If you're not in hurry then the XR125s will be great bikes for that trip. There's no longer huge offroad sections where you need to carry huge amounts of water and fuel and the 125s lower cruising speed will give you a chance to look around. I've done it twice on an XR600 and my average cruising speed was probably only around 45mph. I've been planning a third trip for a number of years now (family, finance etc etc) and will probably use a 250 next time.
Just don't take the terrain and climate lightly. Most people go in our winter for a reason. As other have mentioned, the politics in the region have been in a bit of a downward spiral but as far as I'm aware the basic Atlantic route to The Gambia is still doable with a bit of care and thought over the paperwork requirements.
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