I'm in a similar situation, I will be 33 tomorrow, I would like to do your exact same trip or similar, willing to reach Kyrgyzstan from Italy travelling for 2 months.

Only thing is that I would like to travel on a 1976 honda cb400f and don't know if it's doable or not.

It's doable given right tires, patience and right route choice.

Be careful if you decide to do Pamir highway the section north of Murhab has vicious washboard your CB may not have enough suspension to cruise on it at 70kmh. The other sections along Afghani border get paved and thoroughly destroyed by overloaded trucks coming from China but it shouldn't be problem as long as you slowdown to deal with it. Wuhan valley doesn't see much heavy traffic so it is better.

Generally main roads are in good shape but the older ones hadn't been maintained since they have been paved in soviet era, but if you have good sand tires you can just get off and ride in the field like locals do good luck.

As I recall he posted a similar question on the HUBB facebook page and was generally warned off using a "classic" bike to do the journey. Aside from the impossibility of getting spares if something goes wrong, he'll put a lot of wear and tear and possible damage on the bike which will a shame on a classic machine. If he's happy to do the trip on a road bike something like a CB500T or SV650 would be better.

Hi there,

A few comments on this, as someone who owns 2 x old-timers, an '83 XT600Z and a '92 XT600E.

On whether it's doable or not isn't a yes or no answer, IMO. It really comes down to your ability to be self-sufficient and (crucially!) organised.

Over the last few years as I've started riding older bikes over long distances, I've found the following have worked for me:

1 - Learn everything to be as mechanically self-sufficient as you can, at least with what you can carry. You might not learn how to repair/deal with everything before you leave, but if you learn as much as you can you'll find that'll give you the confidence deal with the things you don't know yet. And remember, time is a currency in itself with this stuff.

2 - Get ahead of the game, by a) knowing what's been changed, how and when on your bike b) what it's vulnerabilities are and c) what will need to be changed, when. Think about what spares you might need to get and how you might get them.

3 - Prevention is better than cure, be prepared to change/work on the bike with 1 and 2 above in mind. On my trip bike, I work to know the condition of everything on the bike before I leave, and then do scheduled check ups when on the road. Don't fall into the trip of simply hoping for the best all the time (though this can't be totally avoided, admittedley!).

4 - Think about how you manage the bike, in terms of amount of miles, difficulty of territory etc, wear & tear and plan 2 and 3 around that.

I say this as someone who not so long as go was mechanically pretty useless. But I made a decision to act on that.

It's brought a new enjoyment to by riding, even if it's frustrating at times. Riding an older bike is a heart over head decision, but not a heart whilst forgetting your head decision, if you see what I mean.

Good luck and enjoy the Honda!

Ed

__________________
Where Next Barney? / Trans Morocco Trail