Advice for my first bike! With a twist...

Smokin · L Plate Warrior Joined: 09 Aug 2010 Karma :

Hey guys, nice to be here.

I'm looking for a bike but I've never ridden one in my life. I've never even touched one, so I really am at the very bottom in terms of experiance. The twist is? It's for a long trip down to either South Africa or Vietnam. Maybe a bit adventurous but it's something I have set my mind on and this is the first step.

If anyone has any information about actually learning and all the rest, I'd really appreciate it. Can you just buy one and practice on car parks etc.? I'll be very nervous, I'm sure, but I imagine once I get the hang of it, I'll be ok.

Because I am so inexperianced, I'd prefer a small bike. Will a 125cc be enough no matter what distances I want to cover?

There seems to be so many questions and I really appreciate your help on this and any in the future.

Thanks and it's good to be here.

Frost · World Chat Champion Joined: 26 May 2004 Karma :

You will only be able to ride a 125 unless you do your test.
A 125 would NOT be suitable for a trip like that. Many people hate riding a 125 more than about 50 miles, so 8000 would be hell.
I suggest you watch a TV show called "The long way round" where ewan McGregor and his mate ride round the world. It will given you an idea as to the type of bike needed, skills required, equipment and support needed etc.
Most bikes suited to the task will be large and of the off road type. Most of these won't be common around the world so spare parts would be difficult to find in the event of a breakdown.

A guy who has done round the world trips on a sports bike is called 'nick saunders' he's a legend, but one hell of a rider.

pinkyfloyd · Super Spammer Joined: 20 Jul 2010 Karma :

i'm assuming your in the uk.

as you havent even touched a bike before you will only be entitled to ride a 125cc. before you can legally ride on the roads you'll need to do a CBT (exlcuding northern ireland)

so buy yourself a reliable 125, for that kind of journey you'll want a honda cg or something as it will survive the journey if its well looked after. sadly tho you probably wont on a 125.

you will also need to find out where you stand on the law with regards to the countries you will be travelling though. answers to the following questions:

will i be able to ride in the country on a provisional licence

how will i get there without motorways

how many miles can i do each day

do i have satnav, maps, details of my exact route

where will i sleep

best thing to do would be book yourself on a DAS course if you are over 21 and get a full license and then get a big enough bike that will handle the journey comfortably
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
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Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

Smokin · L Plate Warrior Joined: 09 Aug 2010 Karma :

Yeah, I'm from the UK.

Thanks for both your replies. I have watched Long Way Around because I've done some extensive travel in a car and that show inspired me to do it on a bike.

Why is a 125 not recommended? Are bigger bikes a lot more comfortable?

I like the sound of a CG125. From looking at this site, it seems to be a good bike. How is it in regards to reliability? I get the idea, not knowing anything about bikes, that the smaller, the simpler. That suits me, haha.

Cheers.

pinkyfloyd · Super Spammer Joined: 20 Jul 2010 Karma :

a cg is a great wee bike. trouble with a 125 is the lack of power. it will take an age to get to the final destination on it. it has a top speed of about 70mph and although it will sit there all day, it isn't too healthy for the engine to be doing flat out constantly. you will find the wear and tear will be immense.

get yourself though the test and get a bike that was made for the type of journey you want to do on it. either a tourer or an enduro style bike.
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

Smokin · L Plate Warrior Joined: 09 Aug 2010 Karma :

Any recommendations for one of those bikes?

I do like the look of a CG125 but obviously if it's not right, it's not right. I don't really have any reason to rush so I'd be happy going fairly slow and not doing too many miles per day. I trust what you say though, so maybe a CG125 can be one to get me started?

Cheers, mate.

Bloke · Crazy Courier Joined: 06 Aug 2010 Karma :

You can't ride outside of the UK on a provisional licence not even Europe.

So straight away you're onto at least an A2 restricted licence.
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Alex A · World Chat Champion Joined: 05 Mar 2007 Karma :

EUMP · Spanner Monkey Joined: 17 Dec 2007 Karma :

Need to do your tests, get that licence first of all, then if your set on the 125cc then you need to plan your trip very well to avoid any areas of the world that will cause great difficulty on the small engine, such as heavy sand and harsh terrains.

If your set on the 125, you want a 4stroke if you want the reliability so an offroad bike, or with the offroad capability, so you want a something like;

Cagiva super city 125 - pretty old, but very good performance (2st)
Honda Varadero 125 - V-Twin engine - very reliable (4st)
Yamaha XT125R or X - More offroad (4st)
Derbi Terra adventure 125 - Like the supercity but more reliable (4st)

These are some that come to the top of the head that would be suitable - all would need abit of adjusting and tweeking such as adding tank luggage, rear luggage bags to the bike, stuff like that
really.

Most of those above can do the terrians your looking at but would be very hard to pass through sections if you get stuck so if you are looking to go through areas that involve thick mud, climbing high hills etc then you will want to take the varadero off the list.
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Frost · World Chat Champion Joined: 26 May 2004 Karma :

The problem with riding a 125 is the small engine size. Yeah they can go 70mph, but in the same way an old mini can go 90, you really can't do it for long periods of time. 125's are generally narrow and light, sounds good, but the wind blows you around and grip can be a struggle. A cg engine doesn't sound great after listening to it near the red line for 50 miles Laughing

Teflon-Mike · tl;dr Joined: 01 Jun 2010 Karma :

bikertomm · World Chat Champion Joined: 03 Jul 2010 Karma :

Honda XR 125! Razz

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Frost · World Chat Champion Joined: 26 May 2004 Karma :

You will probably be wanting to read this to assist with your bike selection:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual-sport_motorcycle

I would highly recommend picking a bike with a big fuel tank, or modifying an existing bike to have a bigger tank / secondary tank. Worst thing int he world is a dirt bike with an 60 mile tank range and no idea where the next place to get fuel from is.

Smokin · L Plate Warrior Joined: 09 Aug 2010 Karma :

That's a pretty amazing reply, Mike. Thanks a lot and I'll certainly try to find that book. The whole idea of that is spot on, if I think about cars - I could get an old Toyota and it may not be the best way to do it, but it would get me where I want to go. I just have absolutely no knowledge of bikes, so I wasn't sure about....anything, really.

I was going to come here and ask about the XR400 mentioned earlier in the thread, though that reply changed my mind a bit. Would you guys suggest that a bigger bike would be more suitable for long distances? In terms of fuel capacity, reliability and all the rest. Are bigger bikes more prone to breaking down or does it not really matter?

I suppose the cost is an issue. I'd like to keep it around £1000, so I have enough to enjoy the trip too. I'm not a biker and even though I may fall in love with it, just in case I don't, I want enough money to enjoy the trip too!

But thanks a lot. All this help is greatly appreciated. If I make it to Cape Town, I'll take a picture of me holding a BCF logo Razz

Bendy · Mrs Sensible Joined: 10 Jun 2002 Karma :

Why don't you go and do your CBT, which you'll need anyway, and then see what you think of small bikes?

Smokin · L Plate Warrior Joined: 09 Aug 2010 Karma :

I just don't know enough about bikes yet. I'd like to find out more, to see if it's actually plausible and work out the numbers, before going on to take my test.

Bendy · Mrs Sensible Joined: 10 Jun 2002 Karma :

CBT isn't your test. Think of it as an 'experience day' to see if you even like motorbikes.

temeluchus · World Chat Champion Joined: 01 Oct 2008 Karma :

The old Aircooled BMWs make good choices, fair few knocking around, engine is as old as the ark and about as simple as possible for an engine to be to work on. Happily do motorway speeds for all eternity, comfortably. Not nearly as heavy as the later oilcooled panzer tanks.
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Frost · World Chat Champion Joined: 26 May 2004 Karma :

Yeah it doesn't work like cars, you don;t write off for your provisional and your ready for lessons and a test and stuff. With bikes it goes:

Provisional -> CBT -> practise -> lessons -> test

Inkognito · Brolly Dolly Joined: 12 Jun 2004 Karma :

angryjonny · World Chat Champion Joined: 01 Sep 2006 Karma :

I have a friend who decided to do something similar. She'd never ridden before but decided she wanted to ride from Alaska to Argentina. She did her DAS, rode round britain on a couple of bikes (F650 then an ER6 for a bit) before finally going out there and doing it. She got within 50 miles of the bottom of Argentina and then woke up several days later in intensive care. All fixed now though. I doff my cap to her.

She introduced me to a couple called Austin Vince and Lois Pryce who have both undertaken epic road trips at some point in their lives and both written about them. Very friendly and helpful people and fascinating to talk to. Austin's book is called Mondo Enduro. Lois's book is called Lois On The Loose. Probably worth giving both a read - they give a far more realistic idea of what you're likely to come up against than a TV show featuring a couple of rich kids and a full support crew.

350-500cc motocross bikes seem to be the right sort of thing. Light enough to pick up, good for riding on rough ground but powerful enough to still be able to move once piled high with all your kit.

Edit: the best tip I got from Lois's book is to get a few colour photocopies made of your licence and get them laminated so to the untrained eye they look like the real thing. That way, when you get pulled by a bent copper and he demands your licence you can give him a fake. So when it turns out all he wants to do is blackmail a heap of cash out of you in order to return it you can just ride off.

Smokin · L Plate Warrior Joined: 09 Aug 2010 Karma :

Thanks a lot, mate.

If 350-500cc is the right size, does anyone have any recommendations? The XR400 was mentioned earlier and that seems like a good bike from reviews I've seen. Is there any stand out bikes in this size? Something really reliable and easy to ride?

Cheers.

angryjonny · World Chat Champion Joined: 01 Sep 2006 Karma :

There will be some obvious choices. Can't tell you what they are but the recommended reading should advise. On that sort of trip it's less about reliability and more about availability of parts in the countries through which you'll be travelling.

You'll probably get more practical help at https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ than many people here can give. Not that I'm trying to get rid of you - far from it. Keep us informed, but once you've got your DAS and you're preparing to go, most of the people here will be learning from you rather than vice versa.

Smokin · L Plate Warrior Joined: 09 Aug 2010 Karma :

Nah, that's great advice. Thanks a lot, mate.

Frost · World Chat Champion Joined: 26 May 2004 Karma :

If i were doing it and money were no object, i'd use one of those BMW's from the long way round. If a budget were an issue i'd buy something older, give it a good overhaul and buy a load of spares. I've always been very happy with honda build quality and liked riding an XR250, so the 400/600 would be good, but like i said before, i'd want the biggest tank possible! The did a version called the baja, it had 2 big headlights and a bigger tank.

Spending time prepping the bike is important. One thing that can be done is running second cables along side the existing ones to make changing them easier. The same thing can be done with electricals, hoses can be made longer than needed to give excess if things get knackered etc.

https://p1.bikepics.com/pics/2007%5C03%5C28%5Cbikepics-845549-full.jpg