London to Cape Town

[Sunset]

Hi all. I'm thinking of doing a motorbike trip from London to Cape Town. Am in my late 50's in reasonable health and fitness. Which way - east or west of Africa? Seems that east would be the least hassle, although Sudan and bits of Ethiopia seem to be difficult. Grateful for views.

Also, which bike? I am thinking BMW 750.

Thanks for any advice that you might have.

[mark manley]

Hello and welcome,
It was some years ago that I made that journey which was by the east route so my information is out of date but will say a BMW 750 is perfectly capable, I did it on an R80G/S and have the opinion it would have been easier on something smaller, the Honda CB500X is a popular choice and to my mind a CRF300 would be even better unless you are taking a passenger.
Hopefully someone with more up to date information about route will be along to advise.

[Grant Johnson]

Welcome to HU!
Most travellers doing Africa are going the West coast route these days due to the issues in Sudan and the region. Browse the HUBB, and see the Travel Stories too for at least one current/recent trip. https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories
WHICH BIKE - err, that's a HUGE subject, and much discussed in the "Which Bike?" Forum.
Basically, there is no perfect bike, despite what anyone may say. They're all good; anything will do, what do you LIKE, and what do you HAVE?

[Sunset]

Many thanks. I'll have a read through the HUBB and takeout from there. I have a GSA which is more than capable, but feel that its too heavy for the trip and also might be difficult to get fixed along this less travelled routes.

[Flipflop]

https://www.ukgser.com/community/thr...africa.279204/


https://www.ukgser.com/community/thr...-congo.302402/

A long but excellent read - it’s a trip I hope to do soon.
Good luck

[Sunset]

Many thanks. I'll have a read.

[Chris Scott]

Which way - east or west of Africa?

I have never done either but it changes from year to year and as someone said 'there is never a good time to cross Africa [so you may as well go now ;-].

East used to be easier in that it was less feral, much English spoken, fewer borders/visas, and from Kenya there can be bitumen all the way to CT. Plus the famous East African national parks and other sites.
But it's a long way round to Egypt these days, I don't know if you can or want to get into Sudan right now, plus I've lost track with recent Ethiopia entry issues; I think they may be resolved.
More on the sub Sahara forum:
https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...aharan-africa/

West can be a tedious visa dance which impinges on your itinerary and pace, French is more useful, you need to go low to if you want to avoid too much risky Mali and Burkina which means more visas, Nigeria access can be frustrating (last time I checked), and then the equatorial transit can get quite arduous and stressful until you reach Angola and especially Namibia.

The two routes join up no further north than Zambia, but from the west side that means a tough crossing of SW DRC that's not suited to any 750, afaik.

If you mean an F750GS, I rode one in Morocco and would definitely choose something lighter for trans Af, and no heavier than the CB-X mentioned. Remember, by the time you're on the road any bike will be 20-30kg heavier though some people are not troubled by quarter ton bikes or like the added challenge.
That said a 300L which I currently own might be sensible but unsatisfying much of the time. I like to think a Himalayan would be an ideal machine.

If trans-Af sounds a bit much, there is much to be said for doing a tour of southern Africa out of CT. Easy to buy a bike there I imagine and you could go eastside as far north as Uganda with relative ease.