Hi Patrick

Good question. I have a Tiger 800 XCX, Jonny my buddy a GS800. Obviously we both think ours is best so I'm doing 2 weeks around Greece next month on a rented GS just in case I'm wrong.

(Put your money on the Tiger!)

Chris

i got a tiger 800xc myself i was in greece 2 years ago fantastic place for riding

chris
are you on easy running or hitting the miles everyday.
i want to keep away from cites as much as possible and only hit the miles if i have to.
also a bit of camping but you have to treat yourself with nice hotel as well but i think when in the middle east hotels will cheap need to do a bit of checking.
are you going to be on tight budget.
i want to budget as much as i can.
planning is the big key

I am very interested in your trip for next year.
I passed my bike test about 6 months ago and also ride a tiger. (fantastic bike I must say.)
I will be doing a few European trips before then to get some experience before embarking on the bigger trip.
Regarding border crossings, carnet and the like I am still in the learning process, so any advice would be great.
As for the return journey, what is route back?
Regards
Ron

Balance is pretty much the word!

Not on a budget as such but camping, rough camping, cheap hotels and the occasional treat (especially in Asia where a treat doesn't have to be expensive) are the way we roll.

Same with miles- some big days where there's nothing to see to make up ground for days when we are near things we are interested in. We are partial to battlefields and military stuff but whatever is your thing we'll accommodate. We like to interact and get a flavour of the culture, food and lifestyle wherever we are. No point if all you see is the inside of your helmet for 3 months. I won't go into detail but we are skilled and experienced in building relationships as we go despite language and cultural barriers. It adds a lot to a trip and can reduce costs and risk.

Splitting up for a few days to ride a particular route or whatever is a good thing.

Borders and carnets- obviously not a problem as far as Iran although I'm not sure when Brexit will kick in. I'll research everything in plenty of time.

Recovery from Bangkok. This was intended to be a true RTW trip but that would mean heading west across the US, fly with bike to Bangkok then ride home- my preferred option. But it would mean starting in March (avoids winter in Europe/US and monsoon in SE Asia) and I can't put it off so I'll cross the US west to east first (with my GF on the back) then set off from here (UK) to Bangkok and then fly home, not as pure a RTW but covering the same ground. I plan to fly or most likely ship the bikes home.

Hope that's useful.

Chris

https://www.adac.de/_mmm/pdf/EN-Antr...lett_18337.pdf

take a look at this site for carnet
the rac don't seem to be doing it anymore

OK cheers. I'm leaving that side of things for the long winter nights but any info is welcome.