Are you still happy with your choice of bike?

[Hornet600]

You know, Alex suggested it in the "How did you choose your bike?" thread. We need a post to find out if people are still happy with their original choice of travel bike.

Or more specifically I think, after you bought your first travel bike how long did it take you to change it for a different one.

I'm on the TA now for 10 months so still in the honeymoon period but I think I will be happy with this bike (for traveling) for a long time. For Sunday riding I will need something more fun!

So yeah, what was your experience of your first travel bike?

Ride safe,
Ol

[edteamslr]

This thread is so spot on:

I did a UK to Cape Town last year and my travel buddy strong-armed me into buying an Africa Twin ( - only joking dan). For those of you who have ridden one you'll know they're heavy, solid old things with just about enough power to comply but rarely sparkle. It proved to be one of the best bikes I've ever owned because I felt so comfortable and happy on it that I didn't mind the weight and average performance.

I'm currenly trying out my XT660R for the next trip (I've had it a year now) and I don't know what it is but I just can't love it. I like it, it's ok to ride, cheap (which I like) but I don't really enjoy sitting on it over 50mph or for long periods of time and that's the problem.

My trips are very focused on the bike part and I've come to realise that you really have to LOVE your adventure bike. I'm now back in the market looking for that special "something" to share my trip with...

[maria41]

Good idea.
I spent a year motorcycling around South America on a BMW F650GS rusty pile of Bavarian sh*te.
The bike was a dog, what did not go wrong with it? I broke down a lot, I had so many problems with it would take too long to list here. I should have set fire to it before coming back but oh no I spent a fortune to bring it back to the UK and the thing just melted (the electrics). After going back to workshops for repairs 5 times in 4 months, I got rid of it for a fraction of what I paid and was glad to see the back of it!
So in conclusion, no I was not happy with my choice of bike, and the dealerships’ awful attitude and incompetence (that include in the UK!) did not help either!

On a fairer note, my husband had a Dakar and never had a single problem. So there you go.

Next trip (in less than 2 years!) will be definitely on a Japanese bike. I am leaning toward the XT600E but still looking. In th meantime I am riding a Kawasaki Versys, it may not be as sexy as a Triumph or Italian, but it is RELIABLE! That is worth everything to me!

[Threewheelbonnie]

2004 Triumph Bonneville Black. Did a three week tour of France then a two weeker into Germany as far as the Polish border two up with camping gear, four dragon rallies, three nationals, an Elefant and all sorts of tours of Scotland, Wales and so on regardless of time of year. Fitted the sidecar in 2007 and now getting ready for Morocco. The faces of people on 125 traillies when you pull up on a fake classic with a lump of Russian steel on the side half way up some (dry) green lane is usually a picture! Loons who think you should keep it clean or fit chromed piston rings are a minor hazard of owning something that looks old, but a look at the bash plate is usually enough to confirm I really don't have any serious opinion on the merrits of a Storming-Archer Coffee grinder over a total loss teas maid.

It's been on the recovery truck twice, first time with a coil failure second with the main earth cable snapped off. Both are items I could now fix at the the side of the road basically with experience of where things are on this bike. Unlike various Bavarian Tractors and the Yam that came before it, this one isn't a rusty dog yet either, Triumph will still be using lead based paint or such like.

What don't I like/didn't I like: The fuel tank is too small; if the seat is good for 400 miles why fit a 140 mile tank? I fitted an auxilliary. Changing a rear puncture is a PITA. Taking the silencers off is only a 5 minute job and I won't loose HP on a high level system, but they could have routed them an inch higher and saved hassle.

All in all does anything you like and keeps doing it so long as you fit knobblie-ish tyres for the winter. I set off to buy an R80GS but the Bonneville does the job and isn't 20-years old or an expensive rebuild.

Only thing I'd swap it for if I used my head would be the same again but with the FI motor.

Edit to add: A huge advantage of using a road bike is that plenty of the Sunday-Cafe-and-home-for-tea-and-polish people put lots of nice OE bits like silencers (which get dinged) on e-bay for silly money. Tyres can be picked up the same way.

Andy

[steved1969]

Honda TransAlp, 2007 model (the last of the 650's). To be honest it's probably been the least satisfying of all the bikes I have owned. The most uncomfortable seat of any of the nine or ten bikes I have owned, poor tank range and an absolute PITA to work on.

It's the last point that really was the straw that broke the camels back though, having to displace a radiator in order to recover a spark plug due to an awful engine design was the true tipping point.

It just never turned out to be the bike I hoped it would be. Swapping it for a new Tenere on Thursday as I have really liked other big singles that I have owned.

[Caminando]

I agree with Ed, the Africa Twin it is.

I am aware of its faults, but it is reliable and I like it. In better hands than mine this bike can do amazing things. Every time I think I want 10 more bhp, I think of Stanley Glanfield, who in 1928 went RTW on a 3.5 hp Rudge.

PS liked your blog Ed.

[Magnon]

We did several years of European tours on a Guzzi le Mans, R80ST, Guzzi Spada and K100. The K100 was traded in for the current R100GS almost 20 years ago when we decided to go to Cape Town. At the time the K100 with fuel injection etc. was considered a liability in Africa but now fuel injection and a lot of other technology is so well developed that it's way more reliable than points and carbs so 'fix by the side of the road-ability' doesn't really come into it.

Am I still happy with the R100GS - yes in a sentimental sort of way, however, watch this space as she'll be taking us on another extended 2 up trip in the not too distant future. She will probably eventually be superceded by something more modern but if BMW want the business they'll have to try a bit harder (get rid of telelever forks and all that unnecessary electronic stuff ABS, ESA etc.)

[tmotten]

Originally Posted by edteamslr

.... and I've come to realise that you really have to LOVE your adventure bike. ....

Absolutely. First time I saw the Dakar I fell in love with it. Looked at getting the better (off-road) 640A but am glad I went with the more modern Dakar. FI rocks. It also doesn't seem to take long to discover if it's a lemon or not. Re-discovered it on the trip by riding it progressively more aggressively. Great in the twisties, great on the dirt roads. Makes all you photo's look great also, which is nice.

Needs some modding, few things removed (possum scraper) but I don't think there is a more documented bike out there. Which makes it an idiot proof self-sufficient bike. Also nice because I loath going to a BMW dealer. It's good untill you get approached by the staff.