Right, yet another what bike thread I know and it's also my first time posting but after an awful lot of lurking n researching I'm stumped and was hoping to pick the brains of some more knowledgable folk than myself.


To give some background I have ridden all sorts of bikes over the years in Europe and Asia, done mongolia on a little Chinese 150 cc and route 66 on a big Harley but have been bike less for a little while. I will be using the bike mostly for European touring, say 8000 miles a year on average almost exclusively on Tarmac but also plan to go to morroco or similar off road type destinations at least once a year.

Now ideally I would get two bikes, a proper comfy mile eating tourer, decent wind protection, shaft drive etc... and a more off road focused lightweight bike but funds and more importantly garage space limit me to just the one bike.

I had been thinking maybe a pan European 1100 or similar (worried about it being a but heavy maybe?) and something like a suzuki dr650 (rare as hens teeth in uk) or klr650 (bit high for me maybe as only 5ft7") for the off road trips. But as I said I'm only allowed one.

My budget is around £3000 with a little extra for upgrading but am really struggling on which direction to go.

Africa twin ?
Gs1150 ? (too big an cumbersome for morroco, not great mpg...)
Transalp?


What I really want (the impossible dream perhaps!) is something not crazy heavy, that does decent mpg, is reliable and workable on myself, that is comfy touring on the motorway and has some capability off road. The more I look the more I seem to go in circles.

Any thoughts?

How about something like this? not an off the peg bike but an easy conversion and seems to meet your criteria.


http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...erlander-66506


And welcome!

Suzuki DL650 V-Strom or Kawasaki Versys ? Should be a few around within your budget.

for 90% road/10% off road for your budget id seriously have a look at a 650 V Strom. The KLR and DR are more dirt oriented machines, while you can do big road miles on a thumper they are not ideal. The Transalp would be another option for sure if you are spending more time on asphalt.


You definitely need at least 4 motorcycles

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Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

Another fan of the DL650 Suzuki V-Strom ... if you can find one within your budget. 8K miles a year of mostly tarmac points to a more road based bike.

The "Wee Strom" can do dirt pistes if equipped with the right tires ... but never confuse it with a Dakar racer. But tires do make a big difference. It's a tough bugger too (within reason). Hard to break and easy to maintain.

Also consider a nice Yamaha Tenere' or the other 660 dual sport ... (I don't know the designation ... but it's a dual sport bike much like the Tenere' but less money and lighter weight too)

That DR650 posted earlier looks good ... I'm sure it's sold, but worth a look. The DR650 is the bike I have and mine has been great, done plenty of long highway rides averaging 75 mph. (55K miles, no issues). Solid.

A good seat is the key to riding any thumper long distance. DR650 is good off road too ... and like most Suzuki's ... reliable and easy to maintain. I'm sure those Yamaha's are nearly as good and with some fettling ... better.

The DL650 is not lightweight, but not crazy heavy either, gets good mpg, is reliable & workable (except they built the goddamn machine around its air filter!!), is very comfy for motorways considering it is “only” a 650, and if you´re a good rider, and have the right tyres, can go surprisingly far outside the tarmac. But this means mostly dirt ROADS – make no mistake, it is closer to a street bike, than a dirt bike. A DR650 would be MUCH more enjoyable for any true off-road, that´s where a DL650 is just too top-heavy. Just look at the frames of these two machines, and you´ll understand, why the other one wins on the highways, the other one in the bushes.

A Transalp would be a good suggestion, too, but all versions, except the last 700cc, were carburated. For me, FI is a plus nowadays (but I´m not saying the good old Tranny is not a proven overlander, of course it is). Africa Twins seem to cost a premium almost everywhere compared to the Transalp. And they are getting old now (the model was discontinued in 2003).

Mike: props to you for that gs500, that's some effort you've put in, looks ace!

Gripper: we ALL need at least 4 motorcycles haha

Mollydog: totally agree a good seat is one of the most important considerations. Must admit I'm wry tempted after feedback from here n elsewhere with the vstrom...

Pecha: I've heard about the dr650 being built around its filter, crazy Japanese engineers! Gotta say in leaning away from the dr650 after scouring the web and finding so few available in the uk.



So after much bleary eyes reasearch overnight and from responses above I think I've narrowed it down to three choices:

V strom 650: cheap, reliable, fairly capable off road with some light modding. Comfortable a motorway speeds and frugal

Bmw f650gs: in budget, not to comfy but easy to upgrade seat n windscreen, more capable off road than the v strom but slightly more vibration than the vstrom at motorway speeds. Heard conflicting reports on reliability....this is a big issue for me as while I am happy to do most all servicing myself I want as little to go wrong when I am on tour as possible.

Left field choice: bmw r80gs/st, might be a but difficult getting one in budget but easy to work on and very reliable, capable on and off road. Does anyone have any experience with long distance motorway touring on them? Love the idea if getting something a bit older and more interesting but not if it's going to be uncomfortable on long motorway yomps!

What do we think?

On the above choices F650GS gets my vote but then it's the only one of the 3 above I've actually owned.
I found it quite comfy but it's still a lump off road and gravel roads would be the most I'd want to ride it on.
But there again put some enduro God on the thing and it'll will fly even on the most gnarly of tracks.
Not too tall, weight is OK at 175kg dry, 70 mpg and a tank range of 225+ miles is all good.

And edit ** I didn't find any vibration at motorway speeds.
Reliability. Mine was fine but you'll always find conflicting reports on this subject.
Also bear in mind that people are far more likely to go to great lengths to report problems than they will about reliability.

I suspect you've already found this site but just in case you haven't - http://f650.com/forum/forum.php
and this site by NB, whoever he may be, hasn't been updated for a while but still makes for interesting reading - http://www.f650.us

Just about any bike will do- with £3K to spend you have plenty of choice. My feeling is go for something at £2.5K and spend the rest on decent suspension.

And if you're only going 10% off road an 1150GS will be fine IMHO- it's a big comfortable bike as I'm sure you know, but a bit heavy when the going gets really tough, but perfect for gravel roads. Others will disagree, probably violently.

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another vote for the bmw 650,
i did allot of research into finding my travel bike with similar needs to yours, but with a 2000 pound budget.
anyways, i did a 10000 mile euro trip on mine last year, and i'm currently on another open ended eurotrip on it.

my big concerns were
- MPG, which its one of the best
- comfort, i'm used to enduros, so the f650 is very comfy to me.
- reliability, the engine has been perfect so far, and its hit 44000 miles now, with at least 20000 of those from me in the 2 years i've had it.
- power, it doesnt have to be fast, just keep up with traffic loaded up and often 2 up.

my 2001 bmw ticks all those boxes with some nifty little extras (heated grips and ABS)
but with your buget you could get a later, twinspark one, that does better on fuel.

gripes with the bike;
- its ugly
- its not very fast
- rear wheel bearings dont last long.
- no low end grunt

it will certainly handle the dirt if needs be, just dont expect too much from it, with my skill level (not much) the bmw and klr were pretty even on some bouldery dirt roads. my xr600 was better of course.

i was tempted to go for a 125 this time, for the hectic good mpg's, but the drawbacks were too many.

feel free to ask if you want any more info from me.

My F650GS twin is more than capable of your 90% road, 10% off road.
Although I'd say it was more to do with your skills and as Molly said, tyres and the general set up. Nick Sanders has ridden an R1 around the world.

My 2008 bike is for sale @£3k, you'll find it on eBay, a lovely blue one with lots of extras:
BMW F650GS (800 Twin) | eBay

They're extremely economical and will eat up big miles. I use a wrist thingy on the throttle which makes it really easy to cruise distances.

__________________
Elaine

Striving to live the ordinary life in a non ordinary way

Below is my friend Carolyn's BMW 800 twin (F650 or 700?) Carolyn is the sales manager at one of the busiest BMW dealers in California, so she can ride any bike she wants.

Of course her first choice is her Suzuki DR650! (don't tell the boss!). She sold her R1200GS for the DR650.

But she wanted something more touring oriented ... and for her, of all the bikes she could pick (Triumph's too) ... she picked the F650 twin. I swapped out with her on this ride, rode the bike for an hour or so. She took over riding my 1050 Tiger. Too tall and heavy for her ... she was not happy with the Tiger.

I loved the F650. Good handler, modest but OK power, good suspension, smooth at 80 mph. Stable. Modest braking compared to superbike braking of my 1050 Tiger. (radial mount calipers)

But overall a very nice bike. I liked it's modest seat height and light feel. Feels much lighter than the F800GS. Under rated bike for reasonable cost. (especially in UK or EU where BMW's are CHEAPER than here in USA) We pay consistently about 25% more ... yet Japanese bikes are 40% cheaper than UK/EU. Go figure.


Ignore the large Zoo animal on the Ducati Multi on the right!

Sorry BMW guys, but there is no way those F-650s are better than a V-Strom 650. For The riding you describe, there is no better bike, full stop. The 2012 is better than the earlier ones but might not be in your budget. They are around your budget here in the US but I think your bike prices are higher so you'll have to do with an older one.

Change the oil, throw some slippery stuff on the chain from time to time and ride the thing until you get tired of it. Don't bother to pack tools on your rides 'cause you won't need them.

Oh, yes I do love my 2012 V-Strom

Mine at the HU Maritimes meet in Nova Scotia