We will be setting off from the UK to Mongolia on a couple of 125 .
For visa applications ( fixed dates for the Stans) I need to have an idea of how long it will take us to make it from the Uk to Kazakhstan, going via Southern Europe and Ukraine.
We will avoid major roads when possible so may be slow going.
Anyone has gone round Europe on a 125? What was your average distance daily? We don't plan to start at. 7 am to 8 pm!

This is our first long travel with such small bikes. Usually on a 650 so we can blast through Europe.... Not this time....

Cheers

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Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

On a 100cc traveling through Vietnam, we never got more than 300klms a day... more like 200-250klms on a mix of road types.
We managed 75kph on good roads and much less on the poorer roads.
At the end of the day, after 250klms we were glad to get off the seat.

Alex

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Age does not protect you from motorbikes. But motorbikes, to some extent, protect you from age.

I rode from Calais down through France using back roads on a Vespa PX125 then over the Pyrenees to Huesca, Northern Spain. Around 820 miles or so in 4 days. A couple of hundred miles a day was quite enough thanks to a short fuel range and some minor mechanical issues which ate into the time. A 125cc motorbike should be a little quicker but 250 miles would probably be enough for most people particularly as you will be doing it day after day.

Maria:

Don't forget that the prevailing wind will have quite a substantial effect on the number of miles you can travel each day with such a small bike.

I remember crossing Canada (against the wind, from west to east) one summer on a Honda 360cc. If it was a windy day out on the highway, and the wind was not in my favour (it never was), cruising speed could be reduced by 10 km/h.

I'm not even sure if it will be practical to take 125cc bikes out on the highway for long periods of time... but if you do plan to travel on highways, be sure to discount your cruising speed (which will likely be the bike's top speed) to allow for unfavourable winds.

Michael

PS: Have you investigated to determine if you will be able to purchase consumable items (tires, filters, brake components, etc.) for those 125cc bikes all the way along your route?

It is very practical, I went the same way on the same bike last year and thought it a better bike than the R80GS I have travelled on before, but then I also like to cycle tour which is even slower. Spares are just as available for these bikes as any other, not very in some places such as Azerbaijan but generally good, the CG125 engine they are fitted with is the second most common after the Honda 50/70/90.
A comfortable cruising speed is about 50 mph, they are a comfortable bike and I managed up to 300 miles in a longer day but 200 was preferable.

I've used my old 1970's 125 for several Euro trips in the last year or so covering about 4000 miles in total, as well as many more in the past on other 125s. Unlike bigger bikes there are a number of things that govern how far you can (or would want to) travel per day. Here's my potted wisdom:

1. You will be driving it more or less flat out all the time on the open road. Oherwise you'll get nowhere. Don't worry about it though, they seem to be happy enough and after a while you get used to it.

2.Top speed will depend on a number of factors - whether you're going into the wind or with it, up hill or down hill, how much stuff you've added to the bike (not weight but frontal area - screens etc) and, really important, gearing. Either put some effort in to optimising the gearing beforehand or take some sprockets with you - front ones are cheaper and lighter.

3. Motorways - if you can't maintain 55mph motorways will be a stressful experience. You have to be able to run with the trucks. I've frequently been down to 40mph in places with head winds, hills and gearing issues and I spent more time looking in my mirrors to see if the truck coming up behind had registered me. Some come very close before they pull out - I don't think the truckers are used to things going slower than them !! Sundays on the autobahn (= no trucks) can be frightening with 140mph BMWs and Audis not even bothering to move out of your lane to come past. On ordinary roads you'll have white van man about 30cm behind you at all times.

4. I've done 350 - 400 miles in a day a number of times but I wouldn't want to do it day after day. Generally somewhere between 200 and 250 miles is enough. Because you're having to row them along on the gear lever and the engine is constantly at max revs it's more tiring than a bigger bike.

5. You probably won't need much in the way of consumables - tyres, chain, brake bits etc if you start off with new parts. A couple of tubes maybe but stuff just doesn't wear out like it does on bigger bikes. I don't think I've ever had to change any stuff like that en route with a small bike. What does go is light bulbs. The vibration eventually kills them. If you can find some suitable led stuff that works it might be a good upgrade. My Suzuki is 6v and the lights are AC so I don't have much choice but I've found that 12v bulbs last longer. There's no light output but they don't blow.

Is this the Mongol rally you're doing? I did consider doing it this year but I've got too many other things on in the summer to be able to find the time. Looks interesting though.