Which 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

My brother has a GSX1250F with the same engine, and it's not very thirsty at all. Is your intake/exhaust or fuel injection modified from stock (in that case it could explain high consumption)? And how much does it consume in what riding conditions BTW?

The tour you describe would suit a Suzuki 650 V-Strom or it's big brother the 1000 V-Strom.

Apparently it's easy to get up to 70 MPG from the smaller one?

The little V-Strom is becoming very popular among HUBB riders for very good reason - economy. Many owners rate the 650cc model above the 1000cc model.

Their running costs are low in every respect and the engine is a real peach. Bulletproof reliable too.

If I wasn't so in love with single cylinder thumpers, I would look at getting one too.

The 650 model is all day comfy and has the power to pull rider and pillion or rider and luggage. I presume the 1000cc model will do it all?

Compare the cost of a V-Strom to an expensive BMW or KTM.

Your Bandit has bags of torque and that's the reason why it's so juicy. They can eat rear tyres for breakfast. That said, they have a HUGE following here on the HUBB for very good reason - a bulletproof engine that will tolerate being abused. The Bandit is pretty cheap for what you get.

I can't quite get my head round the fact some cars now do 80 MPG whereas motorcycles can only return 40 MPG. It doesn't make any sense to me bearing in mind power to weight ratios?

I get about 55 MPG (UK) out of my 990 Adv, riding enthusiastically but not at excessive speed (I much prefer acceleration to outright speed nowadays). The best figure I got between fillings, on a recent 1200 mile trip, was 60 and the worst was 52.
The tanks (there are two) will return a range of about 170-180 miles before the fuel light kicks in and I have done 195 miles before refuelling.
The Beemer will do better than those figures; lots of them get up to 250 miles from a fill up and the computers on them say that they do up to 65 MPG when ridden "well".

Pillion comfort: it's a matter of personal taste and opinion, but the 1200GS probably has a more comfortable pillion seat than the KTM - I have no worries with the standard seat on my 990 but some riders think it is a bit hard.

They both have more than enough punch. :innocent::thumbup1:

ps If you like standing while riding, then the 990 is a 5 star bike.

pss There are some variations of replies in this, alternate, thread:-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-of-bike-71568