Picked up two new scoots yesterday - Chinese copies with 110 engines in gold - yep Gobi coloured so we'll fit in. Bought them from Tony at Riders of Yeovil (www.ridersmotorcycles.co.uk/) who also supplied the four Chinese scoots that were recently ridden down to The Gambia. We were so impressed with them - their durability, economy and handling - yep really - that we binned the idea of bigger bikes and decided to take these instead.
We also noticed how little bikes drew us into the communities we were travelling through. Locals were really impressed that our bikes were just like theirs and it became a conversation starter and point of contact, as well as a source of amusement for people who clearly didn't believe that we were riding little bikes all the way from the UK to The Gambia. But we were and we did.
So that's how we got to where we're at. We're planning to leave in the first week of May - probably midweek and by ferry from Dover ( just so when people ask where we're off to we can say ' China, via the Gobi Desert', which they never do on the Channel Tunnel because they all sit in their cars). So its all out for visas ( Belle already has her Russian one, Nadine has bugger all) but we don't have to do any of the jab thing as we did all that for Africa.
So Scoot building resumes this morning. We're building Nadine's first while Belle's remains in the crate, and started on that last night. And how is this for dedication? 0800 on Easter Sunday morning. Changing tyres and gaffer taping wheel rims ( no euphemism implied) before even getting out of bed.
Need to do a few mods which will be easier to do as we build rather than have to dismantle. Eg, the wiring loom needs rerouting under the tank, the main switch relay needs reorientating and bodging so it sits better, lower engine bolt needs to be replaced with Honda originals which are stronger, wheel rims need taping to reduce spoke head damage, and we will fit protective screens on the main front and back lights to stop lenses smashing. Then everything will be locktighted.
