Around The World in 80 Months

Site Move...

2010-08-26T22:54:00.004+01:00

We are now building and going to run a proper website...so please use the link provided, or cut & paste it in your browser, or even just type it in....

www.aroundtheworldin80months.co.uk

This blog site will slowly be replaced by the new website & eventually will no longer be updated....& the new site will be the only one...but a notice will be put on here for quite a while...

Gorilla & friends

2010-08-24T17:02:00.002+01:00

We had a fund raiser on Saturday 21st August at the Rose & Crown in Chellaston Derby, which was a very very wet affair, but still did alright raising much needed petrol money & also making a donation to the Help For Heroes fund.

The Gorilla was won by Colin (no surname) & was re-named "Elton" (the Gorilla that is, not Colin)

ALMOST THERE !!!!!!

2010-08-23T18:07:00.005+01:00

It's been a hard summer so far. This being one reason that there hasn't been much updating, no time!

Anyway, the story so far to bring you all up to present.

The biggest change by far, has been Lydia's decision to join Simon (they are engaged) & myself on this mammoth trip. She will be riding pillion on Simon's machine which caused an immediate problem.......Simon was already having doubts about his machine, nothing wrong with it, it's just that Simon is 6 foot tall/14 stone, so was struggling a little with riding position & comfort. That coupled with adding Lydia meant that he has decided to change the bike for what seems to be a more suitable steed! an old BMW R65 (650cc) which is physically larger, lazier to ride, lower down weight, & although the machine is older than he is, it should do the job nicely.

He is currently putting finishing touches to the machine as I write, & it will be out & about on a few test runs soon. Which is a good thing, as we have set a more accurate leaving date of October 16th (my own birthday....)

We have been, and still are up to the last minute, trying to raise funds to help us get started, selling belongings etc. & managing to persuade a few generous people to sign up to help us with finances during the trip.... every little bit will help.. :)

I, personally, will be leaving & handing the keys in to my current home :( on Sep 20th & will then have to find somewhere to crash for a couple or three weeks? Lydia has handed her notice in & is working hard to catch up with jabs & paperwork etc. whilst recieving lots of support from her close friends & family.

Simon suggested a sensible route change which will save a lot of money & hassle with paperwork (visas etc.) We have decided to follow the west coast (ish!) of Africa, down to South Africa where we will try to blag/work our passage to one of the main ports in South America )Brazil/Argentina/Uruguay?. Travel across the Andes to the west coast, then north up to & through central America to the North American continent. From then on we should be on our original proposed route.

So basically, thats it...itchy feet all round now? (got some powder for that too!)

This site will soon be transferred to a proper web site which is being built at the moment by my nephew Ian Arnold & should be up & running very soon.

The DERBY EVENING TELEGRAPH are updating with a small feature in the Tuesday 23rd August edition........

Finished.......well, not quite!

2010-06-21T22:14:00.002+01:00

Something that was omitted from the last posting! Both bikes were fully loaded and taken to a weighing station (with a side bet of £10 on who's was lightest)
Despite John's bike looking lighter, feeling lighter, & in theory should have been lighter.........It was heaviest by 10kg
With a full load, including full fuel tank/oils/water etc., the bikes (with no rider) weighed in at...
Simon's (grey one) 260kg
& John's (Yell one) 270kg :(

So, apart from winning/losing a bet, both Simon & John now have a big problem, where to lose more weight from? (no diet jokes please) It's estimated that both need to lose around 25kg from the bikes.....

Latest Targets (off soon?)

2010-06-14T18:48:00.006+01:00

Things tend to drag on a bit, but a pretty firm leaving date has been targeted by John & Simon. Late summer...end of August / Start of September 2010.
If not away by then, there will be a couple of very depressed riders sitting in Derby twiddling thumbs!

Bikes are 99% ready (being tested as we speak) fully loaded & ridden carefully, John's is returning a genuine 65 mpg YES! that is correct....& it was virtually fully loaded ridden up hill & down dale from Derby to Buxton & back via Matlock.
(just goes to show what you can achieve if you try hard). This is excellent news, as mpg will be critical for the whole trip, given the lack of funds.. :(

Clothing sorted, all gadgets etc. sorted, just about everything has been done.....currently organising Carnets & Visas & emptying John's house (takes ages!)
With a lot of hard work & a bit of luck...the target date is still feasable... :)

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=113349972035781&ref=ss

2010-06-14T15:31:00.004+01:00

Link to our Facebook Group CUT & PASTE THE LINK...

Derby Evening Telegraph

2010-04-23T17:33:00.019+01:00

The DET reporter & photographer were round today (Thurs 15th April) & there should be(was ahemm) an article in the Sat 17th edition...

Here are some piccies taken on the day...

Question & answer session at Rolls Royce leisure club

2010-04-23T17:25:00.004+01:00

Just a quick update....

We both did an informal q&a session at the RR leasure club, Moor lane Derby, on Tues 30th March, at the request of Robert Duck of the RR motor club.

It was a very enjoyable evening for the both of us, despite being rather nervous having not done anything like this before...

We turned up at 7:15 & parked the bikes under a temporary Gazebo (bad weather) where members of the club looked around the bikes & equipment for half an hour before going inside to sit and have an informal Q&A session (which went very well). This lasted for about an hour or so & a "hat" was passed around (Bobs idea!) for members to contribute to the fund, & contribute generously they did , many thanks to all of them...

Sorry.........no pics

Latest bike modifications

2010-02-24T19:30:00.007Z

Been a bit slow lately, but starting to pick up again & here's a few more mods made to the machines........John's cb500 1st.....

The radiator needed a little more protection from flying stones etc. so some alloy wire mesh has been fitted between the rad & the plastic cover....shall have to remember to keep cleaning it of sand & such, to prevent any overheating!

We found that the headlight could not be wiped clean very easily after a trip, so an old Renault windscreen wiper does the trick nicely....
Trying to lose a bit of weight up top (& worried about the mirrors breaking the castings that they were screwed into!) so disposed of the "heavy" mirrors & have fitted a couple of caravan towing mirrors (one shown) which are plastic & weigh almost nothing. These have been fitted to an alloy frame, made to fit the bars so that the GPS & other "gadgets"can be mounted..

A spare basket was sitting in the shed, so it was offered up to the rack...& it fits just nicely, making the spare fuel tanks a little more secure!

Another trip to the local tip resulted in a few more freezer baskets, which have been fitted to John's bike, making a little more capacity & security for the panniers...hinged at the bottom with small cable ties..... fastened at the top with some Gazeebo fastenings ...

After making a few enquiries about the feasability of sending some tyres ahead of us to Africa...& finding out how much it would cost...after some smeling salts had brought me round, we realised that we would have to carry the spare tyres with us.........which should be interesting!

Simon's progress!

2010-01-05T14:59:00.002Z

Simon's jabs are nearly done now, some owned property (house & business stuff) has now been disposed of, bike nearly finished (but too bloody cold to go out on it at the mo!) Most of his un-needed? personal items have/are being sold off/disposed of.

Now joining John (& other helpers!) in an effort to raise much needed funds for the trip. (see above!) More anxious now than ever as the new year has started & the countdown begins!

setback?

2010-01-04T02:12:00.002Z

Santa kindly gave John a chest infection coupled with a nice dose of asthma
(never had it before!)

So things got a little slow (& painful!) over the Christmas & new year, but should pick up pace again once these little problems are over with!

Starting to apply for Visas & should be sorting Carnets soon!

Some fund raising projects are now taking shape (a must now, as opposed to being viewed as a bonus!) sponsorship, donations, car boot sales (can you suggest anything?)

Should also be starting to practice the downloading of pics etc. (so no problems on the trip!)

some finishing touches!

2009-12-10T15:29:00.005Z

A couple of updates on the bike building progress! ( both similar so only one shown!)

A small solar panel each, will be taken & plugged in during any long stops/stay overs, so the batteries should always have a good charge in them!

Quite important! as the bikes are electric start only (don't fancy bump starting these in 50 degrees of heat! or mud etc.!)

Extra water carriers have been fabricated & fitted to the front of the bikes, alongside the radiator (both sides) & resting on the crash bars (to help take the weight)

An "L" shaped strip of alloy has been fitted from the top frame tube, going down to the crash bar, & attached at top & bottom & padded with foam to protect against vibration. A length of plastic sewerage pipe (NEW!) was scrounged off some local workmen!, cut to size & fitted at the bottom by cutting away enough to sit astride the bottom of the "L". At the top of the tube, a couple of strong cable ties should suffice?

By pure luck (or good judgement!) a normal sized shop bought 2ltr water bottle, fits nice & tight into the tubes!

Pin Cushions!

2009-11-20T20:50:00.003Z

For the squeamish out there.....

Here's a list of the jabs both Simon & John have had/are having at the moment!

Hepatitis A (x3)

Hepatitis B (x3)

Diptheria

Polio

Tetanus

Typhoid

Yellow fever

Swine Flu

Rabies (x3)

Meningitis

Japanese Encephalitis

& not forgetting everybody's favourite.......Maleria tablets!

So Far?

So if either Me (John) or Simon complain of feeling a bit under the weather! just bear with us for a while!

The Bikes.......

2009-11-20T13:45:00.002Z

Just to clear up a couple of enquiries.

John's bike is the scruffy Yellow one (no change there then)

Simon's bike is the smart Grey one (not for long though)

Machines almost done!

2009-11-16T12:51:00.014Z

A few shots of the bikes (not too much to do to them to finish now)
a few bags, tents, rollmats, luggage etc have been thrown on to give an indication of how much gear (despite minimising!), we will be carrying. (& they were not FULLY loaded in the pics!)

One project? we will be undertaking during the trip, is to learn to play guitars & maybe sing a bit? (but that may be a step too far!) Still! it will pass the time, & maybe keep the lions away?

As you can see, getting on & off the bikes is going to be a bit of a struggle! (must lose some weight! must lose some weight! must lose some weight!)

Crash bars will come in handy for those long cruising stretches?

Getting there! the bikes! not the trip!

2009-11-12T14:51:00.003Z

Update on the work done so far on the machines!

Note the lovely comfy home made silicone grips (silicon/bootlaces/then more silicone) have had the seat re-covered with some old vinyl, not my first choice of colour, (but it was free) took the seat down to a local upholsterer.........................

Martin & Parker (Derby) Ltd
Ascot Drive
Derby
DE24 8GZ
where Steven very kindly did a smashing job on the seat (5 mins!)there & then, for a nominal charge......thanks again Steven! (a keen biker himself!)

A home made rear rack (over the pillion seat) has been fabricated from some 3"ally strip just bent & bolted to the Givi frame, & bolted to the grab rail at the back. A plywood base with cut down, alloy rungs off an old ladder finish it off, & it now easily holds two 5Ltr plastic fuel cans+extra room? On top of the cans will sit another set of luggage bags.

New rad fitted & working fine (needs a protective grill)

A screen has been fitted (to keep the bugs out of my teeth!) out of an old race(fzr) item lying around, it has been turned the other way up & should do fine!

A handlebar brace was found in my ally box, just had to bend it a little to fit, & it is now very strong (but it's more for mounting accessories!)

A rack has been adapted to fit on the top box (old dog guard from the car scrap yard £5) very light but strong! to take the tent/rollmats/sleep bag.

Simons has been fabricated out of some dexion shelving!

A guard for the headlamp glass has been made by cutting down a cutlery tray £1.50, & does the job nicely!

Having decided to go "soft luggage" on the sides, we came up with a beauty! popped down to the local tip, & scrounged some wire baskets out of the scrap freezers!, took only a few minutes to bolt on, & the luggage can now just be placed in the space & bungeed/strapped in? making it easy to use + some crash protection (which can easily be straightened?) This also gives us many points to attatch things like bottles etc.

Crash bars (£30 e-bay) have now been fitted, & should now give the engine some much needed protection!

Not too much left to do now...........................

The pointy bit..........

2009-10-23T13:18:00.000+01:00

Strip out all front end, forks, wheel, brakes, clocks, yokes, etc. etc. Firstly, the chrome on the forks was far too gone (rechrome=£180) (new tubes=£180) (s/h off e-bay complete & with excellent chrome & seals =£75) sorted! strip, check & new oil & ready to re-fit. Front wheel clean & check, bearings fine, brake disc found to have hairline cracks, so brand new one sourced from e-bay for £39. A pair of gaiters were fitted (a must for the sand & s**t), head bearings were removed & re-greased then re-fitted as they will be fine for a while? Front brakes taken apart & refurbished & old (good) pads re-fitted, bled & all seems ok! Whole front end re-assembled with cables etc oiled & old tyre from back of shed fitted (120/17" instead of 110/17")
S/H headlight unit obtained for £10 & fitted including a pair of old indicators, & all seems ok! Seat was badly ripped, so planned to fit a cover on it myself till I won a good seat on e-bay for 99p.
Considered fitting a motocross style mudguard, but decided to go with the original one (if it breaks, just rip it off!) A pair of handguards were also cosidered, but again, too difficult to fit so std. it is (but a pair of bar ends are fitted!) Both levers & mirrors will be drilled so that they will break easily when crashed, not causing excessive damage to the mounting areas.
A new radiator was fitted (£109) as the old one leaked through numerous pin holes, so peace of mind there!
A screen was bought, but I think it's too heavy to warrant carrying around, so a new one will be fabricated out of an old race screen (very light!) & should keep the giant bugs out of my teeth!
A pair of necessary crash bars were purchased from e-bay, & are in the process of being fitted!
A ciggy lighter type electric socket has been fitted to the left side panel to charge camera/gps/Mp3/spotlight etc.

Work done on John's bike so far.......

2009-10-23T12:02:00.001+01:00

Starting on the rear end, remove most components

strip & clean the swing arm (bearings ok), rear wheel clean & fit £20 replacement tyre from breakers,bearings ok, clean & check all rear drum brake components, all ok. Replace chain & sprockets with DiD quality items (std sizes). Junk twin rear shocks (scrap) & fit new Hagons (fitted at factory with stiffer 20kg springs to take the extra weight!). A few brackets for the rack etc. have been wire brushed & painted with whatever came out of the garden shed first! (gold) (might come in useful when bribing border guards?) Exhaust welded/brazed at a weak joint. Sidestand has been strengthened with weld & now has a bigger footprint (for sand etc?) Oh! & friend Boyd noticed a nice Scott chain oiler (touring version) sitting behind the no. plate (nice bonus)
A Givi rack came with the bike, so that is being re-fitted, along with a large topbox. The rest of the luggage at the rear will sit in two wire frames (panniers) either side at the rear, spare fuel cans will sit on a rack above the pillion seat, on top of that will be more soft luggage & on top of the topbox will be another rack for the tent/rollmat etc. More at the front (later!)

1st leg of the trip..........

2009-10-23T11:49:00.001+01:00

Already on plan "F"

It looks like a trip through Europe, across to Egypt, then follow the Nile down & carry on to S. Africa.(5 months?)
Across the puddle to Mexico/USA/Canada (spending around a year?)
Another hop across the Pacific, to Australia, have a nosy round, & Island hop via Malasia up to S/E Asia, there we hope to take in many of the countries, including China if possible, then crossing to India, (have a curry?) then start to wind our way back via the middle east & Eastern Europe

Both of us will be leaving with very little money (all we have!), so it will be a case of work/scrounge & bluff our way round!

Should be interesting!

In the beginning! there was a wreck..........

2009-10-23T11:37:00.000+01:00

If you look closer, you can get an idea of how much needs doing!

Introduction

2009-10-06T23:51:00.003+01:00

After a terrible year so far (2009) I have decided to undertake a Round The World trip (on a motorcycle) The bike I will be using is an old Honda CB500R 4-stroke water cooled twin cylinder (which just happened to be sitting outside the shed under a plastic sheet awaiting rebuild!) As you can see from the first pics, it is/was in a bit of a state, so needed quite a bit of work doing. It was a case of selling up everything I own to raise the money for the project &, even then, I won't have anywhere near enough for such an undertaking so it will be a case of working my way around once the money runs out! Some are saying it can't be done! We shall see! Whatever the outcome, it will be an interesting experience. Since starting on the project, a good friend, Simon, has declared his intention to join me on the trip &, so far, he has bought a CB500 similar to mine but already in much better condition & on the road, so not so much to be done to his (but still quite a bit!) So, up to the point of starting this blog, that is the stage we are both at...