I am looking for a smaller bike for my wife, after I persuaded her to come on my Africa trip from London to South Africa. I myself have decided on the Honda xr650L or yamaha xt 600, but will need something smaller for her, but at the same time very capable for the kind of off road experience we want.

I first came across this bike when reading this post, where reference was made to it having a Yamaha engine.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...erow-get-50702

I thought I would confirm this with the company, but got an email today saying that:

"The Tango 250 comes with a Loncin Chinese engine"

So I am now rather confused and wondering if this bike really is good or not?

Perhaps a better question would be:
" who has used the The Tango 250 with a Loncin Chinese engine on a trip from EU to Sth Africa and what were your observations" ?

There is a lot of good stuff built in China, but then again....
When travelling on two bikes, it is generally accepted that the best idea to have the same motorcycle. This helps by allowing you to exchange parts to and from to diagnose problems.

EVERY machine will have its good points and bad points- the key is in choosing one which many have used in the same environment/trip you are proposing-; then identifying what really must be changed and what is needed by doing some research/reading.

You may wish to review your belief that 'spares are available in Africa'.... but if time/disruptions/consequences or money are no object- then no worries!

I had a Rieju Tango 250, back in 2010.

I did not keep it for long, as, at the time, we moved to Brazil, in 2011, and we had to sell our bikes.

I rode with it a bit (maybe 600 miles). We did lots of green lanes.
The Rieju lacked power, and the quality was not there. The lever broke immediately the 1st time the bike fell. It was poor quality metal.

The tiny fuel tank was just not good enough and was running out of fuel very quickly! Overall, it is a cheap bike for a reason.

Also, there was something wrong with mine, but I cannot point out what. My husband tried it and had the same verdict.

I think for long overland travel you should stick with solid Japanese, reliable bikes. My XR125 was faster than the Rieju! And the Tango is not really made for real enduro....

Finding parts, bigger fuel tank, luggage rack etc.. may also be a problem with the Rieju. And poor quality.

see Spanish forums here discussing this precise reliability problem, or should I say problems!


FORUM

Writting in this thread is not using to many "spanish slang" so google should be able to cope with translation.

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Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

Thanks Bertrand, but I don't think it will be possible to take the same bikes. She feels it would be too much to take one of the heavier bikes I have decided on. She very much likes small and light bikes.

Searching the Hubb, there is a user called Oceanjoy ( Richard) who says he crossed Africa on a Jincheng 150.
It might be worth your time to get in touch with him to ask questions?
Maria is right- I'd stick to Japanese built (or Rotax but there I'm biased) but that's just me.

That's really valuable information maria. That pretty much confirms my suspicions, but I was attracted by reference to the Yamaha engine. Was this the case on earlier models?

Think I will get her one of the trusted Japanese bikes . Out of interest what are you riding now?

Hi David,

Bertrand is spot on about getting the same bike.

My husband is 6'2'' while I am a midget 5'4'' (on a good day). Choosing travel bikes has always been about compromise.

For south America we had two BMW GS 650. Fine for Alistair but way too heavy for me.
In Vietnam we rented 2 YBR 125 and I discovered how fun off-road could be.
For Mongolia I wanted a more enduro type bike. We took 2 Honda XR125. Perfect off road but too slow on normal roads, crossing Europe or Russia.

For our next trip (Russia next year) we decided that 250cc would be the ultimate size for a travel bike, fast enough on tarmac and light enough off road.

I bought a TTR 250 last summer, but I failed to lower it enough for me, the shock is simply not sagging even after adjusting it to lowest preload setting. And I am not buying a new shock!

So we are going to break our golden rule; i.e. travel with the same bikes!

I bought an XT250 (grey import from Japan – 2009 model with Fuel injection).

Ideally having the same bike has always been very useful to us as when one breaks down, and it will happen, we can use the other as template to find out what is wrong.

If you go for different bikes, try at least to have similar kind of speed capacity on both. If only for the sake of your marriage!

I have met enough couples travelling, her in the little bike, trailing way behind, him in the big bike, her dropping the bike and waiting for hours… Him angry because the wifey is so slow, her angry cause the husband is always too fast and she cannot keep up…. Both seething… not good!

Good luck on your search!

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Maria

www.franglais-riders.com