The last two sentences there - wow I couldnt have said it better myself!

New overlanders seems to worry that a bike isnt fast enough for highway cruising. Thats not what overlanding is about. Its about exactly what you wrote above here. The backroads, the gravelroads, the roads in third world countries where road conditions, traffic, wildlife and farmanimals, other use of the road such as drying rice and chilies and vegetables, kids soccerfield etc etc etc makes your average speed 50 km/h - on a good day that is. No need to for a bike to be able to cruise at 120-130 km/h when 90 % of the time you will not be able to cruise above at 100 km/h or above.

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-de...ation=at_bikes

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-de...ation=at_bikes

Nearly £3K for a 30 year old bike or for less than £600 more a 6 year old bike.
In the UK DR350s are usable classics and sort by older owners who had one back in the day so prices are buoyant.
I know a few such owners and they’re always having to ‘tinker’ with them - none would take them on a RTW trip.

Beta alp 4.0 then, if you want a good bike. last made in 2019 same as the dr 350 just newer. and hard to find I dont think a suzuki 350 air cooled powered bike will dissapoint I am hovering over a 98 suzuki dr 350 right now and a 2019 beta alp 4.0. The beta has zero km the Suzuki has 91000 and one third the price of the beta
The Suzi will need work But you get what you paid for, Me thinks the Suzi is the way to go you can mod the crap out of it but its not necessary in my opinion

the 91 dr forget it unless you like kick start, 96 to 99 engine is electric start
the 98 - 99 have adjustable front and rear suspension
UK prices suck

except one of the most famous tripof the all:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondo_Enduro

=
Gerald Vince said in an interview: You should spend the money on the trip. Not prepearing for the trip, and have no money left to travell. Adressing the modern "adverntyre bikers" with all extras added

Modding the crap out of something is a fun thing to do as long as I can find a reliable bike. Btw, ain't it difficult to find parts for the Beta when I'm somewhere in Colombia/Tajikistan or some remote place? Not that I don't value your opinion, it's just a thought that popped in my mind.

I would have suggested THIS BIKE seems your just across the ditch, probably sold now?

Mezo.

The answer to your question as of why I would never buy a carburetted bike again. Fuel injection makes the bike run better, it offers greater fuel efficiency, it is less finnicky (no changing of jets at different altitudes, working a choke, etc), and it is maintenance free. Sure, repairng a carburettor is esier and cheaper - but fuel injectors have become extremely reliable. It's not exactly new tech anymore - its a long time since Kawasaki first put fuel injection on the KZ1000G in 1980. And, all the money you will save on gas will pay for several new fuelinjectors should it ever fail (very unlikely that it will).

As for why I would no longer buy a bike without ABS? It reduces the probability of a fatal crash by more than a third, and minor crashes by twice that (sources vary) - an all accidents do not only hurt, they are also expensive. It is very common to spend a lot of money on protection for both the bikeand rider to keep be able to stay operational in the event of an accident. But spendng money on accident prevention - like ABS???

Over the course of time, how ever monor we are talking about - Is it really a question of wether or not you will get into an accident because of poor breaking? Or, is it more a question of "how many times"?

A few years ago, there were fewer options for us, especially if we were to buy used - not so anymore. ABS on motorcycles has been arround long enough that there is a large selection of used bikes out there.

For me, not spending the extra money for ABS falls in the same traveler mentality as putting on extra durable tires with zero grip - to save money - while at the same time investing in crash bars. Getting into an accident in the boonies of a developing country is not the same as it happening close to your own hospital and mechanic. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure - get ABS, and don't ride on tires with less grip than you would while riding closer to home!

For reference: I currently have one bike (2020) with lean sensitive abs, traction control and fuel injection. I also have one bike (2021) with basic ABS and fuel injection - but no traction control. I also have one bike (2011) that has fuel injection, but without all the other nifty stuff. In addition I have three ancient bikes that lacks everything. The only thing I enjoy about the older tech is the nostalgia.

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This trip was done in 1995 when the DR350 was still in production - Austin Vince now uses a CRF250L

Thanks for your response and I totally agree. Hereby I also decided I don't want a carb, I want FI. This also rules out the DR650 and DRZ400. I think the best bike will be the CRF300 Rally. That said, I'm still making the route and deciding after I finished making it as I want to know what part of the route will be the hardest part.

Perhaps the 1 factor that is most important in bike choice is time limit.

If you have a limited amount of time for your trip then (unless you’re a Dakar level rider) that will dictate your route and that in turn will influence your choice of bike.
Of course there are those that will just take the bike they want and make it work, or not

I wonder how many people treat an overland trip like an extended holiday? Something I could be guilty of myself
We have a month every summer riding round Europe, Balkans, Morocco etc. Big bikes, all loaded up to camp in comfort and riding the trails with all our stuff safely on the campsite - different story if you have to ride rough roads all day to reach your accommodation.

Remember whatever bike you chose it will be a compromise. No bike will be great at all purposes and in all conditions. A Crf 300 Rally will still not be good at highway cruising, it will still not be the best bike for carry an amount of luggage that a RTW traveller would need. Its important to understand and accept such facts and stick with your choice.

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

I've owned or do own all of those bikes apart from the Yam 700 and 450L.

I prepped an XR650R and then sold it. It's too aggressive. Kick start only. AC power only. No cush drive etc. Way more vibey than the DRZ400. It's a desert racer. Not an Overlander.

I used a DRZ400S for my UK-Captown trip. It's good for 65 mph, very reliable and tons of mods available. It needs a proper seat and screen though. It is a very capable off road bike and still remains a very firm favourite in the Overland community due to it's versatility. Getting a good one outside of the US is getting tricky though. I have two of them now

The 450L is again a very focused offroad bike. I've not heard of anyone Overlanding on one yet. They're dam expensive too.

I had the CRF250L. I thought it was horribly slow and the suspension was pretty crap. Far slower than a DRZ400. But it does have that magic 6th gear that the DRZ doesn't so it probably has a higher top speed. Although it's a long slog to get to that speed when you have luggage on.

It's very popular because it's a Honda. So incredibly reliable and gives fantastic MPG. I am looking forward to trying the 300.


A note of Vibration. Yes, singles do Vibrate more. But if you invest in a great seat, gel pads, sheep skins and fit thick grips with Grip puppies, then they really aren't that bad at all.

I wouldn't overlook the XT660R too. If you can get one where you are ?

They lack ground clearance for really gnarly trails but apart from that it's a peach of an Overland bike which is really overlooked.

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

That is true and something I have to keep a bit more to mind, thank you of reminding me of it.

I just had a look for the XT660R and I can get proper used ones for around 6000 euros so it's in my budget. I'm not planning on riding the most gnarliest trails as you said, so I'll have an eye out for it as well.

Did you ever try a different rearsprocket for the DRZ? Or did you leave it as stock? Also, do you feel that the Honda's are more reliable than the Suzuki's

Yes. A few. The stock on the DRZ400S is 15/45. I tried a 15/41 which was too long. The bike didn't have the power to pull it to top speed with luggage. 15/42 is okay if you have super lightweight luggage.

I think a 15/43 is a good compromise for doing long distance on the 400S.


Honda and Suzuki both make excellent motorcycles. I think they are equal when it comes to quality and reliability. The trouble with finding a DRZ400 in Europe is that you'll probably only find something old and well used unless you search hard and pay a premium.. They are out there though.

They still make them new for the USA/South Africa and Australia I think.

I don't know what your budget is. But If you don't want to get into restoring or tinkering with older bikes then buying a brand new or almost new CRF300 could tick all of your boxes. Assuming you can get one. There are almost no new bikes available for sale due to Covid.

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.