Choosing an adventure bike!

[wetdog]

Well had a great day today. Checked out and rode a couple of bikes, the KLR650, DL1000, and a Versys.

I was shocked by the size of the KLR650, seemed as chunky as the Vstrom. I couldn't imagine taking it anywhere adventurous after looking at the dirt bikes in the store. A friendly chap came in the shop who had a KLR and assured me it was all good though.

However my eyes caught the Versys, bright red and quite lovely. Definitely not an adventure bike as you guys would say though
I really liked the handling of it too, and the little 650 motor seems very strong.

I also went to see our local Yamaha dealer who had a road legal WR450, which seemed perfect for the adventure! (Not sure where the luggage would go though) So I'm now thinking I'll need more than one bike. I think I gave up on bikes for a while as it was getting an expensive hobby.

So I'm kind of now thinking of a fun road bike like the Versys, and maybe later getting a more offroad orientated dual sport, i.e KTM or DR650. Either way I hope to have some wheels soon.

All the advice has been very useful, there's so much to choose from, so all opinions are great. Thankyou again!

[Moki]

Wetdog-
I think you'll find a large proportion of KBers actually have a shedfull of bikes...

[pete376403]

I was shocked by the size of the KLR650, seemed as chunky as the Vstrom. I couldn't imagine taking it anywhere adventurous after looking at the dirt bikes in the store.

Yeah it does look a little (!) fat, especially from alongside. But you don't ride it from alongside, and once you're in the saddle, the apparent bulk does seem less apparent.
No denying it is a heavy bitch when it lands on top of you, but all of the 650 and up adventure bikes are that. I stand in awe of the guys who ride the big BMWs off road.
Work out your ratio of road* /single track. Chances are your bike will spend most of its life on a road. If you can only have one bike then what you get might be best if it's suited *more* for the road. That works for me, anyway


*which is anything from motorway to a gravel backroad

[Winston001]

Get something light, a DR650 or KLR if you must for on-road comfort, but I'd urge you to start on something like a DRZ400/250 or XR400/250......

I'm no adventure rider but this advice struck me as very sound. Modern 250/400 isn't small in terms of power, but light, and lots of fun.

Work out your own definition of Adventure riding - for some people it's hard core single track, for others it's just minor back roads......

And more good advice. You won't know until you've done a year of varied riding so choose a popular bike which you can then upgrade from....gives you choices.

Here is a video comparison - might be of interest. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dreoYlnlVQw

Personally my adventure/trail riding has been confined to a TS 185 and the XR 200. Tiny bikes by todays standards but they still hurt me plenty. How people pick up/recover from accidents with 150 - 200kg adv bikes is beyond me. Heck, I broke my biceps tendon just holding the XR up when it fell sideways into a rut on a mountain track. (Charles Atlas I'm not.....)

[the vet]

if you liked the Versys, then you should also try the V-strom 650.....I did a lot of research before buying mine. I've had BMW 650 funduro, 1150GS, and a slew of dirt bikes for pure off road. My research suggested that many people feel the smaller V-strom is the preferred bike (as opposed to the 1000) for the type of riding you are describing.....I had a semi pro motocrosser and bike shop owner tell me flat out...."the 650 is the better bike".....an overgeneralized statement with which many will disagree, but point taken. What do I like about it?......relatively low cost, low maintenance, reliability, v-twin power (smoooth, low vibration), excellent range (over 400km when I pushed it, and still didn't run out---I put 18 liters in stock tank when I last filled up) and fuel economy. I just did 8000+ km touring NZ for 2 months....mostly tarmac, but gravel, dirt and even some 4WD track....very happy with the performance of the bike. There really is no one bike that can do it all, you really need to identify how you'll most be using the bike...and then get other ones for the other stuff. In my dream garage I'd have 5 bikes...

Bear in mind also that if you are just getting back into it, then you'll be lucky to find your perfect bike straight away....so you might want to factor economy and potential for resale into the bike you purchase. If you end up loving being on a bike again, your bound to be looking for something else sooner than later. Conversely, if it doesn't suit you, you won't be taking a big loss when you re-sell.

[wetdog]

if you liked the Versys, then you should also try the V-strom 650.....I did a lot of research before buying mine. I've had BMW 650 funduro, 1150GS, and a slew of dirt bikes for pure off road. My research suggested that many people feel the smaller V-strom is the preferred bike (as opposed to the 1000) for the type of riding you are describing.....I had a semi pro motocrosser and bike shop owner tell me flat out...."the 650 is the better bike".....an overgeneralized statement with which many will disagree, but point taken. What do I like about it?......relatively low cost, low maintenance, reliability, v-twin power (smoooth, low vibration), excellent range (over 400km when I pushed it, and still didn't run out---I put 18 liters in stock tank when I last filled up) and fuel economy. I just did 8000+ km touring NZ for 2 months....mostly tarmac, but gravel, dirt and even some 4WD track....very happy with the performance of the bike. There really is no one bike that can do it all, you really need to identify how you'll most be using the bike...and then get other ones for the other stuff. In my dream garage I'd have 5 bikes...

Bear in mind also that if you are just getting back into it, then you'll be lucky to find your perfect bike straight away....so you might want to factor economy and potential for resale into the bike you purchase. If you end up loving being on a bike again, your bound to be looking for something else sooner than later. Conversely, if it doesn't suit you, you won't be taking a big loss when you re-sell.

The Wee-strom was what got me started thinking about an adventure bike, it seemed perfect at the time. As I researched about adventure riding I found out about all the other options depending on where you wanted to go. So that's when I found these forums and debates on bikes, such as the KLR/DR...

I really wanted to try out a Wee but couldnt find any locally. Only the DL1000, which was great but did seem big. The Wee is apparently the same size, but more nimble. When I tried the Versys (which I see as Kawasaki's answer to the Wee) it seemed a much easier to handle size, slow maneouvres were so easy, considering the long break I've had from biking.

On the resale point, good advice. The Versys if I get one should appeal to people by it's very nature I hope. Versatility, easy handling, new rider friendly, looks etc.. So maybe a trade or sale should be easier than a more focussed bike.

Either that or a garage extension might be inevitable

[Padmei]

On the resale point, good advice. The Versys if I get one should appeal to people by it's very nature I hope. Versatility, easy handling, new rider friendly, looks etc.. So maybe a trade or sale should be easier than a more focussed bike.

Either that or a garage extension might be inevitable

But compared to KLRs how many are on the road? How popular are they really? For resale value they in a way are competing with more bikes as they are essentially road bikes vs an 'adventure bike'.

Nice bikes but I think if you want to take a versy on gravel you'd be worried about stone chips etc.

[NordieBoy]

Nice bikes but I think if you want to take a versy on gravel you'd be worried about stone chips etc.

You'd only be worried the first time...

[warewolf]

Versys aren't very well made, from what I've seen. A close inspection of a crash-damaged one showed metals as tough as cheese, flimsy parts, rusty & stripping bolts on a young bike, etc, etc. Don't know if this is symptomatic of all modern bikes in the class, but this one did not give any impressions of being in the least bit durable.

I kinda like the idea of the soft or quasi adventure bikes like stroms, the versys, tiger, tdm etc as an all-purpose bike for the kind of tight crappy roads we get in NZ. They've got so many advantages over a pure street bike which is really designed for fast smooth roads.

[Woodman]

Go for a ride or even a drive in the country.
If you find yourself constantly turning to look up sideroads/tracks, get a DR/KLR .
If the sidetracks don't interest you get a versys or a weestrom.

If you have a trailer get the WR.

Simple

[pete376403]

I think the Versys would be a better adventure bike if it had a larger front wheel. They've certainly got the motor for it - friend had an ER6n which is a similar motor, went bloody well for a 650.

Versys motor in KLR could be good.

[Woodman]

Versys motor in KLR could be good.[/QUOTE]

ARE YOU LISTENING KAWASAKI?????

[Winston001]

What surprises me is the Versys and the VStrom 650 are both about 220kg wet. That is a helluva lot of weight. Its about the same as my Duke. Not something you'd want to put down on a 4wd track.

Are there light adventure bikes?

[Woodman]

What surprises me is the Versys and the VStrom 650 are both about 220kg wet. That is a helluva lot of weight. Its about the same as my Duke. Not something you'd want to put down on a 4wd track.

Are there light adventure bikes?

getting philisophical here but:

What is an adventure bike???

[Eddieb]

Buy MARKS' KLR, it's mint and will give you give good road manners for touring and if you are new to adventure riding then the KLR is likely to be a lot better than you are.

No insult intended but I've done a few rides now with others riding them and they just go over or through everything. Stable, competent and never out of shape, and cheap if you drop it. Unless you intend on doing a lot of fast and furious trail/off-road style riding or really narrow single track they seem to do eveything you want.