Ok, some people have said im a bit crazy, but assured me that on this forum i would be in good company.

(the short version)
I am over in the uk on a working holiay visa and have picked up a kawasaki ZZR600. my visa expires in 10 months, and I have a few options.

1 - sell bike, fly home
2 - ship bike home, fly home
3 - big adventure south, then ship bike and fly myself the final bit home.

so my plan is to head south from london, through france and spain, and then into africa, heading down the west coast until i get to dakar.

once I get there, I am hoping to catch a ferry around to cameroon (or somewhere near there) then ride south to cape town.

I've spent a fair bit of time looking over it all, and it seems possible, only a few big things i havnt got a clue about....

1 - the distance between petrol stations!
2 - the legality of getting my bike there.
3 - a ferry from senegal to cameroon, I've been able to find one site that says there is one, but no more information than that.
4 - the best time of year for this journey???
5 - all the jazz about carnets and stuff.
6 - well, there is the matter of if my bike will make it, but im optimistic... as long as i look after her.

and if there is anyone else mad enough to join me on such an adventure.

looking at heading out june/july 09, dont know how long it takes, but it will take as long as it does.

Tom

Teehee, I like your spirit.
Get your bike, get time, and go!!!!
Your best bet is to do a little homework on the website.
Get some books and maps.
The best books are by Chris Scott and the Michellin Maps of West and Central/Southern Africa.

There is a load of admin to do before hand, but I think the first thing is think about the set off date. Remember the wet seasons in Africa are horrendous! Rain, rain, rain..... You might as well take your scuba gear with...

Why are you skipping between Senegal and Cameroon? Ferries are quite costly as far as I'm aware, although I am looking at ferries as plan B for our own trip in November 09.

Enjoy your homework.

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RamblingRat Africa benefiting Street Kids International
www.ramblingrat.net

Give a hoot for streetkids...

to be honest, i just want to aviod so many boarder crossings... also, being on a boat would give me time to work on the bike, if its falling to bits on me. i suppose it all depends on cost.

Thanks for the info, i will look up chris scott asap.

Tom

ok... so my plan on heading south is coming along, and I have read on another thread here that i can expect to cover about 20k km.

My ZZR normally gets 200km to reserve (so uses 12L) that gives me 16.6 km/L
so i am looking at 1200L of fuel for the journey. If i was in england that would cost me £1100 ish but im assuming that in africa petrol is cheaper? but how much?

next thing... how long can i expect to take? (for the moment i have £20, and need to work out how much i need to save!)

Do your homework, if you look up just about anything you need to know its here somewhere on the Hubb, if not raise a new topic and await the replies
try Sahara Overland ~ the book and online resource and you will get up Chris Scotts page with book and map info etc - basically he is accepted as the 'Guru' for adventure motorcycling, particularly the Sahara, hence the site and books etc.

IMHO you are wasting time and money on the ferry idea, but you will need to do your homework well on the rainy seasons for the areas you want to travel - it changes area/country/time of year etc
Is a ZZR a road bike ? If so swap it for something more appropriate, you might make the East coast but almost certainly not the west route.

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ChrisC

Cheers, i'm continuing my research and learning more each day. I'll check out eastern route asap.

Check this blog out.... London to OZ via Capetown and Mongolia.

He made it to indo now with 92,000km on the clock!

Some good reading!
THE HARD WAY HOME

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'99 R1100GS - In a suitable shade of black

It's not that life is so short, It's just that we're dead for so long....
"The world is a book, those who do not travel read only one page." ~ Saint Augustin