Bike Options for Africa...

Well Ive had a look on the local web classified sites for South Africa (and also a bit for Europe), and there seem to be several options for an overland touring motorbike.

I have some “priorities” for bike features that are based on my experiences of riding the VSTROM through the Americas for a couple of hundred thousand Km… My main intent (compared to the bike I used for touring in the Americas) would be to maintain the reliability but reduce the “suffering” as much as possible for what I “imagine” the riding will be like in Africa (since I have not been there yet!).
Well, the main points of suffering were:

1)      Poor loose/rough surface control/durability … Need a 21” front wheel and longer travel suspension… Not Negotiable!

2)      Too heavy… Want the lightest bike possible… This is critical for sand/mud riding but the reality is there will not be that much of this type of riding (10% or less). Likewise, this is less of an issue if the wheels and suspension do a better job, but Id really like to be less than 170Kg for the bike if possible.

3)      Seating Comfort! ... The reality is that you get a sore ass regardless of the bike, and there are after-market seat upgrades that can be made on any bike, but it is a significant factor for comfort and I will pay close attention to this detail J

And, some points that I really would not want to sacrifice are:

1)      Reliability with minimal maintenance… The VSTROM was amazing on this front and will be hard to beat.

2)      Fuel range of 300Km or more. Again the VSTROM covered this point very well (over 400Km of highway riding on a tank!).

3)      Capable of carrying 150-200 Kg of rider/gear for trans-continental distances at reasonable speed (100Kph). You can always get by with less, but I think this puts the required bike in the 500cc – 750cc engine size range.

So, having looked at the bikes that are available in Europe and South Africa, there are several that meet the basic requirements… All bikes are in the 650-750 size range, and all have 21” front wheels and off-road capable suspension. There are all sorts of makes and many different engine configurations, cooling systems, and power outputs… And as an aside, it turns out that they almost all only have five gears, are carburetored,  and are “older” designs…. Newer bikes all have 6 gears and fuel injection but the manufacturers have been focusing on “street” riders who want to look like they are "off-road tourers”, and so the newer bikes simply do not have the real performance characteristics that I require… The only exceptions to this are the KTM990/950 which are too big and expensive for what I want, and the Yamaha 660 which I have included in the list.

On paper, the “rough” details are as follows:

The reference bike for weight, power and fuel capacity  is my old touring bike, the VSTROM 650:
Suzuki   DL650         189Kg    22L     67hp      2.8     650 liquid        $5000

The contenders:
Make          Model          Weight  Tank  Power PtW    Engine            Cost (used)
Suzuki        DR650        147Kg   13L    43hp   3.4    650 air/oil, carb        $3000
KTM           640/50        158Kg   28L    54hp   2.9    640 liquid, carb        $4000
Kawasaki   KLR650      176Kg   23L    37hp   4.75  650 liquid, carb        $4000
Honda        XL650V      191Kg   19L    52Hp  3.67  650 liquid, carb        $4000
BMW         F650 Dakar 177Kg   17.3L 50hp   3.5    650 liquid, injected  $4500
Honda        XR650L       147Kg  13L    55hp   2.67  650 air, carb             $5000
Honda        XRV750       207Kg  23L    61hp   3.4    750 liquid, carb        $5000
Yamaha     XT660Z        183Kg  22L    47hp   3.9    660 liquid, injected  $6000

I have an intended budget for the bike of about $5000 but that needs to include the bike and luggage and any required modifications/add-ons.... Prety much all the bikes will require a centre-stand, bash-plate, crash bars, hand-guards, heated grips and hard luggage... I may get one or two of those items when I buy a second hand bike but I need to factor that into the costs.

Fortunately, I have a set of side cases from my earlier trips that I can take and use for minimal cost, though I still need a “top-box”.

Now, a some “eliminations”…

The first one to go is the Honda XR650L… Its way too expensive compared to the Suzuki DR650 and as far as my riding is concerned, provides no advantage over the Suzuk.. Note that it’s the lightest and has the highest power-to-weight… It would be an excellent "full-off-road” choice, but that’s not what Ill be doing!

The next to go is the Yamaha XT660Z… Its just too expensive for me (because it’s a relatively new bike and still has high resale value) though it looks competent on paper :)
And the last one I'll eliminate is the Honda Transalp (XL650V)... Its too heavy and is more "road bike" than any of the others (the 21" front wheel not withstanding), so I think Ill try to get something else if at all possible.

That leaves 5 bikes, all with quite different “personalities”.

The Suzuki DR650 is the lightest and cheapest (both admirable qualities in my opinion!)… The big downside is the fuel capacity (about a 200Km range) and the minimal “equipment” …like the terrible seat!… It would need lots of bolt-on mods (bigger tank, sub-frame strengthening, modified seat) and that adds quite a bit to both the weight and the cost (so its not as good a deal as it might seem!).

The Kawasaki KLR650 is the least powerful by far (likely to be a real issue in deep sand but how much of that will there be?), but other than that, it’s a proven very reliable overland bike with pretty good on/off-road manners (if not particularly fancy )

The KTM 650 is light and has the largest fuel capacity and is very capable for off-road… The down side is the reliability, the tall suspension (stand-over height) and the discomfort of the ride (vibrations from the “high tuned” engine)... It undoubtedly has the best suspension of them all but Id be pretty concerned about reliability.

The BMW 650F is squarely in the “mid-range”… Its been used for over-landing by lots of people and has a good reputation… Im not sure how I feel about this one... reliability is a bit of a concern, and prices for spare parts in Africa too.

The Honda XRV750 is really heavy and quite expensive… But its immensely reliable and very capable, and is a classic bike to ride Africa on. Its called the “Africa Twin” and has a very devoted following and loads of after-market support for up-grades etc.

Note: If I ended up buying an XRV750 then Id very likely ship it back to Canada after the trip and keep it/project it and so Im a bit more willing to pay a higher price and put up with the heavier bike… I would not do this with any of the other bikes though.

So, those look like the main options to me (though there are a few other somewhat less likely options too), and they are all available second-hand in South Africa. Ive also looked into the buying/selling, registering, insuring, and exporting aspects from South Africa and it doesn’t look too difficult :)

At the other end of the trip (Im still not sure about start or finish) is Europe… Ive looked into the same issues at that end and it is MUCH more complicated and difficult! The same bikes are available there (and in larger numbers it seems) but the rules about registering and insuring and buying/selling are very restrictive and hard to get  around… That’s a bit of a bummer weather I want to start there and purchase a bike or finish there and sell the bike…

What looks like the best solution at this stage is to call my European end-point Ireland!...

 It seems a bit strange but apparently the rules are less stringent there and there are some good contacts to help out with the process… It means extending the ride to go from Italy/Greece to go through southern Europe for a few thousand Km (presumably on nice paved highways)… It could be done quickly (in about a week I guess) or extended as much as desired , though Europe is very expensive and more days is more dollars!

So, at this stage, those are my thoughts on the Bike options :)

North African Alternatives

It seems that things in Egypt are steadily deteriorating, so, while I sincerely hope that things in Egypt become more stable (for the sake of the civilians there primarily and much less so for my own travel plans) Ive been considering alternatives...
And it seems that there is a reasonable one that might well be workable...
From a S-N direction, rather than heading North from Sudan into Egypt, it is possible to head East to Port Sudan, and from there catch a ferry to Jordan (on the Red Sea)... And then ride overland to Israel and thence an easy ferry to Turkey or Greece.
The only significant issue is the long running political/military "tensions" that surround Israel... The result is that getting an Israeli stamp/visa in your passport can make it difficult to travel in the neighbouring countries. However, it seems that the relevant customs authorities are willing to accomodate travelers by putting their stamps on loose papers rather than directly on the passport pages...

So, it seems that there is a viable route even if things do continue to deteriorate in Egypt... I guess Id just have to check out the pyramids at some later date then...

Further Contemplation...

The next question to resolve, seems to be "What are my desired destinations within Africa?"
What is my hit-list of things to see and do?

Well, the list can be made as long as you like of course, but if I try to stick to some major interests then it would be something like this:

Egyptian ruins... Pyramids/Luxor etc.
Gorillas/Chimpanzees - Rwanda/Uganda (Virunga Mtns?)
Flamingo flocks - Kenyan Lakes
Mombasa Beaches - Kenya
Lake Victoria - Kenya/Tanzania/Uganda
Zanzibar - Tanzania
Serengeti wildlife (great Migration)  - Tanzania
Mt Kilimanjaro - Tanzania
Ngorongoro Crater - Tanzani
Mozambique - Beaches/Diving
Victoria Falls - Zambia (May-June)
Lake Malawi
Okavango Delta (wildlife) - Botswan
Kalahari desert - Namibia
Desert Landscapes of Namibia
Lithops plants - Namibia deserts

There are numerous excellent wildlife parks in many of the counties, but I figure you would get "all safari ed out" rather quickly, so for the time being Ive limited my intentions to two major locations for focusing on "big game", those being The Serengeti area and the Okavango delta area.
And of course there are infinite aspects of human culture all along the way too which Ill inevitably be experiencing as I go... But all-in-all, that's a basic list of places Id like to go and see that will give me something to try to stich a route together around :)

...and I think that will suffice for the purpose of inspiring my travels  :)


Then the next question becomes  "When is the right time to ride these different portions of an Africa route?" Essentially what are the seasonal conditions like along the way...

Well, again, tackling it from N-S, the first section is basically the Sahara desert!... No surprise here, but you really dont want to be doing this in high summer!!!... Thats the Northern hemisphere summer. So "Not from June to August" if you can help it, and it'll be nasty hot through-out April  to October.
Then the next challenging section is the equatorial tropics and the season to "avoid" there is the monsoon. The "Long rains" are the worst of it and its very wet from April to June with flooding through till August.
And South of that, its less critical and different areas have different "high and low" tourist seasons... So I should be able to work something out... There are two periods of "high season" for the Serengeti area (Jan-Mar, Jul-Sep). Botswana "high season" is Jul-Oct, and namibia is Apr-Oct...

But, what does that all mean for a route/schedule plan?
Well, Im loosely planning on taking about six months for this trip(6-10 I guess), and Im planning to commence the trip some time between February and April of 2014...(I could start at the earliest  in mid January, or could wait things out till May if its significantly more preferable)
Im also planning to fly to my start point and purchase and kit-out a motorbike there, rather than shipping a bike from Home... That will likely take a couple of weeks to a month to sort out.


So, if I started in the North, Id need to really "get cracking" pretty early... (I could maybe have a bike sorted by week 1 of Feb.)
Say Egypt - 3 weeks, Sudan, 2-3 weeks, Ethiopia 3-4 weeks, Kenya/Uganda 4 weeks, Tanzania 4 weeks... and then the southern section of the continent can be "addapted" as seems fit at the time :)
But, that all seems rushed at the top there, especially since I couldnt buy a bike in Egypt, and buying, equiping,shipping from Greece all inside a month seems a little over ambitous!

OK, so what about S-N...
I want to hit the southern edge of the tropics (Northern Tanzania) after about August
I want to hit the southern edge of the desert (Northern Ethiopia/Sudan) after October... Which suggests finishing  in Egypt around end December 2013!... But thats a very long trip... so maybe start later in April/May???

Hmmm... Well, it looks like either direction can work. But, for N-S it would be better if I started in December I think, while for S-N it would probably be better to start in April or May.

No hard plan at present... Ill play it by ear I thnk. :)

Contemplating New Voyages

Time for a blog post I guess...

I think I mentioned recently that I had been starting to think about possibly doing another motorcycle trip sometime soon?
Well, that thought has been growing on me and I guess Ive started to do some serious planning, so I guess the possibility is now real enough to write about.

So, having ridden about the Americas enough, I feel I want to consider other options on other continents...
And that can mean only about four possibilities (Since Antarctica really just is not an option for moto-touring! ). The possibilities are of course, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia... (although I fail to see why we still consider Europe and Asia as largely seperate entities? -Its just a hang-over from the Greek outlook of several thousand years ago I guess!! :)
And so I find myself considering which of those four destinations do I most want to see/travel through?
And which of those four destinations has the best potential for the most "rewarding" motorcycle tour for me?
And it turns out that the answer is reasonably clear for me... Its Africa!... The "Dark Continent"...
It just seems to me to have the largest amount of variety in cultures and climates and landscapes and flora and Fauna etc... So much variety, and so much of it in danger of disapearing in the near future (particularly the fauna and the nomadic cultures).
I have to admit though that there is also a strong urge to ride across Europe/Asia through Russia/Mongolia since it has some absolutely wonderfull moto-touring acording to the accounts of people who have done it... But my first choice is still solidly Africa, even though and perhaps partially because I also find the idea of touring alone through Africa on a motorbike to be the most daunting option!  :))


OK, so now the next question is what route through what parts of Africa?
Well, a quick review of international news in pretty much any news media site informs us that there seems to be an excessive amount of violence and conflict and suffering in Africa compared to pretty much the rest of the world all put together... This is not very encouraging I have to admit!
But, Im gonna try to not get too intimidated and Im gonna say to my-self that a lot of that reporting is coloured by the Western media and public's "pre-disposition" toward Africa, much like I found it was for Central and South America... But Im not going to be blase about it either... Im gonna look into it in more detail.

That said, there are definitely significant conflicts going on in a number of places in Africa... Too many places to look into all of them... So, what are the "likely" routes I might take?

Well, I like the idea of riding the length of the continent in some form (much like for the American continents), so that kinda leavs three possibilities... West coast, Central or East Coast.
Note that I dont know if I would go N-S or S-N but Ill describe the routes N-S as a start point.
A bit more reading and map consultation eliminates the Central option since its never been a noted route, I can find no reports of people who have done it in the last decade, and its almost all through conflict zones from Lybia, Chad, CAR, and DRCongo before things ease up once you get to Botswana and S Africa!

Right, so what about the Western route?
Turns out its not really that much better! It has lots more smaller countries to cross but that just seems to increase the probability of crosssing "politically unstable" ground...
It goes Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo, DR Congo, Angola,Namibia, S Africa.... And of those, Mali, Nigeria, DR Congo are all having some serious conflict issues at present, and Angola is virtually impossible to get a Visa for as well!
But on the plus side this route does cover the very interesting and attractive (to me) area of the Congo basin ("Deepest Darkest Africa")... Another plus is that it apparently does not require a "Carne", which is like a passport for your motorbike and while expensive, does make importing and exporting your bike to all those countries much easier... And a point slightly on the negative side for me is that much of the Northern section passes through former French colonial areas and the language of choice is French (which saddly I dont speak)... Id rather not add to complicated boarder "negotiations" by the little detail of my not having a clue what any one is saying :)

OK, so what about the Eastern route?
Well, its kinda the same but different!
the route goes Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, S Africa... Lots fewer countries but still significant issues in Egypt, Sudan, and Mozambique...
Mozambique is the least issue since the violence of its recent 10 year civil war seems to have largely disipated recently and its just that travelers have not been there for many years and not much is known and the necessary civil services are yet to gear up for "normal" cross border activities... The country its self sounds quite interesting in many ways... And, failing all that, it can simply be bypassed by going inland via Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia (all of which I would intend to visit any way)...
So, the next bigger problem in my opinion is Egypt... Which is still in the throes of its political "rejuvenation"... It seems that things have turned toward unrest and are somewhat violent again in the last few weeks, and its not at all clear what it will lead to... But thats only part of the problem... You see, everything Ive read from people who have actually been there and done what I want to do (basically ride my motorbike through and see the sites) say that the place is an absolute nightmare from the point of view of beaurocracy and corruption... ... Now of course I wont know what its actually like till I go there myself, but the litterature I read seems to be pretty unanimous on the subject!  Pretty much anywhere else on the continent, you can get into and out of a country with your bike for between $100 and $200 at a maximum (often about $50) but for Egypt, its likely to take you about a week of effort at each end, and will cost between $700 and $1200.... Thats an order of magnitude more than anywhere else!!!... And then once you are in, they all say that the people are terrible to deal with (with an occasional opinion expressing the exact opposite!... just to confound things)... I guess they have had a few centuries of tourists flocking to the pyramids to get there "attitudes" to tourists "honed"! (I suspect is a case study in social co-evolution based around tourism and human frailty!) OK, that doesnt sound like fun, but at least it doesnt (for the moment) sound like its too "life threatening"... so Ill continue to the third and I suspect largest challenge...
Sudan!... And again, the current media reports say that a political situation that had been trending toward peace and diplomacy has very recently taken a turn for the worse and is becoming violent... on at least three fronts! To the West is Eritrea with rebles on the boarder, to the East is the Darfur conflict over Gold deposits, and to the South is the South-Sudan conflict (just recently declared its independence from Sudan) over oil deposits... And they are all "active" all at once!
But, looking a little closer, and the main road route from Ethiopia to Egypt seems to neatly avoid all of the conflict regions... And better yet, there is a new highway in the North that crosses into Egypt that was opened to tourist use in the last month or so that very neatly eliminates one of the well known "worst border crossing experiences in the world" for over-land travelers (the infamous Lake Nasser barge)... Hmm we shall have to see what develops here, but this still seems like a feasible route to me.
Other benefits of the route are that all countries except Egypt and Sudan are "Visa on arrival" friendly, so I dont have to do much pre-planning or application for visas for specific dates, and that the countries most common "foreign" language is English. Other detracting features of the route are mainly that there is no real potential for a "Sahara crossing" experience (like there is in Morocco or Algeria to the West) where you get completely off the roads and just ride through the desert on a compass bearing!; and there is no "Congo basin" either.

Now there are of course any number of alternative routes that could be done but thats the basics of the three main possibilities as I currently see them.
So, preliminarily, it looks like the Eastern route is the way to go for the moment and Im now going to try to figure out what places/things Id want to see on the way and when is the right time to see them (season wise).

... In the next post...