LD Hack-I am hearing more and more suggestions about taking a smaller bike, and they make perfect sense for south america. I don't think I could go as small as 250cc, but the DR650 seems to get a lot of recommendations for this type of trip and is starting to look appealing in some ways. One of my concerns going for a smaller or more dirt oriented bike is that I plan on getting across Canada and America quite quickly (2-3 weeks with some social stops) as I have seen most of it already and have plans to meet a friend in Mexico. After years of larger street bikes I am not sure that I would be satisfied with a smaller thumper "enduro/dirt" bike for the times when I will be spending days eating up the miles. But I also want the freedom to go "off the beaten path" lol. I want my cake and would like to eat it too, but maybe just not possible. To your point a lot of Gringos take much much bigger bikes (ex R2100GS), some of which I find insane, and while I am sure they have complaints and might do it differently next time, a lot of them make it.

I was hoping the Vstrom 650 would be a good compromise and allow some versatility while recognizing its limits (I am looking at suspension upgrade to assist with slightly more rougher stuff capabilities). I am definitely not planning on staying on the Pan AM the whole time, but also not planning on doing any serious single track type stuff that I know the Vstrom would not make it on. Anyone done it on this bike and agree/disagree? My other concern with something smaller is that weighed down with even a moderate amount of luggage it would negatively affect not only the "power" availability and fuel economy, but also the weight and offroad advantages that type of bike may have over a Vstrom?

I know there are a ton of other threads out there, but if anyone has an opinion (or even better an experience!) I would love to hear