Which Bike?

Warning... Boring Motorbike Post!!! ;o)

So then, choosing a suitable motorbike to venture Round the World with! A very tough decision to make, primarily because what I know about motorbikes even the average Goldfish is more than capable of remembering, yep virtually Zilch! The two things I do know is that they've got at least fifty percent less wheels than other considerably better balanced forms of motorised transport, and that always; always; always motorbikes look best in black with lots of shinny bits of metal :o)

So then research required. Getting this wrong could cause some serious issues on the "Grand Tour" for a whole plethora of reasons. First and foremost because what I don't know about motorbikes is surpassed only by my complete ignorance about "Oily Bits". I've always been exceptionally ignorant of how to fix any oil bits on any motor vehicle when they start doing; or not doing things they are suppose to (Hey I'm in IT, we pay other people to do that kind of stuff!), I struggle and my 'Blue Peter' skills at doing useful things with some left over sticky backed plastic, an old washing up liquid bottle and a few used cardboard toilet roll holders are to say the least no-existent. Realistically entering into the philosophy of serious DIY on the road maintenance isn't an option for me, the bike has to be reliable!

In my quest to conquer my ignorance, I've been lurking here, Horizons Unlimited. A web based community dedicated to Motorcycle Travellers, 'Adventure Motorcycling'. (Sorry there isn't an entry on Wikipedia for 'Adventure Motorcycling' but in my opinion this roughly translates into "Adventure Motorcycling: insane people doing insane journeys on motorbikes"). It must be said though; Horizons Unlimited is a first class site, with information available to anyone for almost every conceivable question you could have about 'Adventure Motorcycling'. I've even posted the odd question, all of which were responded to in a more than friendly and knowledgeable way by people more than willing to help the inflicted and less informed like myself, but mostly I've been more than enriched with information just reading what the 'Experts' have said on The Hubb(The HU Forums).

Now hopefully I've managed to glean just a modicum of knowledge about modern motorbikes, enough even to make a slightly more informed decision on which bike to purchase.

As said previously, reliability is at the top of my selection criteria (and when I say reliability I want/need a bike that will survive a direct assault from a tribe of lost nomadic Taliban militia firing AK47's at it as I pass through Iran, even if I don't!), but also high on the list of factors to take into consideration for bike selection are aspects like the availability of spare parts in isolated third world counties, the manufactures worldwide dealer network for repairs and servicing, this therefore makes some older now out of production machines less suitable for the trip than others.

Then there's the maximum load capacity of the bike and its engine size, from which you can ascertain the power to weight ratio, I don't really want to try and transverse the Himalaya on a machine that's going to give up half way when fully loaded, and by loaded I mean 250kg+! Comfort, living on the saddle for up to two years and covering 50000 miles, I want to know the bike fits and fits well. How resilient is the vehicle as and when I drop and or crash it? What's the maximum range on the fuel tank; I don't want finding fuel in the middle of a dessert in Jordan because I only have the range of 150 miles to become an issue. Ease of basic maintenance, because which every way I look at it, I'm going to have to learn to fix punctures, change tyres and do some very basic oily stuff myself.

All these issues are directly related to the topographies of the route and countries to be visited, the speed at which I wish to make, and the varid conditions of the roads I'll be trying to transverse. So get your slide rules out because with all these variables it's beginning to get rather complicated!

Finally there is of course the major factor, budget. A new Suzuki DL650 VStrom is about £5K but a new BMW R1200GS is £9K, but I only want to spend £4K! So new machines are out of my equation. I'm relying on the availability of bikes that fit my particular criteria in the used market, not ideal, and hopefully these machines will have low mileage, just one or two owners and a full service history.

So what's the conclusion then? Well, as with all good solutions to complex problems the easiest thing to do is always the simplest... cheat! The solution to find the perfect bike choice is to find out what the insane 'Adventure Motorcyclist' chooses to ride, what are they all using for their own mad feats of stamina, sadism and exploration? Time well spent sneaking around on HU checking a few user profiles out and reading entries on the forum you'd think? No!

It would appear the experts are divided, divided by personal choice; familiarity and loyalty to brands, not to mention the depths of their wallets. Also very prevalent are the 'Hardcore' motorbike survival experts. These guys, and I must take my hat of to them are more than capable of fixing any problem on their chosen machine with a single tube of instant metal, an emergency supply of cotton wool buds and a single blade of grass to use as a screw driver! To them, the machine is of less importance, wherever there going they know they're more than capable of getting their bike there, these guys could get a 20 year old, 50cc machine 5000 miles over the Andes to Lake Titicaca and across it without getting a single spoke wet!

This is of course a mindset. Why are these people using a motorbike for travelling extreme distances on sometimes the most extreme routes imaginable to every corner of the Globe? A few it seems are doing it as an image thing, the 'rufty tuft' icon, something to prove, 'Done That' brigade, whether that's because they've been travelling (and seen nothing), maybe overdosed on Obi Wan Kenobi ("The BMW is what gives a Jedi his power"), or just because they can say that they've done it, another ego gratification thing to prove to themselves or others.

But for the vast majority of these insane 'Adventure Motorcyclists' it appears they just love 'Biking' and combined with the opportunities that the freedom of the open road offers and their love of 'Travelling' they appear to be like the proverbial 'Pigs in Shit'. That puts them in good stead for dealing with the oily bits, they want to be self sufficient, because in a lot of situations they put themselves into they have to be, just to sustain their chosen lifestyle, their dreams. To them it's all part of the excitement, breaking down or running out of fuel is an opportunity to meet new people, new friends, different challenges to overcome, just part of the whole 'Adventure Motorcyclist' travelling philosophy, ethos and experience.

Now obviously, by lurking and spying on these guys and girls I have managed to narrow down the suitability of the bike selection process somewhat and if I choose to dismiss the use of older machines I'm maybe only left with four or five options. So I guess its time to stick my neck out, its all about 'horses for courses' is it not? Well No, its about personal preference, used bike availability and the budget, but most importantly it's about whether the bike is available in black with nice shinny metal bits :o)

Next Blog Entry, why the Bike is going to be call "Eloisa" and the minefield that is searching for equipment to prepare her for a 'Round The World' overland motorbike mission, not to mention researching a route!

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