Which trail bike bike is the best for my adventure?

[fleebag4@]

I'm thinking of doing a 2-3 month ride with the final destination to either be through Asia (Might start in Japan) or around Europe and North Africa doing a loop back to London. Both offer totally different types of terrain though i want a bike that can take the lot as it will be used for both. Now the thing is, what bike!! I can do a basic service and thats it! So it has to be reliable and easy to fix. I've watched and read many bike travel books with almot most of them riding BMW's (Most got them sponsored by BM) along with the odd crazy guy on a R1 and a few DR650's. I've got a couple years of road riding under me and my partner will have about years experience when we plan to do the trip on June 2011.KTM is mean't to be very good, but for some reason it isn't up there. Can anyone tell me what they think of the bikes below. Oh other bikers welcomed.

Yamaha XT1200 - New, so tempted to say i can test it out
KTM 990 Adventure - No idea whats wrong with this
BMW 1200GS - Every tom dick and harry rides ones though i think it's more cause of the Long Way Round
Suzuki DR650 - Basic easy going bike that some have used to good effect
Suzuki v Strom 650 or 1000 - Think this may not take the hard stuff

Might be cheeky and do the Europe/North Africa trip on a bike bought from ebay uk to save on costs.

[Squiggles]

Post in the Adv forum. I'd pick a DR650 or KLR650. Also worth looking at what others have used over on advrider but expect alot of brand allegiance.

[fleebag4@]

Which Trail bike to take on the world?
I'm thinking of doing a 2-3 month ride with the final destination to either be through Asia (Might start in Japan) or around Europe and North Africa doing a loop back to London. Both offer totally different types of terrain though i want a bike that can take the lot as it will be used for both. Now the thing is, what bike!! I can do a basic service and thats it! So it has to be reliable and easy to fix. I've watched and read many bike travel books with almot most of them riding BMW's (Most got them sponsored by BM) along with the odd crazy guy on a R1 and a few DR650's. I've got a couple years of road riding under me and my partner will have about years experience when we plan to do the trip on June 2011.KTM is mean't to be very good, but for some reason it isn't up there. Can anyone tell me what they think of the bikes below. Oh other bikers welcomed.

Yamaha XT1200 - New, so tempted to say i can test it out
KTM 990 Adventure - No idea whats wrong with this
BMW 1200GS - Every tom dick and harry rides ones though i think it's more cause of the Long Way Round
Suzuki DR650 - Basic easy going bike that some have used to good effect
Suzuki v Strom 650 or 1000 - Think this may not take the hard stuff

Might be cheeky and do the Europe/North Africa trip on a bike bought from ebay uk to save on costs.

[fleebag4@]

Have done, thanks.

I'm expecting everyone to say BMW though i think it's more cause of the marketing. Didn't think the KL650 would hack the tough roads :0

[Devil]

Every tom dick and harry has a GS because they have a fantastic rep which pre-dates the long way round (and down).

[kevfromcoro]

Sort of how long is a piece of string post.....
You have nearlly a year to decide.. and will probably change your mind a dozen times.
All the bikes metioned are great for the trip.. duno about the v-strom 1000.. but the 650 is an excerlent bike......
you also mentioned that your partner will be riding with you,
I take it its a lady.......
I would stick to the lighter stuff...
Cant go wrong with a couple of DR 650s.....

[Devil]

If you want a bike that'll do mega road miles (whether thats dirt, gravel or seal) you cant go past a GS.
If you think you're going to get dodgier than that, i'd consider a midsized bike. DR has a good rep.

I have a 1200GS Adventure and it'll just eat the miles, it can also take a metric shitload of luggage. However! It is also a gigantic bike. If you're going anywhere dodgy you'll realise very quick how heavy they can be to pick up

Out of the big boys, the KTM990 does offroad better it seems, but the GSA is better on road.

DL650 strom is a great midsized bike too.

Whats your riding experience and how big are you?

[fleebag4@]

I'm 1.8 with 80 kilo's to log around and my partner is smaller, so she'll get a 650 of some sort.

I just feel BMW have more bikes on the road as they seem to sponsor loads of people and i don't really have the cash for one and intersted to try something new like a KTM whihc i have no idea about. I hav no brand loyalty and this is an area of biking i have no idea epscially since i'll be in the "bush" with no one around to help me fix anything.

I would never of thought Kawasaki until someone mentioned it. This video is great and i like the set up of the panniers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf1dbdNJMSc

[Devil]

Trust me, people buy GS's because they're great bikes. 990 owners are generally pretty stoked with their bikes too. You wouldn't go wrong with either.

BUT, as I mentioned, depends on the terrain and how comfortable you are with large bikes.

[fleebag4@]

Thanks for your input and i'm comfortable under any bike after a couple km's.

I'll stick up a post later on to see who's keen to show me around punctures and any other bike maintenance that may need doing on the roads.

Europe will be mostly road though i'll do the rough stuff in Asia going through China , Mongolia and most of the old Russian blocks before maybe heading down India home.

Thanks again

[Eddieb]

Buy his n hers DR or KLR 650's. They will do everything competently, maybe just not as fast and smooth on the tarmac as the bigger bikes but better when you really need it on the rougher stuff unless you are an accomplished rider off road, and from your comments above neither of you have any off road experience.

If you are going offroad, especially in Asia where the bush can be thick and very wet the big bikes will be a real pain unless you are a competent rider off road on 250-300kg of machine, because with a full tank of gas and luggage thats how much it's going to weigh.

The 650 singles are a lot less complicated that the other bikes on your list, given your self confessed level of mechanical knowledge. The advantage of taking 2 bikes the same is that you can remove a lot of duplication with spares and tools that occurs with 2 different bikes, and if your partner is riding slower than you then you are only going to be traveling her speed anyway so the extra capacity and performance is wasted and will just be a burden in energy usage, both your own and in fuel consumption.

[Devil]

Thanks for your input and i'm comfortable under any bike after a couple km's.

Best to stay on top of the thing, eh!

For simplicities sake, i'd probably go matching DR's as eddie said.

[clint640]

Not yet another which bike thread.

Buy his n hers DR or KLR 650's. They will do everything competently, maybe just not as fast and smooth on the tarmac as the bigger bikes but better when you really need it on the rougher stuff unless you are an accomplished rider off road, and from your comments above neither of you have any off road experience.
.

Go on, we love 'which bike' threads!

But yeah, x2 on the above. The big twin cylinder machines are better suited for those going 2-up & taking easier roads. Yes, people do take the R1200GSA's etc to gnarly places but they are generally quite good riders. Besides, if you are looking at 2 new bikes a couple well set up DR650's would be around $25K, a couple of 990's or R1200's would be $50K+

If your missus is small go for the DR650, they're lower & lighter than the KLR. Plan to put on a bigger tank (DR only), decent handlebars, re do the seat & amp up the suspension to handle the load.

But that shouldn't stop ya test riding everything on your list. Have fun.

Cheers
Clint

PS it's a Trail bike you need, not a Trial bike - Trials bikes have no seat & a 2L tank making them sub-optimal for RTW touring :-)

[trustme]

Kawi KLR 650 should be near the top of your list. I don't own one , I'm not biased

Simple ,reliable, good sized tank, lots of farkles & mods available to improve them, proven time & again. You are not after performance or amazing handling, just a bike that is easy & non tiring to ride at moderate speeds on any road in any condition with good reliability.

[Crasherfromwayback]

Suzuki DR650 - Basic easy going bike that some have used to good effect

Mate...I can do you an awesome deal on either a new or a used DR650. You can't go wrong with one of them.

Pete