I’ll be doing this April-July next year, and I’m planning to do it on my DesertX. In all honesty my Africa Twin is probably the better long-distance travel bike, but the idea of visiting WDW on the way home swung it
Can’t afford the time … I need to be back in Blighty for 10th July … my Birthday!! Plus I’ve done the Adriatic coast before and can do Austria anytime … but the ferry from Split to Ancona will likely be a one-off
This will be an amazing trip. I may have missed something but how are you intending to get the bike over to Bangkok?
Fabulous, you’ll have some fantastic memories from such an adventure You will need to keep us back here up to date
My son did it the other way in a very cheap car to Mongolia…. alone. Dodgy fuel, uniforms asking for bribes and wild animals were his main threats. The upside? A lifetime of memories, unbelievable stories and a slightly different outlook on life .
Holy crap.....Im well jealous lol As I've now ticked off 13 countries in Asia,on my personal quest for food,and albeit by plane..... But absolutely love Asia,and now makes my ride down to Albania in June look like a walk in the park lol..... As previously mentioned,im so jealous !! Enjoy,and I look forward to updates......
Fabulous! Keep us posted. Are you going as an independent small group or an organised group? No doubt, you will have researched political/visa requirements to negotiate through those countries. In the early 80's myself and a mate started a 3 month trip from the UK to Cape Town on XT550's. We had naively just divided the distance by about 200 or so miles a day and it all seemed do-able. Frankly our timescale was widely over-optimistic. Waits for visas, and a coup in Niger meant we never got further than Tamanrasset, which took about a month to reach. We successfully completed the trip 6 years later in a Land Rover, but it took us 8 months. We could probably have done it in six without sightseeing, but frankly, with African roads and bureaucracy at that time we would not have done it quicker than that. 4 months for your trip seems quite short, but maybe roads, infrastructure and getting through borders are better through your route today, than they were on ours in the 80's and 90's.
Ive just done a little digging on cost and it highlights how expensive and problematic it can be with Carnets and such. Like others have said i would love to know all about the trip setting up and during.
It is a “semi-organised” tour with GlobeBusters - same company as my previous Nairobi-Capetown and Trans-Americas trips. They organise accommodation and bike servicing en-route, local guides where necessary (like China where you must be escorted) and provide guidance so that you can arrange your own visas and international bike shipping. The Tour Manager departs at a set time each morning on his bike, and the support truck leaves an hour later. They follow a GPX route that is shared with you. You can start whenever you like in the morning … so long as you stick to the route and are ahead of the truck, then you are supported. You sort yourself out for fuel, lunch and dinner - except for group dinners every week or two which are included, and the end of tour party with friends and family (which for this trip is going to be at Beaulieu Motor Museum). Riders don’t ride with the Tour Manager. They tend to form into small groups of two, three, four bikes which leave separately and you generally don’t see anyone else from the group during the day until you get to the next accommodation. Riders generally stick to the route … but not always. In Namibia for instance I split off for a few days as I had to make a 650 detour to a Honda dealer for repairs. On this trip I will be splitting off from the group for 5 days to take in WDW on the way back through Europe. I love doing big multi-month trips to far-flung places but don’t have the ability, expertise or inclination to organise them independently or a group of mates who would do it with me. I like having folk to ride with and share banter with in the bar each night, and I like having back-up if it all goes to shit (like when I hit a Moose in Alaska). The trips aren’t cheap … but if you look at it on a cost per day basis then for what you get I think it is exceptional value.
Most people who hit a Moose can’t say that period … they are brown bread!! I was the luckiest, unlucky f*cker you can imagine.
That's the number one question I get asked. I was unconscious in a ditch so I have no idea really other than that there was no sign of said Moose when help arrived, except a few tufts of hair on the road. They are BIG ... and STUPID ... so it probably shrugged it off and continued on its way LOL.
Now that’s a proper trip Dave. It would be great if would keep us posted with the odd pic and bit of dialogue about the trip. I’m sure many on here would be interested in your adventure. Hope you enjoy it and good luck.
