By Joe Berk
Cheap is good. In a world of $20K, $30K, $40K, and $50K motorcycles, it’s especially good.
The idea of flying to another continent, buying a cheap motorcycle, riding cross country, and then selling the bike and flying home is an appealing one. That’s why when good buddy Marty sent a link to this video, I knew I would watch it. I enjoyed it and I think you will, too.
I like single-cylinder inexpensive motorcycles, having toured the Americas and China on RX3/RS3 motorcycles (which are Zongshen 250cc singles). I like Enfields, too, and I wanted to learn more about the Himalayan. When Gresh and I tested Enfields down in Baja, I liked the Enfield Interceptor so much I bought one when we returned. We also had an Enfield Bullet on that Baja ride (it was their 500cc Bullet). Both Gresh and I really wanted to like the Bullet, but it was a bust. The Bullet had experienced several breakdowns (read my take on the Bullet here and here, and Gresh’s take on the same bike) and because we didn’t trust the bike, we turned around at Guerrero Negro instead of riding further south to Mulegé.
The Bullet was considerate, though. Its last breakdown occurred just as we arrived home (it was a stripped rear sprocket at just a few thousand miles; something I had never previously encountered on any motorcycle). In the above video, the single-cylinder Enfield Himalayans didn’t suffer that fate, so my assumption is the breed has improved.
I met another guy who used the same approach for his touring. That guy is Peter Day, CEO of Mosko Moto luggage. I met Peter at an adventure touring event in Mariposa, California, several years ago. Peter flies into whatever third-world country he wants to tour with no motorcycle and no firm plans, he finds and buys a used Chinese motorcycle for a couple of hundred bucks or so wherever he goes (central America, Africa, you name it), he rides for a month or two or three, and then he sells the bike before getting on an airplane home. Peter especially likes Chinese bikes based on the Honda CG engine, like the CSC TT 250 I enjoyed owning and riding so much (the photo atop this blog is my TT 250 in Mexico). The bikes that copy the Honda CG engine are simple, reliable, inexpensive, and designed to survive. Flying someplace off the beaten path, buying a cheap bike, riding the wheels off it, selling it, and then flying home is a good approach.
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