every time i look at your posts im like right im going to organise a rtw trip with my mate, but then remember all the other stuff stopping with the biggest being ����:smilies0346:

basic rule of thumb is $50 per day or less for riding about 200-300 miles a day, figure a route and number of days approx, ride thru cheap countries slowly and expensive ones fast...

i'll keep better number this time as i head off for the next 6-7 months so i can tell you more exactly

and don't forget it can take a year or more to set the whole thing up to be ready to pull away no matter how organized a person you are

Did have a big plan to do europe (or well a big loop of mostly european countries) in 3 months with a mate, but he couldnt get enough ��� for the trip so we had to settle for 2.5weeks around england!!! Id read alot about doing planning before hand but in the end you have to be able to just let the path your on go sometimes and take different routes, settle in for a few days in certain places due to border crossing problems etc etc but $50 a day is a bit low in my books for 200-300miles. In europe average petrol is 1.60-70 per litre which is quiet dear but i suppose your on a tenere and it sips the fuel!!! (oh yes thats one of the reasons im getting one too!!!):glasses10:

well europe is one of the most expensive places to travel in, and going with a friend doesn't always save money either...

i also do a lot of wild camping, couch surfing, tent threads which keeps the cost down a lot

once you get away from developed areas/ countries $50 a day is a lot, but again it comes down to you own particular style of travel

i figure on maximum one tank of fuel a day (250 or so miles), the rest is food (from locals or street vendors) and accommodation

just di the last lap of the states for 4 weeks for $995, and i rode about 7500 miles

i crossed the border at Niagra Falls in the rain which had been falling all day long, i headed towards Dual Sport Plus in Stoney Creek, south of Toronto, thisis where my bike lived for the next few days as i stripped it down to try and figure out a an idle issue that would happen intermittently - the bike was idling around 3000 - 4000 rpm on occasion

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1436-XL.jpg

the tech (Rick) helped out along the way but as an overlander you kind of want to work on your own bike wherever possible, the result of multiple times of stripping the bike rebuilding it, testing it - failure...rinse and repeat about 3-4 times

it looked like a sensor issue, having a bike in the states that isn't available here means a lot of internet research for parts that maybe compatible...every eventually pointed to a faulty sensor...OK order...buy...$171 (****)...didn't solve the issue (double ****) electronic components cannot be returned (anyone need a sensor let me know part 5PS-82380-00)

in the end it was a fast idle issue on the bottom of the throttle body and crystalized coolant and carbon build up on the gas side

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1431-XL.jpg
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http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1434-XL.jpg

here's the broken part that let the dust/ sand get in to make this issue start

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1435-XL.jpg

some cleaning and the 5 cent fix, a valve cap - yamaha would only sell a full throttle body for $600!!!!

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1440-XL.jpg

a test ride, a longer test ride, an even longer test ride....all good

now i have a bike that runs...head out to the HU meeting in Barrie, Ontario...meet with some friends (some of you may recognize) and do some camping in a field

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1441-XL.jpg
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http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...IMG0708-XL.jpg

this event will grow like crazy, if you are in the north eastern area of the country it will be well worth the ride, location may change next year so check HU closer to the event date

big camp fires every night, lots of talking and planning with lots of people coming over and asking questions, glad to help anyway i can to ease concerns about crossing borders

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1451-XL.jpg

presentations ran constantly

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1460-XL.jpg

my favorite slide of the whole weekend was by a guy called "Q" who is a self admitted over analyzer...this is joked about but i have never in a flow chart

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1462-XL.jpg

once the event was done it was time to ride south, way south....

riding south from Canada was wet and cold thru NewYork state where the old and modern collide next to each other

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...IMG0716-XL.jpg
http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...IMG0719-XL.jpg

camped in Pennsylvania and it seems like winter arrived overnight and the trees didn't even get a chance to change color and catch up...no leaf peeping for me this time around

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1463-XL.jpg
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just a few hundred miles down the road in Ohio it was still summer

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1468-XL.jpg

as i got back on the bike i noticed the front tire had worn down dramatically since leaving Canada, time to find a new or used one for the last thousand or so miles to Louisiana where i had new Heidenaus waiting

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1470-XL.jpg

i stopped into Hometown Honda in marietta Ohio, the made me a great offer, instead of a used tire how about a new one mounted and balanced for $48 and we'll do it right now...SOLD - super friendly dealership, i was very impressed

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back onto the road next to the Ohio river where its power is harnessed multiple times as you drive south

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...-copy-3-XL.jpg

i rolled into a state park late, late enough that all the ducks were already sleeping but as i rode up all i could hear was - aflec, AFLEC, AFLEC

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...IMG0741-XL.jpg

do these horses need miniature jockey's???

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...IMG0745-XL.jpg

towards the end of the day (by now i'm in Alabama) i stop at an intersection and as i pull away i hear a loud crunch in the rear end...what now!!!

i pull in the first open driveway, my right side rear sealed wheel bearing had shattered and there were the inner ball bearings bouncing down the road...not good

the sun was starting to set, a woman came out of the house looked at me as i was pulling off the rear wheel - "i'm calling my son he rides a motosickle" (yes she did say 'motosickle') not two minutes later i red pick up truck stops next to me.

the owner Chad told me he rode a Harley but if there was anything he could to help just ask? then he said "i have a friend who rides around the world on bikes, his name is Doug do you know him?" Do you mean RTWdoug? yep thats him he lives just down the road...but he's not there right now as he's doing the Cannonball Run

i had the tools and the bearing and cush drive rubbers with me (as my bike isn't available here in the states) just incase, i used his tailgate as a work bench and my tools and we were done in about 30 minutes or so and the bike was ready to ride, i didn't take photos as i was doing it as the sun was setting behind the hills, time was short with an unrideable bike

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1480-XL.jpg

all the time his young son was looking at the bike so of course he had to have a sit on it when it was back together, if could have reached the bars and pegs i think he would have rode off on it

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1481-XL.jpg

down into Florida's panhandle and some camping by the beach, mainly to look at the Gulf of Mexico from this side as the next time i'll see it will be in Veracruz with MikeMike at his place

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1482-XL.jpg

a week after freezing my nuts off in Canada at night i was now walking in the warm water

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1489-XL.jpg

stayed on the beach until the sunset

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...-copy-3-XL.jpg
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i went back to the tent made some food and had the feeling i was being watched...

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1513-XL.jpg
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these little suckers were everywhere...

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...SAM1519-XL.jpg

so this summers ride which included the following states:

Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Florida and Ontario

all that tallied up to 14,500 miles and kind of looked like this: not real exact but you get the idea that i looped around a lot

http://dmh65.smugmug.com/RidingRTW/9...9-29-at-XL.png


Now its time to head south of the border

Oh my god! Superb pictures!