Hi Folks, I'm a little new here, I guess this will be my first post. I just wanted to voice an idea and see if people think it's crazy or not.
I've ridden a 1996 CBR600 FT for the last 16 odd years, but recently I suffer from coccydynia, inflammation of the coccyx bone, and these days I have issues with what I can and can't ride, I also have a whiplash injury and neck pain on the CBR when I ride long distance. This lead me to try different bikes, Honda Crosstourer, Triumph Adventure, and the GS, all great bikes, but I didn't settle with them, I guess partly due to weight (and cost). Really fancied an Africa twin, but couldn't find a nice one for a reasonable price. I bought a Honda CG 125 for commuting and running around, and gained a fondness for this little tough hard working bike. I kitted it up with throw overs, tank bag, and it already had a Givi case on the back, and I found myself backing the underdog, telling people how good these little things are, and promptly rode over all the mountain passes in the Lake District on one bored day, it was awesome, and accomplished easily, with the only issue was a horsepower imposed 60mph top speed. I got home, had a whale of a time, and wanted to pat the little bike on the tank and congratulate it for such a good job. So, I wondered if anyone else has a small capacity machine that they're interested in taking touring ? So, is there anyone living roughly north of England with the same thoughts ?
Ultimately, I wanna go touring before summer is out, and I'd prefer not to go alone. Short-ish trips suit me, ie 4 or 5 days to a week, but longer is possible. UK is fine, but over the water would be a preference, Europe, Ireland even.
I'm massively enthusiastic, am interested in countries that are off the beaten track if I could choose, but I'll go anywhere rather than nowhere, and if it makes a difference to you, I'll break out the CBR6 and am happy to do do 800+ miles a day and have a challenging long distance tour.
My ultimate goal, and I don't know know if it's even possible, would be to visit my brother who lives in Perth Australia, and to it all by road, clearly on something like an Africa twin
I'd be keen to hear anyone's comments on anything above, I'd love to meet a few contacts here which could hopefully lead to some great touring experiences, so, if you've read this far, please say hi !

Paul

Hi Paul sounds like a good set of plans. Especially the road trip to Perth. Nothing like being ambitious.

Hope you make it and hopefully you'll find a few travelling companions here.

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That concrete whizzing by five inches below your foot is the real thing...

Hi Paul. There's quite a few people here buzzing around on small bikes so you're not alone and some are covering quite considerable distances on them. There was a discussion thread on 125cc touring a couple of months ago that you might find of some interest - http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-touring-70302

I'm planning a trip down to the Alps on my 1976 125 in about six weeks time.

Clearly the Perth trip would be the absolute culmination of my road travel exploits, but is that even possible ? Someone said that there is no Usable sea transport to get you into the northern top of Australia. Is there anyone here that has done this ?

The 125 Alps trip sounds interesting, how long will you be going for ?

The actual plan is wandering around like a drunk in a gale at the moment but at the point of typing this the vision is leave somewhere round about the 5th Sept and head for the French mini meet that's on over the weekend of the 7th/8th just north of Rodez.

After that I'm heading over to near Grenoble, where we have an apartment in one of the nearby towns, for a few days of house maintenance and then heading back to near Paris for the following weekend where I've been invited to join our twin town association mangling the french language during their annual visit.

How much of this actually happens remains to be seen and there are a couple of other things I wanted to do while in France that don't fit into that schedule but it seemed perfect as a trip for my little Suzuki as the distances are not that great and I've got plenty of time.

Hi Paul,
proof that it doesn't matter what you ride, so long as you are out there enjoying yourself. I spent many a happy time as a young lad riding all over the UK on my AP50 back in the early '80's. Still look back on that time as some of the most fun I have ever had on two wheels.
Myself and the other 'arf are off to Europe the end of August, never plan anything, just head in a general direction, stop where and when we want, mixture of camping and cheap hotels, probably potter around the Alps and maybe down to the South of France. Feel free to ride along some or all of the way.

Be safe,

Mark

Thanks for the message Mark, what kind of bike are you going to be riding ?

Hi Paul, I have both a big and a small cc bike & live in Yorkshire. As yet, I haven't done any long distance touring on the little bike simply because I haven't had enough annual leave due to other holiday commitments. But I'm often up in the Dales & going to Cumbria this weekend
I'm a bit confused by your post though - are you travelling by CG, Africa Twin or the CBR?

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Elaine

Striving to live the ordinary life in a non ordinary way

The two bikes that I currently own are the CG125 and the CBR600, I could use either to be honest. I guess that my ideal bike could be an Africa twin, but as of yet I've not found a decent one.

Cumbria sounds good ! Fingers crossed for a good weekend

Hi Paul. I take my trusty 15 year old zrx1100 over to Europe. Mainly because we are two up with panniers and top box. Try to keep off the motorways and take our time exploring the back roads. It's all about the journey than getting anywhere fast

That sounds really good ! I guess that if I don't find a companion pretty sharpish, I'll have to take a wander alone, and I'm not too sure how I'd feel about it, as previously I've either been with my friend (who now is without a bike and also has work commitments) or I had a definite destination in mind, meeting up with a foreign penpal etc.
I guess if I pre-book hotels, cover for breakdown and all eventualities, then it's my first step towards being able to ride away from work for a short while. I think my first trip will probably be less than a week, and I'd like to see some of the Swiss and Italian mountain roads.
I've previously been to Germany a couple of times, and down through France and Spain to Gibraltar, but do you think a Swiss/Italian solo tour should not be too taxing ?

Just do it as Nike (used to) say.
Your post is full of anomolies such as you have medical issues with the CBR riding but you don't mind putting in 800 mile days (when I had a jelly mould CBR600, about 300-350 miles per day was enough for me).

It seems to me that you are standing on the edge of the diving board and you want someone to push you into the pool.
Go here (chosen by me at random):-
BBC Weather - Oban
the weather is fine and forecast to remain good for a while yet.
So, just go and see who you meet up with ---- find others who are riding and see how things work out.

ps Don't pre-book anything; just go!!

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Dave

Thanks for the advice, you're right, I didn't explain fully. Sometimes the two mile ride to work sets my neck off aching, and other times I get more of a distance. The rain was so heavy on the way back during those 800miles, I think I'd forgotten about the health complaints. There seems little I can do about the health niggles, so I just take a pain killer when I need to, and get on with it !
I could sit at home, be comfy, and not go out on my bike, but such is the enjoyment of the hobby that I just can't leave bikes alone.
Maybe because I'm uncomfy anyway, I didn't notice I should stop after those 200-300 miles on the CBR. I totally loved that run, it was awesome ! Even though my Goretex gear ain't totally waterproof

There is nothing more taxing riding on the continent than the Uk. In fact car drivers in France are much more tolerant to bikers and everywhere we have stopped people are genuinely interested on what you are up to and where you are going. My advice would be to maybe book the first nights stop and then take it as it comes. You will always find a campsite or hotel, failing that a quiet field somewhere. Take it easy, stop regularly, take in the sights, talk to people (even if you don't know the language, it's amazing how much you can say just with a smile) Don't be over ambitious trying to cover the miles, remember you're on holiday. The best piece of advice I was given was never to worry about what MIGHT happen.