Travelling the world on 1974 Honda CB550
 

Hi all,

New to this site, im currently riding and working my way around Australia, so far i have been as far up as Airlie Beach QLD and ridden down the coast to Victoria, I bought the bike from a internet site in adelaide, they shipped it up to me for a fair fee, the bike: 1974 Hlonda CB550 american import began with 6000 miles, make shift luggage rack, panniers, and tank bag, the journey: Ride and work clockwise around Australia from Airlie Beach to Darwin, then a boat to Singapore, riding north to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietam, China, Mongolia, Russia, Ukraine, and into Europe and eventually back to my home Ireland. im aware of the distance, just dont have much info on the countrys im visiting aside from corrupt cops in russia and needing a guide in China. any help would be much appreciated.. i wont be in Darwin until this time next year but figure i really need to start getting things put in plan.

Thanks for any help

Hi Ben,

Good luck - and welcome to the site. As you come south if you need accom in Newcastle send me a message. I spent six months last year going Russia - Mongolia -Europe on a slightly newer bike so can give you some guidance on that part of the trip.

(And to put your mind at rest the cops in Russia (or at least all the ones I met) are not corrupt, most are very friendly. Fortunately I think the "corrupt" line is now well out of date.

I did 18,000miles round Europe on a three month tour back when I was 20, on a 1976 550four.

They're absolutely great bikes, capable of anything. You might already know them pretty well (if you don't you've got balls planning on taking one on such a trip), but here's some tips if you don't:
*The cylinder heads start weeping oil at the sides. It's nothing to worry about, the O-rings between the barrels and head go hard and stop sealing perfectly.
*The primary chain (between crank and gearbox) will wear. If your bike is really that low mileage then it shouldn't be a problem. If you really do rack up the miles (couldn't give you a figure because the two 550s I saw this on had unknown histories), the chain will slacken and start wearing through the the bottom crankcase.
*My bike would really start overheating in hot weather when stuck in traffic in big cities. Maybe overseas models had richer jetting or something to help with that though?

David Silver here in blightly would surely be the best source of spare parts in Europe, though there might better option out where you are.

Jaysus i apologise i didnt have a clue how this site works just getting the hang of it now, i put up a new post, the old girl made it across the nullabor sweetly she weaps a little oil but as you say nothing to worry me yet, gonna give her a big overhaul in Darwin before i leave for the journey home, everyday my plans and route changes ups and downs its hard but have 9 months to get the route sorted

:rofl:

We all start out that way. Best to 'lurk' on any site for a while to learn the ropes.

China may be out due to the costs and paper work they want.

You can try shipping to South Korea and taking the ferry to Russia as a cheap option, might be better to ship for some major port that has 'roll on roll off' ships coming from South Korea/Japan as cheaper than Darwin. The other alternative is to fly the bike... better speed and security that way.

Keep thinking ... and reading.