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**zenbiker** · #1 15 Dec 2017

Hi All,

Doing a trip with my lady in 2019 from north to south in Europe/Africa and need advice on bike choice and tyres choice.

BIKE - LIGHTWEIGHT OR POWERFUL
Do I get a bike that's light so it's easier to pick up after the inevitable drops when on the non-metalled roads in west Africa - OR - do I go for a bigger bike for more power to help deal with the same?

TYRES - TUBELESS OR TUBED
Do I opt for tubeless so I can mend punctures without removing tyres or tubed because I then have insurance against damaged wheel rims and because tubes are easier to obtain than tyres?

Any other advice on equipment choices would be useful.

Cheers,

Simon

**Oneroadoneworld.com** · #2 9 Jan 2018

We did this route on a Honda CRF 250L. We are really happy with the choice of this light bikes.

We shared a lot of stories and why we chose this bike, all the maintenance we did, what tires etc on our website.

You might find a lot of information there. Take a look at

Www.oneroadoneworld.com

Cheers,

Sent from my WAS-LX1A using Tapatalk

**mark manley** · #3 9 Jan 2018

I presume you are talking about 2 people on one bike so something in the 650 to 800cc range would be suitable, powerful enough but not too heavy, take a look at BMW's F800 and a Triumph Tiger 800. If you are thinking of taking two bikes the Honda CB500X is a good choice or the already mentioned CRF250L.
Go with whatever wheels your bike of choice has, the choice of bike is far more important and both tubed and tubeless tyres have pros and cons, if it comes with tubeless rims fit tubeless tyres and carry spare tubes which you would do with tubed tyres anyway.

ta-rider · #4 9 Jan 2018

Hi,

After having done a trip around Africa I would recomend you the same bike i used: Honda Transalp. The bike is cheap. It can be bought for just 1000 Euro before the trip and sold for the same price after your trip so no loss of value. Try this with a new BMW HAHA.

I can also recomend Mitas E07 tires. They lasted all the way from Germany to Southafrica. I drove them down till you could see the white coming out at -4mm.

Have a great trip

Motorcycling around the world - 50.000km across Africa