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If being lumped in with the riff-raff really concerns you, you could always buy an Enfield. Only gentlemen ride Enfields!
matt |
Matt excellent idea, enfield is the way forward! -may be I could fit a pic-nic basket on the back or even better get Touratech to make an insulated case to keep ones G&T chilled. is there a dealer in london? ;-) |
I really don't think there is much likelihood of the adventure motorcycling community being overun by riff-raff anytime soon.
I have spent the past eight months riding around Africa and have been amazed by how few overland bikers I have met. Compared to the number of large commercial overland trucks or 4WDs, we still make up a very small community. In my view, every single adventure motorcyclist I have met on the way has been the sort of person I would be proud to associate with, because they typically respect the environment and the culture of the countries in which they travel and have a lot of fun doing it. I cannot say the same for all the commercial overland truck passengers I have met. Whilst I note Lucky Striker's point, having seen the annual holiday migration of South African 4WDers, towing their quad bikes and jet skis in convoy, trashing southern Mozambique, the very nature of solitary travel on a bike in rough terrain is unlikely to make this a mainstream tourist activity........and long may it be so! |
Matt Cartney and george t
You may have a point there. Perhaps a different approach is needed to distinguish oneself from the masses. I can see it clearly – The REAL adventurer could scoff at the plebs with their huge, modern trailies and invest in a vintage bike instead. I will trade in my R1200GS and get an Enfield (or similar mature lady). The money left over will enable me to purchase the many spares needed and two wicker baskets filled with Gin & Tonic. The tonic will of course immunise me against malaria and the gin should keep me warm at night. Circumnavigating the globe in a tweed suit and leather hood with goggles will probably look silly so I won’t go that far… I call on the brave to get rid of your expensive machines and astound the riff-raff with your REAL machismo! george t – I seem to remember a small shop in Leyton halfway between the Thatched House Pub and Dixie Chicken that used to sell and repair Enfields, Indians and very old DKWs. This was 3years ago but I think they are still there. Matt Roach I’m glad you mentioned the ‘migration of South African 4WDers’. It is indeed what I base my fears upon. That said, having read all the posts thus far I have begun to mellow and realise that my assumptions were mostly incorrect. Motorcycling is fairly incorruptible due to the dedication needed. Overlanding with a motorcycling is by its very nature unattractive to the careless and irresponsible. My fears have been banished for the most part by this thread. Thank you all |
Tweed is useless in most motorcycling environments, you need a coat of stout thornproof material, a deerstalker & puttees to compete effectively against the elements & to complete the "Gentleman Traveller from a bygone era" look. Plus 4's are optional.
[This message has been edited by Steve Pickford (edited 10 June 2005).] |
chris, i have to admit there are many pricks who ride bikes and the guy in the suit was probably one of them.
'big fat overloaded bikes' do have their limitations for overlanding but are not totally unsuitable as you say, perhaps the 'long way round' portrayed this...but because i haven't seen it i can't comment. i am happy with my BMW 'adventure-minus the suit' during my RTW, two-up with luggage it does most of what i need it too, but it's not ideal in every situation show me the bike that is !!!! |
Mr Lucky you are becoming confusing. I thought the tweed jacket went with the BMW....Oh they all wear that sir!
I want a Pithe helmet to go with mine. Tres cool. What do you think Bob? Although where you are a sombrero is probably going to be more fetching. Do you really lament the loss of gentlemanly travellers or is it the loss of empire that causes more regret. The new one gives you golden gates to culinary heaven although I suspect its really scotish. Must back to the couch the gins getting warm. |
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not sure on tweed on the ole enflield (have to ask my tailor) but my waxed cotton bike jacket would do everything adequately (well not really) and it would look a milion miles away from the latest BMW/aerosticth jacket the riff raff are wearing these days. may be we should have a forum on do's & don'ts of vintage adventure travel, in that way would be easier to keep all the adv travel riff raff out... |
here you are george :-)
dos and donts : http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000602.html by the way, after the beard/no beard debate, any advice for a suitable haircut when travelling :-) ? |
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Also killing chickens in the third world??? are there really overlanders out there that are this sort of yuppie scum? Everywhere I have been off the beaten track everyone has been ridiculously nice to me, free lunches and chai etc so there is hope for us yet - our international reputation is at least a bit intact. That said I was on a small ferry in S.America when two Americans on bikes decided to start their engines early and rev hell out of them - not a popular move. Maybe the code of conduct would be a good idea, but this is getting close to having rules for our delightfully anarchic hobby...... |
I guess its a case of be careful what you wish for. Every time something gets easier it brings in people who were'nt quite up to doing it before. My "overlanding" experience goes back to 1970 when I went to Morocco 2 up on a 250 two stroke Yamaha. No hard luggage, no GPS, no Lonely Planet, no big tanks, no mp3 players, no mobile phones, no internet (and our haircuts were checked at the Ceuta border in case we were degenerate hippys). Everybody genuinely thought we were stupid to attempt it. Bit by bit over the decades I've seen equipment and infrastructure improve to the point that last time I went to Morocco (2yrs ago) I don't even think I checked the oil.
All of these changes were ones I welcomed at the time as they took a little uncertainty out of the next trip but at the same time its brought in people who wouldn't have considered setting out without a whole raft of backups.A few years ago I met a German guy and his girlfriend at the Western Sahara / Mauritanian border. She had fallen and broken her collerbone. She got a lift to Nouhadibou in a 4x4 and flew home. The German AA recovered the bike (a GS BMW!) Without the ability to do this many people would not undertake such a trip. My rule of thumb observation over the last 35 yrs has been that whatever is cutting edge foolhardyness now becomes easy to do ten years later and you'll see others having their hand held as part of an organised commercial tour ten years after that. They might be using vintage Enfields with wicker baskets as hard lugggage and a tweed riding suits but its more likely that they'll have goretex suits and be riding GS's It's not just GS's that pr**ks ride. Two weeks ago I was lane splitting a holdup on the M40 when I was overtaken by a courier who physically pushed me out of the way to get past, gave me a one fingered salute and twenty meters up the road kicked the door of a car that hadn't pulled over far enough. |
I think regardless of what bike we ride or what panniers or throwovers we choose...these are tools of our trade!
i dont think you can or should keep any so called riff raff away from what we do. the taste of adventure is not something that can be owned and protected like some exclusive golf club. I think most kind of motorcycle types e.g sports bikes,offroaders etc..have their fare share of indivduals who create a false image for the non riding public by the way they act and behave,but is their any group of road user that are regarded as saints? And If certain people just get thier kicks from looking like a modern lawrence of arabia but without gaining the deep satisfaction that we get from seeing and being part of it all,im afraid thats their loss and nice secondhand bikes for us!! Lee. |
right or wrong?, i dunno, but i am doing it my way
Well if you happen to see me on the road I am riding a '99 africa twin, brand new metal mules, gps and roll chart holder on the handlebars. Have spent a lot of time reading stuff on this board, and come Monday I will be in New York waiting for my bike to turn up. I have my digital camera, my camcorder, laptop, and under pressure to buy a cheap mobile in the states.
I may be the yuppie, I may be the riff raff, but I am doing this trip on my own, in my mind it will be the first and last time cos cant imagine being in a position to be able to do two or more rtw's in one life but who knows. It is my trip, I am doing it my way. Minimal route planning except to want to do the trans am trail, route 1 california and be at the horizons meeting in Argentina. I dunno how long I am gonna be on the road for, taking it one day at a time but have all my flights booked I want, completely flexible and taken 18months off work. In my humble opinion, everybody does there own trip, in there own way, and there own style. This is why we are still classified as being individual Ride safe and hopefully get to meet a few of you on the road Paul |
I think that these people you mention will turn around when the going gets tough.
The first puncture they have and they realise they will have to fix it with out any help from the breakdown organisation. Or the first time they ride through a terrible rainstorm and the realise that they have to pitch there tent in it. Start cooking in the wet whilst wearing wet clothes. And when there sleeping in the tent at night in the middle of nowhere and they get an urgent call of nature. They will have to climb out of a nice warm sleeping bag, unzip the tent, and take a dump in the woods, whereupon they discover they got the squirts because they ate something that did not agree with them. Forty five minutes later its still raining and there still squatting because they got a bad stomach, they got cramp in there legs because they've been squatting for so long. there shivering because of the cold, but can't go back to the tent yet, whilst the stinging nettles stinging your arse (don't ask me how i know?) Or when there dealing with the Russians at the border in the rain for three hours, the inks running on there forms there writing on and the pen keep tearing the wet paper and the very unhelpful border staff barking orders at you. Belive me mate i don't think these people will hack it. Its not like a 4 wheeled vehicle where what you can nap in if you can't be bothered to pitch your tent, or shelter from the elements to cook or fill in forms at border crossings, and driving is not as tiring as riding, i know because i drive a lot of miles for a living. They will soon discover that biking is not a glossy photo of oneself riding over a sand dune on an unladen bake, in the glorious sunshine. Once they discover that, there will be some that turn around, or others that will dump the bike and fly home. But there will be a small minority that realise it is not as easy as it looks, and soldier on and batter there brand new bike. Its the latter that will be welcomed into the fold. They will have been through the mangle and out the otherside Maverick Bubble |
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