On that note, does anyone know somewhere in the UK that would meet the rough requirements you're suggesting? Somewhere in Scotland, Ireland or Wales perhaps?

Not sure mate. You'd wanna find some heavily rutted and corrugated dirt roads and run those for 500km at 80-100kph. Don't think there is much of that in Northwestern Europe. May have to jump on the ferry to Spain. Nice mid week trip that.

__________________
Tacos Tyring Travels.com

Thanks for the input people. I have found a few nice Dakars in the $5800-$6600 range, complete with racks/panniers. They handle WAY different than the DRZ, probably not as good in serious dirt, but far more comfortable.

I thought a lot about it, and no matter what, we're going to spend at least 70% of our time on road getting to dirt areas. I'm leaning toward the Dakar simply for that. We're not going to be doing 'trailriding' like you might do for a weekend here in Colorado. We're going to be travelling for a long distance, and some of that distance will be on fire/gravel roads, some of it on 4x4 tracks, and a very small amount on something more difficult.

The thought of going so far on the DRZ after riding it several thousand miles makes my ass hurt, even with an aftermarket saddle. I love the bike, it handles great, and is wonderful for what I do off road. But pretty much anything I do you can do on the Dakar (I'm not a hardcore trail rider).

Also, with the airbox, exhaust, and carb mods, the DRZ isn't quite as good on gas as it used to be. Maybe because it's WAY more fun to twist that throttle now. Great for fun around town, or in the mountains, but not great for a long trip.

So with that in mind, anyone (tmotten) got any tips on what to look for in a Dakar with 12-18k miles on it? What are the parts of the Dakar that wear out fastest or fail most often? Any benefit to replacing bars? And what's with the flimsy handguards? Any problems in replacing with acerbis guards? How's the electrical system? Easy to wire in a socket?

TMotten, I see you have a DRZ now, what have you done with it? Just interested :-)

Exactly the conclusion so many of us draw. It's unfortunate if you really want to go hard offroad, but doesn't mean it won't be an adventure regardless.

What year are the Dakar's your looking at? You want one with the new forks.

There is a Dakar thread on Advrider at the moment that asked me a similar question. Bit more on mods though.

ADVrider - View Single Post - The 650 Dakar Thread

I would personally go with soft luggage now. A lot lighter means you can ride a lot more sporty on the dirt. Hard luggage is rigid which can only cause fatigue failures. I've had the little rear bracket break due to that.
Handle bars are crap, but most bikes have that problem. Reason is their handling of the heated grip wires. You want heated grips by the way. But they are available everywhere.
The hand guards are useless. Really just weather guards. Definately get rid of them or bring heaps of levers.

Things that go are:

waterpump (replace before you leave to know how to change. Mine lasted 18k km.)
SHB (lube them every 10k km and they'll be fine though. Most don't lube them at all.)
rear suspension bearings (see SHB)
fork seals (if the stanchions are pitted, rechrome and fit neoprene fork gaiters. I'm still on the originals.)

and that's about it I think. On mine only the aftermarket shock and waterpump went. Shock was due to volcanic ash getting past the seal at Chaiten in Chile.
I've modded the crap out of it, so click on my blog and find the pages about it. If you need help beyond that PM me.

So far I've only done protective mods on the DRZ. B&B bashplate, Force rad guard, cheapo hand guards (untill they brake), TT case savers. re-route vent hoses, removed side stand switch, ground gear selectors edges off, lubed SHB and swingarm bearings. Still need to make some mirrors and indicators.
It's only really for trail riding though.

__________________
Tacos Tyring Travels.com

I'm looking at a really nice '02 with 18k miles. Mint, with many TT aftermarket accessories. But still with stock bars and handguards.

Also a nice '05 with 12k miles. Mostly stock.

The 02 is cheap enough I could probably replace the forks if PO hasn't already done it. WIll check on SHB/fork seals. Both owners claim to have had recent BMW service.

Any benefit to having the newer engine? I'm leaning toward the '02 because with the money I save on it I can do some upgrades. It already has all the protection (bashguard, crash bars, fairing protection) and fog lights. Plus racks.

I'm leaning to hard cases for security.

Also, what's the deal with the exhaust mod where you replace one of cans with storage? Can you just plug it and remove/drill the cat?

I love my DRZ, fun bike. But I'm more into the long distance thing at the moment. So I'm selling my DRZ. Sad to see her go. But you can always buy a new DRZ. Next time I'll get an SM. Definately recommend the FCR carb (properly jetted) with the 3x3 plus full exhaust. It really adds HP and throttle response. I'd say that bike is the most fun bike i've ever been on. But not great on long distances...

Tyres make a huge difference with the weight of the F650. I ran Pirelli MT60's which were great on sand but lethal on wet tarmac (and were never going to wear out). The usual TCK's etc. work, just don't even try dirt with the knobbed-up road tyres a lot of owners fit.

You'll need to carry a water pump kit and know how to use it IMHO. If the oil turns chocolate brown it needs sorting same day or you'll risk cooking the head. I don't want to talk about how I know, lets just say I was close (like 50 miles) to taking up Desert hiking and havn't bought a watercooled bike or a BMW since

Personally, I'd stick to the DRZ and work on the seat.

Andy

Hey Griff, I hate to throw a wrench in the spokes!
Have you thought about a DR650?
Comfortable ,highway or dirt.
Good range with aftermarket tank.
Simple
Reliable
No water pump , radiator
Cheap

JMO

The later versions are definately better than the earlier versions. Keeping in mind that FI was relatively new on DS bikes back than. I think only BM really did them as a rule. The earlier ones has stalling and surging issues. Search for that in the faq.f650.com section of the chain gang.

Also, sounds like the owners haven't serviced their own bike. To me this is a negative. There is no way the bearings would have been lubed.... ever, unless it's done by themselves. Others might correct me, but I don't see how it would take me all day to service the bike and they could do it in a few hours (based on the charged cost).
It's definately a bike you want to ALL your own work on. There is really no excuse for not to as F650.com has all the info you'll ever need including videos on DVD.

For a second hander change all the wearable parts before you leave. So definately the waterpump. When you do it yourself, clean out your bleedhole, and you oil shouldn't turn to a mochachino.

I'm going to be looking into the exhaust when I'm getting my bike back.

You going for hard luggage makes me think you're abandoning the initial requirement for riding a lot of dirt. Here in Australia is seems like there is a big devide between people hitting the outback with soft luggage and road riders with hard luggage. Could be just the piccies I'm seeing though, but that's what I reckon myself.
Security is really personal. Depends what you bring, and you could always go harf hard harf soft. I'll be going soft panniers and soft dry bag plus a little pelican right at the back for electricals etc. Besides camping gear everything could get nicked without me caring as much. The dry bag could easily be put inside a pacsafe.
We hardly ever left our bike out of our sight. Must be paranoia, but we had full hard luggage.

The DR seems to be a good bike. Needs mods as well, and in the end of the day is an old design that will depreciate. Plus is probably because it's simple less goes wrong, but looking after your bike means itll look after you with all bikes. Not any more show stoppers on the DR than the F. They are cheaper though.

There is no right or wrong answer to any bike. It's what you want out of it and feel most comfortable with.

__________________
Tacos Tyring Travels.com

I would definately do the bearings. If they are bad and have not been lubed, is it a simple replacement? Or could there be more damage? Both with steering head and swingarm. Definately will check the waterpump, and carry a spare.

We have always had hard luggage in mind. I guess I never really considered soft. The more I've thought about it, the type of riding we'll be doing isn't what people would call 'hardcore', but is as much off road as possible. Security is pretty important, and I like the thought of locking the hard panniers. I'll go with a top duffel though, not hard case.


I looked at the DR. It's a great bike, but if I'm leaving the DRZ, I'm going to a bmw or such-like, rather than to another suzuki dirt-oriented thumper. Also, I'm really interested in FI. After finally getting the FCR on my DRZ jetted properly, I don't want to have to change it when I change altitude, or feel the performance loss/change. I have it jetted to 5500ft, and when I ride to 9-10k it really doesn't do as well. FI would solve that...

So... I'll let you know what I find. Thanks again for all the input. Where are you now? Travelling or home?

Can I add my 2 pence? I know you have been looking at the bmw dakar, which my friend is riding with me RTW and is great on and offroad. Maybe if you want to do more offroad but want the comfort why not look at the KTM 640 adv. Easily the best of both worlds, I ride a 990 adv s and its a heavey beast but I can easily take it anywhere, road the 640 and its just a lighter version.

__________________
“Not all those who wander are lost.” - J. R. R. Tolkien

My 2 pence worth.
1. Go with the bike you've got. I made a huge mistake before my big trip. Sold my Honda (Af Twin) and bought a Beemer (R100gs). I believed the marketing hype. Did meet lots of nice people though, who helped when it broke down.

2. Go on the DRZ. I've done lots of trips on mine and they do everything. As suggested, sort the seat.

3. Don't drive 60mph or more if you want to see the sights, meet the people. If you have little time, aim to travel less distances or fly there.

4. You're v. unlikely to have any mechanic problems on a DRZ.

Enjoy
Chris

__________________

Brighty's website: TheBrightStuffDotCom

CURRENT RR WITH REGULAR UPDATES: The Wife Takes on Chlamydia: A South American Retrospective

It's not as easy as changing a tyre. Plenty of info on it though. Cant check the pump though. You either change it or you don't.

You'll love FI. I know I did. Now that I have a bike with a carby it feels like Flinstones technology. Hate having to fiddle with it. With FI you turn the key on, you go, turn it off, and walk away.

Looked at the 640 which was my first choice ,but the Mrs couldn't touch the ground so that was the end of that. Glad she couldn't in the end, because the vibes and carby etc would drive me nuts. Would be a better dirt rider on it though. Amazing to see what some of the other guys I know can do on it. But they don't use it for touring though.

Which ever choise you make, don't do what I did and think that a long Saturday's ride should be enough to test it out. Take yourself a week and leave enough time to make changes. But than again, maybe you're not as much of a princes as I am that likes to have everything ideal.

We've been back for a few weeks now. Still having trouble to adjust. But I guess you could gather that from my activity on here. Made the mistake to leave the gear on the bike which is now shipped via Hamburg instead of Hong Kong which was the initial route which it missed.

__________________
Tacos Tyring Travels.com

What did you do for a seat? I bought a corbin, and honestly, it vibrates more than the stocker, though I definately fit better on it. I know there's another company that makes a more KLR-like seat, but I can't seem to find it.

I've had the DRZ for a while now, and I really like it. No problems. Change oil and filters. Put on all the guards, and did the loctite fixes and mcct. Don't have to worry about anything really.

I haven't. Because I mostly ride offroad, I stand.
Chris

__________________

Brighty's website: TheBrightStuffDotCom

CURRENT RR WITH REGULAR UPDATES: The Wife Takes on Chlamydia: A South American Retrospective

Seems to me everyone? wants to travel at warp speed.....take the DRZ, slow down and take the chance to smell the roses, 'great bikes are small and small bikes are great'. With all the minimilist gear around (camping etc) I can pack the TTR for weekends away or weeks away and likely months away. The difference between the two is a mindset. If you had to abandon the bike (heaven forbid) halfway through the journey what would you rather leave behind.