Hi all,

New to posting here though have been lurking for quite a time. I've been trying to decide on a bike for a RTW and been stuck between the F650 GS Dakar and KTM Adventure-R. Just wondering what anyone thinks this new Beemer will be like, besides big and heavy..
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/d...cumentID=90438

Regards,
Pad.

Pad

If you want to learn more about the F650 GS or Dakar, go to the message board at www.F650.com

I've got the Dakar and am getting organised myself for a overland trip from London to Singapore.

It's fair too say that it isn't the lightest bike in the world, but supposedly it beats the KTM for comfort by quite some way.

The KTM Adventurer is a bit more expensive, but has a larger fuel tank. The BMW F650 GS/ Dakar fuel tank can be enlarged to 39L, but only Touratech makes the bits and pieces and it's £1000 or so. You can buy a bigger acerbics tank for the Pre F650 GS models, which works out cheaper. The earlier models are carburrated, whereas the GS/ Dakar are fuel injected - this may raise a concern about fixability - but the FI gives you better mileage and, at least in my view, shouldn't cause you major grief on the road. If it spits the dummy, I would think of it as a major problem and ensure that I had contacts in UK or wherever you are from to get the bits and pieces you need.

In terms of reliabilty, no idea which is better. There have been some problems with the 650 GS models,. but you can largely eliminate this if you buy the latest models (i.e 2002) and give it a proper test drive before you buy. There has been a tendency for some GS bikes to suffer from stalling and surging.

Personally, I'm very happy with the Dakar. I figure that by the time you gear a bike up for a decent expedition, you are always going to wind up with more weight than you want. It isn't perhaps the perfect offroad bike, but when you balance up the pros and cons I think it fairs quite well.

Other bikes:
The Dominator is perhaps a good alternative. The African Twin and Triumph Tiger are even heavier. Pegaso - very similar to the pre F650 GS models.

Good luck.

Email me if you want to discuss more. I'm based in London.

cheers

Richard (Kiwi)

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The 1150 Adventure looks bloody marvellous - lots of really useful options which I imagine you'd have to pay far more for if you bought a stock GS and added them yourself. And the different gearing sounds v. sensible. What's the price? And what are those black things lurking below the front indicators? They look suspiciously like PIAA lights.

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The KTM is probably much cheaper than the beemer--I was looking at the KTM very seriously, and found a shop in CA willing to sell me a 01 KTM Adventure, new, shipped to me for $6200. Not much more if I bought a 02 locally. As deals go, that is about as good as it gets, I think.