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Advice required: Trip through the Americas with a 200cc Advice required: Trip through the Americas with a 200cc
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  #1  
Old 9 Apr 2008
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It's about the trip, not the bike. The trip can de done on ANY bike. It's more a question of can YOU do it? Can you endure a trip with a bike that may be unreliable? Can you cope and deal with what that entails? Are you resourceful, even if you can't fix it yourself? Everyone has done it on all sorts of bikes. It's more about the rider than the bike. Every bike is a compromise. A BMW may be reliable, but once something breaks, where do you find parts or tires? A chinese bike may be unreliable, but parts and tires are cheap and easily found or repaired. It's ultimately up to you.
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Old 9 Apr 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gpothoven View Post
It's about the trip, not the bike. The trip can de done on ANY bike. It's more a question of can YOU do it? Can you endure a trip with a bike that may be unreliable? Can you cope and deal with what that entails? Are you resourceful, even if you can't fix it yourself? Everyone has done it on all sorts of bikes. It's more about the rider than the bike. Every bike is a compromise. A BMW may be reliable, but once something breaks, where do you find parts or tires? A chinese bike may be unreliable, but parts and tires are cheap and easily found or repaired. It's ultimately up to you.
Very, very well put gpothoven.

Hecate,
For reassurance about small engined bikes take a look through the "Which Bike" forum; there are examples/discussions of bikes much smaller, and even a bit bigger!, than 200cc. The latest one with a posting is here:-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...a-250cc-4929-4

Time: it will take as long as you want it to take.
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  #3  
Old 9 Apr 2008
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I fully agree with gpotheven. It is more YOU than a bike.

Any bike will do anything, eventually and possibly after some 'encouragement'. I think preparation priorities, in order, should be - Self - Bike - Equipment/Spares - Route.

A thoroughly good read is "Lois on the Loose" by Lois Pryce (available through Amazon.co.uk - excuse the plug!). She rode from Alaska to Argentina on a 225cc Yamaha Serow. You may find her small bike pertinent. It's size was not really a problem, but she had thought things out well and was travelling light.
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  #4  
Old 10 Apr 2008
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The others are right, but I STILL wouldn't do it on one of those Chinese machines. I know the models, I've lived with them in Peru. As a teacher of Motorcycle Mechanics in a Peruvian vo-tech school in a city with 175,000 motorcycles, I know these bikes. They sell for 1/3 the price of the Honda that they are copying, but they only last 1/10th the time.. and you are doing a "long haul" trip........

Do you really want to spend half your time fixing or replacing half the machine every time you stop (not to mention breaking down in the middle of no-where)? Me, I'd rather ride a Honda 90 than ANYTHING Chinese!

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Old 10 Apr 2008
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Yes, very good advice. Try to go for something like a Honda CG125. The're found in very country in SA. I met 3 guys in Calafate that had ridden them from there to Venezuela and back. A little more $$$ up front, but you'll be on a more reliable bike.

Check this out this blog: simon gandolfi
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Old 15 Apr 2008
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I belong to a Canadian-based forum group called ChinaRiders.net - Your online China Bike community The majority of us are from the US and Canada, with some from other places worldwide.

I don't think without mechanical skills, most Chinese bikes would be a good choice on such a trip. No, they are not as bad as the others have tried to tell you, at least not in the US--the companies have really started ramping up quality to the bikes coming here (Canada, too). I don't think a cruiser would be good.

If you really want a brand new bike with a lower price, I would suggest a Qingqi 200cc enduro or motard. The engine in them is Suzuki-based, and in fact, Qingqi OEM's the Suzuki DR200, so you essentially get a bargain-priced Suzuki that can be repaired at Suzuki dealers, and the parts interchange with Suzuki parts. I am not sure if Qingqi's are distributed in Argentina.

Another Chinese choice for an enduro, cheaper than most, but more expensive than other Chinese brands is Skyteam. They might be sold under the UM brand.
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Old 10 May 2008
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Although I agree with the general concept that "size doesn't matter" and "It's about the trip, not the bike", I think that when it comes to cross-continent touring, there is such a thing as a realistic minimum engine size, and 200 cc isn't sufficient.

I can recall riding across Canada in the 1970s on a Honda CB 360 - that bike was barely big enough to allow me to safely keep up with highway traffic, and barely big enough to carry me (150 lbs) and the gear I carried.

I think that we are doing Hecate a disservice by not pointing out that a 200 cc bike just won't be able to get him and his kit up a hill on a hot day at high altitude, even if it is the most robust and sturdy 200 cc motorcycle in the world.

For a trip of the length he is proposing, over the route he is proposing, I think 350 cc is really the minimum realistic size. Sure, you could tour some regions on a 200 cc... but not Terra del Fuego to Canada. There's too many hills along the way - the moto would be constantly short on power, and this would affect its reliability and service life.
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Old 12 Aug 2009
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hi all,

the other day i met a japanese couple 2up on a 90cc yamaha scooter with luggage. made it all the way up from buenos aires...

a while ago in colombia i met a couple 2up on a 250cc honda roadbike. made it all the way from south of SA following east coast up. had to repair rear suspension a few times though. engine was fine.

...so does size matter?

200cc should be fine, although i would advise a dual sport yamaha or honda. travel suspension with topes, potholes etc. is imho required. throw some soft lugge bags on and go!

i would suggest a falcon 400 as a minimum though, its good to have some extra hp for overtaking trucks uphil and such....

ciao, sanderd (traveling with 600ccm)
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  #9  
Old 8 Feb 2011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gpothoven View Post
A chinese bike may be unreliable, but parts and tires are cheap and easily found or repaired. It's ultimately up to you.
We occasionally see chinese motorbikes down here. Some of them are running but rarely outside of the towns. Many are not running at all. Cheap, unreliable, easy to break, nobody around here has parts. If you wish to spend your time challenged by such things, that is certainly an option. Or you could spend a little more and get a decent Honda XL250 variant if you insist on a small displacement bike.

Another thing to consider is the wind, esp the wind in southern Patagonia. We have winds down here that reach 120 km/hr or more. If you wish to ride a 250cc bike into a 120km/hr headwind, you must have a lot of patience and extra fuel.
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