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Which Bike? Comments and Questions on what is the best bike for YOU, for YOUR trip. Note that we believe that ANY bike will do, so please remember that it's all down to PERSONAL OPINION. Technical Questions for all brands go in their own forum.
Photo by Hendi Kaf, in Cambodia

I haven't been everywhere...
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Photo by Hendi Kaf,
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  #1  
Old 3 Aug 2013
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Change of bike
Hi guys,
Ok just got back from my first long distance trip doing nearly 4000 miles in 3 weeks around Europe on a suzuki bandit 1250. Trip was fantastic except for one thing....petrol! My bandit seemed to drink petrol at a massive rate and so I have come to the decision that next long distance trip will have to be made on another bike. I've narrowed it down to two choices: bmw 1200gs or the ktm 990 adventure. I was just wondering if anyone had advice on which too choose or other ideas. As I carry a pillion obviously it needs to have plenty of punch.
Cheers
Jon
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  #2  
Old 13 Aug 2013
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Both makes of bike you mention are top-shelf performers BUT they don't always do things any better than other cheaper alternatives.

Depends how big your wallet is.

There are many other bikes which would tick all your boxes costing considerably less than German made bikes.

In fact your current Bandit must appear in the list of alternatives. The numbers sold bear this out.

What about a British alternative? The Triumph Tiger springs to mind here.
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Old 13 Aug 2013
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If you are only making a journey of this length once a year I would buy the bike that gives you most riding pleasure and swallow the price paid for petrol, that might include keeping the Suzuki.
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Old 13 Aug 2013
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That's good advice Mark.

Why waste your money. The Bandit is an awesomely good multi-purpose bike. They do everything well and the engine is bulletproof.

You get an awful lot for your money with a Bandit. The Bandit is probably THE best all rounder there is. Can't think of a bike which is so cheap but gives the same level of usefulness (if you know what I mean)?

Ever tried riding slower to increase economy? Put it in top gear and plod along at 60MPH should give you 50MPG plus. It will save you heaps of money not just in fuel but in rear tyres too (have heard they can eat tyres at an alarming rate with their massive torque).
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  #5  
Old 14 Aug 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Porkpie_jon View Post
Hi guys,
Ok just got back from my first long distance trip doing nearly 4000 miles in 3 weeks around Europe on a suzuki bandit 1250. Trip was fantastic except for one thing....petrol! My bandit seemed to drink petrol at a massive rate and so I have come to the decision that next long distance trip will have to be made on another bike. I've narrowed it down to two choices: bmw 1200gs or the ktm 990 adventure. I was just wondering if anyone had advice on which too choose or other ideas. As I carry a pillion obviously it needs to have plenty of punch.
Cheers
Jon
And what was this "massive rate", and under what riding conditions?? That's an FI engine made to fit Euro3-emission norms, and it does not have a reputation for being very thirsty. Making modifications could also affect consumption.

All large capacity engines can sip a little fuel, if you keep the throttle wide open, though.
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  #6  
Old 14 Aug 2013
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Damn, I've heard this question before, somewhere!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pecha72 View Post
And what was this "massive rate", and under what riding conditions?? That's an FI engine made to fit Euro3-emission norms, and it does not have a reputation for being very thirsty. Making modifications could also affect consumption.

All large capacity engines can sip a little fuel, if you keep the throttle wide open, though.
Pecha,
Maybe you have had a deja vu moment similar to mine!

Anyway, my 2 pence worth was posted here:-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ich-bike-71567
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  #7  
Old 14 Aug 2013
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Take one thing in account, if your bike use let's say 8lt/100km and your new bike will use 5lt/100km (to be optimistic), so you will save 3l/100km.

How many kilometers do you drive a year? Let's say 20'000km (which is a lot already), so you will save 600l of fuel, so aprox 1000$.

Now doesn't matter which bike you will buy, the price of the new bike will be what? A GS or KTM around 16'000$ to 20'000$...

You can see that you will not save money by buying a new bike, even if it use less than half the fuel of the old one.

I think the only good reason to change bike it because you want to try something else. There is nothing wrong about it. I change bike all the time, not because I need to, or because I am unhappy with it, but because I like to change and try different bikes.

I you want to save money by saving fuel, you can start saving by buying a very cheap second hand bike, and with the money saved you will be able to ride for years even if it burns more fuel.

my advice....
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