Hey there,

I'm new to the motorcycle world. I read a book about this Israeli girl (24 years old) who travelled around Australia on a motorbike, and it made me want to do the same. So I learned how to ride motorcycle and got my license back in Israel.

Now I arrived in Sydney a week ago and I'm researching.
I'm looking for advice, as I never owned a bike or gear. Just got my license a couple of weeks ago. by the way, I'm restricted to 33 horse powers and I got my international license.

I aim to buy a used Kawasaki KLX250 from a private seller. It will be my first bike.
I would ask the seller for inspection (which I'll pay for, obviously) pre-purchase.

Now, I have a few questions. Please keep in mind that I'm really new to everything, so if you can, please make sure to simplify as much as you can.

Here we go:

1) My budget for the bike is up to 3,000$ AUD, and another 800$ AUD for the safety gear. Do you think this is a reasonable budget?

2) I plan to inspect the motorbike before I purchase it. Do you think I should do the pre-purchase check on a NRMA service center, or should I just get it to a local repair shop?

How much is a reasonable cost for this check?


3) I heard that even I'll get stuck in the middle of no-where, I could always spend a day/day and a half under the shade of my bike, waiting for a passerby to rescue me and my bike, and get me to the nearest repair shop. What do you think about that?
Would you recommend me to get a road assistance insurance for cases of breakdown?
If you do recommend something like that, what would it be?


4) What kind of modifications, upgrades and add-ons should I consider?
I'm want to be a light traveller. Just carrying some water, food, fuel, clothes, basic hygienic stuff, tent+sleeping bag+mattress / swag, some small tools (I'm not a mechanic).
I don't plan to go hardcore. It will be my first bike and I will take it quite easy.
by the way, would you recommend a tent+sleeping bad+mattress or just a swag instead?


5) Safety gear: What should I get? I know I must have:
- Helmet
- Jacket
- Gloves
What else should I get? would you recommend drive boots? and what about knee protectors? and special pants?


I really appreciate the time you spend in reading and answering.
I would like to get more leads. If you think you know where should I search for my answers, I'd like to know, because I don't really know where to search.
Thank you very much for every piece of advice!

Have a good day,
Eitan

 

Welcome Eitan! It sounds like you have a pretty cool dream of riding around Australia. I hope you will find it fulfilling and travel safely. With that said, I would suggest spending a lot of time just riding the bike around before starting your trek. Take it off road, ride it in the rain, get a good feel for the bike in a variety of conditions before venturing out into the wild. I would also forget hiring anyone do put the mods on. You need to be able to completely service the bike if your going to travel on it.

As for the bike choice, I don't think the KLX250 is the right bike for traveling the outback. It's a great bike for commuting or recreational purposes, but not nearly strong enough to pack gear and go on a long adventure. You might want to check out the KLR650 as that would be much more appropriate for your needs.

 

Hey Brieninsac,

Thanks a lot for the great advice.
I didn't understand this sentence (my English is not so well):
" I would also forget hiring anyone do put the mods on."

Please explain - what is 'mods on' ?

I don't think I'll rush into the outback. Maybe after some months of travelling.

Thanks a lot!
Such a quick reply.

Eitan

 

Dude I TOTALLY disagree with you... the KLX250 is the perfect minimalist bike for adventuring there is a thread on another forum you should check out if you doubt me.

South America and back on a 250 Super Sherpa Minimalist Adventure - ADVrider

Eitan I think the klx250 is perfect... better on gas, easier to manage off road and lighter when you have to pick it up!!

 

Here's another

Minimalist Touring Thread (250cc and under) - ADVrider

 

and then there is the 33hp limit to consider

This really sounds like a bad azz trip! You will need a stable ride that all you will have to worry about is living on the road. Keep us informed.

 

Eitan, welcome to the forums, and good luck on the adventure. The "Mods" that were spoke about, are upgrades or improvements to the bike that will give the bike more power or better suspension. What Brian was saying is that its great to learn to work on the bike yourself. However in this case I would tend to disagree. You will learn eventually to work o the bike, but you want something like this done right for this trip. Maybe a compromise of asking the mechanic if you can watch as the work is done to the bike. You don't want your adventure cut short because you did something wrong. Keep us posted as to the progress of you adventure.