Hi there without a shadow of adout a dt125r.My first bike 30.000 trouble free miles.bigger bike bigger bills.:mchappy:

*update*
 

In the end the Derbi Terra Adventure won me over, even over the plain Terra which I'd previously prefered. It was the little things that swung it between the two, like handguards, and not liking red, they really are the same bike after all. Also the dealers I'd tested them at had sold the Terra, and were willing to give me a good price on their demo model Adventure so in the end the Adventure worked out cheaper than the Terra plus extras, so that was another great reason. And they gave me more coffee, a good deal on a jacket and gloves, serviced the bike before I rode out the door and said come back in a month or two for us to check it over once it's run in - free. Put that in your pipe and smoke it Mister Honda.

I've not yet toured on her (she's a she I'm sure) but she's got about 1400kms on her now, and all's going well, tip-toeing on cambered roads hasn't been a problem because the bike's plenty light enough for her size and anyway I do what all French bikers seem to do and sit myself in the middle. The luggage looks to be pretty good quality too, although so far it's held my shopping and not my camping gear, I'm sure it's made by someone else but it's branded as Derbi, one day I'll have to try and work out who it is. I'm waiting on my top box from them though but the built in luggage rack seems sturdy enough and theres plenty of things to bungee onto if I wanted to put a stuff sack on instead.

Quality of manufacture seems excellent, the paint's good and thick looking and very scratch resistant, all the welds look good (but what do I know) and the everything fits together well, and most things come apart easily if you want them to. There's a couple of annoyances - the tank's a bit small, and there's no fuel guage, just a warning light that comes on when the reserve level has been reached, it'd be nicer to have a proper fuel guage. Mind you I fill up so rarely because the consumption seems so low that perhaps that doesn't matter too much, and I have made myself a nice dipstick. I've noticed that Derbi now have a 250cc engine in their range, how long before they pop this in the frame I wonder? I reckon that'd be a great lightweight tourer too.

Performance has always been fairly brisk, at least compared to memories of old CG125s, and I've never felt I couldn't keep up with the traffic even on the RN (110 kmh 70mph limits), although there's one sharp bend followed by long hill on my way home which does seem to sap that a bit and I end up at the top doing about 85kmh when the speed limit is 90, but I've noticed as she frees up a bit this is improving. Off-road I've done nothing more serious than gravel fire tracks which are all hard-packed and quite well maintained, but she' grips well and the potholes don't end up shaking my teeth out.

So the next thing is the tour, she's due for her free service in a couple of 100kms and hopefully the top box will be in by then so the plan is to head off for a few days after that, and get some touring miles in, I doubt I'll go far from home, but I want to give her a good test on a variety of roads to see how she feels fully loaded. Then off to wheelie-school so I can be a right proper Charley.

Oh and I stumbled on THIS website yesterday for those who doubt a 125 as a tourer. Argentina to Australia - four years and two Yammie YBRs.

Would I recommend ithe Terra Adventure? Well Ok My bike experience is very limited, and I've only ridden something with an engine bigger than a 125 a couple of times so I have little to compare to, but I have to say - YES, if you want a lightweight, but full-size feeling bike she's excellent, and the Adventure equipment is a big plus. There might be a trade off speed against weight, but from might point of view touring is about looking at my surroundings, not watching the blur as I whizz past.

Hi,

I have done it on little honda nxr 125 in peru, bolivia, chile, argentina and paraguay, with my wife, survied, lot of fun - it is here:

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Podró¿ dooko³a œwiata


rgds
konrad

pannier makers
 

hey alexlebrit. i believe that touratech manufacture the panniers, although they denied this when asked! but a few close ups on promo shots reveals the tt logo. maybe they were just demos though.

Hi there, what about the Suzuki GN125, after I saw this guys riding in the patagonia and the carretera austral, I made my mind and I bought the GN. The bike is sweet, and has an excellent fuel range, 100 mpg and it isi very reliable.

Here you go the video

YouTube - Patagonia Aventura 2008, Suzuki GN 125

Great vid victor

Hi Alexlebrit, just wondering have you managed to do some touring on Terra Adventure yet? Any new experiences? I'm really curios because I've planned to buy some 250cc "versatile" bike (YBR 250 probably) but then I saw Terra - perfect look, perfect idea... Most other 125 cc are around 10 hpw and Terra is 15... (half way to 250 cc which are usually around 20 hpw or so). I'm acctualy not concerd about riding solo, but what if I want to take passanger with me? Do you think Terra can managed it with some normal travel speed (70-80 km/h)?

Thanks a lot!

I've ridden two up a few times and she's fine at 70-80kph; we were fine on the dual carriageway as well even at 100+kph. Two up with all the gear though? I think it might be a bit of a struggle in some places. One thing I haven't done is any real off-roading either with a pillion or with all the gear, just a couple of very hard packed dry gravel roads which are almost as smooth at tarmacced.

One thig to look out for apparently Derbi have had a falling out with the suppliers of the ali cases and they're not on their options list at the moment. They reckon they'll be back on before the end of the year though, and I'm guessing they'll be much the same, but for now, packing isn't going to be as easy.

yeah i have had real trouble with getting hold of some panniers to modify for my cross city, and after using soft luggage which i didnt find so good, i have had to buy a 39 litre louis top box. looks the part but will find out for sure this weekend when i go camping. those ali top cases look the bomb!

btw if you need to find any decent off road trails over in the UK alexlebrit, i have a wayfinder account and would be happy to share information

much love and peace out.

Thanks for your reply Alexlebrit. Enjoy the ride!

chech out my facebook page learer legal adventure touring

I got a: Sorry, this page isn't available The link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed.

Yes 125cc are deffinitly enough even for overland trips. Specialy in Southamerican countrys 125cc bikes are very comon so if you use one of them you not only save the cost of shiping your big bike but you also dont need to carry spare parts as they are available everywere:

http://adventure-travel-experience.d...en_suedamerika

mines would have to be a xr 125 for ease of getting parts worldwide check out my page
www.facebook.com/learner legal adventure touring