England to Australia on a DRZ400

[GeorgeTown234]

Hey there everyone, I'm planning a trip from England to Australia on my DRZ400 (alone) and will be departing in August / September. I have most of the trip planned but there are however some niggly bits that I hope someone can help me with.

Europe should be pretty straight forward as should Turkey and Iran, but I am extremely reluctant to travel through Pakistan given the current situation. Firstly I would like to ask if anyone has travelled through Pakistan to India in the last few months that can shed some light on how realistic riding is as a westerner.

My other option is to hop over to the United Arab Emirates from Iran and ship myself and the bike over to India, however I am having extreme difficulty retrieving quotes on how much this is likely to cost, and I need a rough idea to budget the trip realistically. Does anybody have any experiences with this and if so how much did the journey from UAE to India add up to? Any other ideas are welcome as I'm open to other options.

Once I've made the journey to India I'll be riding to south east Asia and ultimately to Australia. There lies my next problem. Getting the bike from Asia or Malaysia to Australia seems next to impossible without freighting it again. I'm pretty certain this will be out of the question due to my budget, so I was thinking of putting the bike in storage somewhere in s/e Asia or Malaysia whilst I go over to Australia to work. I cant seem to find any information on vehicle storage around this part of the world, so again has anybody had any experiences with this, and would this be possible?

Thanks in advance, George.

[Warin]

If cost is a problem .. consider skipping India/Asia for later?
Thus ship from Iran/UAE to Australia - avoids storage etc.

Some 'do India' by buying and selling a bike there - cheaper than shipping back and forth.

[Simo]

What time of the year are you intending to arrive in Australia. The centre and much of the interior can be real tough going from around late october through March.
I've been out there a few times & at the right time of year can be sensational.

[GeorgeTown234]

Thanks Warin, that's a point worth considering, however as a link to Simo's reply I was aiming to stay in asia for a while to work before hopping across to australia as I'm eager to visit that part of the world. I will consider maybe leaving a few months later than august, but then I risk hitting colder weather through Iran, which I cant imagine is smart. I'm also seriously considering just riding through Pakistan to avoid shipping altogether but need someone to help me weigh up the risks.

[martintheclark]

I'm planning a similar trip but going through China and the KKH into Pakistan. I've heard from some people in Pakistan and I'm told it should be safe with care.

Good luck

[haggis]

Sounds like a blast. I went through Pakistan and despite having some moans about a couple of things it turned out to be a highlight.

See trailer of TV series here :
Perth to Perth: The DVD

[BeeeeJ]

George I am looking to do something similar

Send me a private message if you wish to chat about it and maybe sharing some costs along the way ?

[trackdayrider]

I re-directed away from Iran, Pakistan, India and will travel up to Russian(Vladivostock) and ship to South Korea -> Philippines -> Aus

Just a thought

[GeorgeTown234]

I like the idea of visiting Iran, but am starting to think that Pakistan may not be the greatest idea. Shipping from Dubai to SE Asia now seems like a smarter plan for me, thanks for all of your thoughts, they've helped a lot.

[pecha72]

A bunch of guys from Finland now plan to ride all the way to Cambodia starting about mid-August 2015. Not an organized tour as such, more like everyone attends freely on their own, and pays their own costs, but one of the guys is actually an experienced tour guide, speaks good English, and knows his way around. Their current plan goes thru Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Burma & Thailand. PM me, if you want their contact details.

[BeeeeJ]

Originally Posted by GeorgeTown234

I like the idea of visiting Iran, but am starting to think that Pakistan may not be the greatest idea. Shipping from Dubai to SE Asia now seems like a smarter plan for me, thanks for all of your thoughts, they've helped a lot.

I am looking at going via the Pamir Highway
Pamir Highway

So at this stage zip across Iran and then up the Pamir

[robtho]

A friend of mine from Japan did the trip through Iran, Pakistan and India last year. He was in contact with MAP and they took good care of him getting into and across the country. From their Facebook Page I see they are pretty active and all too willing to help out fellow motorcycle enthusiasts so you could do a lot worse than contacting them for their insights.
BTW I'm leaving Japan next month via Sakhalin Island to Siberia, Mongolia, Central Asia and continuing west. Also on a DRZ and in company with one other DRZ and an F650GS, I'll keep an eye out for you.