- Joined
- Mar 31, 2012
- Messages
- 5
- Reaction score
- 0
- Bike
- Suzuki DR650
Hey Dogs. I just wrapped up a trip on a DR650 from the US (starting with the TAT) to Ushuaia and now I'm in the process of planning a trip to Africa from early June 2012 to the end of Sept 2012 (roughly 4 months). I choose this time b/c it's the time I have available and it's winter (reduced risk of malaria).
I have a few questions that you all may be able to help answer. I'll lay out my plan and then put questions in bold text.
Shipping a bike and purchasing a carnet is too damn expensive. I want to purchase a bike in South Africa and ride a large loop in Sub Saharan Africa and end in South Africa to sell the bike. At this time I do not plan on riding into Kenya, Sudan, DRC, or Angola.
I would like a 250 to 650cc Japanese bike.
Is Cape Town the best market for motorcycles in South Africa?
I researched purchasing and registering a bike in South Africa and it does not look complicated. I'll purchase Comesa insurance. The cost of bikes in S.A. is a bit expensive, but I plan on returning to South Africa to sell it before flying out.
It seems that I can enter all countries south of Angola (more visa than carnet), DRC, Sudan, and Kenya without a Carnet. Is that correct?
I would love to ride the Lake Turkana route in Kenya to Ethiopia, but I'm not willing to drop the $1k+ US to enter Kenya. I understand that I do not need a carnet for Ethiopia.
Is there an option for entering Kenya without a Carnet?
It sort of seems if I entered Kenya from a small border post in the west (from Uganda) and rode north to the Turkana route, I may avoid any vehicle importation paperwork....this would be illegal of course.
Here is a map that I built after reading about points of interest and routes on this website, ADVRider, and Horizons Unlimited. I would appreciate any critiques or if I'm missing any essential routes or points of interest. It is zoomable. The routes on the map are not always exact, specifically the routes following main roads. It was easier to follow the main road than guesstimate where the smaller routes to the side are. Dirt doesn't bother me.
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=204677243399493465403.0004bc93ddeaa011bd698&msa=0
*Can I not embed a google map?
The blue lines are routes I've read about and the markers are places of interest. As you can see I have vast swathes of area with no planned routes. I'm perfectly fine with just picking a road in the general direction I want to go, but it would be a shame to miss beautiful roads b/c I don't know they are there.
Also, if anyone wants to meet up and ride a bit or have a beer I would love to hang out.
James
I have a few questions that you all may be able to help answer. I'll lay out my plan and then put questions in bold text.
Shipping a bike and purchasing a carnet is too damn expensive. I want to purchase a bike in South Africa and ride a large loop in Sub Saharan Africa and end in South Africa to sell the bike. At this time I do not plan on riding into Kenya, Sudan, DRC, or Angola.
I would like a 250 to 650cc Japanese bike.
Is Cape Town the best market for motorcycles in South Africa?
I researched purchasing and registering a bike in South Africa and it does not look complicated. I'll purchase Comesa insurance. The cost of bikes in S.A. is a bit expensive, but I plan on returning to South Africa to sell it before flying out.
It seems that I can enter all countries south of Angola (more visa than carnet), DRC, Sudan, and Kenya without a Carnet. Is that correct?
I would love to ride the Lake Turkana route in Kenya to Ethiopia, but I'm not willing to drop the $1k+ US to enter Kenya. I understand that I do not need a carnet for Ethiopia.
Is there an option for entering Kenya without a Carnet?
It sort of seems if I entered Kenya from a small border post in the west (from Uganda) and rode north to the Turkana route, I may avoid any vehicle importation paperwork....this would be illegal of course.
Here is a map that I built after reading about points of interest and routes on this website, ADVRider, and Horizons Unlimited. I would appreciate any critiques or if I'm missing any essential routes or points of interest. It is zoomable. The routes on the map are not always exact, specifically the routes following main roads. It was easier to follow the main road than guesstimate where the smaller routes to the side are. Dirt doesn't bother me.
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=204677243399493465403.0004bc93ddeaa011bd698&msa=0
*Can I not embed a google map?
The blue lines are routes I've read about and the markers are places of interest. As you can see I have vast swathes of area with no planned routes. I'm perfectly fine with just picking a road in the general direction I want to go, but it would be a shame to miss beautiful roads b/c I don't know they are there.
Also, if anyone wants to meet up and ride a bit or have a beer I would love to hang out.
James
