Pick a bike for "third world" travel?

[Lucky_Lou]

What wi global warmin and all that ill be able to get the ferry to france head north turn left at the pole and down to Texas soon but the 65 will be my first choice anyway a honda if its 4 wheels.
Lou
opps is Texas  in the third world? i think yorkshire must be no one speaks English here anymore

[Bob_Roller]

It's not in the 'third' world, but it is a 'different' country, even the Texas tourism bureau thinks so, because that's their logo, 'It's like a whole another country' .

[Lucky_Lou]

It's not in the 'third' world, but it is a 'different' country, even the Texas tourism bureau thinks so, because that's their logo, 'Texas, it's a whole different country' .

We have a phone in program radio 5 live(BBC) discussing the recent elections in Afghanistan a caller remarked that they would always be suspect in an "occupied country" noting the American twang(accent) of the caller, the presenter asked how he new this to be the case as he was an American..........he replied I'm not an American I'm a Texan and the state of Texas has been occupied since the end of the civil war.
The radio presenter was lost for words ......priceless bit of radio from the BBC
Lou

[Bob_Roller]

I know the feeling, as Arizona has been called 'Occupied Mexico', for as long as I've been here, (16 years) .

[Bengt_Phorqs]

..........he replied I'm not an American I'm a Texan and the state of Texas has been occupied since the end of the civil war.

Well, for most of us that live here, the War of Northern Agression has been over for the better part of a century.  However, it is true that if you were to ask most Americans in another country where they were from they would reply "from the USA".  On the other hand if you ask a Texan in another country where he is from he will invariably reply, "I'm from Texas".  Don't ask me why, but it just is "a whole 'nuther country".  

And contrary to what the so-called main stream media may have reported, Texans do not want to secede from the Union.  Upon entry into the Union in 1845 one of the stipulations was that Texas did reserve the right to separate into as many as five states if the citizens of the state voted to do so.  Just another historical oddity.

[Lucky_Lou]

 
Does that mean you could print your own money.??
You could have a r65 on the back of a dollar bill and a chicken on the front.
Lou

[Ed Miller]

I know the feeling, as Arizona has been called 'Occupied Mexico', for as long as I've been here, (16 years) .

I would think it would be called Occupied Navajoland.  Or what ever they call their place.  Actually they still have most of their land, don't they?

[steve hawkins]

UK police bikes were fitted with spoked wheels, they were an option.  Its just that at that time cast wheels wwere seen as the way forward.

My Cafe Racer has spoked wheels - from an R80 ST.

[Altritter]

I know the feeling, as Arizona has been called 'Occupied Mexico', for as long as I've been here, (16 years) .

When I lived in the "Land of Enchantment" next door to you, the local National Public Radio station (KRWG at New Mexico State University) ran a program produced by the New Mexico Tourist Bureau (I think) titled One Of Our 50 Is Missing, regarding the uninformed comments and official pronouncements that New Mexico citizens received during their travels elsewhere in the United States. Some of the most frequent ones were:

"I need to see your passport,"

 'Are you enjoying your visit to the United States?" and

"I'm sorry, we do not accept foreign checks."

My former father-in-law, who lived in El Paso but worked in Las Cruces, New Mexico, was in Boston and needed to show an official document prepared in Las Cruces. The bank employee rejected the document because it was "foreign." Fortunately, there was a map of the United States on the wall behind the employee, because the employee refused to accept any other form of proof of nationality.

The American journalist H.L. Mencken's observation nearly 100 years ago is true: "No one ever went broke from underestimating the intelligence of the American people."  

[nhmaf]

While alot can be said for extremely reliable design, if I were to go touring round the globe and through many 'third world' countries where spare parts and high tech mechanics may be in short supply, I'd go with a bike that was simple enough for me to maintain, and an airhead would rate fairly high on the list.  Spoked wheels might get banged out of line in severe road conditions, but spokes can be bought and installed in many places - finding a new cast wheel to replace the one that is structurally cracked would be another matter entirely!   I'd go with a spoked wheel bike, non fuel injected if I could help it because a computer malfunction could strand you right there with no hope.   I'd consider a liquid cooled bike if I was planning alot of hot, high desert running or bogging slowly in deep mud.   Unfortunately, bikes like the Triumph Tiger and BMW R1150/1200GS bikes have gotten way to big/heavy/complicated for this sort of thing, IMHO.    How long could one push an R1200GS along a sandy road if the fuel injection system quit 12 miles from the nearest town?
The bare bike would have to be ~ 400 pounds, for my preference.

[sixfifty]

i'd have something small, light and simple.  something that ran on cheap gas, could be fixed at the side of the road with damn near the supplied tool kit.  

my dr200, a super sherpa, honda 230.

it wouldn't be about going fast, it would be about just going, day after day.

[Semper Gumby]

I say any BSA unit twin as they were made and sent all over the world.  There should be spair parts laying about just about anywhere you go.

 

[Barry]

I'd have to go for the simplicity of a big single. Not sure it should be British though I've just been reading about an a  guy riding an Ariel single through Africa and yes it was easy to repair but boy did it need repairs.

No a well designed more modern single probably off road based with magneto ignition drum brakes, washable filters (oil and air) and spoked wheels.

I had a Suzuki GN400 single which was far from perfect but the engine never missed a beat in the 14 years and it weighed only 327 lbs.

[suecanada]

I have a new friend who flies fixed wing, helicopter, scuba dives and tours in Mexico on the dirt and leaves here in February to do it!! He swears by an any year Kawasaki KLR 250 cc bike for being bulletproof and takes easily to McGyver fixes. On the Interstates through the States he finds it adequate too and for taking a minimal amount of gear aboard.
He's the type of guy that made his own computer diagnostic tool!!! Beyond me!

[suecanada]

KLR 250 cc is a Tried and true design..just get a bigger gastank. It would be my choice and I would have my friend set it up with me helping. If I wasn't sooo old!! That is the bike I would choose for a Labrador or Alaska/Yukon trip and South America/around the world. I could pick it up!! I may actually look at dirt and gravel roads as fun then?
Would anyone consider putting a sidecar rig on just so spills are not an issue? The rig could be designed specifically for gear.