Topic: World Tour

[Caaveman82]

So I have been thinking about a world tour.

I have been thinking about where I would go and what would be a wiser decision to ride.

A new bike?

orrrr...

An older bike?

I can see the advantages and disadvantages of both.

I think with a newer bike you may have more reliability, but if something does happen, finding parts might suck...

With an older bike, espically with one of our fours, it'd probably pretty easy to find parts if need be.

What are your thoughts?

[Shenanigans]

Realistically most new bikes are pretty much dead reliable.
A lot of older bikes can be just as (if not more) reliable. 

But I would never give it up for the simplicity our older bikes. Which comes in to play when your on the side of the road

[tramp]

about a year ago they talked about a guy who went around the world on a 750 and all he replaced was the tires

[gerhed]

Check out Ewan McGregor's "Long way round" and "Long way down" world tours.
They had big bimmers--seemed too heavy for
some of the terrain (sp?).
Might be a good idea to have a chase truck like they had, too !
Do it Now !--don't wait.
As you get older--complications arise.


Pic is from my "World Tour"-1971.
I rode the Simplex.

[andy750]

My World Tour is still ongoing...so far 15 countries on a CB750K4.

An older bike can be as reliable as a modern bike if its been well maintained. The fours are pretty simple and dont have coolant, oil coolers etc to leak or hoses to crack while on the road. Think of all the things that could go wrong and then choose the bike. The SOHC just needs an oil change and inner tubes (for those pesky punctures). Also your SOHC bike (at least the 750) will keep on going despite sand in your carbs, will run for > thousand miles on 3-cylinders, has simple electrics that can be modified at the side of the road and can still be comfortable to ride after 12+ hours in the saddle.

But really, any bike will do - plenty of example of round the world trips on everything from an Enfield to a Harley. Most important thing is just to do it 

Good luck
Andy

[Caaveman82]

I tore my 550 down this winter to do a few things to it. I have replaced pretty much everything at this point... so I am thinking I would trust it.

Andy that is way cool, I am talking about unpluging and getting off the grid for like six months and going and seeing the world. I am just toying with it at this point, but I figure I should cover all aspects before I decide anything major.

Gerhed I have it in my pile to read. I just started ZAMM, after that big long thread about it I had to give it a try.

Shenan, I agree. When I was working the bugs out of the 550 when I first got it, I was thankful for it's simplicity. MacGuyvered that thing many times to get it back home.

[Inigo Montoya]

World tour huh. Well dont forget, you have a lot on just this side of the world. So, you are in mpls, head out east, climb up the arm and head in canada, america's hat Get into the interior some and trek west. Coast to coast there. Head south from there, route whatever. Cross mexico and keep going! Maybe some water purification pills might be handy!

you could easily spend 6 months on n & s america.

[Caaveman82]

World tour huh. Well dont forget, you have a lot on just this side of the world. So, you are in mpls, head out east, climb up the arm and head in canada, america's hat Get into the interior some and trek west. Coast to coast there. Head south from there, route whatever. Cross mexico and keep going! Maybe some water purification pills might be handy!

you could easily spend 6 months on n & s america.

That is true but I did a lot of travel with the old man while I was growing up. Every summer we'd take a road trip and hit up at least three or four states for three or so weeks.

Plus I have been to almost every country in the Pacific. Including North Korea, maybe that's why I'm a socialist... weird. Any way, I figure I could skip those and concentrate on Europe. I am really not trying to go through Siberia or Darfur. Anywhere with crazy wild animals or civil war can wait till later 

[Inigo Montoya]

Crazy wild animals you say? Stay away from Australia! As most of the kill you in 10 seconds venomous snakes live there!

[Caaveman82]

Crazy wild animals you say? Stay away from Australia! As most of the kill you in 10 seconds venomous snakes live there!

Another country I have been to, I am more affraid of the rabbid Terry's than the snakes though.

[Inigo Montoya]

I think I would rather have a terry than a taipan!

[heffay]

I think with a newer bike you may have more reliability, but if something does happen, finding parts might suck...

With an older bike, espically with one of our fours, it'd probably pretty easy to find parts if need be.

What are your thoughts?

i think you've got that backwards... walk into any shop and you'll get parts for a new bike... gonna have to wait on ebay (or a fellow sohc'er) for vintage parts.  of course, there's always bike junk yards... but who knows if those parts will be better than the ones on your bike you need to replace... same goes for any vintage parts, really.

[johnny_from_bel]

My World Tour is still ongoing...so far 15 countries on a CB750K4.

An older bike can be as reliable as a modern bike if its been well maintained. The fours are pretty simple and dont have coolant, oil coolers etc to leak or hoses to crack while on the road. Think of all the things that could go wrong and then choose the bike. The SOHC just needs an oil change and inner tubes (for those pesky punctures). Also your SOHC bike (at least the 750) will keep on going despite sand in your carbs, will run for > thousand miles on 3-cylinders, has simple electrics that can be modified at the side of the road and can still be comfortable to ride after 12+ hours in the saddle.

Definately.

With members all over the world help is never very far.

[Caaveman82]

I think with a newer bike you may have more reliability, but if something does happen, finding parts might suck...

With an older bike, espically with one of our fours, it'd probably pretty easy to find parts if need be.

What are your thoughts?

i think you've got that backwards... walk into any shop and you'll get parts for a new bike... gonna have to wait on ebay (or a fellow sohc'er) for vintage parts.  of course, there's always bike junk yards... but who knows if those parts will be better than the ones on your bike you need to replace... same goes for any vintage parts, really.

I guess Heff that my train of thought was that in a lot of these more "third world" countries the parts would probably be pretty easy to get your hands on because a lot of them that's all they have there is vintage bikes.

[heffay]

as long as you know how to cobble these old bikes together on the side of the road... i would agree, you'll have more luck fixin' and finding a part "that works".   

duct tape, zip ties and bailing wire work better on vintage than modern.   

[Caaveman82]

as long as you know how to cobble these old bikes together on the side of the road... i would agree, you'll have more luck fixin' and finding a part "that works".   

duct tape, zip ties and bailing wire work better on vintage than modern.   

Heck yeah man!

For real though. I might as well say I have a 2009 Honda CB550F.

Minus the cam and pistons, everything inside the engine is new. (including the clutch)

Wiring, new.

Forks, new.

Seat, new.

Sprockets, chain, tires, tubes, bearings, seals, gaskets, you freakin name it, it's all new.

So I am not too worried about it breaking down, I think if anything went wrong with it, it'd be something that is pretty much supposed to wear out.

[fuzzybutt]

Crazy wild animals you say? Stay away from Australia! As most of the kill you in 10 seconds venomous snakes live there!

and the ones that arent venomous just swallow you whole   

[heffay]

Crazy wild animals you say? Stay away from Australia! As most of the kill you in 10 seconds venomous snakes live there!

and the ones that arent venomous just swallow you whole  

and then there's all the sheep that you never know what they've caught from terry!   

[andy750]

Old bikes are definitely easier to fix at the side of the road...as long as you have a hammer anything is possible 

cheers
Andy

[alltherightpills]

Hang out with enough farmers and the infinite uses of bailing wire and a pair of pliers soon becomes obvious.

Seriously though, if anything breaks that you can't fix, I would trust a mechanic from a less developed country with a vintage bike more than a modern bike.  Necessity is the mother of invention, and given that most of these mechanics probably spend more of their time keeping old cars on the road rather than fixing new ones, I would think they would be pretty resourceful. 

For example, during winter break of my senior year of college, I went on a road trip through Mexico with 3 of my buddies in a 91 Honda Accord.  Needless to say, there aren't many (any) Hondas down in that neck of the woods.  Anyway, the linkage between the shifter in the car (it was an automatic) and the transmission broke one day at a gas station.  The ladies at the gas station called a mechanic for us and the guy took the broken cable out, cut the ends off and welded them onto a new linkage that he made out of a spool of steel that he had laying around the shop.  Took about 4 hours and cost us 60 bucks (we gave him 80 cause it would have cost us double or triple that in the US.)  I doubt many mechanics in the US would have come up with such a quick and clever fix.

[heffay]

Took about 4 hours and cost us 60 bucks (we gave him 80 cause it would have cost us double or triple that in the US.)  I doubt many mechanics in the US would have come up with such a quick and clever fix.

or felt the desire to help you out enough to even consider a thrifty fix. 
we should start taking siestas... maybe we'd be nicer.     who's with me?



i'll be napping.  get back to you later.