Anyone ride a classic bike on long distance trips?
 

I've got a 1967 BSA bantam, I quite like the idea of taking it on an adventure. Its great fun to ride and forces you to take minor roads instead of motorways, which is all good fun until you need to get a long distance quickly! Nothing happens quickly on a bantam!

I'd have thought you could have great time on a little bike like a Bantam as long as you have enough time to relax and enjoy the trip.

Have a look at this link for some inspiration:Europe by 1969 BSA Bantam - Part 1 - Classic Motorcycle Review - RealClassic.co.uk

Hi, try this link, the guy, Gordon May is setting off around 27th April for attempt No2, also check out overland to India where Gordon took a '53 Royal Enfield.
Overland To Egypt

GO FOR IT !
Travel slow , see the countryside , smell the roses [- aah sorry it's a two stroke ] ,leave a haze of blue smoke behind you [just kidding] .
Do your own thing - great !

One of the guys on the horizon dvd has been round the world on a 48 indian

Cheers for thelinks guys, some great inspiration there!

You could divert to Italy and do the Moto Giro !!!

It was my intention to have an old Triumph to go travelling on. I did end up with am Enfield, so gives the character of a classic but more modern.

Big thing is, mine I converted to RH shift :)

go for it but lay in some spares just in case. Simple bike anyone can fix. Great gas mileage . Getting parts on the road now that would be interesting . :smiliex:

It is just a phone call away, just as easy ( in some cases more easy) than any other brand.

thinking of outside europe.

many years ago I owned a BSA 500 single. it was a classic indoors type of bike. Take it out for a Sunday afternoon jaunt then spend the rest of the week with the bike in bits in the kitchen or lounge room fixing one bit or another. lots of fun memories can be had with a BSA:scooter:

Most places have post :)

Plus in eastern Europe, Russian federation and Asia the majority of towns will have an 'engineering shop' that can fabricate or repair most parts for the older bikes. What they cant do is make any of the modern electronic bits.

I would say the the survivability of an older bike is greater than a modern bike even though you might not have to maintain a modern bike as much. In the USA at least they sort of lost the art of fixing things from the late fifties to early sixties. Although there are a few old time mechanics and engineers still around they are as scarce as rocking horse manure. Don't Know about Canada. For some reason I would expect their fixing skills to have lasted longer than in the USA. Both countries have Enfield dealers and post from UK for parts for older bikes is not a problem.

Note, many of the 'defunct' Brit bike companies still exist in the form of small workshops producing ALL of the parts needed to build a bike from scratch. Problem would be in registering such a bike as they would not meet todays emission controls although usually they are more fuel efficient than modern bikes. The thing to do is set up an account with the source of parts and they will ship worldwide from a phone call. Simples.