East African Coast on a 125 - 200cc?
 

I'm looking to take a trip from Nairobi to Cape Town, crossing through Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambigue along the way.

Instead of shipping a bike from the UK I figure it would be easier to buy one in Kenya and sell it in South Africa.

Does a 125 sound overtly ambitious for the distance and the roads?

I'm not experienced with any bike over 400cc and when I travelled to Kenya the locals in Nairobi and Kajiado all used small capacity bikes to get around, even with huge loads.

Is it do-able?

I have a friend who is about to complete several months of touring Southern Africa on a Honda XR125. She started in South Africa and has been right up to Kenya and has so far travelled over 11,000 KM describing the bike as perfect for the job. Another thing to remember about using a bike no bigger than 125 is the price of your travel insurance will be greatly reduced, many companies won't actually cover you for riding a bigger bike. It should be no problem but do try and avoid Chinese built bikes, the quality is not what it might be :scooter:

The problems will be two:

a) Overtaking or riding on roads at anything above 70-80 kph. I wouldn't want to be on a motorway in a 125 or have to take a truck in a 125. You'll end up driving on the run-off area to avoid being run over.
b) Cargo capacity. 125s are not full size bikes. They are scaled down. Anything beyond a backpack and a (small) bag you won't be able to bring along.

No problem on a 125cc, many, have and are in the process of long trips and even RTW.
Big does not = best.