Hey Dave,

Thanks for the advice. Did you see anyone riding one of these bad boys on your journey 'round?

I would hate to be the only 'dag' on the block.

Really enjoy your site BTW.

Mike

Howdy Mike,

I mostly saw BMWs and heard "not bad, but the gearbox is crap" from a few people. Two from other HU people (Hi Simmo!). BMW bought the best reliability money could buy someone said.

Bob Brown (Melbourne Desmo Centre) is fond of the 650cc Pantah aka Cagiva for long rides. He's build some that have gone around Oz. I can't remember what the other newer bikes he's built that have circled. One was a Monster but I can't remember what size or year.

I don't actually write my site. I'm still in Davis, California working with monkeys. I have them banging away all day for , cigarettes and coffee.

--Uncle Monkeypoo
(is what my neices call me)

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Trying to ride (and work) my way round the world on a 1965 Ducati 250cc. In New Zealand now. Japan in April. http://nokilli.com/rtw/

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<You might think that I am crazy, but I am seriously considering one of these unsightly beasts for my upcoming trip around Oz. >

Hi Farmer Dave, sounds like a nice idea but, having considerd it myself, I feel the joke would wear thin after a while unless you are a Zen Master in which case a fig leaf and a staff will do you. Its all very well saying 'keep to back roads' but in the top left half of the country I know there are none to speak of - or they go on and on like all the other roads.

I feel Ags would be more functional in full-on, hardcore, off road exploring Darien Gap type where you shoot it if it goes lame.

And dont forget - they may be small and low, but they aint light - and me being a 182/95kg bloater, it might be a bit cramped and extra slow.

As someone else advises, buy new - they're cheap enough.

<Chris - why did you prefer the Honda?>
Cant remember now but i think it was a combination of comparing specs (brakes?, 12v?) more than the price (there's a box in Ag Overlanders in the new book).

< will that max out its carrying capacity?>
Realistically, I think they can carry whatever wont crush them - certainly a regular touring load.

<Any suggested modifications? >
maybe road tyres.. but I feel the point of Ags is they are not that sort of bike: just saddle it and ride it.

Chris S

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

Hi Dave
Good words from Chris, thats why he wrights books and sell them.;-)
These small bore AG bikes play games in your mind. Imagine being slower than everything else on the road (bicycle tourists excepted), braking distances of an oil tanker, crappy lights etc. Imagine meeting other people on the road and not being able to ride with them or or pulling up at the lights next to the latest R1 with more than 10x the horespower...
I think the best way to see if this is for you is to get yourself a cheap xl 185 in the UK and drive London to Scotland. If you enjoy that then maybe its a bike for you.
It must be 37000km on our little TF125's now and in Africa and a Asia I would say that I wouldn't of wished for another bike (well maybe a 4 stroke). The low weight and power just add up to more adventure and fun for me (I hate tarmac).
All that said, I had a trip to Oz planned this year and I was going to rent an XT600. There are just too many miles of open nothingness to enjoy 80km/h for me and I love riding at a speed to enjoy the surroundings.
Like I said, its probably a good idea to try the small bikes in the UK and see if you can find the "Zen zone".
Hope it all makes a bit of sense?
Andy
ps looped out an RM 80 and damaged my back so the Oz trip is off. Damn those small bikes.

I know my reply is late on this discussion but I would like to say my two cents worth.

We used Yamaha TW200 and AG200 on the farm in South Africa. Both are good and reliable bikes but are purpose made for Agricultural work and not Overlanding.

Let me explain: The best 4x4xfar is a 4x4 tractor wheter its a John Deere or a Massey Ferguson (Done deal, ask me) (Funny farmers disagree about tractors like you do about bikes)

But its not the kind of vehicle I would want to take through Botswana,Zambia,Malawi etc etc, u know what I mean cruise speed, etc etc , is not there.

In some sense the same applies the other way round. Really Chris Scott would have loved a light, low torque,low geared, easy handling farmer bike while he was tested to his limits on those stones and sands of the Sahara, but the trip didn't consist just of those tricky situations. Remember he had miles to cover, with all his equipment at all time.

The Perfect Bike - A bike thats done a overlanding trip with all the goodies and conversions already on. Meaning no new bike is overland ready nor is there such a thing as the perfect bike. Its how you convert/change your bike to suit your travel conditions that determine wheter its the perfect overlanding bike.

It's George Bush. Manufacturers wont supply these bikes to the US because they are upset about this character as President. You can understand it really....he is a nasty piece of work....

Good point ,he upset a lot of people. but also i think it's the epa who objects because they don't meet todays emissions standards.

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A lot of bikes they don't sell in the US are marked that they pass California standards. The NX200 isn't brought here because it won't sell well. I saw tons of neat bikes in Japan, but they've learned their lesson about bringing them over.

The SR500 was only sold in the US 1978-81, but they still sell them in Japan. The GB500 was 1989-90 and a lot of them were shipped back to Germany because they didn't sell in the States.

Americans, as a whole, like speed in a straight line. Not singles.

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It's funny, but someone posted the picture of the Honda CTX200 on three of the Chinese-made bikes groups on Yahoo Groups, ChinaBikes Group, Jetmotogroup, and LF200GY Group. I think that the owners of the Chinese made so-called clone bikes (cloned from old Honda XR200's)have a more sporty and off-roadable bike than this Honda is!

I doubt "Dubya" has anything to do with what bikes are imported to the US and what aren't. I lived in Europe for 8 years and used to marvel at the dual-sport bikes sold there. Cagiva Elephante, Yamaha Super Tenere, the Africa Twin, etc, etc. In Washington State I bought a Yamaha XT-600 for a trip to South America. I had to special order an Acerbis tank to give the bike any kind of range. Bike imports didn't improve/worsen under Pres. Clinton. The Paris-Dakar rally has certainly boosted the market (and "adventure" riding) in Europe. In North America people have tried to produce similar events to the P-D, with little success. BMW has had good luck selling their dual-sports in the US I think. After riding through South America, I have met only one other American rider (there were many more in Mexico and Central America). I believe long distance dual-sport riding is just in its infancy stage here. When companies believe there's a market, the merchandise will flow, as will the cash. BMW may well have caught the right wave.

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[QUOTE= In North America people have tried to produce similar events to the P-D, with little success. QUOTE]

The SCORE Baja series are pretty big, but seem to only boost sales of the limited enduro choices we already have here, as opposed to expanding our market with other models (i.e. Transalp). If a bike company was smart, they would produce a North, Central, and South American television series, using a "big" Hollywood star who travels from the top of North America, to the bottom of South America. You would see quite a few of that particular brand selling well, and suddenly, adventure travel is the biggest new thing!

Please, no TV shows. Can you image a Hollywood "reality" TV show about long-distance riding?? Less commercial stuff, not more! Sadly Yuma, you are probably right- if not certainly so. Before long we're all gonna need more earth to "get away." I'm thinking of improving my sailing skills...

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I should not have mentioned a show here! Someone will actually take and produce my idea. (Ewen McGregor already did it, but now they will take a US actor to do the same thing for the new show). Suddenly, KLR 650's and the like will start showing up on the streets of Beverly Hills.

Do you remember a few years back when illegally riding cross-country on freight trains started to get popular?

is that rack up front for or a sheep bumper? or both?

hello all,

I was browsing the web, reading some cool bike stuff, and I ended up on your forum. Nice one, btw. But I could resist to not register just to post a reply on this agro bike topic... The CTX200 is a bike made by the Brazilian Honda factory, which is responsible for the majority of small Honda bikes sold in the world. Any one recalls the push-rod 125cc CG ? Made in Brazil.

This CTX200, derives from a bike named XR200R. Not the American XR200.. the Brazilian one. This Brazil's XR, derives from the NX200, which came after the NX150 also made in Brazil. The NX150, only had this 150cc engine in Brazil... in other countries it was a NX125, also named TransCity. And this 150cc engine used on the Brazilian NX150, derived from the old scholl Japanese ML125.

Said that, it is proved that this design has been thru long time real-life tests. In fact, the Brazilian Honda Factory, makes the popular CRF150/230 sold in the USA, and these 150/230 engines, are pretty much the same as the 200cc used on the NX200, XR200 (Brazil), CBX200, and CTX200 (Au,Nz).

These XR200 are VERY popular in Brazil and they are all factory street-legal. ( I know.. they should be named XL200 as they are in some coutries that Brazil exports them to, or XR200L, as they are in some other places...)

And, YES, the Brazilian XR200R, looks very much similar to the agro CTX200, but way nicer... its suspension is higher... and it doesnt have all those weird racks or loooong rear fender.

I own one.. it is not a fast bike, but is REALLY dependable. NEVER BREAKS, very simple chain driven OHC air cooled design, and its gas mileage is around 80-90 miles per gallon. Pretty nice these days.

Also, they are one the the most popular bikes for offroad use in Brazil.

Hope I helped

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