Greece - India

[furious]

Hi,

I am preparing a trip from Greece to Turkey, Iran (if I 'll can go there next year), Pakistan, India and back. I have an Africa Twin '95 with 60.000 kms. I can't compare it with other motorcycles because my only previous motorcycle was a street one. I love my Africa but it's too heavy for off-roading and I am not an experienced rider. I have it for one year and I can say that I am working good with it at off-roading to dry conditions, but it's too hard for me riding to mud, gravel or sand.

Of course, I don't want to play with extreme off-roading at my trip, but I don't want to lost some places (such Ladak?) because I haven't the right bike. My cruising speed is about 120 km/h even at the best national roads. I think that a lighter bike can also offer me this cruising speed. But what about comfort? I don't require extra comfort, but I like to travel with a little comfort on road if I need to do 500+ kms some day.

So, how are the conditions to these countries? Do you believe that I need a lighter motorcycle or try by my Africa?

Thanks,
Helias

[ozhanu]

Dear Helias,

Last month I went from UK to Turkey. Actually my aim was to go to Middle East but bike didn't survive and it has broken in Istanbul just after I stepped in Asia (Middle East). Anyway. I had F650ST and it was quite confortible on the motorways. I know that the road condition in Iran is also good. So you wont have any trouble in Greece, Turkey, Iran. But I am not sure about Pakistan and India. I have dropped the bike twice and menage to hold it by my self. Africa Twins are really good bike but as you told might be hard for offroad.

Hope you the best
ozhan u.
www.ortadoguturu.com

[severin]

Hi,
I know most people need big bikes to prove their virility, but if you are confortable with it, you can do like us and take a 250. :-).
We are currently in India, making a world tour on two Hondas NX 250, and we are really happy of the choice, especially here in India. We can put them easily in courtyards, drive in the crowded streets, avoid buses, push start them when the battery is too low, and even load them in a 'Vikram' (small local three wheel truck), if it was not a battery problem...

Roads here in india are good in general, the only problem is the rest of traffic / zoo, sharing it with you.

Sev.

[beddhist]

If you stay on the road you'll be fine in India on your AT. I was two up and even towed a one-wheel trailer...

[furious]

OK, I decide to take a lighter bike, because it's true that I can't handle my Africa Twin comfortable and I don't want to stay on the road in any case.

I am thinking about Honda NX 250 Dominator or Honda XR 650L. I read for them all these days. At the moment I prefer the second because I understood that it's not worse on the road from the dommie, but it's much better off-road. In addition I prefer the simplicity of the air cooled engine and I think that I will find tires for the XR much easier than for the dommie (?). I need both enduro and 50-50 tyres.

On the other hand:
1) as I understood, the XR 650L has only electric starter and no kick starter, right??? This is a disadvantage because the dommie has both of them.
2) I couldn't find any center stand for the XR and I like it for changing a tube or lubricating the chain etc.

I like the XR, but after those I think that the dommie is more versatile... Do you think that those two problems make the dommie preferable or they are silly problems?

[ozhanu]

Hi again

Honda Transalp (TA) is a good choice. I am sure you wont need kickstart for it. They last forever. If you need kickstart just do bumpstart. However, it is around 200kg and believe me it is heavy for offroad. You also gonna put your things, pannier, topbox etc. so it will be 250kg in total. On the other hand the 250NX is lighter, has kickstart, easy engine however not much power. You really need power on the pavement. As I mentioned before I had F650. And most of the time especially on the motorways (autobahns) I would be happy if I had a 1150GS. Sometime you wanna cruise at 160km/h or even 180km/h. If I were you I would have something like 600 or more cc.

Do not take to much things with you. Water and a pack of biscuits is crucial. Rest can be bought/find on the road.

I might be in Izmir for visiting my family in July. If you pass through Izmir (Turkey) and need free accommodation in July just drop me a line.

Best of Luck
ozhan u.

[severin]

Hi, you are right for the tires of the NX250. We had trouble to find them in south america, and we had to order them in advance (one week). In india we could find tires directly in delhi, they had them in stock. Note that tires will last longer on the 250. The 250 is not so common, and is not imported in several countries (Argentina, Chile, NZ, ...). This means it s more difficult to get parts.

For ridding on highways, sure that a bigger bike would be better. On the other hand, you may have speeding tickets. In argentina, on some of the long straigh sealed roads, i am sure I would have been VERY tempted to drive at 200kmph or more if I had a hayabuza. So maybe here again, it was better to have a smaller bike. When you go for a long trip, safety comes first, and you also like looking at the scenary.

The frame of the 250 is weeker than the one of a bigger bike, and you can not find off-the-shelf racks, or bigger fuel tanks. (But with a 3L jerrycan, you can do almost 100 more Ks.)

[furious]

ozhanu, thanks a lot for your invitation in Izmir but I 'll start my trip next year. Still thank you ;-)

severin, I absolutely agree with you about speed, I don't want so much speed. Even with my AT my cruising speed is 110 - 120 km/h at the best roads. I like to go calmly and enjoy the scenery. Also I agree about the security.

For the luggage I 'll enforce the subframe whether I 'll use the XR 650L or the NX 250. About the spare parts, is it more easy to find them for the XR 650L?

[furious]

Oh, forget about XR650L. I used the page http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za and today I discovered that it has a lot of faults at the motorcycles specifications! It writes that the weight of XR650L is 122 kgr and the weight of NX250 118 kgr. That's why I compared those two bikes...

Today I learned that the weight of XR650L is 146 kgr, so I 'll go for something lighter between 225 and 400 cc. I excluded the NX 250 because I can't find tyres even at sites of the manufacturers.

So, I am searching for a Honda or Yamaha at 225 - 400 cc with 21" and 18" wheels with battery for GPS, charging phone, camera etc. Do you think that it's a problem a bike with battery but without electric start? Is it so difficult to start the bike every day by the kick starter?