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 :)