Preparation

This post is probably only useful for anyone thinking of doing a similar trip by motorbike, but I feel it best to share since the initial planning can be a little daunting. I'll leave out all the home stuff that needs to be taken care of and concentrate on the major planning points for the trip itself.

You suddenly have this idea in your head that you would like to travel. It doesn't matter where it came from, the crucial thing is where it leads. The route you choose then determines a number of other things that have to be managed to achieve the aim of that destination.

1) Research.

There are a few websites dedicated to overland motorbike travel which will make the research task much easier. My favourite is www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb where most of the folk posting there are the real deal, they've either done it or are planning to do it. Take some time to read the posts, then ask for any help if things are unclear. There is another site in the USA www.advrider.com which is helpful for the Americas, but it has a different nature and tone to it.

Within both of these sites you will find lots of links to similar blogs to this, some doing short trips like mine, others that have been on the road for years.

2) The bike.

I'll make a separate post detailing why i chose the bike that i did, but now that you know your destination and the route to it, and you've done some research so you know the likely terrain, you can then begin to think about the bike.

Important factors are, are you riding solo or two up, how off road will you get, how much weight will you carry, do you have any mechanical knowledge, does the colour of the bike match your riding gear.

People have successfully gone around the world on an R1, Harleys, and mopeds so while you should not get too hung up about the choice of bike, you do need to consider spare parts, servicing and breakdowns along the route.

3) Carnet.

On taking a bike outside of Europe you will be subject to import duty on the bike. For a country such as Iran the duty is 500%, so if your bike is a new BMW worth £10,000 the import duty is £50,000 which in theory will be returned to you once you leave the country at the far border. This is where the carnet comes in, it allows you to temporarily import a bike into a country free from duty and taxes.

In the UK the carnet system is administered by the RAC, and in similarly in other countries it's the motoring organisations that supply them. More information can be found here:

http://www.rac.co.uk/know-how/going-on-a-journey/driving-abroad/carnet-de-passages.htm

The easiest way to think of it is as a passport for the bike. It is stamped into and out of each country and there are tear off slips on the carnet booklet for this purpose. There are three ways to fund the carnet, by cash deposit with the RAC, bank guarantee, or you can take out an insurance policy where you pay 10% of the maximum liability as a premium, half of which is refunded when the carnet is returned properly stamped when the trip is complete. In the example above the premium would be £5,000.

4) Vaccinations.

You can check this online but the best place to start is with your GP. This was trickier for me since i hadn't gotten around to registering with a new GP when i moved house two years ago, and in fact the last time i was at the doctors was for the vaccinations when i went travelling six years ago. I had a list from a website which the practice nurse at my GP's then validated by independently coming up with the same list.

In the end i only received one vaccination there which i got for the cost of a normal prescription, for the rest i was directed to the Western General's Regional Infectious Diseases Unit (RIDU). You don't actually need a referral from your GP, you an just call directly on 0131 537 2822 to set up an appointment and they will gladly charge you a fortune for stabbing your arm with sharp implements. Even if you don't fancy getting the vaccinations it's worth the £20 consultation fee to know what the risks are, you may even see someone who has become ill as a result of not getting them, and if that doesn't convince you of their worth nothing will.

The RIDU is a one stop shop for most of the medicines you are likely to need so you can pick up anti malaria pills, mosquito nets and in my case altitude sickness pills.

5) Visa's.

For this information i searched for the consulates of the countries i planned to transit through to confirm the requirements. This part requires a bit of juggling as each visa will have a different duration, some from issue, some from issue then from entry into the country, so you need to be careful planning this part. Oh and by the way Iran has a wonky New Year which usually begins on 21st March then the country shuts down for two weeks.

For Europe, including Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria no visa is needed. For the rest of my route:

Hungary - visa can be obtained at the border

Iran - this is the tricky one. I used an agency called Magic Carpet who obtained the authorisation number and arranged for me to get the stamp in my passport in Istanbul. From the grant of the authorisation number i have 1 month to get to Istanbul and then 3 months to enter Iran.
http://www.magic-carpet-travel.com/ 01344 622832

Pakistan - there is a consulate in Glasgow where you can get the visa in one day. It's a 3 month visa and you must enter the country within 6 months of issue.
http://www.phclondon.org/HC/consulate.asp 0141 427 5755

India - this service has been outsourced to a company called VFS Global http://in.vfsglobal.co.uk/. Helpfully they have an office at 66 Hanover Buildings in Rose Street, Edinburgh 0131 226 3035. The Indian visa is valid for 6 months from date of issue.

Once all of that is sorted you just need to consider clothes and equipment.