Forum

[Andy M]

Carnet costs are a factor too. You might tell the UK provider (no longer RAC) your Bullet C5 is only worth £3000 and have to put £6000 on deposit for Egypt. A Chinese 400 bought in Rand is going to be much less. £12000 BMW's are cheap compared to what the sponsor paid for the support truck, but not when its your own money. A Bullet with a UK reg is good compromise. Andy.

[mustaphapint]

Have a read of Jacqui Furneaux's book, 'Hit the road Jaq!' She covered many thousands of miles around the world on an Enfield (admittedly older than the one you're planning to take) but it will give you a view of problems you may face and how almost anything can be overcome. Apart from anything else it's a damn good read.

[Clive]

Thanks everyone. Andy and Stinkwheel I certainly agree, light is definitely the way to go. The other bike I am now considering is a Suzuki DR 650, the bike is simple, bullet proof, and just about unchanged for 20 years now. Admittedly it is a bit heavy. The DRZ400 is the smaller brother. The 400 being better for tight off road and the 650 for longer straights. If it weren't for the big difference in seat height I would choose the 400 over the 600 (I'm 1,68m). But unfortunately the 650 is a lot lower. I hear you on the XT225, nice little machine. There are so many accounts of people riding these smaller bikes around the world. I just really like a bit of grunt under my seat though, especially for long straights where I like to cruise at 110km/h at low revs. The nice thing about the DR 650 is that its still a lightish bike in its class, when compared to the BMW 650 DAKAR, Kawasaki KLR and Honda. So I'm back to square one!

[stinkwheel]

It's a shame they stopped making the DR350, they were about perfect. I do like the idea of aircooled engines for touring and very hot countries. Less to go wrong.

[Percyp1]

Coincidentally I own a DR650 set up for touring and a RE C5 for fun. All thie aforementioned ideas are good ones. My added comment about the Suzuki, which I love, is that it is a bit heavy. I’d go single cylinder and light.

[Percyp1]

Coincidentally I own a DR650 set up for touring and a RE C5 for fun. All thie aforementioned ideas are good ones. My added comment about the Suzuki, which I love, is that it is a bit heavy. I’d go single cylinder and light.

[Rattlebattle]

I believe that a newish B5 or C5 would do the trip with a bit of prep, a lot of which has been mentioned. I'd be inclined to replace the battery with a Motobatt or similar AGM type with high cranking power. I'd also cable tie the regulator rectifier to the frame - the vibration can fracture the mount otherwise. Just about ANY modern bike can have problemd with the original R/R unit. A higher spec MOSFET one on any make would be a good idea. RE are no worse than other makes in this respect. On my C5 I've fitted the host's carb conversion. apart from adjusting the tickover it worked fine with the supplied jetting from the off. I've found no bits in the carb filter after a few thousand miles but if I did I'd fit an inline filter. You get a reserve position too. When I had issues with the EFI it was all sensors/connectors to do with the squirt side (injection) not the bang side (ignition). Whilst I have lost the automatic altitude adjustments that EFI would provide I've gained the extra space in the tank previously occupied by the fuel pump, the ease of unclogging blockages, a more reliable system of dealing with low fuel (ethanol melted level float anyone?), a better air cleaner and more space in what used to be the air cleaner metal box. I've also lost the irritating bistart lever and any worries about the fuel pump packing up. I think of the ECU as a Boyer ignition box now; it's reliable and has to be better than two bits of metal bashing together. Electronic ignition has been universal for years and is fit and forget reliable.Take a few spark plugs (NGK). The RE is pretty rugged and should handle things ok. Just my opinion.

[Clive]

Thanks Rattle battle for your response, still in descion mode so all your comments help

[Clive]

Thanks Percyp1, as a DR650 owner, are you saying that you’d choose the DRZ400 over the 650? Any input you may have on the 650 would be very helpful. Is the weight manageable? Thanks