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Which Bike? Comments and Questions on what is the best bike for YOU, for YOUR trip. Note that we believe that ANY bike will do, so please remember that it's all down to PERSONAL OPINION. Technical Questions for all brands go in their own forum.
Photo by Alessio Corradini, on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, of two locals

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Alessio Corradini,
on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia,
of two locals



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  #16  
Old 16 May 2013
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Only half way through Amazon's labyrinthine publishing system with it yet but it's the story of my Elephant rally trip this year on my 70's Suzuki Bloop. I'm not rushing as I don't expect anyone to buy it but I just wanted to see how the system works for when I try to get another (nothing to do with biking) book that I wrote last year through it.

There's a 1/3 page article about the trip in this month's Classic Mechanics mag if you happen to be passing Smiths.
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  #17  
Old 16 May 2013
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Just because we haven't had any pictures yet, here's my Derbi Terra Adventure on a recent trip to France.

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  #18  
Old 16 May 2013
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ah erotic fiction!
i see sounds exiting (the noob googles elephant rally ). That's a real nice bike im thinking of buying one reliable ?
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  #19  
Old 16 May 2013
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jeez i got as far as German winter rally kudos to you and i hope you still have all your fingers
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  #20  
Old 16 May 2013
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Just to make your bike look even better Alex, here's a picture of mine -

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  #21  
Old 16 May 2013
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I believe one of the chonda challenge boys only has a cbt , hope it is valid in mongolia . More and more people are using small capacity bikes , it does make sense , you can go further on the same amount of fuel , pick them up on your own , they are easy to take off road , smaller cost if you have to crate for shipping , you can load the little beggers onto a canoe if you have too , down side people think is speed but who wants to rush past everything surely you are out there to enjoy it . If you have less time and need to travel fast , fly, and hire a small bike which of course will be less to hire.

Now where did i put that GS1300 adv brochure ....... ( need to light fire lol)
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  #22  
Old 17 May 2013
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Loch Lubnaig last year i love that place.
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  #23  
Old 25 May 2013
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This is Mo

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  #24  
Old 25 May 2013
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Yo mo!
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  #25  
Old 25 May 2013
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Hi,

Specialy for latin american countrys the 125cc bikes are perfect, scince the local people use them and therefore all the parts are easy to find if needet.

Buying a bike ther also saves the cost of shiping another bike there so i can anyone recomend to do so:

http://reisemotorrad.eu/?report=en_suedamerika
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  #26  
Old 27 May 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ta-rider View Post
Hi,

Specialy for latin american countrys the 125cc bikes are perfect, scince the local people use them and therefore all the parts are easy to find if needet.

Buying a bike ther also saves the cost of shiping another bike there so i can anyone recomend to do so:

http://reisemotorrad.eu/?report=en_suedamerika
You can add most of SE Asia and probably China to that as well. I have a Chinese built Yamaha 125 that I have taken places where I'd be real nervous on a 650+ machine.
Most mileage has been 2-uo and often loaded.

And it's physically big enough for me (at 6'2) to feel comfortable, with a rated load capacity nearly as big as most 650 - 1200 machines.

No hassling with importing parts, lack of tires in the right size, lack of maintenance expertise and so on.
I've done 400 km on a 12l tank, again 2-up and loaded, running at 80+ km/h.
The new 150cc that has replaced it should get 460 - 500 km.

It's been far more reliable and lower maintenance than my Husky 610 or R11GS were, at the same or lower mileages.

$1700 in the Philippines will get you a fairly wide choice of new 125 to 200 cc Japanese and Chinese bikes, taxed, titled, insured and with a year of free maintenance (excluding consumables) thrown in.
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  #27  
Old 27 May 2013
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Here is my Honda XR125L which I nominate as the best 125 travel bike. It has the engine from the CG125 in a trailbike chassis which weighs in unladen at 110KG. It does between 110-120 MPG but I have seen better and is taking me to Central Asia, currently in Istanbul.
Yesterday a few of us went trail riding near the Black sea and it easily went places my R80GS would have been a handful, with a relaxed cruising speed of 50 MPH it is quite fast enough off of motorways and has a comfortable seat and riding position for my 5' 8" frame, a great little bike.

Last edited by mark manley; 27 May 2013 at 06:58. Reason: more info
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  #28  
Old 27 May 2013
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You seem to be making good progress, Mark. How many miles do you ride a day?
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  #29  
Old 28 May 2013
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How strong is the subframe on the XR?

My YBR doesn't have the best suspension, but the twin shocks are an inch longer than the old XR125 we can find used here.
Plus they are very progressively sprung so seem to cope well with loads.
Being built off a delivery/commercial bike frame, it's pretty strong, the biggest issues for me are the forks and front wheel.

Forks are a little spindly and low travel, and the wheel is a cast 18". One positive to that is it uses the same tire front and back....

I only get around 80 MPG, but that's traveling 2-up and running with or ahead of traffic.

I never get near the 100+ MPG others quote on the various Honda cub rip offs either.

Problem here is that the XR125s are all old, the XR200 is the closest replacement.
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  #30  
Old 28 May 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pete3 View Post
You seem to be making good progress, Mark. How many miles do you ride a day?
I try not to do more than 200 but the bike is comfortable and I am sure 300 is possible.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tigershel View Post
How strong is the subframe on the XR?

My YBR doesn't have the best suspension, but the twin shocks are an inch longer than the old XR125 we can find used here.
Plus they are very progressively sprung so seem to cope well with loads.
Being built off a delivery/commercial bike frame, it's pretty strong, the biggest issues for me are the forks and front wheel.

Problem here is that the XR125s are all old, the XR200 is the closest replacement.
You are possibly confusing my bike with the old XR125 with the OHC engine which is not the same bike, the XR125L only came into production in 2003. The subframe looks reasonably strong, I have fitted pannier frames from a BMW R80GS which took little modification and seems quite solid although I try not to put too much weight in them. It is still a lightweight bike but a little more sturdy than the older twin shock models.
Where is here?
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