Hi all

my girlfriend and I are considering a motorbike trip through the Stans next year. I 'm 177cm, 70kg and she is 155cm, 45kg. I only have an A2 licence, which means that I'm limited to bikes that produce no more than 35 kW or 47bhp. I suspect that this pretty much takes the option of riding 2up off the list. She has a B licence, which means she can only ride 125ccs or smaller bikes.

Now, I know that there's plenty of people who travel long distances on small bikes so I don't see that as a problem at all. However, I don't know what bikes we should use! I was hoping to use my CRF250l and that she could ride a honda XR125l - I know ideally we should ride the same bike but this would mean that I could ride the bike that I already own. I am heavier and would carry most of the luggage so I would hope in the end the two bikes would be equivalent in terms of speed etc, above all on bad roads. However, seat height is a bit of a problem there - she is currently riding a Suzuki van van (770mm seat height) and is uncomfortable riding anything higher than that (anything over 800mm is certainly a no-go).

So, the question is - has anyone done anything like this before? Any advice on a good, small and reliable 125cc for a trip like this?

I know that two guys from the UK did a trip to Mongolia on two VanVans a few years ago, however my concern there would be around spares, above all considering they use fat tires which I guess are harder to find. Just to give you the whole picture - we are based in Spain, so for example machines like a tw125 are harder to find compared to the US.

Thank you!

Andrea

Have a read of this blog which includes a trip to Central Asia on a pair of XR125s, Maria who is also on this forum is around the same height so should have some good adivce.
https://www.franglais-riders.com/motorcycle-travels/
I also have an XR125 which I have travelled a lot on and am a great fan of, I did an 8,000 km trip in India on one last year with a passenger which went well, they can be lowered with a shorter rear shock absorber.

Mark thank you very much! very helpful, I'll get in touch with Maria

OK first of all a B licence is for cars, it doesn't entitle her to ride a motorbike. She needs an A1 licence to ride a 125. People on L plates are not generally allowed to drive abroad.

I think it's worth putting in a bit of extra effort at this end to make for a better trip, and getting her an A2 licence like yourself. For one thing it means you can both ride the same type of bike which is a huge advantage in carrying spares. The CRF250L will do the trip just fine if you're not in a hurry and you're prepared to travel relatively light. I know you said she's not very confident on a larger bike but it's worth getting confident, the roads out there can be in "variable" condition and a more capable bike will be a major advantage. If you want to reduce the seat height to make it feel a bit more comfortable for her, drop the yokes down the forks, get a lowering link for the back and have the seat foam cut away. It'll be worth it.

Hi Tomkat, thank you for your response!

FYI at least in Spain and Italy having a B licence does entitle you to ride motorbikes up to 125cc. I know other people on this forum have done long overlanding trips on 125cc bikes for this same reason (not holding a dedicated licence).

Just to be clear, I am not against her getting an A2 licence. The only reason why I don't want to depend on that is that at the moment due to bureaucracy issues getting a licence here in Spain can take more than a year (we are from Italy so she would be required to convert her Italian licence, which is a pretty time-consuming process in itself).

Regardless of that, even if she does get a licence, I suspect we'd still be looking at the XR125l or similar bikes. Im sure she will become more confident over the next year but the CRF remains out of question. Don't take me wrong, I would looove for the two of us to travel on two CRF250L but man, it's way too tall.

Why not a pair of scooters?
She would probably be much more confident.

It’s been done successfully many times.


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just go to italy and complete the part 2 simple , really you are going on 125 as she is of a very slight build , a 125 will be fine and nice and light have a look an ajp bike . if people travel the world on honda c90, grom anything is ok

The crf250l can be lowered if that helps

Other than the possible tyre issue, the Van van is a great choice. Comfy seat, lovely low centre of gravity so easy to handle off tar or on. Reliable, and you already have one!

My GF is only 4ft 10in tall so a powerful scooter was about all the fits her so we just got a Kymco i300 (300CC) Downtown scooter that can fly along the freeway or tour across states. That might be an option for you.
Looks to be easy to work on/maintain and gets great gas mileage. It has some nice sized 13 and 14 inchwheels and tires also!

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Hi Mark, I owe you one!! So the KLRs and DRs 650 specifically are not suitable for A2 riders but after your message yesterday I did some more research and found out that there are indeed older bikes in the 600cc range that I could ride. Among others, the Honda dominator and the XT600E. Even the 660 Tenere! So that was super helpful! We are now considering traveling two up on a bigger bike... I’ll let you know how it goes!




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I travel two up on Honda Dominator since 2010 and I never found a better bike for the job.

I have some ride reports even here on the hubb:

https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...pictures-73836
https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...a-2014-a-77937
https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...caucasus-88850

I did some more trips 2up on that bike but I have not published ride reports: there are some pictures on fb..

I always liked CRF250 Rally and I considered buying one.
In 2018 I rented one in Thailand and rode 2up for around a week: I decided to remain with the Dommie...

nice one thanky-you crisidsto! I may send you a direct message and ask for a few extra info if you dont mind

This applies to me so may be of no use to you.
My wife gets bored as a pillion so if we were to do a long trip 2 up it would have to be a bike she could ride, then we could take turns.
Think objectively about how different your partner would feel if she rode the trip or was pillion.
I’d go for the 2 bikes - carry more stuff, both more comfortable and both with an equal sense of achievement/enjoyment.
If you go 2 up the Royal Enfield Himalayan May suit.