New to this place, well, we have spent the last 6 months reading just about every book on the subject so now you guys will have to put up with us on here Hi, I'm Pete and the better half is Caf.
Were off to India and back ( from the UK ) leaving July/August 2009 and have a SMALL problem I married this fantastic cool chic but she has a 30" inside leg and is 7 1/2 stone (which has it's good points ) but can anybody recommend a manufacture/model of bike that at least share some common parts, we were thinking that if I had something along the lines of a 600cc and she had a 400/350/250 that I could carry more of the heavy stuff and her the light and bulky, any advice/help would be warmly recieved, oh I can't find a spell check so if I made loads of mistakes please bear with me it's not something i'm very good at
Looking forward to hours swating up
Pete & Caf

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Vietnam, Cambodia & Thailand 2016
Buenos Aires to NYC 2012-2013: www.facebook.com/curryhunt
India and back 2009-2010:

Two couples that spring to mind, but none with all the properties you're looking for.

A KTM LC4 400 and 640 are pretty much the same parts wise, but they're both pretty high.

The other would be a BMW F650, a dakar and a lowered version for her and a Dakar for you. But then that's two times the same 650, and maybe on the heavy side.

Alternatively, I wouldn't be bothered by sharing spares to much.

Thanks for the reply, the GS will be a bit to heavy for Caf but the KTM route is one we were thinking of,just need to see if lowering one is possible ? ( bit of a KTM fan, riding a SuperDuke R at the mo )

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Vietnam, Cambodia & Thailand 2016
Buenos Aires to NYC 2012-2013: www.facebook.com/curryhunt
India and back 2009-2010:

As Robert says,i would'nt be too fussed about having both bikes with a lot of common parts either or you vastly limit your options.If speed isn't the issue,try looking at something like a Yam Serrow or TTR250 for her and maybe an XT for yourself?The more basic the bike,the more chance you have of getting it fixed if it packs up on route,so i'd look towards something aircooled,single cylinder,steel frame,preferably with the option of a centre stand.

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Just going for a short ride on my bike....

How about a WRF250 and a WRF450

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Home of the UK Coast 2 Coast off-road Challenge
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I dont know wheather your looking at doing off roading or not (i know sometimes you dont have the choice in some forgien countys) but what about a Honda CB500 or the CBF500. 500cc twin engine so its got enough poke to hold its own any road, is low enough for most smaller people, isnt too heavy (well i think) has plenty of accessories and extra that can be placed to help protect/lower/etcetc.

Both riders could use the Honda CB/F500 which means both spares and tools can be shared and also because they are used very often by couriers/commuters there are alot of spares/cheap alternatives.

Its very hard to find 2 bikes that spares/tools can be used on both. Its normally either 2 totally different bikes or the same.

I would go with the same bike and the more experienced ride (9times out of 10 the male) should take slightly more equipment. It means that both riders have the same power, wiegh etc and one doesnt feel as if they could push on. Also it means both riders find the same problems ie 70mph on somebikes is vibey but 75mph is fine.

I agree, go with bikes of different power capability and she will forever be feeling like she's struggling to keep up, not a nice feeling to have. In fact extremely wearing and very tiring after a long day, never mind after months and months of travel. Even if you try to ride slow you'll probably find the bike naturally drifts up to what feels like a comfy speed. That speed might be a vibey, windblown mission for her. The lowered F650 for her and the Dakar for you sounds like a good idea to me. If you aren't off-roading the weight of the bike is less of an issue.

I would suggest that any lass who's thinking about riding to India and back should be good enough to handle an F650 which is widely recognised as a forgiving 'beginners' bike.

PS: personally I think too much is made of seat height. I am a 5' 9" short arse with a 30" inside leg who, due to far too many snowboarding, motorcycling and shed (Don't ask!) accidents is about as flexible as an eighty year old (my physio reckons I'll be needing a new hip before I'm 50!). I have to stand on my left hand footpeg to get on my XT but once I'm on it's fine. I can touch the floor with both toes, and that's plenty.

Hope you find a solution that suits.

Matt

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*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!

I met a german girl in south america on a KTM 650. She was small (like me about 1.62 around 5"2' I think) So it is possible to lower this bike considerably. Suggestions for this: scoop out the foam, lower the front fork, cut the rear shock spring, replace the 21' front wheel by a 19' wheel etc....

I did found very useful during my trip that my husband had the same bike than me. Everytime something went wrong on my bike, we were able to look at his to compare! And God did we use his bike as template, as my bike kept breaking down over and over again!

KTMs are nice but without wanting to offend anyone, not the most reliable for what I've heard? Yamaha, honda or suzuki seem to be toughest bikes out there.

I found the most difficult on my trip, from a woman perspective, was the weight of the luggage. Your partner is very light, with the luggage at the back, the front wheel would hardly touch the ground. A a result the bike is very hard to handle off-road. So be a gentleman and carry the heaviest stuff for her. Get as much weigh on the front of the bike as possible.
Also, being able to put BOTH feet flat will make a massive difference on dirt roads. How many times did I stop, put one foot down, to find that suddenly the ground was sooo much lower than I could reach, and drop the bike! And then the husband had to pick it up offcourse !

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Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

Why not go this way? This is one of the best bikes that I have seen for touring, cheap (carnet too), reliable, get parts anywhere, ride height is very forgiving, and easy to sell after your trip. I ride a BMW 1200 and have met a few people on these and they all say that they are not the fastest bikes but are great for traveling!

Ask Beddhist, Germany to NZ and all in between.......haha

Good luck.

I'm looking at a bike for my mrs as well.She's only 5ft or 5'1/2'' if you ask her and we've narrowed it down to an XT225/250.It light,has a strong subframe and parts are plentiful.It's also very reliable and can cruise at 100kph without a problem and when it's not touring makes an economical commuter.We plan doing a reasonable amount of dirt riding so this bike suits my wife.



Here's a couple of sites.
XT225 Home 2006

XT225 Serow Riders in the UK/USA

The other bike we looked at is a Honda SL230.Still a nice bike but no longer available in Oz and less comon so parts are rarer.
Both are 6 speed as far as I'm aware.


Cheers
Andrew

What about a V Strom 1000 for you..
and a 650 for the missus..
lot of bike for your dollar..
great touring bikes.....

Many thanks for all the replys, our first choice was 650 GS's but she feels that the weight may be a problem off road, well, broken untarmaced roads.
She has no off road experience although rides in the fast group on trackdays on her Triumph 675 Daytona.We are swinging towards XT660R for me and a XT225 for her, with her carrying all the light stuff and me loaded to the hilt.
Visited the local BMW dealer but they didn't have a secondhand 650GS for her to try out, we'll keep looking but her eyes lit up when she saw the spec of the little XT

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Vietnam, Cambodia & Thailand 2016
Buenos Aires to NYC 2012-2013: www.facebook.com/curryhunt
India and back 2009-2010:

I would really recommend taking the same bike, another factor that may make it easier than you think for the lady is that most bikes are set up for 75-80 kg rider, so most ladies with luggage will be around this mark, the luggage will sink the bike on its suspension a little making the ground closer. My wife is 5 foot six and rides a Yamaha TT600RE, she struggles to touch the ground with no luggage but is fine without,
Taking the same bike makes a lot of sense from tonnes of angles, some already mentioned but the main for us was the cruising speed sweet spot being the same, a big factor on a long trip.

Make sure she does an off-road course before you start travel. She will be glad she did.
Even if you do not buy a BMW, (and God knows I do have a dent against them by now and would never buy anything with that logo on!) I do recommend the BMW off-road course. (see my review of it on my website: Post "BMW Off-road course")

It is very well designed and will give her a lot of confidence on dirt. Also their bikes are low and they have women only days, which might be a good option for her.

They are lots of other off-road courses around, but bikes I think tend to be a bit too tall, and falling off all the time is not fun!

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Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

Good suggestion earlier - a V-Strom 650 and 1000. Lots of bike for dollar and lots of utility.

IMHO, Height is a bigger issue than weight - Motorcycle Judo - You don't have to carry the weight just manage, balance and ride the thing. If it is dropped, usually because it is too high, others are around to help.