Funnily enough I was just looking at Bantams! £1000 seems to get you a decent one - and I was wondering how they'd go as a travel bike! Yop'd have to travel pretty light though!

Matt

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*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!

You would be much better off with a cub ( Triumph tiger cub) any will do but the best years are 1959 to 1966 Once the engine oil is warm they will run all day at 45mph+ and return 100mpg. I toured all overthe UK on one back in the early sixties. It was equipped wit a full Avonaire touring fairing.

I would suggest that you stay away from Bantams for touring! as oldbmw says, a better choice would be the Tiger cub, but only just! if you read the blog from this link you will realise why, 20kms ridden, half hour or more to let it cool down . The journey could be very nearly measured in seizures to the mile. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...gypt-bsa-49984




For diesel bikes try DieselBike.net The Original Diesel Motorcycle website.

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Never confuse the map with the journey.

Which would logically suggest (at least to me) another branch of the family tree, MZ's. Rat bike rather than classic (although people I don't understand are doing hideous over chromed ES and RT model "restorations" now). I'd guess I've done something like 150,000 KM on MZ two strokes and had one siezure (the bike, not me). I made it home after pouring a can of coke down the bore and ran the same barrel and piston for another month . These 250/290's will run all day at 60+ mph. Efficient they are not, 40-60 MPG plus you are burning smoke oil at hideous prices. However, are we looking at the big picture:

MZ301, cost me £520 last September (only 7000 Km since new in 1995 ), has run to about £30 in spares (e-bay value if I'd sold rather than hoared) and in 7000 miles used say £800 worth of petrol and £75 worth of smoke oil. I could sell it tomorrow for £250, probably more. That's 17p a mile.

I looked at a Diesel Bullet. £3500 to buy and then does 90 mpg on a mixture of Diesel and cooking oil. Parts I guessed at the same as my petrol Bullet and £1000 less if I decided to e-bay it. Over 7000 miles that's 20p a mile but falling fast.

The break even is somewhere about the three year mark at the rate I'd use one, but obviously the distance would clock up sooner on a long trip. Diesel of course is universally available while smoke oil isn't. I think I'll be going Diesel about five years after a manufacturer introduces one as a production model.

Andy

The diesel bullets do considerably more mpg than your figures. you should be getting between 120mpg to 170mpg on a single cylinder bike.
I get 96mpg from my petrol lean burn 500 cruising at 50-65mph.