Hi everyone,

We are two people thinking about buying one125cc bike in Colombia and riding it through South America for the next 10 months. Do you think this is at all do-able on a 125cc?

The 2 of us weigh around 120kg put together and 2 bags weighing 30kg, so altogether 150kg:-)

Any advice on what type of bike we should consider really appreciated.

We do not mind going slow:-)

Thanks

Moaref

Dont buy Chinese!
A Brasilian made Honda XR125 is a possibility.

I wouldnt do it, but more power to you. Its certainly doable.

Ive ridden one a bit and weigh almost as much as both of you put together.

For 2-up, I would feel that the minimum would be a 250cc! I recommend the Brazilian made Honda XR250 Tornado. They will run around $5,000. I have two and have ridden over 10,000 km on one (well loaded and I weight 100 kg) and never gave me a problem. Tires and chains as is normal, but nothing else, and that on a 3-year old bike!

Toby

Having traveled like you intend to, I would suggest buying two (2) 125cc motorcycles, even if that means shortening your tour by a month or two for financial reasons. Ten months is a long time to be on the road.

Riding two bikes offers many interesting possibilities and is not that much more expensive than buying a larger bike. I have several friends who have happily toured Argentina on 125cc Hondas.

There is also an option of buying the 125cc in Argentina, touring Argentina, selling the bike and then buying another bike in another country etc etc etc.... If you work it right always trading up you can actually end up with more money than you originally invested by selling your last two bikes at the end of your tour. And, if you always buy and sell in the same country you will be perfectly legal.

xfiltrate,

Information regarding buying new or used motorcycles in Argentina can be found at

www.xfiltrate.com , just click on : Buying a motorcycle in Argentina

Hi,

I used a Honda cg 125 wich i have bought in Chile. It was great to travel for a whole year but no chance to travel together on it: The suspention is just too soft. Allready while traveling alone i broke the back of my frame by going to fast over one of a million speedbumps:

http://reisemotorrad.eu/?report=en_suedamerika

Rather get two bikes

Hi guys,

Thanks a lot for your replies:-)

We can not buy 2 bikes as one of us does not have experience of riding bikes. Only tried scooters a few times in Asia:-)

Maybe we should go for a 250cc instead but they seem expensive in Colombia.

Any advice what 250cc we should concider? That's if we can find it in Colombia. Or should we buy one in Ecuador if it's cheaper there?

We appreciated any advice.

Moaref

It comes down to budget. New, Japanese 250s are 3 or 4 times the cost of a 125 - or at least they are in Peru.
Secondhand Japanese 250s are still expensive.
Chinese 250s are cheaper but reports suggest you´ll spend alot of time getting it fixed on route. The exception to this seems to be the Quinqi/Euromot 200.
A Honda cgl 125 (cheapest non-chinese bike available) will do the job if you´re not in a hurry. Regularly being used with 3 pillions here.
You´ll be slow in the mountains, obviously, but will have an extra pair of feet for dog-kicking duties.
In Peru this has just been replaced by the CB 125 (comfier looking seat, no electric start) and they also do a 150cc version.
I had a cgl125 for a couple of years and took pillions on it (short distances). 50 kilo passenger, barely noticed her. 120 kilo passenger, never again.
I rode it from Lima to Mexico (solo) with no problems at all.
Decide how much you want to spend and test ride (two-up) first.
Best of luck
Ian
PS. You´re carrying too much stuff

There was a time when each and every person who posts here had never, ever ridden a motorcycle. I maintain that anyone, with a proper course of instruction can safely ride a 125cc motorcycle in South America.

Cut your trip by a couple of months, train up and qualify the inexperienced rider, I know that even a foreign tourist can obtain a motorcycle license in Argentina, buy two 125cc motorcycles and go for it. Riding two motorcycles, especially small ones is a lot safer than trying to balance 2 people plus gear on one small motorcycle -even if it is a 250cc.... But, this is just my opinion.

Having an inexperienced rider become proficient might be one of the most rewarding aspects of your tour. You cannot imagine the emotions I experienced as I watched Elisa, not only learn how to ride, but surpass my motorcycling skills after about 20,000 K through the Andes.

Also, in an emergency it is always best to be on two bikes. Perhaps others might contribute their opinions here.

Xfiltrate

esville, We are in a tight budget and even hoping to sell the bike or bikes at the end of our trip in Colombia.
We were thinking about Honda cgl125 too but not sure if they have non Chines one here. My wife is really excited about riding a bike. We will try to rent one here in Colombia for her to test ride it and see how it goes:-). We did experienced those dogs chasing us in Central America when we were cycling with our bicycles for 2 month.

xfiltrate, Unfortunetly we can not cut our trip shorter but we do'nt mind going slow as we got used to slow speed with our bicycles in Central America.

Does anyone know if the bike license is mandetory for 125cc in South America? In The UK we can use our car license for 125cc.

Thanks again Guys

Moaref

I've toured parts of SE Asia 2-up,, about 140kg of rider / passenger and around 20 to 30 kg of luggage on a Yamaha YBR125G, and we got everywhere we wanted.
The bike used to made in Brazil as well as China, not sure if still sold there.
It's a twin shock dualsport (18" knobby tires) and works well for what it is. Another advantage is the 12 liter tank, around 400km range depending on riding conditions.

For the type of tour you are looking at, I'd change the countershaft sprocket from 14T to 13T, and probably the rear sprocket from 45T to 48T.
Cruising speed will probably be about 65 to 80 km/h loaded with that gearing.

Locals use bikes like that to travel, so it can be done.

You want to avoid loading the rear rack too heavily, as that affects the handling especially on bad roads.
I use a decent sized tank bag (16l or thereabouts) with heavier items and waterproof saddlebags to keep the weight as low and as far forward as possible.

If you have can do the research, many of the chinabikes are of acceptable quality and robustness, for the price of a Japanese 125 you can pick up a 150 to 250cc machine.

Two bikes sounds like a good idea, but in my experience invariably we travel farther, faster and safer, and get to more remote and challenging areas 2-up than with my partner on her own bike.

Obviously if she was an enthusiastic and competent rider, that would change things.

Sent from my A898 Duo using Tapatalk 2

I recently met an argentian couple who traveled for 18 months on a honda 125. The were both very small péoplebut had a lot of luggage including some musical instruments.
I´ll try to find their details as they have a website.
So it is doable. They had a great time.

Garry

Hi Moared,

I'm travelling right now, since almost two months, on a great XR125, please, look some pictures in my blog
Nelinkas | Le ruote come le ali … volano in Sud America seguendo sogni e suggestioni

So far I was in central and northern Chile, Bolivia, Perù, Ecuador and now in Colombia, from south till north (now I'm in Santa Marta)

What I can say it's that for one person it is feasible, but in my opinion for two person it's not a good idea, because the power is really low. If it would have been all plain, it could be done, but in Colombia starts cordilleras and they are very steep

Also Ecuador is all on mountains, south of Perù, Bolivia very high

You should conside definitively to buy a 250 cc injection, as to don't take care of carburation on high altitude

As per my experience, a very good *average* speed is 50 km/h; in plain areas, as the one I'm now, you can consider 60 km/h, so driving all day long you can cover up to 500/600 km. You have enough time (10 months! I'm doing all in 3 months ...so I'm in a hurry), so this shouldn't be a problem, but the 125 is pretty slow

hope this will help,

Nelik

I own a 125 and I really think they are underrated for what they can do, but touring thousands of miles while 2-up is not their forte.

I would recommend you go to at _least_ a 250, or better yet a 400. It's not just the two of you, it's all the luggage for two people as well.

__________________
Bruce Clarke - 2020 Yamaha XV250