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In retrospect the DT1 was a great choice. 25,000 miles with no breakdowns (other than self-inflicted ones). It ran on whatever octane fuel was available (reputed to be 75 in Afghanistan!). And, the rear Dunlop Trials Universal tire still had reasonable tread at the end of the journey. However, I went through two front tires, which I attribute to the fork-mounted fuel tank. Even with all the gear we carried it was stable in all driving conditions. There was only one place where it turned out not to be the appropriate machine—the German Autobahn. Trundling along at 50 mph with cars roaring by at Mach 2 convinced me to take the first exit…. Further testament to the DT1’s durability—I had a friend who decided to go to Africa from Malaysia instead on continuing on to Europe. And he had similar good experiences with his DT1 traveling through Africa.
The Gear
The standard touring gear back then was the waxed cotton Belfast and Barbour outfits. I bought a Belfast jacket and gloves for inclement weather, but decided on standard rain pants to save space and weight. Still have the jacket, and it still fits! Using some waterproof material we glued and stitched together rain covers for our boots. Panniers and rack were left to the guys at Motorcycle Industries—we gave them an idea of what we wanted and a couple days later some beautiful custom-made, galvanized sheet metal panniers magically appeared. Anticipating not being able to find fuel in some places prompted us to have small ½ gallon fuel cylinders fabricated and mounted on the front forks. Probably a dumb idea having that un-sprung weight on the front forks, but it didn’t seem to impact stability. Of course, in reality there was gasoline available everywhere so they weren’t needed.
Navigation
Those of you who are old enough will remember the paper devices used, until recently, called “maps.” No GPS to pinpoint your location, no Google Earth. Fortunately, there were great maps available, and we picked up road maps at the gas stations in every country. However, the challenge in some countries was that many of the road signs and the maps in the local script. Not being able to read Thai or Hindi meant it took a little head-scratching to equate the script on road signs to those of the maps. No cell phones or email, either. Calling home wasn’t a readily available option so we used another arcane technology known as “air mail” to connect with friends and family.
Planning a trip now would be a gearhead’s delight—so many options for panniers, bikes, clothing, navigation equipment, and communications devices. So, what bike would I choose now with the vast selection available? That’s a tough question! The trend seems to be larger displacement machines, but people have made some amazing trips on smaller bikes. For instance, Lois Pryce (“Lois on the Loose”) rode her Yamaha XT225 from Alaska to Argentina, and the “60 KPH Motorcycle Club” folks have ridden 350cc Royal Enfields into remote parts of India (watch the trailer for “One Crazy Ride” on YouTube). A lot depends on where you’re going. Do you really need a bike that will do 80 mph all day if you’re traveling to places where you’ll rarely need speeds over 50 mph (and every water buffalo is programmed to cross the road just as you get there)? I’d be tempted to find out what the most commonly available motorcycles are in the countries I’d be traveling, and get one of those. That would also lead to other important connections and relationships with locals that typically wouldn’t happen otherwise (maybe good, maybe not!), all adding to your adventure. Spare parts and mechanics familiar with the machines would be locally available, too. If traveling in India why not get a Royal Enfield that’s made there? But then again, the modern Teneres, KLRs, BMWs, Triumphs, etc., sure are appealing. If you end up needing parts nowadays they are just a click away on the internet, but there’s still the downtime of waiting for the parts to arrive. It’s a real adventure importing parts to a country, like India, with a hyper-active bureaucracy—but that’s another (very, very, very long) story. Then again, enforced downtime in some out of the way place where you didn’t plan on being for long could turn out to be a highlight of your trip.
So, there you go! After all the anticipation and fantasizing it just boils down to purchasing a bike, some gear, hopping on and riding off into your adventure… wherever it may be.
Al Latham is happily retired and hangs out on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. Current ride for him and son Jesse is a Royal Enfield motorcycle/sidecar combination, an ADVenture in itself.
