I have a similar inseam as you. Twice I was faced with the decision between a F650GS twin and a F800GS (non-Adventure). Both times I bought the 650GS twin.
Crossing Lak Iriki solo in winter time, but still 30ºC. Luggage offloaded, about to get bike free (again).
I hate punctures in tubed tyres and mainly ride solo, so tubeless is a massive plus for me (and one of the reasons I have just bought a KTM 790 Adventure). I wasn't concerned about the strength of the alloy wheels as I wasn't doing crazy stuff. I did a lot of off-tarmac riding mainly in Morocco with the bikes. It would have been good to have the narrower taller 21-in front wheel, but I had TKC80s which performed well.
Not really technical, just a bit unnerving!
The 24-litre tank in the 850GSA would obviously be useful against the 16 litres in the 650GS but seeing as your riding companion will be limited to the same 16 litres in the F700GS that won't help you much.
The other bike to look at is the XT660Z Tenere which is better out of the box for what you are looking at, but as with the F800GSA it lacks the tubeless tyres.
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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)
Last edited by Tim Cullis; 28 Jun 2019 at 15:24.
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