Just be aware this next post is mainly about bikes, has no pretty animal pictures and has lots of text.
As I'm resting up for a couple of days and the trip is winding down, at least for me, and this is mainly a biking forum, I thought I'd share my reflections of riding a small bike in Africa. The idea of flying in and buying a local bike is an idea Simon and I have flirted with over the last year or so, on his return trips to UK. He'd done a bit of research in Cameroon and in Congo to establish that a new bike could be bought for under a £1,000. This of course was just the first bit of information, the registering of the bike for a foreigner, taking it through borders and the practicality of riding one of these small bikes on a long distance tour on African roads were all uncertain. My life was already busy at the end of 2018 and the fact that I had a short time to decide to join Simon in Congo, did not allow me to dwell too long on the possible difficulties. Simon and I have a shared view that difficulties are part of an adventure and the challenge is finding a solution. In the end I thought, how often does someone come up to you and suggest flying down to Congo with them, picking up a bike, crossing the Congo river in a boat(bike) and plane(us) and riding through Angola, Namibia, Botswana and maybe South Africa, so I went for it. While the challenge for me, with much assistance from Simon with his contacts and excellent French, was to first get a bike. We also had the fact that Simon's bike was not running well and needed some new parts and some TLC, to get it to Namibia to allow Kit to join us as a pillion on the GS in Windhoek and to allow Simon to complete his north to south Africa trip. So we flew into Congo knowing we would have to work as a team to be able to jointly complete the trip with our respective bikes.
I've documented earlier the practical choice of bikes I had in Pointe Noire, Congo and after riding this bike for over 6,000kms I'm pleased with the choice I made, of this little 125 Suzuki. Of course I'd like it to be faster and there are times, mostly on the good roads of Namibia and some in Botswana when I feel it is not the ideal partner for someone on a 1150GS, but mostly we have managed. I was fortunate in Pointe Noire that the Suzuki dealer was doing a special deal on these bikes as the equilivant Yamaha model was 3 times as much, and would have been too expensive. I would then have to have to have bought the Bajaj model, made in India, which may have been OK too but less sophisticated and perhaps had inferior build quality. So the Suzuki it was and at its heart is a sweet and so far reliable4 stroke engine. All the electrics have also been faultless despite some days of torrential rain. The bike has carried its load with ease, dispite some challenging roads in Angola and here in Botswana. Even the road tyres have provided enough traction to pull me through some mud and deep waterholes. One area which has suffered is the chain which is now stretching. It would benefit from having a DID internally lubricated chain fitted, similar to the one I have used on my xCountry 650 on previous long trips. If I return to ride the bike again down here, I'll have one of these chains fitted.
So what's it been like riding down here? To be fair the roads have been better than I expected but that was influenced by our choosing tarmac roads in the main. Some of the roads in Angola are now excellent but some are still under construction and the deviations around the construction are awful and no fun on a little road bike. In fact a small and light road bike is easier to manage than a heavier road bike and I feel more confident on the little Suzuki on rough ground than on my xCountry. The stretch in Angola where we were in a divation for around 30km was a nightmare for me, with a mixture of graven, boulders and occasionally sand, but the bike coped, I didn't drop it. In Namibia we met some German bikers on hired bikes who scoffed at my little Suzuki. The guy boasted at having a BMW 1200GS Adventure back in his garage. The point he missed was that the Suzuki was an 'adventure' bike, it was a motorbike been ridden on an adventure here in Africa, not sitting back in Europe in a garage.
One feature of roads here is that the tarmac break up causing massive and extensive potholes. I know we have potholes in UK too but here the potholes can be all over the surface of the road. Bikes can negotiate these patches of potholes better than cars, as we can seek a path through the holes remaining in narrow strips of tarmac. Seeking a safe route through the potholes can involve long stretches on the other carriageway if that provides an easier path. Of course oncoming traffic can adopt the same approach, so some understanding and courtesy is needed to pass safely. Courtacy is not the essential ingredient where oncoming lorry's and coaches are concerned, because they chose their path and you better get out of the way. The little Suzuki is a nimble bike and this is an advantage with finding a way through potholes. However I have to be careful not to get too confident because if you approach too fast, believing there is a safe route to find, well, sometimes there isn't and heavy braking is required. This kind of riding through potholes can be fun but not at the end of a trying day, like yesterday.
So in summary, if you are tempted to fly somewhere and buy or hire a small bike for a trip, give it a go! It its worked for me so far.
A bit indulgent maybe, but the photos remind me of the experiences this bike has allowed me in the last few weeks. Not an adventure bike, piffle!
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