I don't think you are right laserjock

I presume that it is your trip rapport I read then and I must say that your trip seemed ill planned and unlucky as well. If you had done more research you would have brought spare alternators as these are known to break down.
You also spanked the bike alot more than you were supposed to.
The upgraded urals from the states would have served you alot better.

Talk to the locals and find out what breaks and bring spares. Dont ride over the capacity of the bike.

The chinese are not great and many are crap, but a few are actually getting decent.
And if you just plan a little ahead you will be fine.

I the plan is to get as fast as possible from one place to another then by all means save your money and fly instead!

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Peter Kongsbak
South East Asia, USA, Central and South America and Scandinavia.

If you are intending to ride a small capacity bike apart from TTR250's etc I'd definately go with a previous poster and say get a CG 125, a nice little 'push rod' engine, I had an early Japanese one but I am sure the Brazilian ones are just as good.
To me, the only decent thing to buy that is chinese is a 'take away'

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'He who laughs last, was too slow to get the joke'
Never confuse the map with the journey.

This problem was not as well known in 2004 as it is today.

Remind me which country makes the good alternators again? Now apply this theme to the rest of the bike until you have an asset not a liability.

The alternator "hand grenade" problem has nothing to do with the load on the machine.

Are you suggesting I should have flown a Russian bike from the US to Moscow?

The locals had virtually no knowledge of the 750 Urals in 2004.

I'm looking forward to watching the Chinese quality improve to rival the Japanese.

I spoke to a number of Chinese dealers in S. America about the quality of the bikes. The general consensus was that you would get a couple months and a couple thousand kilometers of service and then have major headaches.

I belive the alternator issue was known back in the 90ties....

The dutch couple who toured from South Africa to europe knew it anyways and they had 3 extras with them or something (-:

The local urals are meant to go some 60-80kmph max and with a light load. If I remember correctly from your story you say that you loaded it heavily and drove it hard.

Maybe the two things dont relate, but you had other problems as well that might have related to weight and speed.

I am not saying that you should have brought an ural from the states, just that it was a bit naive to think that you got a touring ready bike for 3000$ The ones in the states run at 13500$ but the quality has leaped as well. You get what you pay for and if you get a bike that is that cheap you should expect something to break down and prepare accordingly.

Sorry if I sound patronizing or something, that is not my intention. It is just another post in the discussion, not a personal attack.

Happy riding

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Peter Kongsbak
South East Asia, USA, Central and South America and Scandinavia.

We are slowly converging on the point I was trying to make to the original poster.

Don't think a "NEW" Chinese bike is going to give you less trouble than a used Japanese bike.

The choice is between a new machine with potentially serious design flaws and questionable construction vs. a well implemented used machine which is suffering from age and use.

The Ural was not my choice but was a very interesting ride while it lasted.

Flying over the desert at 125 mph, blow one tire and the vultures will be having a big party.

hi all,

the other day i met a japanese couple 2up on a 90cc yamaha scooter with luggage. made it all the way up from buenos aires...

a while ago in colombia i met a couple 2up on a 250cc honda roadbike. made it all the way from south of SA following east coast up. had to repair rear suspension a few times though. engine was fine.

...so does size matter?

200cc should be fine, although i would advise a dual sport yamaha or honda. travel suspension with topes, potholes etc. is imho required. throw some soft lugge bags on and go!

i would suggest a falcon 400 as a minimum though, its good to have some extra hp for overtaking trucks uphil and such....

ciao, sanderd (traveling with 600ccm)

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http://sanderonasingle.blogspot.com/

It's all what you make it...
We rode 2-up through Colombia for 2 months on a 200cc China bike. Worked flawlessly. Some very steep and high dirt tracks as well as up to 5000m in the Sierras. No problem. I'd buy another Chinese bike.

The bike is still running fine several thousand km later.

I also ride a Honda XR250R (street legal) and there is definitely a difference in quality. But the Chinabike was just fine.

I would go for more of an Enduro bike, though. It will be a lot more fun in all the out of the way dirt roads.

I have a chinese bike - Quinqi 125cc road bike that has 4500km on the clock now. The build quality is not the same as the japanese option. Having said that the bike was really cheap and does run fairly well. You just need to tie down all covers and parts that can be taken off- vibration.
The most important thing that I would like to mention apart from what has already been said relates to the speed.
I have found that I can only drive 100kmph (62mph) top-speed. This means that mostly the bike should be riden at about 80% or 80kmph. This prevents overheating and excessive wear and tear. The danger is that trucks are always going to be passing you. It is not nice to be the slowest on the road.
The 200cc you are thinking of should be a little faster.
My advice is to put a good couple of kilometers on the bike before deciding to tour. Learn to fix the faults at home rather than find the faults 1000kms away.

Many hubbers have toured on small 125cc bikes - so there is no reason why you cant if that is what you choose to do.

Just have fun.

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To those who say it can't be done - stand aside for those who are already doing it.

Great posts guys.... reminds me of 1968 when I rode a Honda CD 175cc from Costa Rica to Los Angeles, Pan Am was still gravel for long stretches, and only regret was that I did not have more of an off road bike, (duel purpose). I had 0 mechanical problems, tucked in behind big buses, wait for a read mounted engine, not trucks, and sheltered myself from cold and wind while crossing Mexican desert. With no wind resistance, the little 175cc did quite well.

To finance this trip I sold corded lace and taught people how to make lanyards and key chains. I had spools of the stuff strung between my mirrors. Mostly sold to people hanging out in plazas and parks. When I ran completely out of money and corded lace...., I started trading my tools for gas and helped load trucks and herded cattle. I even did some clean up at gas stations and restaurants for food, painted signs and of course bush camped out the whole trip which lasted almost 5 months.

Hecate, I noticed that your trip is FROM Patagonia TO Canada. Are you planning on buying your bike in Argentina?

You might want to investigate the possibility, or not, of a foreign tourist (you) buying an Argentine registered motorcycle in Argentina (Patagonia) and the current Argentine laws prohibiting a foreign tourist from riding an Argentine registered motorcycle out of Argentina.

You will find the following thread very helpful.

South and Central America and Mexico (Region)

Buy new or used in Argentina and legally tour all of South America ( 1 2 3 ... Last Page)

Currently, it is legal and a relatively simple process for a foreign tourist to purchase a new or used Argentine registered motorcycle, in Argentina. Buying new is easier and reduces the risk of buying a bike that has been stolen, fabricated paper work or has taxes due. Yes, in Argentina an "alta patente" or quarterly tax is levied on motor vehicles, including motorcycles.

But, the law is that a foreign tourist may not exit Argentina with an Argentine registered vehicle, even if the vehicle was purchased legally and the foreign tourist has the "green" card" title etc.

It is true that some, a few, borders might or might not apply this law.

I am working hard to have this regulation reviewed by the legislatue of Argentina as you will read near the end of the thread referenced above.

I suggest you consider buying in Patagonia from a reputable dealer, buy inexpensive insurance (required in Argentina) and tour Argentina. It is a big, adventure country. Then, I suggest you sell your Argentine registered bike before you go home to Canada. This will greatly reduce the cost of your tour.

I am a Buenos Aires, Argentina HUBB community member and would be happy to help with advice at no cost.

Eat, Drink, and Be Careful xfiltrate

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Motorcycle Parking Buenos Aires, Argentina
www.xfiltrate.com

I agree with the other guys on the site and it is about the trip;
Just dont end up like this :confused1: .....
However that doesn’t mean that you should not be prepared physically and mentally for the trip. If I may I would suggest that no matter what motor bike you ride know it thoroughly before your trip know how to change a wheel repair a tire some fundamentals like knowing if you have a worn bearing in your wheels or the chain and sprockets are badly worn and how to change them.
This is what I suggest if you are not mechanically minded, purchase a repair manual and read it from cover to cover, stand at the bike, learn the names of all the parts and the book will explain how they all fit together.
Simplify the whole thing, basically a motor bike is a push bike with a motor and no pedals, it has a few trinkets such a clutch and gearbox and some electrics, learn about them, attend a small engine class or read a book it will explain how a small engine works and you will get a basic idea of the components and how thand why the operate.
Become friendly with a motorbike mechanic perhaps trade some sweeping of floors or parts washing for being in the environment and learning about your bike, knowledge, it is very valuable.
Another valuable thing you might do is obtain a small, single cylinder engine and pull it apart laying out the parts, examine them when you take a part off and lay it out so that you can reassemble the engine and make it run again, learn about three thing Compression, Timing and Ignition, these are the three main requirements that make an engine run.
Depending if the bike is fuel injected or has a carburetor water in the fuel can cause a lot of problems and usually in the middle of the infamous place called "No Where" learn how to drain and remove water from your fuel system: at altitude a carburetor can cause your engine to perform poorly and depending on its design it may be able to be adjusted know how to pull it apart and reassemble it todrain water or dirt . There may be jets that can be changed to make the bike perform better at altitude. I say...know about it and carry the necessary parts with you and keep any that are interchanged as you will have to change them back again when you descend the mountains. If I can help with suggestions and some mechanical preparation then I’ll be watching the posts.
Good Luck on your ride
Champ From Brisbane Australia
If anyone is down this way and has some travel tails then give me a call all there is always some sort of meal and a friendly face chat and a yarn

What Champ said +1

Its a very good idea to spend a saturday afternoon (preferably before you go to the pub so you can have a good laugh with your mates...) taking apart the clutch lever and cable, brakes, tyres, lights and put them back together. Also consider the route; tarmac, dirt and stone are the main three road compostitons to be found so check to see if the tyres on this chinese bike are up to the cut.

As everone else has stated; the bike will get you round the world, but you have to command it.

best of luck.

I will not join the MC discussion - but just inform you to look at Main Page - Drive the Americas for information about almost everything else :-D
be aware though that if you intent to buy the bike in Argentina or some other South American country there are tons of rules and you might not be able to bring the bike out of the country...
:-D have fun!

My lad & a couple of his mates went out and bought a new Chinese 125 trial bike each... £650 - delivered in a crate -n several large bits.
The bikes went together fairly well - except for one had a dodgy rear shock mounting bolt & spacer.
They thrashed them around & did a bit of off-road stuff and within 500 miles my lads bike would not select gears. He took it back to the trader & the bloke told him to wait a few minutes.
Next thing a brand new bike is wheeled out and thats sorted! The dealer said he'd use the "cream crackered" bike for spares (obviously gets thru a lot).
ALSO...... A good engine repair business in Bristol has had a lot of these Chinese bikes (all different brands) thru his place.... (small 4-stroke Honda copies) and says they are fairly poor quality. Although the engines are Honda replica's, the materials are not good. He has started using honda valves & guides in the engines to improve reliability.
The Chinese attitude (may be improving now) is that they send crate loads of dirt cheap bikes over, so you are going to get a few that are useless - what do you expect?!
So to be honest, after looking at the ad for the 200 cruiser...
USM CRUISER 250
I wouldn't even consider buying one!

Hey I bought a 200cc Yumbo in Guatemala and did a small tour of central america in 2008/9. It was a dual purpose type bike and was really good on the smaller dirt and gravel roads / hills. on the highways ion the flat it was really underpowered. On hills was great, high altitude in Guate bike had less power but still could overtake everything on the hills, even german cars!! The only problem I had in 5000k was the chain came off because it got too loose. I put it back on and kept the chain tight after that! Mechanics told me that the chinese bikes had very good engines but that usually the frames broke. Check the weld quality on the frames, get something which looks welded nicely. I sprayed all my weld joints with WD40 all the time, esp. in the rain to stop rust getting into the cracks. All in all was very happy. Am going to buy a 400cc Xingyue here in Chile now, only 2900USD new. Second hand and Jap is more than double, new Jap bikes more than triple!!