My question remains, how long were those on the 250cc bikes traveling for? I've actually got a Honda CRF250L, and if I took a year off work to travel around the world that is the bike I would take, absolutely. And I wouldn't go near a major highway if I could possibly avoid it.

But in reality, my trips are likely to be a month, two months, maybe three if I'm lucky. Ok, I could see the world one country at a time on a 250cc bike and keep flying home, but as I've said before, I like the experience of traveling long distances on a trip... there's something I like about continent crossing. While I do like to see things along the way and don't want to do a world record attempt, I'm also ok with not having seen every single thing there is to see in a country as I ride through it.

This necessitates some high-mileage highway days, there is just no avoiding it. And honestly, I would rather pick up a 500lbs bike 3 times a day than ride 700 miles on a highway on my CRF250L, I really would. Don't get my wrong, great bike... but not built for highways. Also, at highway speeds the fuel economy drops off alarmingly, and the tank is tiny so you'd need an aftermarket tank.

It's like I keep saying, horses for courses. I don't think anyone disputes that the answer to the question of "I'm taking a year to ride around the world solo. What bike should I take?" is "a 250cc single." But many riders are asking a different question, which is "I want to travel a great distance over a couple of months. I'll mainly be riding on paved roads, but very occasionally I'll be riding on gravel. What bike should I take?" And from the reviews I've read it sounds like the Africa Twin could be a worthy answer to that question.