Having made the decision to sell the Ural I walked away thinking about 650 BMW, v-Strom or a TransAlp – the seller being the seat height. BMW chalked up the best on the seat hight, whilst the v-Strom best all round, and TransAlp as bullet proof reliable.
I didn’t go any further as would like to sell the Ural first and know my budget, however, I want to do some work on it first and waiting for Mick (our mechanic) to be free so no advertising as yet. The clock is ticking if we are going to turn it all around before dead line for getting the papers for Russia sorted out and as time passes it is requiring greater levels of optimism!
A stroke of luck over the weekend, however, as a friend says they are hoping to pick up a Bandit 600 (road bike) for peanuts and said I could borrow it for our Europe trip. There is only one snag though, the owner is a nightmare to contact. This could be for a number of reasons, one of which it is possible he hasn’t used the bike in such a long time that he can’t find the keys! I wait hopefully that something will pull through, though the hope fades as the days go by.
In the mean time I’m chatting to Mick about it and he gives me a push to sit on a few bikes to get a better idea of seat heights. Not something I wanted to do because, naturally, once you start sitting on bikes you are taking your first steps in wanting something that maybe you can’t have…. I hate that!
But he was right though, so today I went down to the local dealer. Sat on a SV650, which is probably my max height and comparable to a Bandit, a Bonneville which had a horrible custom seat and a Shadow.
Hmmm the Shadow 750, super comfy cruiser with a shaft drive! Sofia would love it!
So now I’m talking myself into the prospect of buying a bike rather than borrowing one (eeek! I’ve not sold the Ural yet and the money is already spent!) I start looking into prices. Shadows hold their price around the £4000 mark, it really doesn’t matter the mileage or the year. I ask Mick to keep an eye out and he comes back with a Kawasaki VN800 (chain) for £3000, now we are getting closer to what I can expect price wise.
Cruisers are great comfortable bikes, but if I’m buying, I’m not just buying for Europe, I’m buying for around the world – and I have to think about the cruiser capability. How would it be on gravel? or worse – sand? as a lower bike, there is less visibility to see pot holes and other horrid road hazards that can cause damage or a fall. Certainly there would be no standing up if in an off-road scenario.
So now I go back to adventure bikes, and double-check the seat heights. Yes, the BMW of the 650 size is the only bike that comes comfortably into my seat range – there is one for sale right now in Worcestershire for £2400.
I’m driving myself insane. I wish I had not gone to the bike shop today!
Dead line for getting documents sent off for Russia is 3 weeks!
Whilst it would be great to go to Russia on the Ural, it has to be said that now I’m looking at a different riding experience, I am now wanting it more than the Ural in Russia experience – I have to prepare to be disappointed.
Please support us on Patreon for $1usd per month: https://www.patreon.com/AfricaWithAutism
Update: An now I have just seen Sofia’s perfect colour – Pink! for £2000 Someone please put a firewall on my PC so I can’t see any more bikes!
AdventureWithAutism 