Originally Posted by
MD
So my annual road ride around the South Island is going gravel next year-finally. Looking at heading down the Molesworth, soak in Hanmer Springs then up Rainbow then find somewhere else in that area. I have wanted to explore the dirt/coastal Wairarapa roads for years so the time has arrived for a bike fit for the purpose.
Q= what bike to get. I know hardened folk can do these roads on standard road bikes but I want to enjoy going off road, not stressed.
Yesterday I test road the BMW F850GS Ad., the Africa Twin and Tiger XCA. Outcome- undecided? Prices were all about $23k so that's not a deciding factor.
My conundrum is I don't really want to have 2 bikes in the garage. No room and paying rego/insurance twice puts me off. So that means finding a road & dirt compromised bike.
One option though is I get the Kawasaki Versys 300X new for only $7400 now and go with keeping the MT09 for road. Lower rego for 300X and youtube reviews are mostly positive for it's road and gravel manners, albeit with 39hp. Then again for dirt roads that's ample. I have fond memories as a teen tackling all sorts of rough hills, rivers, beaches and whatever we could explore on SL125, XL125, 175 and 250. Don't recall ever moaning about needing more power.
I find the Triumph triples a tad bland and that's how the 800 felt. Same with the Honda. It was the silly automatic version but still I got no 'thrill' sensation opening the throttle up. The Africa won best looking.
The F850 surprised me. With a smooth quickshifter it seems to race from the lights 1st,2nd 3rd, & 4th gear in seconds to losing your licence. I guess what I'm saying is it did put a smile on my face, where the others didn't. Getting back on my MT09 was an unfair comparison because it's a surprise rocket of an engine punching above it's claimed 115hp. All three were taller than I would like when throwing my leg over. Guess I'm average height, maybe under that. 850 won the flash dash by miles and techno war. Up/down quickshifter, dyna pro blah blah riding modes (a bit OTT for me). The 850 had knobbly/dirt orientated tyres which may explain why it was reluctant to change direction, drop into corners on seal compared to the other two.
I need to ride a Versys first to see if I could live with 39hp riding along the seal in search of dirt. - none around, bugger.
The KTM 790 Adv. was in store at TSS but I didn't ask to ride it. I can't get past that face only a mother could love.
I'm leaning towards the F850GS so far. early days, no rush.
Comments & opinions welcome.
my wife has a 750, she was happier with the more road focused suspension and wheels and the lower ride height. Its a lovely bike to ride but am not sure why they detuned the (same) engine from the 850. The Tiger 800 was considered by Mrs UK at the time but coming off an R1200RS she liked the fact the controls were the same as she has been using for the last few years, while giving her the upright riding position and confidence on gravel she wanted. That and the BMW dealer showed a lot more interest than the Triumph folks in getting her what she needed/wanted. The F850 is peach, it has the fun factor the F800 was a wee bit short on.
Life is not measured by how many breaths you take, but how many times you have your breath taken away
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