how many new parts have been fitted over the years.
It'll be an interesting experiment if nothing else to see how capable they are

UK to SA should be in the region of 15k miles so we shall see

[twing]

Followed you both on IG, not a biker at all but can’t wait for the adventure! Good luck & have a blast

[Birky_41]

Ilikemotorbikes said:

Mine is on 23k and Lauren's is on 18k I think. Plenty of people on the facebook groups (and I've seen bikes for sale) with 40-70k miles on but who knows how many new parts have been fitted over the years.
It'll be an interesting experiment if nothing else to see how capable they are

UK to SA should be in the region of 15k miles so we shall see

Definitely keen to follow this. Hope the engine does the trip OK! Will get over to IG and follow

[joema]

Look forward to the updates. good luck

[Drawweight]

I spotted this at Applecross so anything’s possible.

[Ilikemotorbikes]

Drawweight said:

I spotted this at Applecross so anything’s possible.

That's mint and on NZ plates too!

Cheers to all for the well wishes and wanting to follow the journey - will update the thread when the bikes are finished being built

[srob]

A bloke in this month's Classic Motorcycle rode to the Sahara and back on a 1940 sidevalve BSA M20 in a fortnight.

Suspect he was walking funny for a few days after that

[shirt]

Echo the good will and intentions, sounds awesome!

Would you mind giving us some insight into your background and the decision / planning process? As someone who often ponders this before sinking back into the comfort of a career and salary i do think it’s a brave yet life affirming decision!

Also echo wtf with west Africa. I’d take your time down to Spain, going between Morocco and Senegal will be an endurance and could well kill your enthusiasm if tackled very early on.

The company I work for has a presence in most west African capitals (I’ve spent 5-6 yrs working across Africa) and a good friend owns a travel agency that specialize in going to off kilter destinations and I know he runs a tour through Mauritania. Hence if you get stuck at any point be sure to pm and I’ll help if/where I can.

[Ilikemotorbikes]

srob said:

A bloke in this month's Classic Motorcycle rode to the Sahara and back on a 1940 sidevalve BSA M20 in a fortnight.

Suspect he was walking funny for a few days after that

See when people think we're doing it the hard way... I'll remind them of folk like that

shirt said:

Echo the good will and intentions, sounds awesome!

Would you mind giving us some insight into your background and the decision / planning process? As someone who often ponders this before sinking back into the comfort of a career and salary i do think it’s a brave yet life affirming decision!

Also echo wtf with west Africa. I’d take your time down to Spain, going between Morocco and Senegal will be an endurance and could well kill your enthusiasm if tackled very early on.

The company I work for has a presence in most west African capitals (I’ve spent 5-6 yrs working across Africa) and a good friend owns a travel agency that specialize in going to off kilter destinations and I know he runs a tour through Mauritania. Hence if you get stuck at any point be sure to pm and I’ll help if/where I can.

Edited to add: I worked in aerospace engineering in supply chain and procurement and then the contract was in aerospace too but on import/export controls. Its worth saying I didn't go to uni and got these roles through some luck and effort in a small engineering company which really helped boost my career

Sure what would you like to know? A trip like this has been on my mind for over a decade so its been semi-planned or thought about since then. Getting added too and taken away from as I learnt more by going to festivals, reading books and watching videos of other folk who had done similar.

I'm quite fortunate in the sense I sold a house and made money on it (albeit not a huge amount) and my career was so dull that I took the opportunity to work a contract for a few months before having all of this year off (and rinsing almost all of my savings in the process) - is it for everyone? Perhaps not, but I'm happy with the decisions I've made to get to this point

Really appreciate the well wishes and potential for help! Will definitely PM if we need anything

Edited by Ilikemotorbikes on Sunday 22 October 21:17

[Ilikemotorbikes]

Small update - 1 rack nearly finished and test fitted the kit. The bags won't sit in this exact spot it was just to see fitment wise, will obviously rig it so its well clear of the exhaust

Also needs some finishing touches like gussets for strength/support, an intermediary bar to go between both pannier racks for crash support and then paint so it doesn't rust in a matter of minutes. All coming together slowly!






Eagle eyed amongst you may spot the plates just behind the exhaust in pic 2 and 3 sitting around the frame. Currently the basis of the crash bar design, only really to mount crash bar bags we have and not meant to be structural in the event of a crash but I guess we'll see how that fares as time goes on

[ArnageWRC]

I wouldn't say it's inappropriate - in fact, quite the opposite. Cheap, simple, easy to fix......everything you'd want going around the world.

Too many are fixated on big Adventure bikes because Charlie & Euan did it.......

As already said, Nathan did it on a postie bike (Honda CT-110/125) and tends to advocate lighter, smaller bikes.

Good luck!!

[Stevemr]

Great Adventure!

I think Itchie Boots, shows you don’t need a huge adventure bike!

See also C90 adventures.


https://youtu.be/xDOOT-T2gKo?si=gbHcaX0hOu5YUVQ9

Edited by Stevemr on Tuesday 24th October 18:02

[Steve_H80]

It's the perfect bike for a trip like this. Little Honda's are everywhere so every mechanic knows them, spares are easily available and if the worst comes to the worst you can walk away from it.
In fact I would say an inappropriate bike is £20ks worth of GS.

[crofty1984]

That's exactly the kind of thing you'll see someone else doing when you're old, jaded and tied down by mortgage and general life and think "oh I wish I could have done something like that".
Absolutely brilliant! And I can't think of many bikes better for the task.
All the best, from a tired and jaded Crofty, wishing he could have done something like that.

[martynr]

Birky_41 said:

Sounds like a proper adventure! How many miles has the engine done? Not sure how many miles those little bikes will do

Enough to travel the world it seems if serviced.
I followed a chap from east Urope going all the way to east of Turkey on a chiinese 50cc. Unfortunately, he crashed it in Turkey. His plan was to ride until it fails. He is well now though. So, I'd say stay safe out there and enjoy.

[Mr Tidy]

That's a fantastic plan OP!

I'll look for updates and I hope it all goes well.

[Ilikemotorbikes]

crofty1984 said:

That's exactly the kind of thing you'll see someone else doing when you're old, jaded and tied down by mortgage and general life and think "oh I wish I could have done something like that".
Absolutely brilliant! And I can't think of many bikes better for the task.
All the best, from a tired and jaded Crofty, wishing he could have done something like that.

Cheers Crofty! It's partly thoughts like this that is motivation to get going!

Small update, lots of hours in the workshop but now have two pannier racks finished with gusseting and a support bar etc (see pic 2 for the support bar) - touratech who?




Also have finished the 2 sets of crash bars. They aren't really designed to save the bike in a crash but more as a mounting point to add luggage in a lower and forward position which they should do quite well.

Still need to cut holes for luggage straps to go through the plate on the crash bars and then they and the racks all need paint but it's progress!



There's probably 20+ hours just in Lauren's luggage rack, mainly because it needed lots of chopping and modifying as it's for an earlier bike but I couldn't find one for sale for the right year but you live and learn eh?

[Ilikemotorbikes]

Well skipped a few updates but bikes are 95% finished! They need some fettling like paint and some other minor bits but overall, they are pretty much ready!




List of upgrades/mods
- luggage rack/pannier rack
- crash bars
- lomo panniers and crash bar bags
- dewalt tool box black top box
- Kenda K270 tyres
- power socket for phone charging etc
- Honda XR250 bars for me (Lauren wanted to keep hers standard)
- tool tube on the lower yoke
- side stand lengthened and larger foot print