My girlfriend and I are on 2 xt 250's. So far we have done 30000km trouble free around SA. We intend on travelling from UK to Japan this summer. We cruise at 90 km all day long, sometimes as fast as 100km ahahaha. We even drove the bikes up a Volcano to 6000m.

Anyways we enjoy the freedom of a little bikes for bush camping and things but they are not for everyone.

Journey around the world - Home

Cheers Dano

Very impressive trip, Dano!
Getting more and more convinced that a 250 is a good choice for light weight touring. I'm really seeing my bike with new eyes now.
Also sent an inquiry to the 'Safaritanks' guys here in Oz if there's an option for a bigger tank. They do one for the DR-Z400 but there's nothing about the DR-Z250 on their website. My current tank takes me 200km max, definitely not enough for Africa.

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no risk - no fun

Why not? There will be lots of stretches where there is fuel every 200km.

If you're worried about fuel range tie a 4litre plastic jerry can on the back, or even easier/cheaper use plastic coca cola style bottles as needed. They are indestructable, don't get affected by petrol and fuel station nozzles fit in the hole. To make them easier to tie on the bike, put 2 in a plastic bag and then tie them down.

HTH
Chris

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

From a european perspective some people reading that will be terrified by the thought of fuel in coke bottles and plastic bags but they'll just have to take your word for it (and take on board that it's not to be attempted in countries where it would be illegal to trasport fuel in an unapproved container). I find the biggest problem with coke bottles for fuel is that if they're hit they can develop pin sized holes - I just tipped a 1.5ltr one over in my garage to notice a fine jet, almost invisible, coming out of it.

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Buya Ikhaya
My wife and I did London - Cape Town in 2007/08 (Feels like yestrerday) on 2 XR250's. Light, easy to handle, more than adequate speed as most places you can only go 70-90km/h anyway. Just gets bit scary in southern Afrcia where traffic starts moving much faster than you.

Many previous responses on various threads specific to this topic.

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I don't know if they are here on HUBB, I met an ozzie couple in Dakhla who were traveling on two beaten up Kawasaki 250's all the way from South Africa... They looked the business, the kind of bike you can leave parked and no one would steal it.
One more thing to consider is that Yamaha and Kawasaki are much more popular in Africa than Suzuki, so you would probably find parts easier for those. Still, if you already have the bike, your decision is very simple.

My wife is riding her XT250 from Cairo to Cape Town, then onto Sth. America.
Bomb proof and never missed a bit, currently in Kenya.http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...1&d=1296276097

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I would think the DRZ 250 would be the ideal bike. That engine is used in several other models with excellent reliability.
If you know and have the bike already it's a no-brainer, use it.
Travel as light as possible, keep up the maintenance and avoid excessive flogging.

I'm considering getting an OZ agricultural version of the DR200 to tour Australia. There's much to be said for the economy those bikes offer.

I own 6 bikes from an R1100GS to a c90 engined special,including a KLR250. The KLR cruises happily at 60mph and I have often thought it is a perfect speed to take in the scenery and still be safe. Go for it!

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I've just ridden my DRZ400S from the UK to South Africa.

I rode the east coast....

I've found my 400 slow and uncomfortable, especially on some of the LONG highways. I struggled to hit 60mph (even with longer gearing) and my MPG is actually worse than a FI 650 bmw etc etc.

I can do about 150 miles a day before I start cursing the bike and dreaming of a little more power and comfort. I have a Corbin seat, sheepskin, highbars etc.

I used the DRZ400 as I was convinced I needed an offroad capable enduro bike but it just wasnt the case. Once I loaded it up with luggage it handled just as bad (or even worse due to the balance) as the 600cc class bikes Iv travelled on. The only time in really came into its own was when I had a van carry my luggage down the bandit highway in Kenya (300+ mile of terrible offroad) which then made it a great bike !!

Its personal preference of course and a small bike CAN and WILL manage but its all a case of how much agony you want to put yourself through and what will the benefits actually be ??

I recommend you REALLY research the roads you going to be riding. Don't punish yourself on a small dirt bike if you're riding 90% tar.

If you chose a smaller bike, you need less luggage than you would fit in a rucksack to make it even worthwhile the downgrade in CC.

Just my opinion of course !!! Ted

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

My wife and I have been traveling relatively long distances on 250 cc bikes for a few years now, so I will leap in here with my 3 cents worth (in these inflationary times).

We are cubic centimeter challenged and travel on a pair of Kawasaki Super Sherpas with the mighty 249 cc engine. Our last trip was a year on the road from western Canada to South America, 43,000 km. We like small bikes and are quite happy with the choice. I do not wish to rehash the small vs big all over again. Suffice it to say that price, fuel consumption, spare parts, simplicity, ease of repair, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, etc. outweigh the drawbacks.

I do not like riding 2up, so when we got into this madness, we went for a pair of small bikes. I have 2 observations, however, which I think are important considerations when setting up the bike. Well, OK, 3 observations.

#1. Minimalism. It has been said many times, but is even more true with a small bike.

#2. You cannot just buy 3 big boxes and hang them off the back and expect and hit the road. During bike setup, get as much weight up front and low as possible. I have a tool tube on the frame in front of the engine with heavy items in it (mostly tools and parts--the weight is forward and low). Using tank panniers slung over the gas tank gets more weight forward and lower around the level of the engine. Limit the size of the boxes on the back. We have a pair of 21 liter Givi bags on the sides and a 45 liter topbox which carries bulky lightweight gear. I built my own rack and have the boxes as far forward as I can get them, keeping the weight above and forward of the rear axle. There is no room for a pillion, barely enough for me.

#3 Gearing. I am pushing the upper limit of weight capacity (according to Kawasaki), so gearing becomes quite important. The stock gearing, we found out, did not really work for the long haul. Our clutches were done for by the time we got to Ecuador. Too much clutch slippage while crawling over the Andes and crawling through city traffic. The clutch gets cooked. After fitting new clutches we also fitted smaller front sprockets for lower gearing. Big difference. That lower first gear eliminated most of the need for clutch slippage whilst performing feats of motorcycle daring-do. You really do not lose anything on the top end since highway speeds in most of the world are low anyway. You are on a 250, after all, and are not going to win any races, so sit back and enjoy the ride.

Speaking of enjoying the ride, I cannot tell a lie. After a full day on the little bugger, you will feel as if you have been flailed and beaten and wonder what it is you have done to deserve such treatment. I like to think that the beating makes a real man of me. Problem is, however, I think it is making a real man of my wife as well.

Off to Turkey and Asia soon. As we speak, the little darling Super Sherpas are in the garage being prepped for the next journey.

It's been a while and I am surprised this thread is still going. So I thought, as the original poster, I let you guys know what happened. But first: thanks heaps for all your responses! It is immensely helpful to get insight into different points of view!
However, the question of either taking the DR-Z250 or an DR650 to Africa for me has been decided in favour of the DR650. It's the result of a lot of thinking and considering and reading the thoughts of you guys on the forum. After almost 6000km on the DR650 and from taking her on similar trips as I did earlier on my DR-Z250 I can also say it was the right choice for me and the particular sort of trip I'm planning. My reasoning behind it was the following:

Top 3 reasons for the DR:
- it is a model proven in similar trips (peace of mind)
- offers a lot of power for still being relatively light weight
- runs on any sort of petrol

Top 3 reasons against the DR-Z 250:
- it's a very uncommon bike (almost impossible to find touring gear for it) and largely unproven to be capable of a long trip with luggage (e.g. engine wear, subframe strength, wheel strength...)
- my DR-Z250 would have had 20000+ km on the clock before starting the actual tour which is a lot for the little engine and it might need a lot more parts replaced during the tour than the DR650
- it needs (according to manufacturer) at least 95octane fuel which can be hard to find in places like Africa

I also had a look at other bikes / brands / models but to lay out my reasons for or against them would just be outside the scope of this thread. Deciding for a bike is heaps more exciting than I thought it would be. Finding bikes, sitting on them, having a close look at them and comparing them all is has been great

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no risk - no fun

It sounds like your making the right choice Marco.
While any bike WILL do( ) the choice of a small bike for the sake of being small can turn your ride into an endurance test.
I rode a xt225 around OZ for a year, even using it for work outback.

Although it was a great little bike, it was always a little bike. I wish I'd of got a bigger thumper (dr650 would have been ideal) in the first place. The only time it was better than a 600cc single was in very tight single track. EVERYWHERE else it was lacking.
With the extra maintainance costs I actually spent more than if I'd have brought a similar age and condition dr650 too.

6 months into my stay a friend came for a trip from darwin to sydney. I brought a battered 1600cc toyota pick-up for $1000 and put the bike in the back. If I was on a bigger bike I would have had the option of travelling 2-up on that.

Small is good to a point, powerful is good to a point. DR650 right choice.

Have a good trip...

Yep my thoughts entirely (see page 1). A larger 600cc bike is the way forward in my humble opinion. Then again I am biased in terms of XT's

FACT - Africa = Yamaha XT (any version, they are all superb Africa steeds).

BUT a 250cc trail bike will certainly do the job.

Stay SAFE!

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

Lois did it on a 350? forget now.
I would say look at the bikes load them up go round the block a few times to see how they feel, then if you want to be really keen put it on its side try & lift it, then decide

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