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Which Bike? Comments and Questions on what is the best bike for YOU, for YOUR trip. Note that we believe that ANY bike will do, so please remember that it's all down to PERSONAL OPINION. Technical Questions for all brands go in their own forum.
Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 2 Oct 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by indu View Post
The Varadero is a road bike ONLY. Weight, coupled brakes, etc makes it so. You might be able to tip-toe it on a fair gravel road, but don't even think of taking it off road or in conditions where you actually might have to lift the bike up after a spill.

Tenere: I have had the XT660Z Tenere now since July and have ridden it 10 000 km. My initial experiences are outlined here. It is THE bike I'll take to Morocco myself, btw. If SWAMBO agrees, that is.
Thanks HansP, that was exactly what i wanted to know. Road Only pretty much excludes it from the list of potential bikes then. i want something nice on pavement, but stilll solid on gravel, dirt and off road too. I know, im asking for the moon. I have never been a huge BMW fan, but the new 800 looks possible. I was considering KTM 525 or 690, if price is not an issue, otherwise I was thinking KLR or possibly Honda 650XL.

I sure did like the looks of that varadero though. Looked comfy as can be.
Fenian
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Old 2 Oct 2008
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Thumbs up Thanks to all for your input!

I would just like to thank everyone for their input. I really do appreciate it and I love how everyone on this site is so helpful and its extremely rare to find people with elitist attitudes. its definitely a goldmine in my opinion.

I will continue my search for the best bang for the buck bike to do everything atleast decent. With a concentration on pavement due to where I live, but off road'able for when I drive a hour or so and hit some dirt. Plus, the trips and the unforseen dirt roads, singletracks etc etc......


thanks all,
Fenian
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  #3  
Old 2 Oct 2008
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I've also looked at KTM 950,990 and 640 Adventures, BMW 1200 and 800 GS ( lots of them in europe, maybe too many!) and the BMW 650 X challenge
the thing that made me take a second look at the Tenere was the big gaps between the service intervals of 6000 miles (10,000km) as opposed to 3000 miles for the KTM 640. The big KTM's and BMW 1200 are big and heavy for off road.
The BMW 650 X challenge is more off road focused, so lots of modifications to make it realistic on road, seat, fuel range etc.
I'm far from an expert in this field but it looks like we're doing a similar research!
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Old 2 Oct 2008
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Originally Posted by ONyerBIKE View Post
I've also looked at KTM 950,990 and 640 Adventures, BMW 1200 and 800 GS ( lots of them in europe, maybe too many!) and the BMW 650 X challenge
the thing that made me take a second look at the Tenere was the big gaps between the service intervals of 6000 miles (10,000km) as opposed to 3000 miles for the KTM 640. The big KTM's and BMW 1200 are big and heavy for off road.
The BMW 650 X challenge is more off road focused, so lots of modifications to make it realistic on road, seat, fuel range etc.
I'm far from an expert in this field but it looks like we're doing a similar research!

I am going to have to look into the Tenere, but I have never seen one in Canada, and wonder if it is available here or not. Service distances is fairly important. I was looking at the BWM800 and the 650, the 2 new ones that went acrossed Africa. I read the 800 was the better choice, but I have a few new articles yet to read on them. Cost is the kicker with them, and I am not sure on maintenance timings or costs for parts/maint.

Gary
akak Fenian
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Old 2 Oct 2008
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Originally Posted by Fenian View Post
i want something nice on pavement, but stilll solid on gravel, dirt and off road too. .... .... I was considering KTM 525 or 690, if price is not an issue, otherwise I was thinking KLR or possibly Honda 650XL.
Here you really had me blinking my eyes, Gary :

"I want something nice on pavement...."

and

"I was considering KTM525 or..."

in the same paragraph ??!!


Have you ever ridden a 525?

On pavement?

I know the answer.

(because I'm the happy owner of a 525... )
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  #6  
Old 2 Oct 2008
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Originally Posted by GypsyRider View Post
Here you really had me blinking my eyes, Gary :

"I want something nice on pavement...."

and

"I was considering KTM525 or..."

in the same paragraph ??!!


Have you ever ridden a 525?

On pavement?

I know the answer.

(because I'm the happy owner of a 525... )

No, I have never rode a KTM, and the 525 was suggested to me a while ago as a potentially solid bike. Infact Dakar seems to be seeing more of them. I was also struggling with what % of Road vs % of Dirt I wanted the bike to be and what I actually needed as a minimum. Im told any bike even a CBR900RR can do RTW. True as that is, it would be highly dependant on the route selection. Im looking for something that can be nice on pavement (read NICE as not bust my ass 10 minutes in ) I guess I have to choose my words more carefully eh lol!!! What I was saying is I looked at all differnt bikes from the very dirt oriented to the more road oriented, accepting that mods and aftermarket stuff can greatly correct deficiencies in some cases. Im just looking for info as this is the hardest selection I have faced. I know most of my riding will be Paved or gravel due to where I live, but Id hate to me limited to that. Heck, even tire selection is an issue right!!!
Thats what Im saying! Sorry for not being more specific or detailed. Hope that helps!
Gary
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Old 2 Oct 2008
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Was editing this when I saw your location so I thought you may have missed it so I added it as a new post for ya!

Sawasdee Krap Khun GypsyRider. Sabai dee reu mai krap? Khun phoot pasa thai mai krap? Phom phoot Thai nid noi krap, bah mai koy dee tao rai krap!
How do you like Chiang mai? I lived in Thailand 5 seperate times for about 3 months each time. I trained and fought Muay Thai there. Phom Nok Muay, lah Ajarn Muay Thai krap!


By the way, I have rode a 640 for a shirt time, how do y ou feel the 525 compares overall to the 640? We have no KTM dealers anywhere near me, so im SOL for even sitting on one for a bit. All we have around here for dirt oriented DS/DP are KLR, Honda 650XL, DR650 & Yami's, etc - the standard ones.

Chokdee
Gary
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