Hi there,

I travelled on a XL600LM from Belgium to S-E-Asia for 1,5 years.And did some bad off-roads as well,and with 2 up.Didn't have major problems so far.I haven't been traveling in Africa,so can't help you on that part.I personally like my bike.Off course it has pro's and contra's.I shouldn't say poor starter as i didn't have any problems with it and even if you do,you still got a kick starter.Yes it is a single cilinder so it got some vibrations,so keep it in the high revs .I should change the sprocket ratio ,specially if you go off-roads.A big advantage is the 28 ltr tank.I use between 4 & 4,5 l/100km.So I've got a range of (+/-)550km without reserve.Anyway i like the bike although you don't see them a lot.As i've been in extreem heats i had problems with my cdi,which meant couldn't start it electric but it worked to kick it.Had a spare one so change it later.I also had to change the clutch plates,as we've been doing rough roades with 2 up.Another thing i like are the tubeless rims.On the whole way i got only 4 punctures(lucky i guess)BUT you don't have to get the whole wheel out to fix it.Takes about 10 min.Anyway,that's my experience.Others have maybe different ones.If you got any questions feel free to ask.I'll try to help as much as I can.
Cheers!