Try to learn as much as you can but don't delay your trip because you can't take the bike apart and put it back together in the dark. I went to SA with limited knowledge about my bike, was able to replace the starting motor by myself, fix wiring issues, and keep it running well. I sold it in Peru to an Aussie whose best friend took it apart, saw a cracked valve, and insisted they would buy it anyway and wait for a new valve to come. They broke down on the Altiplano. I would suggest to know your limits and use common sense. Have fun.

you can always hire a mechanic and drag him with you RTW trip

I would love to become more proficient looking after my bike, but the simple truth is that my current skill set lies elsewhere. I've been travelling during my holidays since I bought the bike in 2010 (and I have been to Africa) and I've not worried too much, just enjoyed the riding. Admittedly, the bike's still fairly new and in good nick, but there will always be someway of finding if needed.

I'd love to learn more. My local evening classes never take place due to the lack of interest of others (there have to be a minimum take up), and my local garage always seem overworked, so asking there's probably a no go. I'd rather not wait until I'm proficient mechanically before setting off somewhere.

Yes, learn as much as you can BUT never let lack of knowledge put you off riding in the first place!

Take Mark's advice the get some mechanic's training anyway you can. It really will help you calm down and gain more confidence whilst on the road.

Try to buy as NEW a bike as you can afford. Learn it well, take shorter trips to start off and do basic maintenance on the road. Build a good basic tool kit as you progress. Start doing maintenance at home with only your travel tools. All this will help.

There are good mechanics all over the world. The trick is to find the good ones. Hubb and other Online forums can help source qualified mechs. Ask for specific help for specific places before you get there. Keep notes.

But if you buy a simple, straightforward bike, then most basic maintenance can be done with minimal training and some decent tools. If your bike choice is good, problems should be very few beyond regular maintenance, tires, chain/sprockets, oil changes. More you learn the better.

Riding
If you are a "clumsy" rider ...that is not good You'll need to get better.
But how? Two ways:
Take up dirt bike riding ...take real dirt bike classes using SMALL bikes.
Forget the posers on the big BMW's ... little trail bike is what you want to learn on. YES ... these learned skills will cross over to ANY bike you ride.

Do track days on the race track or a good On Track rider training course. Some provide a bike, some you use your own. Huge value as skills builder.

Both these exercises will ramp up your learning curve quickly, your skills will improve 100%.

But riding a bike your general traffic sense and defensive driving skills need to be top notch too. Ask anyone who's ridden through India, Asia or parts of Latin America. INSANE drivers.

You need to be playing with a FULL DECK to survive those conditions. Do all you can to get better ... Don't wait and think you can "learn on the road".
Get in the training and practice NOW.

Hello Kei,

Sounds to me like you are on the right track, You know your limitations but you are thinking about it. Put the effort into learning a few base skills and you will be more prepared than some.
At the least you should know how to do a basic service and oil change - on top of that being able to change a tyre and fix a puncture is a must. Most things that break you can see so it's easy to replace.......fault diagnosis is usually the problem the not so experienced fall down on. The fact is that modern bikes are usually reliable engine wise and if it does need work you can seldom fix it on the side of the road. Concentrate on all the ancillary stuff and electrical fault diagnosis. Like Molly says.... your riding is the biggest hill to climb. Get all the training you can afford but nothing beats hours in the saddle. Ride the bike all you can in all conditions. Don't worry about it all any way, if you breakdown - you will meet new friends and have a tale to tell.

I suspect many of us here got to be competent mechanics not through professional training (T. Ted excepted) but by trial and error - fixing whatever we could at the side of the road and either abandoning the bike or getting it recovered when we couldn't.

I've done all of that and whatever facility I have to fix things comes not from any innate ability but from a need driven mainly by desperation and a decades long trail of broken parts, stripped threads, bodges, lash ups and work arounds littering the roads of Europe. I know which end of a spanner to use because it was either that or walk.

These days bikes are a lot more reliable than they used to be (believe me, they really are!) so most breakdowns come from either incident (ie you fall off the bike ) or wear n tear (ie some other bit falls off the bike or fails). It's unusual to have a complete "meltdown" where a core part (like a crank or gearbox) fails and there's nothing you can do. Not unknown, just unusual. Most of the time when things go wrong it's not the fault itself that's the problem but the time it takes to get it fixed when you're on a time limited trip. The distress comes from seeing your schedule and plans vanish rather than the cost of the part or the need to find a mechanic. It's far more psychological than monetary.

My advice is to buy something intrinsically reliable (no piston holing or crank shredding two strokes like I started on), ride it within its limits (cruise at no more than about 70% of whatever the mags got as a top speed. 0r the speed limit, whichever comes first) and wear some ear plugs to stop you worrying about innocuous rattles and knocks. There's always an element of the unknown with this, but that's the point. If it was a certainty it wouldn't be as interesting to do.

My advice would rather be to buy an old bike because they are way easyer to maintain and repair (no diagnostic computer needet) and the loss of value per km is lower. This is importend when riding long distances no matter how good of a mechanic you are

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2yywDcqJd0

Hi Kei,

Where are you based ? fill out your location in your profile, then local people might offer to assist you from the HUBB!

Don't worry about knowing how to repair your motorcycle, I have met many motorcycle travellers who had no clue or interest in working on their bikes and getting their hands dirty, some in the middle of the South American Altiplano - broken down by the side of the road, they had a tent, food, water and were quite happy!!!

Whilst Im not disputing that having the knowledge/tools/spare parts is a good idea, also having an attitude that "I can sort out any situation" is another great "tool" to carry with you. 9 times out of 10, someone will come along and be able to assist you without a long delay.

I have personally had some of my best travel experiences whilst relying on peoples assistance, most people WANT to help - and end up as good friends. If you travel in your own little "bubble" and never accept any help you will miss a valuable aspect of travelling.

I worry more about breaking down in a "first" world country more - I don't have AMA/RAC/AA roadside rescue- not many people stop and assist these days as everyone is "too busy to help" , In so called 2nd and 3rd world countries - most people stop and help, that is the way it works.

Don't limit your motorcycle adventures because you cant fix your motorcycle - get out, ride, enjoy yourself and have the attitude that "I can sort out any situation"

You could also contact a local to you HUBB community and see if there is anyone willing to show you a few things about servicing/repairs, look under the "connect tab" at the top of the page and then "contact a community" they might also be able to ride with you and help you improve your skills.

Good Luck!

__________________
Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

Well said.

There's something to be said for modern bikes. I was strictly in the carb or I won't buy it camp but I've pretty much reversed my opinion Suspension, vibrations and brakes among other things have also come a long way.

IMO- it's about confidence.

If you're a worry-head (and some people just naturally are), you won't have fun with these "what-if's" banging around in the back of your head. Do something about it (i.e. prep etc.), but I agree with Gipper- much more important to go and enjoy yourself than missing out because you may or may not break down etc.

That said- for some people, the prep is part of the 'enjoy yourself' and there is a certain amount of satisfaction in learning new skills.

It's amazing what you can do if the 'need arises'. My adopted philosophy from Helge Pederson: there's no problem so big that stopping, making a cup of coffee and thinking about it will make it worse. It's amazing what solutions present itself in the 15min coffee-break!

__________________
Squily

I live in Hong Kong so I guess it's tens of thousands of kilometers away from most of you.

And I do appreciate everybody's advice and encouragement. To me the dream and passion still outweighs the worry and frustration. Will try my best, learn and practice as much as I can.

I generally agree ... but WHICH old bike is the question. Some "old bikes" are still being made. Bikes not available in UK, EU, like DR650, XR650L, KLR650. ALL can be still be bought brand new in USA, Australia and elsewhere ... but NOT the UK or EU. All these bikes feature 20 year old technology and ALL are dead simple. So this is sort of what I was alluding to in my statement. In the same post you quoted, I also said this:

"But if you buy a simple, straightforward bike, then most basic maintenance can be done with minimal training and some decent tools. If your bike choice is good, problems should be very few beyond regular maintenance, tires, chain/sprockets, oil changes. More you learn the better."

I was in the exact same situation as you. I had a dream to drive to the end of the world on a motorcycle, but never drove a motorcycle.

I took the course and got my permit and I left for my trip, from Montreal to Ushuaia, only 2 months after I got my permit and in that two months I managed to crash and destroy my first bike (total lost), I was fortunatly not hurt badly (nothing major). Got a new bike and left.

I was clearly not experienced enough as a driver when I left for my trip. I had a few spills and a very scary one on a volcano in Costa-Rica. I was riding with a more experienced rider and was trying to keep up. I eventually met a motorcycle safety course instructor in Peru and drove with him for a week while picking his brain for tricks and tips on how to ride. From that moment on, for the rest of my trip, I felt much more safe on my bike and was enjoying my trip and riding way better. I never had another fall since then and I rode through all kinds of terrains, up and down infinite twisties up and down mountains.

In insight I consider I've been lucky to not hurt myself more because even though I knew my skill level was not great, I was still trying to catch up with more experienced riders when in groups. I was still looking to push my limits and drive fast and was getting overly confident sometime because I thought I drove this far, I'm now proficient, but the reality is I couldn't be proficient without learning the right way to ride. It's possible to accumulate a lot of miles and still not be a proficient rider.

That being said, I met riders with poor controls of their bike and they rode all the way down and survived with no crash, because they knew their limits and respected their fear. I met a guy, so shaky on his bike, I couldn't believe he made it this far, he was driving very slow and very carefully. He made it, all the way to Argentina and in one piece. I could not do that because I'm a bit reckless and impatient in nature so driving slow all the way down was not an option for me.

You need to figure out where you can place yourself in this axis of prudent to reckless and be honest about it. You can always choose the small displacement route and go for a 250cc and less motorbike, lot's of fun to be had slowing the pace and taking in the scenery a bit more. Lots of thread about it on the HUBB and ADVrider. A smaller bike is going to be safer for someone with limited riding experience, that's why in some places new riders can only ride smaller displacement bikes.

You have options, you can do your trip with the skill set you have now, but be smart about it.

As for mechanical competence, I was like you, a complete newbie. I asked a friend of mine to show me the basics. I had a KLR650 so for me the essentials were to know how to change the oil, adjust, clean and lube the chain, fix the master link on a chain, clean air filter and how to change/repair a tube. That's it. That's the strict minimum and that's all you need if you choose to ride a bulletproof bike like the KLR. You can learn all this in a few hours from an experienced rider.

Like others have said in this thread before me, the mechanical part is the easy part, the riding skills are much more important. Poor mechanical skills can lead at worst to an interesting story of you stranded in a village with cheerful characters, while poor riding skills, well, you know where this goes...

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http://solomonde.blogspot.com
http://euromoto2015.blogspot.com

I'm for hire if you diced to go this way...


All depends on how much time you've got and what you're prepared to invest, but asking a mate to show you how it's done is a great idea. I know mechanics don't like having someone look over their shoulder, but even paying your mechanic to do this might give you the confidence. And it's just about confidence.

And if you're prepared to invest the time, correspondence courses like this can be great:
Online Motorcycle Mechanic School Training Course | Penn Foster

They go through all the basics as well as practical and even discuss tool requirements. And you get to learn at your own pace

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Squily