Why I ended up riding solo on a 125cc motorcycle is actually a long story…here’s a few key points.
- It’s cheap to buy.
- I could use it to obtain my license with a CBT.
- Cheaper Carnet – The carnet deposit for Africa is 800% the value of your vehicle, for example.
- Fuel efficient – The YBR was fuel injected and provided up to 50km/litre. Phenomenal.
- Fuel Tank Range – Because of the great fuel efficiency the standard 13 litre tank had a huge range of up to 650km.
- Cheap Spare Parts – 125cc bikes are sold in their thousands, aftermarket spares and OEM spares are cheap.
- Spare parts availability – all the locals ride the same 125cc bike(s), so spares were available in most motorcycle shops.
- Quite long service intervals, 6,000km.
- Only one litre of oil in engine.
- Air-cooled, no radiators to break in falls, no leaking water pumps.
- Simple engines – meant I could work on them myself and local mechanics were familiar with the 125cc engines as well.
- Lightweight, I could pick the bike up on my own in case of a fall.
You can read more on the equipment page.