If you want to go deep into Asia, and do as much of it overland as possible (while not doubling your mortgage at the same time, I mean!) I´d suggest to do some research on three "main" options:

1) Europe-Turkey-Iran-Pakistan-India and then ship to SE Asia. Plenty of options for that, but carnet will be required for Pakistan & India.

2) Europe-Russia-Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan (the ´Stans not necessarily in that order, and you could also enter them via Turkey & by ferry across the Caspian Sea).. and then ship the bike to SE Asia from, say, Almaty or Bishkek. A lot of hassle with the visas, and shipping could be expensive & a big pain, but you probably could do this without a carnet, provided you ship to Thailand, for example.

3) Europe-Russia (with possible detours to the Stans or Mongolia) to Vladivostok, and then to Korea or Japan & ship the bike to SE Asia from either one (which would probably be Korea right now, before Japan gets back on its feet). This will also require the carnet, but only if you go Japan. Shipping from Vladivostok might also be a possibility, but doesn´t seem to be widely used so there may be problems - maybe someone has better info on that?

Then there is also the option of going from Kyrgyzstan to China and then the Karakoram Highway into Pakistan, but this requires both entering China, and the carnet for Pakistan. But it doesn´t necessitate a long stay inside China, so might not totally cripple your budget, and this is probably why it has been used by a few travellers every year. But definitely not easy - I believe the #1 option is a breeze compared to this!

And like others have said, the carnet is not such a monster afterall, though the high values mentioned might scare you at first. On the plus side, it is usually arranged before you leave home. And once you have it, using it is pretty simple, so it´s something you won´t really have to worry about, while you´re on the trip (Unless you stay for over 1 year, of course!)