now you've got me thinking lol, this would be better then i would not need to save as much in one go. i will have a look into this and is it easy to get insurance sorted for the bike with having no fixed address in usa? and shipping the bike to s. africa sounds a great idea i wounder how much that would cost. thanks for you input i will be sure to look into this.

You will need a local address in the USA to buy a bike here. Should be no problem at all to find someone to help out. Insurance is available for non residents, but a bit expensive.

If you are pulled you need to show cops you've got insurance. Read up on other threads for speicific info. Many Brits, Aussies, Kiwi's and Euros have come in, bought bikes and insurance and did fine. Most re-sell in S. America.

Down south you buy insurance as you go, sometimes required, sometimes not. In Mexico it is "officially" required but almost NO Mexicans have insurance and its never checked at check points or by Policia. BUT ... Most experts suggest buying insurance for Mexico. I do. Read basic guide books to find out why.

Cent. Am. is a mixed bag and I don't know currently the story. Others here will know. In S. America some countries require insurance, others not.

If you plan to do your first leg in EU, Russia, Mongolia, Stans ... et al ... then I would focus on this region first. Plan and budget just for that. Make every mile count. Avoid the ugly, boring bits when possible.

You could then shift focus to Africa (or S. America) Come home, rebuild bike, work, save, then ride down to Spain, Ferry to Maroc and away you go. Maybe ship from S. Africa to Argentina? or work your way up north? Options Options Options

Seems to me £12K ukp is plenty to start off with .... jesus ... that's like nearly $18,000 USD! I could live for two years on that!

Shipping really does suck up a lot of funds ... hence the suggestion of the Greg Frasier style trip ... Greg keeps bikes all over the planet and flys in and rides as needed. With shipping costs so outrageous now, this makes more and more sense. Given bikes in the USA are half the cost (or even cheaper) than the UK, buying a bike in the USA for north and south America travel makes sense to me.

You can string out a credit card for years by paying "minimum payment".
This is, IMO, a really bad idea, and one that will cost you HUGE later ... unless you go bankrupt ... which is now quasi illegal in the USA! (except for the banks of course!) Have fun with the planning ... save save save!

I don't think the proposed trip will happen for US$18,000. Other shorter or simpler trips certainly might. I'm happy to be proven wrong, here as elsewhere.

It never occurred to me that the OP might be thinking of making minimum payments on credit cards, but I suppose maybe he was. This is such a transparently bad idea that it's almost not worthy of response....but unless planning to spend a loooooonnnngggg time digging out of the ensuing hole, best find another way to fund a trip.

The exception, of course, is for true emergencies....or the final month or two of an extended trip.

Mark