You must have been force yourself to compare these two bikes imho

A R80 GS and a HD ! . . . Quite similar by many ways, at least both are two wheeled ;-)

Cheers,

__________________
"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "

Hey man, they don't make twisty roads like 16 in Canada, eh, hoser?

__________________
Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

I am taking my HD Street Glide down in about 4 weeks. I have 25k on it now after purchasing in April of this year. I have done nothing but regular service and new rubber.
Been down dirt roads, pot hole filled roads, muddy roads, icy roads, animal filled roads, roads with fire on both sides of the lane and no visibility, roads filled with topes, roads with oil just layed on 'em, etc. When I run into these kinds of challenging roads, I slow way down, period. There have even been times when I had to pull over, and think out an approach. In Baja, San Quintin, I took what was advertised as a two mile dirt road to a hotel, (the road was actually about 6-10 miles), filled with pot holes, sections of sand, etc., it took me more than two hours, including a stop or two for a smoke, but I made it. The owner of the hotel told me I was mucho loco, and then proceeded to bring me six cold s in a bucket with some fresh shrimp and ceviche. During my smoke breaks, I took about 50 pics of beautiful blooming cactus, and met two local kids, who happened to be the deck hands on my fishing charter the next day. It was the most ruggedly beautiful 10 miles I have ever ridden.
Their is NO SUCH THING as the RIGHT BIKE. I do believe however there is the "RIGHT" mindset. Dont be afraid, trust and have confidence in yourself and the world around you, and you will be fine no matter what happens.
Hope to see you down the road!

Scary pic. Glad you lived to tell about it. I rode through fire on the mainland as I was heading to Guad. from the west. There was literally flames broiling up on both sides of the road and I couldn't see the front end of my bike for the smoke, for just about a half mile.
The above happened on my trip through Baja and Mexico, which also included my 10 mile dirt ride to, yep, the Old Mill, like this Old Mill right??
I do believe you, and the sign, are right about the mileage, just wasn't the mileage I rode. i do remember coming back out to the main road when I left however took me a lot less time...
I really liked that place and if I can get out of here in the next week or so, I just may head through Baja, and stop by the Old Mill, again, before heading to CA.
Cheers!

Taqueria I know.
Have a great ride!

__________________
Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

I have to echo what most everyone is saying... Know your bike's capabilities, know your own capabilities, and you can ride anything almost anywhere.

My fav pictures from Peter Forwood's site are of him riding his Electra Glide and FORDING RIVERS with it in Iceland.

After seeing that, I re-defined my concept of what could be done with a Harley touring bike.

That being said, if you're planning on taking a bike like mine (2006 HD Ultra Classic) into some of the rougher parts of the world, you need to be willing to say farwell to your bike's show-worthy shine and pristine chrome.

There's a price for leaving the nice smooth ribbon of black

Ride what you like at the end of the day its not a race but an experince. I got my nick name for traveling from Le Havle to Malaga in a day 22.30 hrs but on a bike for the job and was something i wanted to do.
I have taken my Harley all over Europe and down some right shite tracks to dead ends and sometimes the opposite. Its all about the experince and riding the pace you want to go at, to0 fast and you will miss something. With the HD i imagine you will end up staring in your own movie from the attention you will get.
Have a great trip and there has been some really good advice on this thread.
Steve

Just to keep the post going I will add my 2 cents.

Dan (the guy that started this post) should be to Fin Del Mundo about now as I passed him in Cali Columbia as I went north in Oct. I think he has a blog on here if anyone wants to check his progress.

IMHO as others have said anything can make it, met a rider on a 1943 Harley flat head heading south, he had already been on the road 14 months. But if I did it again it would be with something that I could get nobbies on. I rode 22,600 miles in South and Central America on a Buell XB12X and took it down four times, twice in mud and twice in loose gravel.

But after seeing the '43 HD making it I get the urge to prep my '53 Indian and see how far I can get.

So if you are buying a bike for the big trip, get one that will do it all, if you have a bike you like, just go for it.
Bob