When we first started talking about riding the South Carolina Adventure Route (SCAR), I was a little skeptical of choosing the mighty—but somewhat limited—Honda Trail 125. Adding to that, we planned to camp for a couple of nights. Going slow was one thing, but what about the extra space needed for the gear?
Over the winter, we only needed to make a few upgrades. As this is a dual sport tour, we decided on Shinko 244 tires. They’re cheap, readily available, and technically fit without having to raise the front fender. That said, we did add about two inches of height to our fenders, just to be on the safe side. That also meant repositioning the horn so it wouldn’t dent the fender when the springs compressed. These modifications were easy, though—the hard part was figuring out how to pack. Even with practice, the final packing didn’t happen until we loaded up in the parking lot of our launching point.
Leaving the Daily Grind
For Florian and I, the pavement ended soon after we said goodbye to his truck in Kings Mountain, NC. The green trees and red clay soil, scattered with mud puddles from last night’s rain, resembled tropical roads from another country. They reminded me of the Philippines. I was following Florian with what felt like 100 pounds of gear while scrolling through a mechanical checklist in my mind, like a Dakar racer scrolls a navigation wheel. Our pair of thoughtfully packed eighthorsepower Honda Trail 125s were eating it up as much as we were. Unlike Captain America in Easy Rider, could we survive more than 1,000 miles of the unknown in the heart of South Carolina?
Motorcycles & Gear
2022 Honda Trail 125
Helmet: Arai XD-4, Arai XD-5…