Which adventure bike for me? Advice from tour/hire operators?

[JATZ]

Have you already rebuilt your engine due to third gear exploding, or are you still waiting for that pleasure??

Your a nasty bit of work mr Werewolf

[warewolf]

Your a nasty bit of work mr Werewolf

People in glass houses... etc.

[The Baron]

My 2 cents.
V Strom 650 - new under $15,000
BMW 650 gs - new under $15,000

I have a 650 gs but only because I,m a short bastard and its a lower bike. Nothing wrong with V Stroms.

[dmc]

V strom. Who are the ktm crowd kidding... reliable and low servicing costs?

My Adventure isn't expensive to service, if you do it yourself then there's no reason for it to be an issue, I know alot of guys with Adventures and as long as they are serviced they are pretty bullet proof so I'd say they would be classed as reliable.

I wouldn't take a V strom on half the stuff you can take a KTM thats for sure.

[rocketman1]

You'll be after any of the big road touring bikes dressed up as off-roaders: Suzuki VeeStrom, Triumph Tiger, BMW R1xxxGS, Honda Varadero-dear-oh-dear, Yamaha TDM, that kind of thing. Price, comfort, handling, reliability, costs: all vary subjectively. Luggage, power & metal road ability for all is adequate/sufficient. Buy the one that lights your fire.

Be aware that said bike will be hardly any better "off road" on metalled roads than a road bike, and adventure is addictive. Chances are, you will soon be after something smaller, less roadie and more off-road capable to do much gnarlier and interesting terrain!

The Suzuki Vee Strom seems to be winning the battle here, I like the idea of a R1150GS but are worried about servicing costs.
I feel the KTM's are a bit off road biased for my liking.
Transalp 700 OK but I feel 700cc would be a bit gutless, especially for two up, only my guess I dont really know.
Triumph Tigers? Hmmm dont know enough about them.
R1200GS I said $15K not $30K, but very nice all the same, are they worth the $10k more (secondhand) maybe???
One issue I didnt mention was depreciation, seems BMW's lose 40% of their price in the first 30,000km, not sure about $15000 models.
Took a Varadero for a test run, big bike , Im 5'10" and struggled to touch the ground with both feet, wide seats the problem, plenty of power, but didnt really feel comfortable to me.

[warewolf]

700cc v-twin gutless? Only if you don't use the gearbox.

If you're gonna spend $15K for a super-trailie you should learn about the Tigers. Solid bikes, and the only triple in the pack. Torque of a twin with the power of a 4.

R1xxxGS includes R100GS, R1100GS, R1150GS and the 12; the latter likely not in your price range, but plenty others to choose from.

All the litre-class bikes feel big and imposing, partly 'cos they're tall in the saddle. If you want big wheels, more ground clearance, and longer suspension travel than a road bike, then the seat is gonna be northwards, too. Some people don't give a rats, others aren't happy unless they have both feet flat on the ground with knees bent. At 5'10" you are less disadvantaged than most.

[NordieBoy]

People in glass houses...

Can't get broadband?

[Monstaman]

All the litre-class bikes feel big and imposing, partly 'cos they're tall in the saddle. If you want big wheels, more ground clearance, and longer suspension travel than a road bike, then the seat is gonna be northwards, too. Some people don't give a rats, others aren't happy unless they have both feet flat on the ground with knees bent. At 5'10" you are less disadvantaged than most.

Good post warewolf, pretty much sums its up, bigger capacity = heavier and usually taller.

Can't get broadband?

my mum warned me about boys like you

[Aslan]

Rocketman - I think warewolf's post pretty well sums it up. I have an 1150GS great 'any road' machine including forest trails /logging roads used a lot by round the world travellers - have great longevity and service intervals IMO make servicing costs acceptable. Great two up machine with superb carrying capacity. However, for me they are too heavy to be a serious adventure bike and the 19" front wheel can be limiting in deep gravel windrows like those in the Hakataramea. I have ridden both a 1200GS (lighter) and a KTM950 - felt far more confident / competent on the Katoom than I do on my Bimmer.

For the reasons warewolf outlines above is why I have a DR650 - should have bought one long ago - perfect bike for my skill / confidence level.

Cheers Aslan

You'll be after any of the big road touring bikes dressed up as off-roaders: Suzuki VeeStrom, Triumph Tiger, BMW R1xxxGS, Honda Varadero-dear-oh-dear, Yamaha TDM, that kind of thing. Price, comfort, handling, reliability, costs: all vary subjectively. Luggage, power & metal road ability for all is adequate/sufficient. Buy the one that lights your fire.

Be aware that said bike will be hardly any better "off road" on metalled roads than a road bike, and adventure is addictive. Chances are, you will soon be after something smaller, less roadie and more off-road capable to do much gnarlier and interesting terrain!

[barrie]

You can get alot of bike for under $15,000. My workmate has tiger which he loves,it still runs tight and totally reliable at 110k"s. How about an Africa twin, you can get a mint one for less than 8k, sometimes less power is better offroad and you can onsell it easily if adventure riding does'nt live up to your expectations.If height is a problem you can usually lower the suspension fairly easily. I lowered my Tenere by 30mm and it was just about right ( i'm 5'9")
Just my two cents worth anyway. Cheers

[Panzerkampfwagen VI]

second hand xt660z on trademe........

[thepom]

i did the dusty butt last week and after falling off my xt600 countless times I rode with a fella called john on a tiger 955i through one of our "technical " sections and he was a little slower than us due to the weight and maybe the 19 inch front wheel or maybe because it was so bloody new looking but it showed me that no matter what bike your riding its all down to plain skill level( of which he had an abundance of)
. I also rode wth alfie through the orari pass and he was on an older carbie bmw 650 gs and he had lower gearing but at 200 kgs with fue l he pissed all over my xt600!. All these bikes are quite heavy but if you have a high skill level off road adventuring will never be a problem.
I,ve had 2 gs650 ,s and now on my second xt600 but I also have an africa twin which would be my choice if all the mods required have been done to ensure the reliability( fuel pump,reg/rec,check on splined drive shaft etc...) so really the choice is yours.

After watching john do the technical section I would plump for the triumph tiger kmy mate has one and its comfortable,massive tank range,reliable and not as expensive as your beemers or ktm,s and there are one or two on trade me at a good price.
I took a suzi v strom 650 and the 1000 for a ride and ruled them both out as one is underpowered and the other for the insane buffeting I got from the standard screen( more money needed for an aftermarket screen!)

Hope you find what your looking and enjoy this lovely country like I am ....and look up the dusty butt route and some of it if you have time!

http://www.advroutes.org.nz/ bottom right of the page.....