Hey guys, first post!

What do you guys think from a reliability/comfort POV? The intended trip is from Curitiba/Brazil to Antofagasta/Chile, and expecting a 70/30 paved/dirt ratio... Any thoughts?

I have an F800 (with a replaced seat), and have ridden the 650, although only briefly. Although biased, I do prefer the 800. Off road, I found the 650 to be a little lack lustre, and I can only assume that this translates to road mileage too. But, each to their own . . . .

Reliability wise, I've no reason to think either wouldn't be fine.

I keep reading that most people consider a single cylinder more reliable than a dual... :confused1:

Hi,
I`m driving the 800GS, while my son rides a F650GS Dakar, which is like the actual Sertao. But, not exactly: The Sertao has a china engine and the workmanship seems a bit sleazy.
The Sertao has the advantage to be lighter than the 800GS. Thats nice on unpaved roads. Our bikes both are now at about 65000 km, and we can't see any engine to give up first. Maintainance is easy on both bikes. Maybe the 1-cylinder needs a new chain more often. The 2-cylinder runs a little smoother. That my be fine on long distances. Headlight is much better on the 800GS.
I'm biased, so I recommend the F800GS .
Cheers
Joerg

Any comments about the Husky Terra 650, shares the same Sertao engine plus a nice "tune" made by the italians.

The Setao engine is made in china and has had serious issues. Last year I went with a friend to test ride one and the the electrics failed on the test ride and we had to be rescued by the Showroom. They then told us that this problem has been a mafor design fault and were considering a recall. They then let someone else go on a test ride on one when we got back to the showroom without telling them! Go for the 800gs much better bike.

I've had both bikes, and currently have an 800GSA and a Sertao

The "chinese engine" rumor mill was rife with the early Sertao's but I've subsequently been told that the engines are back in Germany again. There were issues with decompression lift and the "beak" in the early bikea, all were remediated under recall by BMW. Even if the engines were made n China (Kymco I believe) they'll have bee done to a BMW / Rotax standard, not "cheap as chips" approach.

I've ridden the Sertao all over the place, on and off road in the past 12 months I've had it. Its a good compromise for someone wanting to do a mix of tarmac and trail, and performed much better than I'd expected. The only mechanical change I made was to put a DID chain on to replace the usless stock BMW one, and that was for ease of repair more than anything. Tyres swapped for TKC's. I rode the Sertao from NW UK through Spain in the summer, on and off road, in temps above 40 deg celcius which made the fan work most of the time, with the bike laden, plus 18 stone of me on board No issues, 70 plus mpg, and very enjoyable. Two people I ride with have swapped their current bikes for these subsequently base don what they saw it do and perform.

As for the 800 - superb bike. For touring its amazing, and hence the 800GSA is a super upgrade on the standard 800 in my view. The engine (as in the 650's) is a Rotax design, and you'll see all parts (even from BMW) are Rotax branded for both engines. Much sweeter to ride as its a twin, but with some extra weight

Cheers

Iain

Not Kymco, MIC by LONCIN: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loncin_Holdings,_Ltd

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR