So I'm planning my North to South (west africa) trip and I'm thinking about what bike I should get.

As a background I have been riding my Versys-x 300 around Europe this year and I have been absolutely loving it. The bike is great for Europe, and I am sure it would handle Africa just fine, but I'm still thinking about switching.

I have narrowed it down to 3 bikes:

I would take my Versys:

Upsides:

I know the bike
Fairly light and enough power
Load capacity is good enough
Good comfort
Smooth Engine
I already own it


Downsides:

Valve clearance is 12k km. Not horrible, but might be hard to find someone do the clearance in Africa.
19" in the front might be hard to find tyres.
The bike is bright "kawi" green and it will attract a lot of attention.

CRF 300 Rally:

Upsides:
Longer valve clearance interval 24k km.
Lighter weight
Big 21" wheel in the front 18" in the back


Downsides:
New model. Might be hard to find accessories.
Reliability is unknown, but it's a Honda..
Probably can't carry as much weight as the Versys.
I have to buy it.

Tenere 700

Upsides:
Longer valve clearance interval 40k km.
Big 21" wheel in the front 18" in the back
Seems to be very reliable
Can carry a lot

Downsides:
Probably too heavy for me to pick it up by myself. (this is a big deal to me)
High price in Europe.
Very Tall, might be a problem for me.



What do you guys think? Will the Honda be better for Africa? Money really isin't a big deciding factor - I'm not super rich, but I have more than enough. Just looking for the bike that will make the trip enjoyable.

I would take the Kawasaki as you seem to like it, you will probably find someone to check the valves and these can often be left a lot longer without a problem, I recently checked them on my Honda XR125 for the first time at 30,000km and they were fine. 19" tyres are quite common now and should be available somewhere and the bright green will not stay that way for long in Africa.
If not the CRF300 would be a good choice.

how are you going to carry all your stuff? do you already have appropriate luggage?

Take the Versys! (Although keep thinking about other options - it's part of the fun of preparing for a trip!)
There is better tyre choice than there used to be, and you don't need knobblies anyway.

I would be suprised if the valves drift out of adjustment so you could let it slide for a few thousand km if necessary.
Wrap the plastics - will protect them from scratches and gives you a choice of patterns and colours.
The T7 is a fabulous bike, 'till you have to pick it up, or paddle it through a tricky rutted or muddy section, or pay for it!! (How many km can you travel for the money you would be spending on the swap?)
I bet the Versys seat is more comfortable than the Honda (although I stand to be corrected there) and by the way, never buy a used Honda from someone who says "It's a Honda" - probably means they've never bothered with an oil change 'cause "they're bombproof aint they" ;-)

I took a classic Vespa all the way down to guinea bissau in about three weeks, and on another trip from Cape Town to nairobi - to make a point (and because of a fetish for Vespas). All bikes are capable, though not all are suitable.

The T7. If you are tall enough to ride the T7, you are strong enough to pick it up. It can be lowered 2 cm with lowering links with negible effects, and shave off another 2 cm off the saddle. With all your luggage it will sag a lot - so my bet is that if you are taller than 170 cm, you would do ok. If I was to get a bike of this size, the T7 would be at the top of my list. Bullet proof and proven engine, simple tech, 21 inch wheel, massive ground clearance, spiked wheels, and dirt cheap for what you get. I'm drooling over this bike, and although it is cheap in it's class, it is still a big stack of money to fork over. As with the CRF, you are not going to find used bikes that has depreciated significantly - people have to wait in line to get these.

The CRF is a lot lighter, and cheaper still. However, riding a long trip like this (if you consider yourself a noob), you probably will take it very carefully. An adventure ride for a long weekend, or two weeks, is a completely different game than a trip that lasts for months or years. The consequences of injury or having your bike destroyed is usually much greater than if you are toying around morocco for a week, with a return planned, a job to go back to, a home waiting for you, no border crossings, etc - where you can gun it with close to nothing loaded into the bike. For such a trip, the CRF would probably be a better bet than the T7. But for an RTW, not so much.

On that long trip, much of the lower weight benefits of the CRF would be eaten up by more gear carried and by a more careful riding style - one where you try to conserve body and bike to make the distance. You would still enjoy having a lighter bike, but you won't have a lot of power to haul you and your gear up steep hills, mud, sand, high altitudes, or on the long stretches where you would prefer to do 130 km/h.

The Versys would certainly be a suitable bike, but the other two on your list a bit more.

For Africa only, I think the CRF would be my choice. But, if I was to keep the bike for varied adventures around the world, the T7 - no contest.

The Versys, it would certainly do it well, I just 4hink the Honda is a slightly better choice for Africa on every single attribute - it's like it was designed for it.

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I have been riding around Europe for the past 6 months. I have throw over saddle bags and a backpack that I attach to the luggage rack.

The 300 rally is fairly tall.
Have you looked at the Himalayan? Low seat height and centre of gravity.
If it’s perfect for the Himalayas it’ll be perfect for Africa

BTW - I’m not sure why picking up a bike becomes the main feature for a lot of people’s bike choice. I’ve been riding bikes for over 35 years and i took up off road riding when I was 50 - I’ve never had to pick up a bike and I wouldn’t call myself a brilliant bike rider - just go steady.

So that will be easy enough to carry over to a new bike. Clearly while riding in West Africa you will need more spares. Will it be enough to accommodate the extra water and parts for the trip?

Another issue is range. Most people I have seen attempt the west coast usually have 500km of range. I believe that is also just for insurance as fuel availability is sporadic. Of the three would I be right in thinking that the versys has the best range? The Tenere needs another 4-5L to get it to 500km, while the CRF 300 Rally needs another 3-4L. I would imagine something like a giant loop fuel bladder would be best as you could stow it away when not necessary.

I respect the Himalayan, but it's not for me. Im fairly sure I will only buy Japanese bikes for the rest of my life.

The range on the Versys is amazing. 17 liter tank gives me a fuel range of around 500km. I can use a plastic bottle if I feel like it wont be enough. Not sure what spares I need to take? Maybe a extra clutch cable and some spare tubes. Won't take up to much space.

The Himalayan should be a no go for parts availability vs reliability, in Africa. Power is on the low end also.

As for range, jerry cans will get you there. The T7 got plenty for 99% of the time. Just keep a can for those few legs where you believe availability to be scarce or unreliable.

As for flipflop's comment. You ride any kind of technical stuff with a loaded bike, in the boonies, alone - you must be able to pick up your bike - your life could depend on it. The probability of you dropping the bike on that trip is higher than not. That much said, you can lift a heavier bike than you think - even without having to take the luggage off... with proper technique (lot's of videos out there on it). When it gets tough is if you drop it over and over the same day. See if you can find someone that has the bike you are considering and see if you can lift it - or a bike that is similar. Hard panniers might help in that aspect.

A tall and heavy bike is easier to drop than a lighter bike that you can flatfoot with leg length to spare. At the same time, large wheels, long suspension travel, and high ground clearance will help to keep you upright in the technical bits. Therefore, the tallest bike that you can muster is your best bet. People that say you don't need to be able to flat foot a bike off-road are either really experienced (and forgotten what it is like not to be) or don't have any experience at all except for watching cortically youtubers who manage well.

There will likely come times where you will need to paddle backwards or forwards, or catch your footing when the bike is on the higher part of uneven terrain - maybe on both sides of the bike even (riding on or over a ridge). Just about every adventure bike can be lowered quite a bit through both seat and suspension combined, with negible begative effects. If you end up with an uncomfortable seat, you could always slap on a cushion for the less technical bits, where you will spend hours at end in your saddle and where being vertically challenged doesn't matter much - i e. on smooth surfaces.

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Don't just consider what is likely to break but also components that require replacement or replenishment which are hard to procure in West Africa. For one thing the biggest issue is finding good quality oil so you need to think ahead for when you are going to get a service on the way down. Tires are also hard to find for anything that is not a cheap Chinese bike.

lolo cochet is a french moto journalist and his friend Amaury Baratin, Africa Eco race malle moto winner and dakar original by motul finisher, took two T7s all the way to Angola before being halted in their tracks by Covid. They had a service done in Dakar where I suspect they had all their components and tires shipped. They used michelin anakee wilds which are not the longest lasting tire. If you choose something like a motoz tractionator GPS you might be able to get a little further before needing a change (You can only get a rear for the Versys 300 I think). They brought extra clutch plates but did not used them, as well as some other items like air filters.

https://youtu.be/Py9OyHUnP_Q

How many spares and tools you need to bring with you depends on how fast you need to travel. If you have time, you can hang arround some place while you order and wait for parts to srrive, if you have less time you can have them shipped ahead to someone friendly, and if you have no time you need to carry everything for every eventuality.

I can attest to oil being difficult to find, especially two stroke oil. But if you have time on your side, and you don't absolutely require the best, you will find it.

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Take the bike you like best.
I'm not being dismissive, but you will be living with the bike for a few months, so take what you are happiest with.

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Hear the challenge, learn the lesson, pay the cost.

I have ridden both the Himalayan and Versys and prefer the latter which I suspect will be more reliable. Provided your bike does not have too many kilometers on it before you leave and is fully serviced you should not need too many spares, a couple of oil filters, plugs, cables, break and clutch levers and a pair of inner tubes just in case. Replace chain and sprockets and brakes pads before you leave and they should go the distance.
That is a great mileage from a standard tank, you would not need more on the east route and you can get advice on the road about any stretches where a few more litres are needed in the west.

One thing to consider. If you plan on keeping the bike, for years to come...

Equipping an older bike with new and relatively very expensive gear, might be painful as you know any equipment you sell as part of the bike will depreciate a lot.

If you buy a used bike with garbled you don't need or would like to change, you will have paid a premium for something you won't benefit from as much as you would like. It may put you in a position where you either cannot justify the expense of equipping it the way you would have liked, for a bike you don't plan on keeping... Or, you go ahead on equipping it to a great extent and later find that you keep it longer than you want to because you can't justify taking such a big loss without having utilized it more - only to have to make a new investment.

Therefore, if you don't have any long term plans, then buying an inexpensive adventure ready bike and keeping the mods to a minimum could be the good way to go about it. As the Versys is quite suitable for this job as is, and you already have it, then I would not write it off as a top contender. You probably have all the gear you need to be able to leave as soon as you've had it serviced, collected some spares, and gotten your paperwork in order.

I am in a similar predicament. Buy a used semi farkled up xt660z or a new T7 Rally - which with all the extras would cost me three times as much.

I've also considered the CRF, but find it lacking in power on the smoother stuff. But it is still one of the top runners for my GF (beginner) due to weight, cost and her abilities today. But also here, thinking more long term, she will likely end up with the xt660z.

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