A bunch of Finnish riders just finished a guided tour from Alaska to Ushuaia (its here:
PanAmerica - PeterPanBike
...but unfortunately the whole blog is in Finnish only)

They had a total of 12 people on 11 bikes, and out of those, 5 were BMW´s (3 F800GS, one F650GS twin, and one 1150GS), and 6 were Hondas (two Transalp 700´s & one 650, two Deauville´s and one CBF1000 (ridden 2-up!!))

It seems that the new 650/800 GS´s need to fix a few ´1st model-issues´, because practically every one of them started to leak coolant from some hose, which didnt hold in place. A few of them also started oozing oil from between the cylinder head cover, including the group leader, who wrote "I now have my one leg soaked in oil, the other in glycole..." Luckily, none of those leaks lead to any bigger worries, because they had trouble getting spare parts for such new models at all during the trip. The onboard computers of the new GS´s also kept going berserk, and gave, for example, some false oil pressure warnings (probably scare you a bit, if you´re in the middle of nowhere!)

The 1150GS once had its subframe snap into two, which was welded back together. And its fuel pump also died in Chile, so after that the bike+rider travelled by truck almost 2000 kms to Santiago, where the replacement luckily had arrived by DHL from Europe in just 2 days (I believe that wasnt cheap!) They were on a tight schedule to begin with, a bit more than 2 months off work to complete the whole trip, and at that time, any more waiting would´ve meant, that this guy would have had to abandon the trip before making it to Ushuaia.

And what about those ´other´ bikes, then? Not 100% sure, if I´ve read every sentence posted there, or if I´ve missed something (2 other riders in this group also kept their own blogs), but generally speaking, they only ever seemed to make any unscheduled stops on the road, when having a flat tyre, or run out of fuel. One of the Transalps run poorly on the last day, when taking the bikes to be freighted back home, but that was it. Other than that, no technical worries whatsoever.

Other than the fuel pump, which probably could´ve happened to any of the bikes, there were no major issues (though I must say, I wouldnt like at all to have a subframe crack, while riding!) and everyone made it to the finish, which is excellent. But inside the group, there seemed to be a growing consensus, about what to choose for an unsupported long trip like this.

They all rode over 28.000 kms, and did the same route together, at the same time, so that makes it pretty comparable. I dont think even the factories have the resources to test their equipment in this scale, or as realistically, and compared to one another.

Me, I wouldnt take any new model (like the 650 twin or 800GS) on a trip like this, no matter what the manufacturer, so I think they were taking a big risk to begin with (they should have though about that problem in getting spares, too). Lucky there didnt turn out to be any real major worries with these, only minor ones... but of course, leaking oil, or water, can lead to a major catastrophe, if not properly taken care of. That would usually be partly a user error, too.

Do note, that I´ve nothing against any manufacturer, and dont want to start any bashing of any make. Just posting here, what I read, and I know some of the members in this group personally, including the group leader, so I dont think they just made everything up.

It is kind of shocking, even if Im willing to believe up to a point, that the Jap bike riders were just lucky. They must´ve been, for they rode some 168 thousand kilometres combined - practically without a glitch.

Thanks for the replies guys.

Correct. The 12000GSA is a joy to ride. I did nearly 200 miles on the test ride in a day and didn't want to stop. I spend ~4 hours a day commuting/visiting customers so to commute on something I have to like it otherwise it'll become a chore like driving the car.

But I have 2 sets of different requirements here. I need to work for the next year and therefore commute but also start to prepare a bike for a big trip. It'll be hard to keep 2 bikes + 1 car in the underground parking I'm forced to use where I live (building management are v. strict) so I was trying to find something that I could commute on as well as rtw on.

If I was to choose a rtw bike today it'd be a F650 Dakar, though due to small tank and no fairing wouldn't be my choice for commuting.

The 12GSA is the opposite. The AT may just be the right balance but I was trying to get some other alternatives

I do. Whether or not I'd want to take it RTW is another point.

Which is the way I'm looking now. Not an amount of money that I'd want to lose.

Cheers again for the replies guys.

Sounds like you are on track to selling that 1200GS and getting a cheaper bike .
If you don't have a loan on the 1200 you will be able to divert some of that money to the trip .
If you don't have much mechanical savvy then make sure you buy a bike with a good reliablity record and new or nearly new .
If you go with Fuel Injection you won't have to worry about carb settings ,not that it's a big deal .

A middle weight bike like a Bandit, 650Strom or similar will be economical and get you around well enough .
If you are not offroading you won't need an "adventure style " machine.
There I've said it , --you don't love that 1200 enough to want to drag it around the world .

Another alternative would be to rent a lock up and prep a DR650 .
Or move to somewhere with a decent garage .

At (750)?
 

I have a simelar line of thought, i am pretty new to the biking scene, passed my test about 6 months ago i want to do some travelling but cant afford 2 bikes, but i also need somthing for commuting and bumming about.. Im 21, so trying to keep the insurance down is a big issue so the bigger capacity bikes are out. My first thought was a F650 Funduro a bit dated i know, but i guess it would do what i ask of it and within budget. Probably a bit of a novice question, I know of All the bikes you refer to but im not familiar with the AT (750) and seems to be well spoken of (within this thread atleast) What make? Cheers

AT = Africa Twin = XRV750 Honda XRV750 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Varadero anyone???
 

Big bloke.... Not going far off piste..... Want reliability ...... Varadero it is then!! Best twin engine out there, big enough tank, comfort, and Honda built!! Can I say more.

Cheers Ali, My instructor had a 650 trans-alp, just recall him saying how quickly it Shredded the rear tyre, @ around 3000 miles, may have been less he wasnt too impressed however few it was. For a workhorse possibly not a gr8 choice, Good luck with the bike and the trip anyway. Wil

Hehe you can buy MY africa twin if you want, (Manchester UK) , I'm too much of a weedy guy to go proper adventure touring on it.

Having just done a big trip on a F650 Dakar (07 model with all the teething problems ironed out) and loved every minute on it, I can recommend it. It´s great on twisties, great on dirt roads (but you need to have the skills to enjoy it which I invested in heavily with some trail riders where it´s a pig and am learning each time) and has an awesome geometry design. Really like the low centre of gravity. I can get up to 400km on a tank if I ride it hard and agressive, less if riding it like a granny. It likes a beating though, so it´s not a sit down and cruize bike.

It needs some mods done to make it reliable, things that should have been factory fitted, and any owner should do his/hers homework and all hir/hers own work including actually lubing the bearings (SHB, and swingarm) at each interval. Do that and you´ll love it. It´s great for travelling because you can fit wearable parts that can be re-used so you can carry less crap. Be prepared for a waterpump seal replacement though at roughly 20000km intervals, which can happen on heaps of bikes but it will let you know before it´ll turn your oil into a mochachino. Mine was nice enough to start leaking (over 18000km) in the hotel lobby in the town I´m going to ship it home from. Pretty nice of it I thought to at least wait so I can change it at home.

Still though, if you´re used to twins like cruizing and are not intending to ride it agressive on dirt I would take the DL or other Jap twins. A friend of mine takes his DL650 on single trail, so it can do it, but it´s not really for it. Comfortable and resonably cheap I think.

It´s all about comfort for a big trip. Same for commuting. Easy enough choice really.

I know its nearly 2 months on, but is that AT still up for grabs? ;)

Not sure if I understand...if you already have a R1200GS, why not take it RTW? Doesn't have to be a GSA, altlhough the bigger tank and some other features are nice.

If you plan to stay mainly on pavement and decent gravel/dirt roads, a 1200GS/GSA would be fine. Bring a couple of spares (fuel pump controller, some bulbs, maybe a EWS ring), and you should be all set.

Also, on a recent RTW trip, all of the 1200s made it with no problems, but two 650s were plagued with various problems toward the end of the trip. I've heard similar things about the 650s from other reports. I wouldn't want to take those RTW.

Also, don't know much about them, but I would at least check into the Teneres, they sound like nice bikes.

I am doing a RTW trip in may and there are two of us going one on a BMW F650 dakar (Bulletproof engine) and me on my KTM 990 adventure S. Now I have owned a f650 dakar and a 1200 GSA and I would have taken any of those RTW, but as many people say you can take anything RTW. For me it had to be a bike that gave me the biggest grin everytime I got on it and that was the KTM.

Of course I have done a few mods like 40ltr tank and bash plate etc. By the way I love this bike and have done many big trips and off road riding and it is the best all rounder I have experienced in my opnion.

Here she is..
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/2580/dsc00499p.jpg