A new beginning

[fireblake]

Hypothetically thinking. If you were single and with no one else to worry about and you had £40,000 in the bank what would you do?
I'm thinking maybe a massive road trip on the bike. But what bike? I have a cracking Fazer 1000 with all the Mods done that I need, it's a great bike for commuting but would it be my best choice for going around the world? Bearing in mind I don't know what types of road I'll be riding and I'm a short Arse and not the strongest of blokes for picking up a fully loaded bike. Also what would you take with you? I've been reading about loads of guys who have done similar and they have spare tyres and all kinds of stuff strapped onto their bikes. I would take a 2 man tent, plus a roll bag with some clean pants and socks but what else would be a bare minimum. What tools would be best? And also, what bike maintenance knowledge would be essential?


Mickey

[joebloggs]

Honda C90, a socket set, chain lube, some tyre levers and a couple of spare tyres.

Bikes are light, cheap, basic and pretty much indistructable, sold everywhere so parts would be available virtually everywhere and if the worst came to the worst you could buy another for a few hundred pounds (read a blog where one lad lost his bike in a lake when it was being transported in a small boat)

2nd reason to use a C90 would be bragging rights down the pub

[Frosties]

Honda C90, a socket set, chain lube, some tyre levers and a couple of spare tyres.

Bikes are light, cheap, basic and pretty much indistructable, sold everywhere so parts would be available virtually everywhere and if the worst came to the worst you could buy another for a few hundred pounds (read a blog where one lad lost his bike in a lake when it was being transported in a small boat)

2nd reason to use a C90 would be bragging rights down the pub

:agree


Also this


http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/sy...ot.460631/




If i had the money I'd be off in a flash - do it fella  :thumbup

[NorthWestern]

I had been looking at c90's recently as there are some decent custom ones about, thought it would be a nice budget thing to tinker with.  My brother raced a 170cc pit bike for fiddyparts a few years ago and it was well quick, could have made a fun weekend toy with one of those engines slotted in as they are more or less a copy of the honda engine.


Sadly the price of "plackies" has rocketed so even ones that look like they have been dragged out of a steam fetch decent money.

[devilsyam]

Tour the states

[nick crisp]

Actually, I'm in a similar position right now, but on a smaller scale as my funds are a bit more limited than that - thinking if I'm careful with money, I could do maybe three or four months. My plan is to tour Europe extensively. I'd like to go to all the usual places, plus Russia, the states down by the Adriatic, the length of Italy, etc. I want to visit a number of historic battlefields (Ardennes, Normandy, Peninsula War, Cassino, Stalingrad, Mortain etc). I want to ride the best of recommended 'biking' roads, ride around the Alps and Pyrenees, do the tourist bit in various European cities. Lots of research to do, and lots of things to think about for someone who hasn't done much riding outside of the UK, and that a long time ago. It may be that I'll just end up doing two or more shorter trips though.


My major problem is going to be one of fitness. I'm not sure how much stamina I have for a really long tour, and despite wanting to save a bit by doing a bit of camping, I'm not sure how well my back will cope with a lot of that now - well, yes, I am; not very well  :\  If I can solve that little problem, it'll make planning a lot easier.

[Exupnut]

Get ur self a young girlfriend or start wankin...that'll get u fit u old fart :-)

[JoeRock]

Hypothetically thinking. If you were single and with no one else to worry about and you had £40,000 in the bank what would you do?
I'm thinking maybe a massive road trip on the bike. But what bike? I have a cracking Fazer 1000 with all the Mods done that I need, it's a great bike for commuting but would it be my best choice for going around the world? Bearing in mind I don't know what types of road I'll be riding and I'm a short Arse and not the strongest of blokes for picking up a fully loaded bike. Also what would you take with you? I've been reading about loads of guys who have done similar and they have spare tyres and all kinds of stuff strapped onto their bikes. I would take a 2 man tent, plus a roll bag with some clean pants and socks but what else would be a bare minimum. What tools would be best? And also, what bike maintenance knowledge would be essential?


Mickey

What would I do currently? Take that £40k and put it towards a house deposit!  :lol

[fireblake]

Hypothetical because not sure if I'll be married for much longer.  If it goes tits up the house will be sold.  A fair size lump of equity so would head East in a mighty strop and keep going with no plans. Things might not pan out so just fishing about what to do. 

[fazersharp]

A C90 would be good, I had one that I rode in the fields when I was about 14 and snapped the front suspension flying over mud ramps, I cant quite remember how the suspension worked and what snapped but my mates elder brother welded it solid.

[alan sherman]

I wanted to travel the world on my bike.  Then after Morrocco I realised I wasn't that comfortable in Arabic type places (begging  / being pestered and the general filth!)

If you blow the house proceeds will you ever get back on the housing ladder in the UK?  Practical vs fun and all that.

[sadlonelygit]

If you want a challenge, then c90/innova route is a good choice.
However, if you want to enjoy the ride then a big tank drz400/xtz660/xr would be a better choice and reliable and easily fixable.
40mph gets very boring after 2 hrs.
Thailand / Vietnam / Oz/ NZ are bike friendly awesome places to explore.
Try fixing the marriage first tho'

[fireblake]

My first thought was a DRZ400.
If I go on my own world tour I would go for several years, maybe longer so the UK housing market is not something I'm worried about.


Mickey

[celticdog]

What would I do? I wouldn't know what to do to be honest so I'm not much help. I suppose I'd like to tour China, but not on a bike to be honest. Maybe I'd start with a biking tour of Australia or Canada, better still , Route 66 on a Harley, even though I don't like them! Good luck with whatever you decide to do fella.

[dazza]

Definitely a Drz, 6000 miles between oil changes, will cruise comfortably at 70 all day long, puncture repair kit and spare inner tubes. Extra range touring tank. Go anywhere bike, tarmac or dirt track, riverbed or desert.
As for where....It's a big world out there and we are just a mere spec for a moment of time in the bigger scheme of things. Go for it.

[esetest]

If i had 40 grand in the bank ,  would be looking at the Eagle riders route 66 group tours . £ 4000 person inc. bike(doesn't have to be a Harley )riding kit and hotels with breakfast .

[noggythenog]

Buy a cheap racevan.....get a C90 in its garage.....travel in style.......and hookers 8)

[Billy Balthorpe]

Sorry to hear about your marriage woes Fireblake, its never good when a marriage breaks down.

Take the cash and buy a house in France with some land and outbuildings, buy up cheap bikes over here and either break and advertise them or convert them to right hand drive (lights and clocks) and sell them on for a profit. If you choose the mid to late '90's bikes RH headlamps and KM clocks should be pretty cheap as the market was flooded with grey imports.

[fireblake]

Sorry to hear about your marriage woes Fireblake, its never good when a marriage breaks down.

Take the cash and buy a house in France with some land and outbuildings, buy up cheap bikes over here and either break and advertise them or convert them to right hand drive (lights and clocks) and sell them on for a profit. If you choose the mid to late '90's bikes RH headlamps and KM clocks should be pretty cheap as the market was flooded with grey imports.

That sounds an interesting option. Is property that cheap still. What part of France are you thinking of? 

[BBROWN1664]

:agree

Mayenne (53) is cheap to buy property in still. Probably the cheapest place in France at the moment. It is Northwest of Le Mans just at the top of Loire and bottom of Normandy. Myself and BigMac have houses there and the roads are fantastic for biking.