Hello icarus,

I dont yet have a blog. I am planning to ship the bike to Cape town and ride up north along the east coast and finally across the sea to Marseilles. Well thats the rudimentary plan. Plan to take off by april next year. If my budget, leave and a lot of other"ifs and buts" go right
Have a map stuck on the wall with pins for where i want to go, and reading up as much as i can on several things which can be of use.

Pare.

hi pare.
i don't know about other peoples experiences, but i'm not sure if the enfield is reliable enough for africa. ofcourse, i could be wrong, but i'd guess that you'd have less headaches with a hero honda or a something jap brought in south africa.

i have a bullet in india, which i'd like to ride back one day, but in africa i'm not sure how it might fare.

good luck with your trip and don't let my comments put you off - just food for thought.

hutch

I have to agree with Hutch here.

Hello Hutch and Caminando,
I agree with you that the realiability of enfield being less than a jap bike. But, it also has higher repairability. I mean to say, atleast i feel more confident to fix a enfield than a jap bike. And, since i enjoy riding slow and soaking in the culture and people, enfields low speeds should not be drawback.
But i am still worried about the spares that i have to carry and the meagre 18bhp engine on dirt track.
@Hutch: which bullet do you have in India!??

Pare

Why don't you take one of those new 500cc EFI bikes? More reliable and more powerful (more expensive though). As for the spares I would just take the usual stuff. Missing parts can always sent after by your friends/relatives or you could contact Hitchcock (UK). I take it you will use the classic Indian Bullet luggage rack?

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1997 Africa Twin

Just in case you didn't know... here's a link to the best Royal Enfield forum on the net... enjoy!

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1997 Africa Twin

The problem with older bikes is that in many cases they are not simpler and easier to fix.

Look at brakes - disc brakes have considerably fewer moving parts than a drum, and if you have a failure then you can replace parts from just about any bike e.g. master cylinders are almost universal, calipers are also interchangeable if you are prepared to fabricate a mount.

Ignition - modern systems don't fail. By comparison, points cause regular difficutlies, never mind weight based ignition advancers.

Wheels - spoke wheels bend their rims and snap spokes. Tubes burst and you have to remove the tyre to fix a flat. Cast wheels are much, much stronger and can run tubeless tyres - fixing a flat is a 2 minute job using an externally fitted mushroom plug.

The list goes on and on. To each his own as far as the type of bike you like to ride, but do understand the implications of your choice.

Relying on local mechanics to be able to repair your vehicle is never a good a thing - often they are the cause of further failures - so you want something that either is unlikely to break, or if it does break, then something you can repair yourself.

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Garry from Oz - powered by Burgman

Some good points there Gary ,especially concerning local mechanics.

But one good thing about drum brakes is that they don't have seals that can let you down ,also a primitive repair shop could reline the shoes if necessary .Apart from a cable there is not much else to break .

Points ignition can be replaced with a Boyer type sytem .Modern sytems are more reliable but need a good battery voltage .Older systems can have a capacitor fitted that will ensure the bike starts with a flat battery .

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Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. - Spike Milligan
"When you come to a fork in the road ,take it ! When you come to a spoon in the road ,take that also ."

Hello Farqhuar,
You are right about old bikes sometimes having problems not easy to fix. But, on the positive side, there is exhaustive list of these items which will go wrong.
- disc brakes has lot of good characters...i will put them on the old bike directly...but only on the front wheel maybe......drum brakes are also fine i think...except for the antifading properties....they have less moving parts too and no fluides to leak or refill. only spares required will be brake pads and cables, i think.
- ignition: i am planning on both ignitions...i mean having both of them, CDI and point...actully i have to work on this part of the planning.
- tyres: complete overhaul of bike including spokes , and file of sharp spokes poking out to the inside of the rim. and rim screws to hold the tyre in place should help. But yes, i wont have easytime fixing punctures which can be many on the trip....but certainly fixable.

I know you were giving these just as examples and there are many of them. I think planning stage will exactly include these thoughts, and trying to eliminate or think of as many of such situations and have solutions.

But, Enfields are quite overdesigned and can take a lot of abuse. I am fixed on the bike now. But i certainly have to change systems in it (like disc brake or casted rims) to make it better. That way i will have the price advantage as well as relaibility, i hope.

And i will certainly improve my knowlwdge base on fixing the usual problems of the bike. have scheduled overhauling the bike by this year end. Dodger(vetern from the same forum) had told previosly about overhauling the bike to high standards. Will change any worn parts, run in some of the spares, etc...

But, man you have got me thinking into how much more i have think and discuss about problems that may come up in the old bike. Rightly said about having systems that "unlikely to break, or if it does break, then something you can repair yourself"..

Pare.

Hello Icarus,
I am sticking to an old bike mostly due to price of the bike, waiting time for new bike and the corresponding increase in carnet money. Actually, even for a 1970 bullet i may end paying the same price as a new one, but the carnet price will be very low.
And, as for spares, I am doing exactly as you suggested. i am finding out post offices in my route who have this options of receiving the post on my name and i just show my ID and collect the post.
I am going to use the bullet lugguage rack. I think its on the military bullet. I dont know what exactly that model of rack is called. It is broad, looks good and simple.
....thanks a bunch for the enfield forum link...i did not explore that one before...will check it now....

Pare.

Hi Pare,

Are you going to make this trip on your own? Will the trip end in Marseille or will you go further north (Belgium for example)?
Maybe we can meet 'somewhere' in Europe then? Are you also going to ride the bike back to India?

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1997 Africa Twin

Hello Icarus,
I am planning on my own. I have a lot of close french friends in marseille who may even come over to algeria or libya before i reach france.So, thats how marseille is prominently on the trip plan.

I have given myself 100 days time for the trip...i am estimating a total ride of 20K kms and an average of 200km/day seems ridable. I dont ride too fast and am a defensive rider. In the time frame,return trip may not be possible. But, i certainly want to ride 'india to europe or europe to inda thru middle east' route one day. I have indian passport, so its a little difficult to get pakistan visa. I want to visit pakistan.....i hope things settle down fast between countries, so i can ride. I have heard stories of amazing hospitality from pakistanis and towards indains especially....

I would to meet up somewhere in Europe. I have no particluar plan on riding in Europe so i am absolutely flexible except for the trip duration...i can make it to Belgium too. I will keep you updated and i think we can for sure meetup....a friend from leh (a buddhist monk) said to me last time we met, "Only mountains cant move to meet, people can always meet"...
I wrote a lot, but i dont know wether i have answered all your questions ...