RTW (Paris – Vietnam – Australia – Ushuaia – NY) – Departure March 2023
 

Greetings;

Summary: I’m 26 (English&French) and I am planing to circumvent the globe for 14-18months leaving in March 2023, I am looking for one or more travel partners for some part of the journey (or the full thing!)

Plan: The plan is to ride what you can see in the photo attached
(Fly from Nepal to Vietnam to avoid Burma (Currently dangerous)), (Fly from Melbourne to Ushuaia), (Fly from Colombia to Panama), (Fly from Newyork to London), other movements across water would be done by boat. (See quick drawing on photo attached)

More Details:
Situation: I have been riding for 6 years now, I have ridden in multiple countries in Europe, South Africa and Thailand, as a preparation I travelled across western Europe for 2 months last year and I am doing NordKapp from London in June 2022.

I currently have an old F800GS but I was thinking of doing the RTW on a CRF250Rally as a T7 is currently off budget. I have been preparing the mapping and logistics for a while now but I have mostly been waiting to get the money together (In total I counted 45keuros for everything the bike included), I’m happy to share how I found this number with more details! (See costs on photo attached)

I expect the trip to last between 14 and 18 months and I am leaving in march 2023 because I was looking for dry seasons along the way: (See weather Dashboard attached)

I haven’t mapped everything with precision as I expect country situations to change with time, I mainly focus on finding things I want to do and see (Diving in Turkey/Australia, Visiting temples in Asia…). General mapping also allows me to estimate things like flight costs, km, hostel costs...

I am looking for someone or a group of people to do some part of it or even the full thing, we would of course meet and ride together beforehand to make sure we get on ;p, please send me a message on (frenchy360rtw@gmail.com) or leave a message on here!

looks interesting
 

Greetings Frenchy,
Looks interesting, I have similar ambitions and timeframe with slight variations. Looks like your planning a mix of wild camping, hostels, Abnb, etc. Fluctuating fuel and food prices makes budgeting a year or two out a little challenging right now. Love that budget friendly bike idea. Can't read your weather spreadsheet, I'll send PM, take care...

I think you need to revisit some of your research. Vietnam will prove very difficult from KTM, you may wish to consider looking at BKK instead but until recently Thai no longer flew widebodies to KTM and do not freight bikes. This may change but I suspect not. I very much doubt Vietnam will fly appropriate sized aircraft to KTM. I would suggest you look at MasKargo from India, Mumbai or Delhi to KL. Secondly, Vietnam requires you to be part of a "tour", entering is not as easy as just showing up. Lastly, your 3K budget for bike transport will hardly even cover 1 flight let alone what you have suggested.

In 2018 I shipped my Honda Dominator from Kathmandu to Milan, through Bangkok, with Thaicargo. It took around one week from KTM to MXP.
I don't remember the exact price: I can search for it, but it was something between 1200-1500 euros.

There are a few agencies in Thamel: I used Suraj at eagle export Eagle Export Cargo

I think getting in touch with him (or with other shipping companies in Kathmandu) can give you an idea about what is possible to do and what no and prices

@2daysride @Big_Dave @crisidsto
 

Thank you for your answers and pieces of information, it is genuinely of great help (it's also reassuring!)

@2daysride; Message received, I look forward talking to you!

@Big_Dave; The map line I drew is very approximative, for example I wasn't expecting to fly straight from Nepal to Hanoi, I was expecting to have to go back to India and fly from there, if its cheaper I can also consider flying from somewhere in India to Bangkok and then ride east until I hit Hanoi, I will look into the exact details 1 year from departure as I think it’s too early for theses types of details, If Myanmar calms down I may also be able to go through there

To save money I was also looking at flying the bike from Jakarta straight to Ushuaia and then just hire or buy a 125cc bike for the 3 week Australian journey. I know 3k is not enough for transport but I added extra funds on other sections such as 1k for parts and 5k for fun money, I think the money will come from there,

I'm also trying to save more money but I'm already counting each euro in my everyday life! I’m currently working in France and believe it or not if you get caught working more than 50hours a week here you get fined 1500 euros :rolleyes3:!

@Crisidsto; Thank you for the estimation, I will contact Eagle Export Cargo for further details,

Good luck with your trip. Just remember, you cant always fly your bike from wherever you are to where you want to go. It is not that simple. Many, many routes simply do not accept or can handle motorcycles as cargo.

Update
 

Hello,
Just an update as I am still open to travel with people ;)

My departure date is no longer March 2023 but the first week of December 2022, and instead of riding from the UK to Australia following the line you can see, I will fly my CRF250Rally to Australia and then ride back to the UK, using the line you can see, (Followed by the Americas)

Hey Frenchy, this sounds like a neat trip.

My advice is try to spend as few dollars on air freighting the bike as possible. Air Canada used to have a crazy deal where you could ship a motorcycle to Europe for $1200 USD. Airline tickets have gone up 40% over the last few months to give you an idea about inflation.

Used motorcycles in the USA are very inexpensive. You could buy a Suzuki DRZ in the states for $2000 US.

Australia is expensive. I would make that a separate trip in a few years and that way you won't feel as time limited when you are there. I'm not sure how much fun riding the outback would be either. If deserts are your thing that might be fun.

You can find a good deal on a used international traveler's bike in Argentina also. There is a very cheap way to get legal paperwork to allow you travel up to Mexico.

Your brand new CRF 250 Rally has a high chance of getting stolen along the trip. I like how you are planning to use a small bike, but I think a 250 cc is too small for an around the world trip. Trust me, there will be times when you just want to make it to where you are going and not have to do 60 km/hr to get there. I think 350-500 cc would be a lot more practical. Have you looked at the 2012-2016 KTM500 exc and the 2019-2022 crf450r? Those could get stolen too.

Fun trip; I hope you can make it happen.

A lot of research is evident, but it's always easy to nitpick. Like others, I think transport is way underfunded--especially these days. It sounds like you're bringing a liquid fuel stove, which will probably be taken from you before your first flight. I'm not sure about an airbag canister, but the same might apply. You might want to double-check your visa prices (but I'm from the US, so I know little about U.K. passports). Same with inoculations--and Malarone, if so inclined, can be a major expense. I don't know why you'd carry a solar panel on a bike which can produce more electricity than you need; likewise that 30 feet of rope, unless planning to winch stuff up cliffs every now and then.

I'd bring a pair of regular trousers and a button down (or other semi-presentable) shirt, because you spend a lot more time off the bike than on. I think you're a bit overboard on underwear and socks. I was going to quibble about the fuel tanks, but then remembered the tiny CRF capacity.

I've traveled quite a bit on a CRF 250. They'll hold 50 mph easily enough--60 if you insist (and maybe carry a change of front sprocket). That's fine if you're steering clear of multilane highways and flat, boring places, but that's easier said than done. My country, which is spectacularly scenic in parts, consists largely of flat, boring places, and the same is true of Australia, Central Asia, much of Argentina, Chile and Peru... On the other hand, slow speeds mean it's actually a lot more comfortable without the windscreen than with, so I'd leave that out.

Last, I seriously doubt you'll find reasonable transport from Jakarta to Ushuaia, and it's really difficult to bring your bike into Vietnam. It sounds like there might be some holes in your research, particularly around transporting the bike. I know you're saying you'll wait until closer to the day, but these are basic, underlying issues and unlikely to go away.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

General Update, life is full of surprises, I am back to my original plan, of riding from UK to Australia but I am now leaving on the 1st of July 2022


Hi Mark, thank you for your message,

Transport: I have now added more funds to my transport budget, I had already checked the visa prices, but I know I will probably have to spend more in that area,

General: You are right, I will no longer bring a solar panel and will use the bike as a power source, in terms of clothing, I am now planning to bring a set of 3 for Tshirts, Boxers and Socks, all made of Merino, I do think I need an extra fuel tank for the CRF,

The Bike: The suspensions have already been upgraded, in term of its top speed, I'm really not worried, I currently have a 800cc bike and I never exceed 65mph on the motorway, I think I can happily sit at 60mph.

Jakarta to Ushuaia: Will find somewhere else to fly it from!

Current issues: Currently trying to get visas and paperwork sorted for Iran/Pakistan/India (See my other post for more details :mchappy:)

Start in Australia
 

Hi Frenchy, I was just wondering if you made it to Australia yet??
I’m looking to ride from Queensland (Australia) to Darwin then ship to Timor 2023 start on April.

Hi @AussieDR,
No, I haven't reached Australia yet, currently in Nepal, will probably reach Timor Leste in July!
Frenchy

Frenchy Travels
 

Frenchy, Just curious on Updates! I too was leaving for AU 2022/2023, However, I decided when I go m to buy bike there. AU is super strict, and even a brand new bike.. Just FYI.. I believe now I am heading south from California to Argentina.. as Im sure Itchy Boots is heading to AU as I type.. If you have a blog, or website/ YT Channel please let us know!!

Safe Travels
MotoCoco:scooter: