Originally Posted by mj

Hope it's not too late but have you considered the XT600E? Aircooled, pretty much indestructable engine, and built until 2004 when the XT660R hit the shelves. A bit more vibey than the 660 engine, 2hp less (46hp vs. 48hp), not sure about torque. I've owned a 600cc 3AJ Tenere and have nothing bad to say about the engine or the bike in general. The fuel pump on the 3AJ model was crap but I ditched it during a roadside repair in heavy rain in eastern Poland and replaced it with a gravity assisted non-mechanical non-electric non-hydraulic rubber tube. As far as I know the XT600E doesn't have a fuel pump plus you can actually add a kickstart, which is impossible with the watercooled 660cc engines.

I bought a 2009 XT660Z Ténéré in October 2010 after selling the GS and already there are a few things I don't like about it, and a few design choices I cannot fully understand. Like having to take off the side stand in order to take reach the gear lever screw... Other than that I haven't had it long enough to either recommend it or warn you about it, but if reading on the specific bike/brand forums is any sort of indication of what awaits me then

Originally Posted by mj

I'd say the difference, engine wise, between the old aircooled 600cc single and the new watercooled 660cc single is negligible. If you liked the old engines you'll love the new one. If hated'em you'll dislike the new one. It's that simple. In terms of comfort the new Ténéré kicks every XT600's ass big time for sure.

Seems to me that you're looking for something that complements your DRZ400. I went the other way around - bought the Ténéré first and the DR350S sidekick a few months after that. I can assure you they work great together - one for solo fun in the dirt the other for long distance travelling, comfortable touring or two-up fun in the dirt

Originally Posted by mj

How about a Transalp? Or Africa Twin? Or late 90s Super Ténéré?

Originally Posted by mj

Man... I really can't decide whether you're more like a spoiled rich kid or more like Paris Hilton. Either way, you've had'em all

The good thing about the 750 ST is that they're dirt cheap. I'm pretty sure you'll find a decent one if you wait and look around. I've met an Australian couple last year who own four or five of them (Pat and Bin), one on each continent, and travel the world on'em. Very reliable and comfy, good engine, and, according to Pat, dirt cheap. Maybe not in the UK though.

Originally Posted by Jtw000

Please under no circumstances consider a Pegaso. I bought one myself and it was the worst bike I have ever owned. I have had 5 Pegs of varying years from 95 onwards and they have always been good fire-road bikes, capable of a decent turn of speed and quite reliable other than a faulty water-pump, a common snag. They had a 5 valve rotax head instead of the 4 valve unit BMW fitted to the funduro. It made it a little quicker but cost more to run, either way it was still fine. The Cube was a great all rounder, faster than most bikes in the same class.
Eventually I bought the Trail. Different bike altogether. Build quality is absolutely appalling. My problems began with brake light switches going. The front crumbled into bits, the back snapped in half. I replaced them with upgraded switches. Next it fell off the stand at work (was pushed I think) and fell onto an old abandoned sofa. It tore off a mirror and did damage to the pegs. That worried me a lot, a tiny fall did a lot of damage and it fell on soft foam.
Then I used it through the winter and the engine finish peeled visibly off the bike. After that I tried to fit a power commander. Now on early bikes you have no choice, they simply will not run without it, later ones with 02 sensor you can't. Suddenly the bike stalled, died and never ran again. It intermittently showed fault codes for a failed temperature sensor and three other sensors as well as suddenly was not able to read the chip in the key. Then I found out on the various forums that this is a common fuel pump fault. The pump is 2 electric toy-car motors in a polythene bag. Nothing got it working but along the way I was horrified at the corners cut in the building of this bike. In the end a workaround fix was to kick the side of the tank where the pump was and yes, it ran again for an hour or so but when it rained the key sensor died. After doing some homework on the Aprillia forum this is a common fault, there are many more. The owners are oddly in love with their bikes but at one point the top 5 posts on the Pegaso forum was fuel pump failures.
I got burned on mine so please consider this when thinking of these bikes. They're also expensive to run, not as quick as an XT for some reason and the accessories are hard to find and Aprillia ones broke (mine did).
Your money is better spent elsewhere. I'm sorry for anyone who has one but when i did my homework trying to fix mine I found a lot out about these machines. 2 guys on the Aprillia forum used them to go over South America. 1 did break down several times.
Sorry guys... just don't do it...

Originally Posted by leigh

Just to stir up the beehive again, my mate has just returned from 42,000 miles RTW on an 08 Tenere. He is a novice mechanically, fairly new to riding and not too anal about servicing etc. His bike needed new headstock bearings a couple of new chain and sprocket kits and 3 sets of Metzeler Tourances. I know what my next bike will be!

Originally Posted by BruceP

1st, I'll apologise for bringing an old thread to life.

I'm not sure how I missed this thread, and this post, unless it was because my wife and I were riding the 2 Pegs mentioned and were in Patagonia on them at the time.

Lets look at the "1 did break down several times", hmmm, not really. Mine had an electrical failure in the US, a short on pin 17 as it turned out (in the clocks I think) so we bypassed it.

After a 28Km ride over cobbles in Mexico I had a running issue, which was a spark plug issue. This was followed by the connector coming lose on the coil.

I also had an intermittent brake light issue which I finally found the loose connector for while in Peru.

So, that is 1 breakdown and a couple of minor tweaks.

I also crashed it into the back of a GS1200, twice, in 1 day. And came off in Argentina and France.

My wife had the most serious break down when her shock broke in Patagonia and we had to get it fixed. (As she had to do 200 kms on the back of the truck I can claim only I did the entire trip :-) )

There were other minor issues, caused by us and not the bikes.

On the fuel pump issue, this is a minor one. It is not as wide spread as some claim. And no other than JT seems to have had the plastic bag wrapped issue.

How many people know that the Tenere 660 had a known fault with the electrics that needed a recall ?

On the flat spot needing a Power Commander issue, I do not know why people waste money on such things. I just added a K&N to both bikes, it moved the flat spot down a bit and we never ride at those revs..

While we were away 2 BMWs were stuck in Lima with broken motors, so no bikes are perfect.

The bikes made it home. They are still running (yes I have had a couple of issues with mine since the return, but I used most of the winter as well). We are now planning more trips with them.

Did I trust mine when I started ? No. Do I have faith in it now ? No more than any other bike.

So, if a Peg is all you can afford, get one. Prep it, use it and care for it.