Hi guys and girls,

In a few months I'll be escaping my corporate hell and will be looking to get a new bike for hopefully a decent trip. Whether I ride it UK to India or just pootle around Morocco I don't know yet, but it will have to be capable of at least a bit of rough stuff even if it will, if I'm honest with myself, do most of its miles on the tarmac.

I'd got it down to a toss up between a used Tiger 800XC, a F800GS and the Africa Twin. Obviously the AT tickles my fancy but will end up costing a fair bit more so I'd need to justify it in some way. Enter the new Vstrom 650 which comes out this month - cool looking, cheaper by a long way than the AT, economical etc etc. Also probably better for my 5'6" frame as well.

So, what are people's views on this? I know the Vstrom isn't an off-road god but neither am I (my off-road experience is limited to parking on the pavement) but I am looking at going off the beaten track at least a bit and worry that the Vstrom just won't hack it. I'm also a short-arse and don't like lugging great big heavy bikes around. Anyone done serious touring on a Wee Strom that can advise?

Thanks in advance

Done quite a few miles on the second generation V-Strom 650 ie less than 5 years old and it'll tour quite happily two up with luggage.

Not so sure about the sensibilities of going for the more off-road looking version ie the XT one, as the extras seem to be window dressing, especially if you're not planning on doing much off roading.

Have you thought about the CB500x as it is that bit lower etc than the V-Strom, and quite a bit cheaper based on list prices?

The wire wheels are probably the only thing the XT has over the standard that makes any sense if I'm honest.I'd not really looked at the CB as I don't want to go that small in the engine department. You're right though, the extra ££ for an Vstrom XT does make me wonder what you're really getting and if a "proper" adventure bike wouldn't be better...

I know its not the end of the world but being short arsed the wee may not suit you in the rough stuff due to ride height unless lowered. That maybe more of an issue than power. Finally for the difference in price between a gt or xt..... go gt and put the money saved into proper offroad stuff. Best of luck on your trip even if it is just off the pavement.

[Insert Standard Light Bikes Comment Here]

Seriously though, if you want to get off the beaten track but have very limited experience doing so all these big beasts will hold you back.

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[ Tim | History - NW Italy/French Rivera, Swiss Alps, Morocco | 2016 - Greece > Albania > Macedonia > Kosovo > Montenegro > Bosnia > Slovenia > Austria ]

The Tiger 800XC, F800GS and the Africa Twin would be great for modern roads and motorways, but once out of western Europe you don't need such big capacity bikes.

The new Vstrom is over 210kg with fuel which is more than 65kg heavier than my KTM 690 Enduro. Have you considered the CCM GP450 or other lighter bikes?

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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)

+1 On the above.

Lovely tourer, reliable, a swine on service day with the top/back plug buried under lots of plastic, a lardy pig, but a survivable lardy pig off road.

There is no perfect answer, all ego massaging capacity motorway cruisers are lardy pigs on mud. You choose which is most important to you.

I'd have another V-strom, but I like the CB500, NC750, AT etc. as well. The Triumph and BMW take overweight and over priced outside my personal tolerance zone.

Google V-strom.co.uk , there is a very active forum.

Enjoy your trip

Andy

If you don't have any off road experience but want to do some I'd suggest booking an off road day with the use of their bikes.

I've used the 'Yamaha off road experience' school based in Wales 3 times over the years and can't rate them enough. They use WR's and TTR's of various capacity and instructors are all ex or current enduro professionals.

Website below

Yamaha Offroad Experience - Motorcycle Experience - Enduro

Happy travels

Bones

Plus One on getting training to build Off Road skills. You'll soon learn that a big bike (ALL on your Fav's list) are not ideal off road.

Sure, the Vstrom is capable and with a good pilot on board can cope if bike is set up for off road. But it's no walk in the park in the rough stuff. NONE you listed really are save perhaps the Africa Twin.

At the school you'll be on 250's. And that is where you need to begin if you hope to gain any confidence/skill off road. I'm 5'6" too and have ridden dirt bikes all my life. You can do it. Do cross training on mountain bike, get stronger.

Vstroms have been taken to really unlikely places and survived.

This is a hard question to answer ... so many elements to address:
Cost, Weight, Flash factor, re-sale, reliability long term, On Road AND Off road
capability. You won't get it all in one bike.

Do consider the Honda CB500X. Good value IMO. Maybe put that off road kit on it?
Or ... find a XT600 single or 660 Tenere', or Honda XR650L or something.
These big singles won't match the others for on road comfort or packing up but if you plan rough tracks, big 650 class thumpers are quite good. But still ... very heavy vs. a WR250R.

The 250's like the WR250R aren't road blasters like the AT, Tiger, GS but as mentioned, in some places you don't need a lot of top speed. And if you want to explore ... a lightweight 250 is a very good place to start.

If you resign yourself to stay mainly on road ... the Vstrom is very good value.
I did 90K miles on a Vstrom, much in Baja, all over Mexico. Stone reliable, easy maintenance.

I for sure would NOT buy the latest fancy XT version. Buy a nice used original one.
Of the bikes mentioned, the Tiger 800 is my fav for ROAD riding ... but comes LAST off road. The AT will be expensive with few used examples around. Tiger and GS very expensive for service unless you can do it all yourself. I had a Triumph
Tiger 1050 ... dealer wanted $800 for a valve adjustment/service!!

I would start small, ride a year or two, then move up if you feel the need and can then handle a bigger, heavier bike after honing your skills on the small bike.

V-strom is very reliable and comfortable bike with good tank range.
You can do light off roading just fine on it, remember it's not the bike but the rider. I learnt first to ride off-road on bigger bike before I tried dirt bikes.
Fully recommend v-strom xt, best value for the money.

Thank you all for your advice and comprehensive replies.

Whatever I get would also probably be my main mode of transport, which puts me off the idea of a single. A friend of mine is a KTM fanboy and is pushing the 690 so I'll give that some more thought. I had a 660 Tenere that I bought a couple of years ago and lowered with the intention of finally doing a decent trip but had to sell it before I went anywhere when I accidentally got a job abroad. It was a heavy beat in my opinion but I kind of liked it, although being raised on sports bikes I did get a bit fed up with the single, hence thinking mainly of twins.

As for off-road schools - yes, that is on the lost of things to look into doing. I was considering wither the Yamaha one or the BMW school. I don't see myself questing across the wastelands but more just crappy roads/dirt tracks when the tarmaac runs out. Even so I'll try and get something in.

Thanks again

The KTM 690 is a great bike ... but not the perfect travel bike IMO. There is no subframe, so you have to make mods to carry luggage ... but it can be done.

It's also a very maintenance intensive machine.

But for you, the main draw back may be it's height. It's a tall one! But you may be able to use lowering links,
raise fork tubes up in triple clamps and use a cut down seat ... all in an effort to lower the 690 down a bit.

The good news is how light weight the 690 is vs. other bikes. And ... the POWER!
Awesome power! Just make sure you take care with oil changes, valve adjustments and all should be good ... OH ... and the KTM is very very expensive.

I toured around the Baja Peninsular on a hired 650 Vstrom. 2 up fully loaded.

Bike performed great. Sure its not designed for hard core off road but we did quite a bit of the Baja 1000 race course and it performed admirably.

I also own a 08 DL1000 Vstrom and its certainly better on road 2 up, but I highly rate the 650 for what you say you are planning.

Even construction roads can turn into an adventure , especially when encountered " just over the hill" while a watering truck is coming up your side. So have a bike for the "worst case" then enjoy the ride, otherwise you can be reading the road rather than enjoying the view.

The remarks above are rather out of date. Pre-2012 there were two models, a lowish 'E' and a higher 'R', the engine was about 650cc, service intervals were short, and there were reliability problems around the valves and head.

And then the bike was re-worked. From 2012 onwards the 'E' was dropped, the 'R' was lowered to the height of the 'E', the engine size increased to 690cc, the head/valves reworked, service interval increased to 10,000km. So the remarks from Mollydog must all be about the old bikes.

I've just returned from a 3,200km trip combining on-tarmac and off-tarmac. I oiled the chain from time to time and adjusted it once. I checked the engine oil daily but didn't need to add any. That was the sum total of my maintenance. The bike has now done almost 25,000 km and apart from chain/engine oil checking I've done nothing between 10,000 km services.

You don't have to make mods to carry luggage. I have pillion pegs fitted and sometimes carry a passenger which is far heavier than luggage.

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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)