World tour page

Introduction

What's required

When,where & how long

F.A.Q's

Registration of interest

Introduction

Welcome to our " 2001 A Honda Odyssey ".: Over the years we have travelled extensively throughout the world using varied forms of transport from legs to planes. One thing that stands out most is that the slower you go the better you absorb your surroundings. The slowest form of coarse is walking, but it limits your range and choices over a longer period of time to what can see . You also have to carry your worldly possessions with you and in a hot sweaty climate its not the most comfortable experience. Next is the bicycle, which is superb at covering greater distances, coupled with the fact that its easier to carry possessions via panniers rather than on your back. The downside is physical strength to get you where you want to go in a 40 mph head wind, in the driving rain!! Also you are still limited to places you could side track to given time and accommodation requirements. The next step up is motor transport such as car/van. The major constraints of this type are cost and the lack of environmental interaction you get whilst stuck in a box with four wheels. Whilst you can take more supplies and easily side track to interesting places on the way the overall downside outweighs its viability on longer journeys. So what's the compromise? A motor bike! It gives you ease of transport, superior cost savings over cars/vans, a closer feeling of your surroundings and the ability to go where other forms of motor transport can't. So having reached this point what type of motor bike would be best.

My considerations were this:

Cost of the bike
Spares parts throughout the world
Fuel consumption
Reliability and ease of repair
Weight considerations ( i.e. boat transport or lifting over walls/fences etc. ), also baggage
Easy to operate
License / insurance requirements
Security i.e. would people be more likely to steal it!

Point 1:

Cost. You could pay +£5000 for a very nice off road motorbike ( 500 cc - 750 cc )which would be fast and comfortable; but we already know we only need to go a bit faster than a bicycle to maximize our enjoyment of the countryside. If we were only doing distances equating to bicycle riding or a bit more then comfort is not a high priority. A small motorbike ( 50 cc - 100 cc ) would cost around £500, 10% of its bigger brothers. They're not fast but then were in no hurry, and they're of moderate comfort but we won't be on them for long stretches of time.

Point 2:

Spares. The bigger more expensive bikes have bigger more expensive spare parts! Its all very nice to have your 750 cc trail bike somewhere in outback Iran but will there be a bike shop with the part you require? How common is your bike in the countries you travel through? Its maybe ok in Europe, but that's only part of the journey. The smaller bikes have cheaper spare parts and because more of the locals can afford them there's more parts kicking about.

Point 3:

Fuel. The average fuel consumption for big versus small is 40 mph vs 100 mph, a 2.5 times saving on a small cc bike. Also fuel availability and quality! varies tremendously from country to country. A small single cylinder will take more dirty rough fuel than its bigger 4 cylinder pal, again with cheaper consequences.

Point 4:

Reliability The current big touring bikes are fairly reliable, but drop/crash one and the damage will be expensive and repairing may require specialized facilities due to their more advanced features. Take something like a 50 cc Honda which is extremely reliable, very easy to repair ( very few parts ), not much to damage if dropped and as they use older technology, i.e. drum brakes, they're easier to work on with limited mechanical knowledge.

Point 5:

Weight The big versus small as far as weight is concerned is obvious. Try pushing a 750 cc that has broken down / ran out of fuel / up a hill, in 35 deg heat compared to a 50 cc put! put!. Situations you are likely to encounter eg. ferries- a small bike would be almost considered as a bicycle, easy to load , less space taken up and lighter. Two people could lift one easy onto whatever? truck , bus , back of a donkey!! Imagine a 750 cc strapped to the back of a donkey!! Ok a bit tongue in cheek but you get the idea. As far as luggage goes you don't need that much. We travelled through Central America for 3 months with day packs. So apart from some spares and water proofs, a small bike could carry all you require and with all the money you have saved from buying a small cheap bike you could buy what you need as you travel along.

Point 6:

Easy of operation Bigger bikes require a more experienced rider due to size, speed and manoeuvrability. With top speeds in excess of 100 mph a certain amount of skill is required and balance on rough , bumpy terrain. Small bikes are more suited to inexperienced riders, you only have to go on holiday to see the plethora of small bikes for hire.Being closer to the ground they're easier to balance, and with top speeds of around 50-60mph not much faster than a bicycle going down hill. Another advantage small bikes have are automatic clutch control and only 3 gears to worry about.

Point 7:

License / insurance A full car driving license covers you for a 50 cc motor bike even if you take a passenger. A larger motor bike requires a motor bike license, which if you don't have one , takes time and money to get. As far as insurance goes the difference between a 50 cc bike and 750 cc is huge and then some!. For the UK the savings are more than the cost of your small motor bike, as well as cheaper road tax!. Another point to remember is if your £300 bike gets wrecked / stolen would you be as devastated if it was a 750 cc £5000 bike, especially in some far off country. Would you leave your expensive bike at the side of the road and forget about it? If your small bike is wrecked beyond repair you could double up with someone or catch the bus! less worry & stress, all part of the fun.

Point 8:

Security Imagine travelling through Afghanistan with your big shiny 750 cc motor bike with all the gear on it, scooting along at 70 mph. Compare that to a Honda 50 cc battered and bruised motor bike, cruising along at 30 mph, with not much gear, which one do you think the locals would fire their anti-tank missile at?!!! In all seriousness though a big bike requires you to keep an eye on it , ( it cost you a lot of money! ), it also draws attention to itself as the local people couldn't afford one, therefore you must be rich!!.Compare that to a a dime a dozen 50 cc bike, its the same one as the locals use, in fact you almost look like a local, so it would be less likely that you draw attention to yourself. The possibility of theft would be reduced as well as robbery of your possessions.

What's required

Bike & Bits: Well the hardest part of doing a big trip is not the money , time , what to take , where to go , but to make the descission to do it in the first place! After you have made the positive descission to go everything else falls into place