Hi there,
back from my trip, I sold my R100GS and I am already thinking about a new adventure, most probably this time I will ship my bike to Mongolia and ride the road of Bones...I want a much lighter bike this time, and probably a single cylinder.

My mind says Suzuki DR 650 SE, because I only red positive thinks about this bike, it's very simple and easy to work on.

My heart says KTM Adventure 640, because it looks so good, but I know that servicing it is a pain in the ass compared to the DR650.

The problem in Switzerland is that it's pretty difficult to find a DR650 post 1996. They are plenty of old ones, 88-94, for 1000-2000$, but post 96 are pretty rare, and post 2000 not even imported. They are quite expensive, around 3500-4500$. For the same price I could find a DRZ400 as well.

For the same amount on money or less I can have a KTM Adventure 640, or even A KTM Adventure 950, we find now quite easily a 950 with around 50'000km for less than 5000$.

For 2000$ I could have a Adventure 620 with less than 30'000km...

Well, that's the thing... If I buy a Suzuki, then I need to buy a bigger tank s well, better rear shock absorber.. so it will not be cheap. On the KTM Adventure, there is nothing to upgrade.

The more remote you get the less complicated and more reliable you want the bike to be...

I personally would take the DR650SE, and if you can't find one, take a XT600E or a KLR650 etc etc.

I doubt there are many KTM workshops in Mongolia and those LC4 engines aren't really known for their reliability.

KTM's are LOVELY bikes but I wouldn't trust one in the wilds of Mongolia without a bit of support or at least good mechanical knowledge.

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Hello to Switzerland from Austria!

Im planning to ride from Austria to India from September to November in 2012 (just right before the end of the world ).

I also had similar thoughts about the right choice of bike for that, but I'm 95% sure that I'll go on a KTM 640 Adventure!

For me it was also the choice "bike of heart" vs. "bike of sanity", and my conclusion is short: If such a trip had anything to do with sanity, I'd go for a ugly like crap Japanese Bike, but, as this trip is a "trip of heart", I will go for the bike of heart!

Other factors were just like you mentioned: You don't need to do many "tune ups" on the KTM, and, if you have some serious trouble with the bike, that could just cause a "special" experience in the trip. I think such a trip is all about overcoming difficulties, so I dont' mind a little pain in the ass with the bike sometimes, if it makes me happy all the time I'm riding it.
At the moment I own a 99 Speed Triple 955 and a 08 Moto Morini Corsaro 1200, and I never regretted getting myself "exotic, unreliable" bikes. Just the pure joy of riding them, looking at them, by far outnumbers the small difficulties you have to face with those bikes from time to time!

And also I'm Austrian, so it's a thing of national pride to be the ambassador of great austrian bike technology in Asia!

See you on the road!

Martin

PS: One of my bike mates is a professional ktm bike mechanic, that will also help a little...

Hallo Martin,

I know exactly what you mean with exotic bikes, I have a MV Agusta F4 750 from 2001 and a Husaberg FE550 ;-)

I love the Motor Morini Corsaro, it's the best V twin ever made I think! The day I have the money and I find a good second hand, I'll buy one! and as well I dream to have a Benelli TNT, god this engine is soooo exiting!

Well, good luck for your trip, I will keep an eye open this winter to see if I can find a good bargain...

Touring Ted, the KLR 650 are not very common in switzerland and if I don't take a KTM, I want an aircooled engine. XT600E, there's plenty of them, arround 1200-1800$.

how good is a XT600E 1991 vs a Suzuki DR650 SE?

It's approx 20kg heavier...

there's one for sale with 21'000km km from 1991 in very good condition with acerbis 20L tank for 1500 bucks...

It's a little slower and not as smooth. BUT ! It's very simple, very reliable and very forgiving.

I would look for something a little newer with lower mileage. They shouldn't be too much more.

It will cruise at 100km/h all day long and is very easy to work on.

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

I'll wager you have never owned a 640, and that your claims are all hearsay based on
the experiences of others.

I have owned a 640 and ridden it many miles , and it has been as reliable as any Japanese
bike I have ever owned, over 40 years of riding motorcycles.

To the OP : Don't let the claims of "internet experts" dissuade you from buying what is far and away the best
adventure bike in the world. One caveat : if you are shorter than 5 feet 10 inches tall, you will find the bike is a handful.
But if your skill is up to the bike's abilities, you will find no more satisfying bike on earth, for true adventure riding.

By far, the comment written by Colebatch, above, is the most pertinent on this thread. I suggest you
read it several times and digest the deceptively simple wisdom the man was kind enough to offer,
which is based on more riding experience than most folks will have in a lifetime.

Well, so sayeth the man who had bought and sold bikes professionally and has also trained as a motorcycle technician to a high level, worked in large multi franchise dealerships as well as my own motorcycle repair business professionally.

I've worked on a few broken LC4's as well as seeing plenty of them coming in and out the workshop. I've also seen many in pieces in workshops all over the world and their owners banging their heads against the wall trying to source parts..

You get a 'feeling' of which engines are better than others, in terms of reliability.

Just because yours hasn't let you down, doesn't mean plenty haven't...

And I'm not saying they're all going to break down , nor am I saying a Jap bike won't either. Reliability is rarely down to luck. It's about engineering. The LC4's aren't built to go around the clock. It's fact, not internet hearsay.

I'm not saying I'm a KTM expert, just giving my opinion which 'possibly' may be more experienced than some others, which is all one can do on an internet forum. It's the OP's decision of who and what he listens to.

Does 40 years of riding a bike make you a KTM expert ? My mum's being cooking for 40 years and she still burns everything.... Get my point ?

I'm just simply saying, the LC4's have their issues and they are well known.

The 640's are great bikes, make great power and are a lot of fun. I believe anyone should just ride the bike that THEY want to. But If you wan't to think it's as reliable as a DR650 or XT600 then you need to maybe ask your doctor to change your medication as it's clearly affecting your mind..

Don't be one of those small minded individuals who refuses to believe the bike in your garage might not be the greatest bike in the world just because YOU bought it.

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez !!!!!!!!


No offence intended or implied....

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Ahh, personal insults. The last resort of the uneducated and ignorant,
when all their other arguments have failed.

You have failed to accomplish anything other than to make yourself look like someone whose forum "contributions" are best ignored.

By the way, your mom's cooking appears not to be her only failure. She also didn't teach you
any manners. But I suppose that might be expected, given your working class background.

Sorry mate. I won't be pulled into a pointless internet argument by a troll. Your posts say all they need to without me having to point it out.

I genuinely meant "no offence intended". It's just a little tongue in cheek humour which has obviously gone amiss. Probably due to my working class background and poor parenting.

And if my working class background offends and separates us, I fear you may have just exposed yourself for a clueless snob and separated yourself from probably 99% of the forum members.

I won't post again as this is going WAY off topic.

Safe travels. Ted

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

If you go the direction of a basic Japanese single (eg. KLR, DR, XT) make sure you go with a model that is common for your region. For example the KLR here in North America is an A model, which is different from the C model which I believe was the type that was sporadically imported into parts of Europe. I rode a C model from Vlad to Mongolia, it's got a small tank and a brutally weak rear subframe so I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. The A model is much better suited, but I dont think you'll find many of those over in your area.

You mention the DR isn't that common in your area, unless you are a committed Suzuki fan, there's no need to go chasing any of these specific bike makes and models. Find what's common in your area, look at a few of the ones available and pick one that meets your needs. If you have easy access to XTs, go in that direction.

In regards to KTM, for some reason there aren't many KTM riders on this board but you will run into many, many KTMs long distance touring. They all seem pretty happy with their bikes and have figured out a way around the well known weaknesses of some models and years, so I'd keep looking at those as a very viable option.

Might exceed your budget, but prices are a lot better now and the BMW XChallenge certainly got rave reviews on the route you are thinking of riding from Colebatch.

In Switzerland BMW X series are not comon and quite expensive... We have a lot of F650GS, and especially the R series (R1200 is the most sold bike in switzerland for at least 5 years in a row). Old XT avec tenere are quite common and cheap, but usually with 30'000 to 80'000km on the clock. KLR are absolutely no common here. We have some DRZ as well, but usually the supermoto version, and quite a lot of KTM Adventure 950 and 990, not so much Adventure 640...

I will keep an eye open....

Probably because KTM riders are out riding :-)

For technical driving I would have chosen the KTM instead of a jap single. There was a major upgrade in 2002/3 (?).
Buy one as fast as you can spend some time to work on it. They do have some issues but at least they are fun to drive!

Hey Zimi,

A DR650SE is a good idea. In Germany there are a several for sale at the moment, take a look at:

www.mobile.de

www.autoscout.de

Last week there was a black 1996 DR with 16000KM sold for 1700 euro's. There is still a white 1997 DR with 14350 km for 2300 euro.

Good luck.

__________________
Luc