We always knew we would do this adventure on a motorbike, but it wasn't always going to be this beautiful BSA.
We were originally looking to buy a bike when we got to California/Belize/Mexico (back when we still weren't sure where we'd even be starting our trip!), and were tossing up between bikes such as the Kawasaki KLR 650 and the Suzuki DR-Z650. We'd read up on a lot of similar journeys that had been done on bikes like these and they sounded fairly reliable.
And then on Skype one day Tom's mum, Lisa, asked why we hadn't considered doing our trip on one of the many classic British bikes in the Baraonas barn. We all giggled and thought how fantastic that would be, but surely we couldn't. Could we? It would be a big hassle - possibly unreliable, hard to find parts... surely it would be better to buy a second-hand modern bike.
But we couldn't let go of the idea. We started to take it more seriously, weighing up the pros and cons of modern versus classic, and what it would mean for our trip.
We came to the conclusion that in fact, the BSA A65 Thunderbolt that was sitting in that Peak District barn might just be the perfect motorbike to take us on our adventure. It was lightweight, versatile and had a comfy riding position for being two up. It had a very strong frame and this was not so susceptible to the shock absorbers collapsing, as some of the big adventure bikes do. It would also be able to run on poor quality fuel, which would be rife on our journey. Really, it was perfect. Plus, doing this adventure on a classic British motorbike would give us a point of difference to many of the other riders who have done similar journeys; add a bit of character. Not taking anything away from them, but we wanted our trip to be a little bit different, have a little something extra about it that might make for some interesting reading and add an extra sense of adventure.
The only cinch was that for most of its time this little bike had been used as a sidecar. Tom and his sister Bex had spent many a holiday being chucked around in fields in the home-made contraption (see below pictures!) so we needed to make sure it was still good to go for riding normally.
We solely have Tom's dad Rod to thank for the amazing condition of our bike. The 46 year old classic has been well looked after throughout its life, and since we decided it would be our mode of transport Rod has gone to every length to make sure it is running as smoothly as possible, and is as comfy as it can be. It is mad to think that we won't actually meet our bike until we collect it from customs in Mexico in a little over two months time!
Yes it will be harder to source spare parts, but from our research many of the other problems we are likely to face on our journey are no more likely to happen on this bike than on any other adventure bike. So let's see what happens!