There is no doubt there are difficulties getting stuff in remote locations, but with a bit of forward planning and creativity this can all be sorted out. Which parts not required for routine maintenance are really required on a bike? Your current situation is representative to that of people on a trip, but not having a network of friends locally, it's more difficult (not impossible) to arrange for things to get sent out.

Having read Horizons threads before I started doing my own bike trips I can't help but feel the reliability argument is over stated. As is the blend in, old is better, or old means being able to get local parts argument. That's not my experience at all. I've been fortunate enough to not need to search for parts, but every part that I needed was not locally available, and that was on an old bike.
I'm six feet, blue eyed and blond. Including facial hair. The Pakistanis thought that was piss funny. I've got no hope blending in. Luggage doesn't help either. But I think remote communities would roll out to see what rolled in regardless who you are. You are a foreigner to their community, not just their country. Being dirty can help.

The tools required on BM's and I guess Euro bikes in general are ridiculous, I agree. It's a breath of fresh air, having moved to a WRR from a F650, to see how simple things are done on the other side of the world. Even with a higher level of technology used. My tool and spares kit is tiny now. A motion pro tool kit takes care of just about anything. I hope CCM take this into consideration.

The fun factor is different for everyone. Generally, most people on this forum, myself included, start off with no or nearly no off road experience. So a 'get by on anything and enjoy the smell of the flowers' approach is more common. The more you do these adventure rides, locally or abroad, you tend to get better at it. With that comes a divide in interest. Some stick to the old recipe, others enjoy the off roading and push the boundaries of themselves and/or equipment. Either by going nuts across the Simpson desert on a posty (CT110) for charity every year to test their endurance, or deck out the best of the best equipment to enjoy the riding and performance. This thread falls under the latter interest.

I've got to say that the improvement in equipment is massively noticeable. Both for enjoyment but mainly safety. Good gear saved my life in plenty occasions. I'm still suffering a fractures humerus (since November) after a front wheel wash out, at low speed (20-40km) not pushing it, on an old TTR. I ripped the rear hose out of the rear brake banjo with a bunch of vines stuck in the rear wheel on my WRR the day before. I was shitting my pants that whole day on that TTR. Felt more safe on the WRR without having a rear break on a trail ride half a day. And I'm convinced I wouldn't have crashed on it.

From this I'm further convinced that good gear is a prerequisite for going out, particularly remote bush, if you do decide to go there. Friends who have done those posty rides reckon they've never felt on the edge as much. And that's compare to race events. Just for a bit of background information, I didn't get choppered out. Instead having to sit in a bouncy car with either end of the bone playing chop sticks with each other. Luckily we trailered into the bush this time, so there at least there was a car. Glad I don't ride alone.

I had on as well. The tank is about it in term of cost. But still not that much. And it holds a value somewhat. Rad guards are not necessary for adventure riding. I took mine off. Need to sell them still. Those case guards are pretty cheap I think. Most def necessary though. I didn't do the 3x3 and had no problem lifting the rear wheel. Great bike. Better trail bike, gearing wise, than my WRR, but it needs that 6th gear. There is one available.

Besides the well documented loctite fixes, what else did it need?

Well not until you get a hole in the RAD which has happened to people in the past, safer to keep them on as my current rad guards have dents from stones/small rocks and must have saved my rads from leaks






Do you have the link for this as i have been searching

My bad. It must have been a wide ratio gear set.

ACT Wide Ratio Gears

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5VyQMO9_aU

Trucks can throw up rocks, but a bit of chicken wire zip tied to the plastic guard can help. Or go bush to try and avoid the trucks and their drunk drivers in the first place.

No, the main reason you WON'T have that bike in Thailand is . . . it's no longer possible to bring it in under any circumstances as of about June 2012. Cambodia . . . still no problem but you can't ride around on a foreign tagged vehicle in Thailand very long.

Too bad . . . Cambodia's paperwork and visa issues are much simpler than Thailand . . . but on balance, I'm sticking with the LOS.

Not sure what "lived extensively" is but the last 11 years have been in Thailand (2 years), India (6 years) and Thailand (3) years. Thailand is "too easy" compared to India and in many, many ways easier than any western country.

+1000 generally but my TE630 is ALWAYS way more fun than my DRZ, and it's alot faster, too, on street or dirt.

It's the unplanned stuff that'll really get you here, however. I'm looking at a buddy's cracked lower triples on an XR400. This is going to be a huge PIA AND expensive and time consuming.

Seriously agree. It's almost irrationally overstated. My father-in-law rides 100,000km a year. He's done it for 14+ years. It used to all be done on . . . Harleys ! Now he's entirely on BMWs which he finds the most reliable bike he's ever ridden. (He's a machinist.)

The engine's are all pretty good or better. The transmissions might make clunky noises and have too few gears but . . . they work, fine. The soft parts do wear out, whether the quality is good or crap. It's the connective tissue that fails or degrades in a noticeable manner, sometimes across just a single trip.

Really ? I find almost any euro bike easier to work on, if made in the last 15+ years (my '68 Ducati Sebring 350 required a neurosurgeon to manage the points !) . . . the japanese put an astonishing amount of attention and effort into delivering quality AT delivery. But they suck to work on or maintain. XR/DRZ cams . . . and valve shimming. MUCH easier on my KTM 950, aside from the tank removal and carb removal necessitated by a V-twin, than on those and . . . I could teach my wife to do it easily, quickly and confidently. The buddy with the cracked triples . . . Ducati/BMW certified tech - works at a Honda dealership now and says . . . "I've gone to hell . . . working on japanese machines."

The japanese are the master's of "special tool" such-and-such.

True that. Experience begets, generally, greater expectations and awareness. Rookies think just getting away on a slight grade at a red light is pretty amazing.

Hey, the 3x3 mod returns power AND improved economy.

My entirely original DRZ with 46/15 gearing returned just over 45 MPG @ 60MPH. The modded one will throttle wheelie in 2nd gear with a 100kg rider and returns >55MPG. (The MRD pipe certainly didn't hurt, either.)

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Orange, it's the new black.

The BM I had, had a knack for needing every size tool in the catalogue. So far the majority on the WRR are 8's and 10's. Haven't greased bearings and things yet. Or pulled the shims (under bucket like the BM), so dunno much about special tools yet. The BM certainly had some. Even on simple stuff like for the steering lock nut. But keeping it about the stuff you might do on a trip I reckon the Yammi wins hands down.

Is it not possible for a befriended local bike or even car dealer or importer to take delivery for unusual parts like clamps? If the label is an issue it could relabeled by a friend prior to posting.

Wouldn't be a big surprise ! I'm not the fan of BM's my father-in-law is but we have very different goals. I do like their riding experience - "character" - and find it almost devoid in the DRZ.

There's no small industry here that's been largely endangered doing just that. Largely operated by farang (folk of european descent) expats . . . they're slowly being squeezed out. There's an impressive collection of "non-book" bikes impounded in Chiang Mai - Ducati 916s, Harleys, etc.

The folks who want the big bikes don't vote (here). Parts importation is tricky because that's how alot of the non-book bikes got here - partially dis-assembled as "parts" to avoid duty.

The final reason the (specific) XR's triple will be a headache . . . Honda changes part numbers and parts seemingly to frustrate the backyard mechanic. Steerers, triple offset, accessory (gauge mounts, eg), bearing sizes, etc are ostensibly on a whim. Even a Honda dealer seems to have considerable sense of it all. (There are so many threads on JUST XR SM triples . . . )

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Orange, it's the new black.

I think it needs the 3x3 if you're loaded up. That's just my opinion. That pair valve and Carb solonoid are just something else to go wrong.

There is a 6th gear available ??? It really does need one.

The rads are really weak. I know a few people who cracked theirs with light spills.

www.touringted.com

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

I think I took the snorkel out besides the normal restrictions here in Oz (intake manifold obstruction and exhaust opening). We get the 'E' here though with pumper carb as standard. Never had power issues, but I never did ride it with 25-30kg of gear. Maybe 15-20, but that's trail riding.

Did they break that rad even with the big tank? I've tried my best beating it with a stick, but even sliding into a dead tree trunk didn't cause any damage at all.

I really like the idea of a 400-450cc adventure bike. The choice of engine isn't lighting my fire either though.

Sorry, messed up. No 6 gears. Wide ratio gear sets though.

Anyone got any views on the ccm by any chance ?

By the way -whilst i was looking on t internet - I checked out the adv rider thread on the bm g450x, and it seems that largely everyone liked the bike loved the engine and that reliability seemed reasonably fine and much in line with many other motors - what was certain there was not page after page of whinging about it being a bad engine with insurmountable problems - ( that is if you take the owners points of view into the case rather than the views of all the all knowing voices in the shadows - who probably at best maybe walked past a g450x or seen one in a showroom - Then again Ewan and Charlie did not even look at them never mind choose them so they cant be any good can they. (See Ted I got Ewan and Charlie back on the agenda)

I heard from a mate down the pub E and C will ride CCM on their next jaunt...

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Brighty's website: TheBrightStuffDotCom

CURRENT RR WITH REGULAR UPDATES: The Wife Takes on Chlamydia: A South American Retrospective

[QUOTE=adventure950;428102]Anyone got any views on the ccm by any chance ?
/QUOTE]
Somewhere back there a Mod asked for this thread to stay on topic, but what is the topic for "a single cyl adv bike" placed within "which bike"?
It's probably just as well that the search engine works pretty well nowadays, for anyone who is looking for views about DRZs, Husky this-that-and-t'other + whatever else.

Anyway, here's a couple of things to check out when test riding the CCM:-
The seat in the pic looks like a plank, a very thin plank.
I guess a test ride in July will give an idea about how it really is.

What chance of this? I would expect that the BMW 650 single cyl engine won't get to CCM anytime in the near future.
Maybe the Yam 660cc that has been found in, for instance, the Aprilia Pegaso??

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Dave

Should we start a thread about thread drift? Japanese whaling and DRZ mods in the same thread, fantastic.

From my own point of view the CCM is ticking many boxes. New means less hassle and the spec means I don't blow time on mods that I use for a while then pass to the next bloke FOC. I want long range to avoid dodgy rural petrol and either no servicing because it just works or simple servicing. I don't need CAN unless they'll give me the PC programme, but aren't worried if they do. I need the ability to cruise with the trucks if the only road open is the motorway but won't do this out of choice. I don't need 1200cc. I can ride a Triumph Bonneville on any surface I care to, so light and easy is better but I won't be joining the local MX club either. I ride two up two or three times a year, slowly, so I need maybe 25HP. I am not that tall but am a mean Yorkshireman who wants £30 tyres and 75 mpg. I have no idea if bikes have a soul or not. My old Bullet was a laugh as you could use 101% of the performance you'd bought, then it either broke or tried to kill you. My WeeStrom is boring by comparison, it just takes the abuse.

On the go anywhere front of bikes I can buy in the UK the potential singles (which I like from the power delivery point of view) seem to be:

1. CCM
2. Husqvarna.
3. Enfield.
4. Tenere
5. G650
6. KLX250 at a push.

Anything else with a 200 mile range and 60 mph cruising speed we could compare to the CCM?

What would Ewan and Charlie do if there was to be more ****ing and fewer wheelies

Andy

The short answer is yes of course they would. I've been riding small bikes long distances on and off for the last forty years - long before the internet, EnC or even Ted Simon for that matter. I've done it for loads of reasons - either it was all I could afford at the time, I liked a challenge or I just got bored with big bikes (and probably many others as well). The vast majority of those trips were not recorded, written up or even photographed as I didn't think it was anything out of the ordinary at the time.

It's only now that 1200cc bikes are regarded as "middleweights", the internet making everyone an author and the arrival of "charity guilt sponsorship" that stuff like LE-JOG on a moped is worthy of note. Loads more to say on the subject but as this is a thread on the merits or otherwise of a new CCM I'll just add that my 600cc CCM is currently languishing in the garage while I'm buzzing around on a 125.

I am sure a 4-stroke 125cc is a very capable bike, i recently meet a guy who has done alot of travelling on a large BMW, a Pushbike and was now on a XR125 which seemed very capable if you like lower speed however on a moped type bike i really cant see what would motivate someone to do it

I cant see why a bike less than 125cc would be fun when you could prob pick up 250cc to 350cc for near the same price.

Maybe it also depends on what type of riding you like? i always look for off road routes or bad roads tracks to take to remote areas as i find this interests me a lot more so i need a more capable bike like a DRZ which is very capable offroad and also if needed can sit at 120km on motorways if needed

I know many people like that dude on a post bike from Oz to UK have carried out such a trip but i think this story is different compared some other people today who choose a moped type bike for the "im crazy factor"

I think it is what makes you happy and we are all different and for me a bike 125cc or less on a long trip sounds like my idea of hell.... but hey its different horses for different courses right?