The Motorcycles

In The Beginning…

Initially, our plan was to ride around the world on two BMW F650GS Dakar, but after three years with longer trips during the summer, we realised that they were too cumbersome fully loaded when going off road. The fact, that one of us, with a fighting weight of 65kg, could not lift up a 200kg bike plus gear off of the ground alone, after falling while driving off road, was not appealing. Regardless of how interesting it was for the other one to document the tipped over bike from different point of views, to find the right angle for the picture, the bikes had to be replaced. Another reason for us to consider was a lot of frustration and some, at times, impressive temper tantrums because the damn bike was not easy enough to handle.

So it had to be lighter bikes, with not too many technical bells and whistles as well as low budget. After watching some videos of Ed March driving along and having fun on a Honda C90, we decided that something quite light weight, like a mid sized motorbike of the 90’s would be perfect. And then tadaa, we came across the Honda NX250. After searching for some good looking, and relatively well cared for examples, we found our two beauties aka. The Fantastic Falkor, and The Fabulous Phoenix.

How To Name Your Motorbike

What is so characteristic about your bike, it’s worth to be named after? The first time we tried the Honda NX250, it felt like flying on a magic carpet. Before, we were used to see the cockpit as well as the windshield on our old motorbikes. Now, on our lovely Hondas we see nothing but the world and the adventure ahead. It feels like sitting in the middle of the surroundings, flying a meter above the ground rather then being on a machine. So our choice for the names were clear; they had to be a symbol for something flying and adventurous, something mythical, beyond the realm of reality, but still strong and comforting.

And there he was, white like snow, a friendly fella and calm soul: The Fantastic Falkor.

Followed by the slightly darker – for not to say down right black – dramatic looking, slightly more wild tempered and trickier to please (as we found out later): The Fabulous Phoenix.

The keen eyed of you will undoubtedly have spotted the soft sheep wool on the seats. They are indeed the same ones on the BMWs in the photos above

Get Down To The Nuts And Bolts

Now that you have been introduced to our two mighty metal steeds, which will accompany and transport us across the lands on our adventurous trails ahead, it is time to show you what they’ve got. The two Honda NX250 have thunderous 23 hp from their – sometimes – overwhelming 250cc engines. You should really hear them roar when we poke them with the throttle. This ludicrous amount of power is enough to propel their peak fitness body weight of 130 kg (not taking into account the love handles that are pannier holders and protective bars, of course) to a mind boggling, theoretical top speed of 117 km/h (that is downhill and with the wind in our back). A speed only true dare devils will be able to handle, as the sheer strength needed to hold on to the handlebars at that speed can only be described as godlike.

These two awesome beasts have been upgraded (yes, we are that brave) to accommodate even more harrowing and daring riding. They have both gotten a better rear leg (the rear shock of a Suzuki GS600F Bandit), more impressive antlers (TRW Lucas aluminium handlebars), ears of fire (SAITO heated grips), impenetrable armour (custom crash bars made to order from a cool guy), and extreme arms for carrying (Hepco-Becker luggage rack).

On top of that, they are fitted with the best rubber boots money can buy for their, in the adventure bike world, uncommonly sized feet; the Bridgestone TrailWing 40 (size: 120/90-16) for the rear and TrailWing 39 for the front (size: 90/100-19). Truth be told, they are the only readily available adventure tires that will fit the wild beasts.