Chris: Yes, it's quite possible my bike was ex Adventure Centre. That would explain some of the minor scratches etc. I wasn't aware of it until your post. I've just checked the V5 and it has had two previous owners. I bought it from a dealer in Wales who told me they took it as a trade in on a new Africa Twin.

The tubeless rims on Richard's CRF1100 are like the BMW GS where the spokes go to the edge of the rim, not the centre so it is a proper tubeless wheel, not just a sealed spoke arrangement.

A leaking seal at <2000 miles isn't good. I wonder what's wrong with the standard seals?

Overall, the CRF1000 is a great bike though.

Just found this RR, many thanks.
Where did you get your Carnet from and how much- if you don’t mind me asking?
D

Got the Carnet in the UK. About £250 for the document plus £500 non refundable admin fee plus the bike deposit up front.

The deposit amount varies with the bike value but you should get most of that back.

The fixed, up front, non refundable costs were about £750.

I lost my carnet and had to have a new one issued so that cost another £500.

The Carnet is one of the biggest single expenses.

Many thanks and congratulations on a great trip.

Congratulations on the completion of this trip and thanks for posting your journey as it was helpful. I budgeted 5 mos. to get to South Africa, but finished in 3 arriving at the end of August. I expedited my trip because, as you know, most of Africa is a rather hostile and unpleasant place to motorcycle through with Namibia and South Africa being the exceptions. I probably wouldn't have done it if I knew what I know now and don't recommend it.

I completed the trip without a carnet and definitely would recommend not getting one though I've heard rumours that Angola may now require one. I had no problem with TIP's/Passavants and even while paying some of the highly suspect fees, it was cheaper than a carnet.

The DR650 would not die or break even after filling it with crappy fuel, dumping it it frequently in the mud and crashing it once.....it just kept going. Only failure was a broken speedo cable. The bike is a bit bent.....but a few replacement parts and fasteners will straighten the girl out again. The Motoz Tractionator GPS tire I installed in Morocco lasted the entirety of the trip.

I too ended my trip at African Overlanders and will have the bike shipped to South America where I plan on picking it up in January and riding back to Canada possibly with another Canuck on a KLR I met up with in Namibia. Sorry to hijack your thread, but I thought I'd would recognize your accomplishment and let you know how things turned out for me.

https://i.postimg.cc/1RjvYkSN/IMG-20...727977-HDR.jpg

Excellent job. Well done and thanks for posting your update. Really good to hear you made it all the way to SA. Answering the carnet question will be a big help to others doing the same route too.

The border crossings, corruption and visa issues certainly make it a challenge. Sounds like your DR650 was the perfect bike for the trip.

Good luck for the next leg and keep us updated, we'd love to follow along.

Just came across this thread and I wanted to congratulate you on the trip. Fantastic achievement. I have a brother in Cape Town, and I have a dream of getting on my bike in London and riding to Cape Town to have a couple of beers with him. Yes, I could fly, but where is the adventure in that?
I was thinking of doing it by myself, but security issues do scare me. It just makes sense to have someone else with you in case you lose your panniers etc.
Am I being too cautious? Guess that's a personal question.
Again, congrats.

Thanks Sunset.

Security is something to be aware of, however, we didn't have any issues while riding. In fact, I lost all my bike security equipment when I lost my panniers and didn't lock my bike at all from then on. That's all the way from Guinea to South Africa!

I doubt you could ride across the UK and leave your bike unlocked without it being stolen or vandalised.

The main worries for me were with the authorities as they have power and no accountability. Corruption is rife and you certainly don't want to end up in a cell on a trumped up (fake) charge. Again, it's not all of them and the vast majority in all countries were very friendly, helpful and accommodating.

I wouldn't let the perceived security issues put you off taking the plunge and going on what will certainly be a great adventure.

I also have a brother in SA and my motivation for the trip was the same. Sure you can fly, but where is the fun in that!

If you're in the UK and want more detailed information on planning etc. let me know through the forum or a PM. I'd be happy to help.

It's now April 2024 and time to continue riding in South Africa.

The Red Africa Twin from this blog is back in the UK and it is too expensive to freight it back to SA.

The new plan is to go out to SA and buy a used bike locally in SA.

The money that would have been spent freighting my bike from the UK to SA can be put towards buying a bike in SA.

I'll cover buying and registering a bike in SA under a new thread called "2024 Buying a bike in South Africa to continue the 2023 overland ride"

Hi Sunset. I think Gordon (PostTree) has already said this but travel in Africa on a motorcycle can be a wonderful experience, especially if you can take the time to meet with and chat to people. If you are solo (as I was from Mauri to Pointe Noire, Congo and from Namibia to Khartoum) then there are usually more people who will interact with you. And if you break down or have another problem, people pop up before you know it. At least, that was my experience and I did a fair bit of breaking down in remote places on my elderly BMW.:mchappy: