We are hopeful beginning overseas bike travelers?? Having ridden our Harley Davidson's around Australia in 2015, we now want to venture further. However the great dilemma of which bike? as we want smaller / lighter bikes for overseas. Main problem is we are not tall (165cm and 168cm) which cuts out the large majority of adventure bikes. We plan to start off with South / Central America and need bikes that can handle some off road.

Have just purchased a BMW F700 GS, with low seat, lowered suspension as a trial. Also considering buying a Triumph Bonneville T100 air-cooled (re the low height) but not sure re off road capability. Plan to play around with bikes 2016 and depart 2017......Any inspirational thoughts, experiences, ideas are very much welcomed. As this is all new to us.... thanks Pete & Jules

Are you riding 2 up? Where are you from? Or buying in? Things like this will determine which types of bike are available to you, also it will get you better answers because not all bike are easily available in every country

There are a lot of bikes on the market which can wok for you on your travels

If you are both riding then there is nothing wrong with the CRF 250L, they can be lowered a bit and are being used on a RTW now.

If you are riding two up then you with need a bigger bike. There is a number to choose from, but I am not sure if they can all be lowered, some might need better seats to make the journey more comfortable.

There are a lot of good and bad points for most bikes, but some common travellers bike are

KLR 650
XT 600/600E
XT 660Z Tenere
CB500X
DR650

to name but a few

There is a lot of info on these bike on the site, use the search bar and have a look. Also use the relevant Tech sections

I have ridden the CRF for 8 weeks round Thailand and Laos, it was a great little bike and if I settle in Thailand in the future (which is the plan) I am going get one. It went everywhere.

I own a XT600E in the UK, a great basic bike, maybe a little under powered for 2 up riding if you plan on blasting down main roads and you would need to change the seat as it is not the best. But having aid that it is a basic bike to work on, single cylinder, carb and air cooled so no fancy electrics and gimmicks. I have just recently ridden the Balkans on it and it did everything I asked
There are links to my reports and a link to my XT600E in my signature block.

Snakeboy has a XT660Z and has ridden it across continents, if he sees this he may add some info on that for you ( I met him in Laos, nice bike but tall and I am not sure if it can be lowered enough)

All the best with what ever you decide and do

Wayne


Edit..., just re-read your name, so I am assuming Australia

Wayne

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The Balkans
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Thanks Wayne for your ideas, will check out the suggestions and as you say, there are a few. We will be riding single, so taking two bikes from Australia and the plan is to ship the bikes over to our first destination. Then leave them in central America with family, to then collect on the next trip and head North for the next trip.....All in early planning stages at the moment....Thanks and Cheers and ride safe

Ok.. I would say that the CRF 250L would be a good choice, you could also look at the KLX250

Wayne

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The Balkans
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I've had a Bonneville along various sorts of rough track. It is no MX bike but will do it if you fit more knobbly tyres. I have also had a V Strom and F650 singles. As a short**** these top heavy monsters are no better.

Bonneville Advantages are the low height, good service intervals and relative simplicity, common enough parts, good motorway manners, toughness.

Disadvantages are poor range, shimmed valves, an exhaust that needs to come off for puncture repairs, weak spokes, a starter motor used as a sump guard and a coil fitted inside a water scoop. Build quality is awful and they sell thousands, so ride rather than polish the the value falls like a knackered lift in a disaster movie.

Good prep cures everything bar the small tank and need to shim the valves every 12000 miles. This is why I switched to the Guzzi V7. Same spec but tubeless and with a 300 mile range.

Familiarity with a bike is a massive plus IMHO. If you know Harley why not just lightly toughen up a Sportster? Knobblier tyres and fixes for style rubbish like peanut tanks leaves you something that has the same rough road capability as a Bonneville or any other road bike. I would have gone this route as I think the parts from the big tourers can be made to fit the Sportster. The dealers here are polish and teashirt boutiques hence I never took that idea further as I could learn Guzzi just as easily.

If you will truely ride off road for fun not just to get places, forget the Charlie bikes and Touratech photo shoots, the height and weight will always be a PITA, you want a 250 trail bike lowered so you can ride it.

Andy

If SA is your target a Honda Tornado 250 available in SA is an option, it can be lowered about 5 cms

BMW F700GS will do just fine, solo or 2 up. the more you question the more confusing, just ride man.

Any special reason why you would spend THOUSANDS shipping your bikes from OZ to ... where ever? Buy bikes in USA (bikes are cheaper in USA) ride from there, then re-sell or ship out after Cent. and S. America are done. Or ride back to USA and sell legally, getting most of your money back.

Bike choice depends how much you want to explore off road ... or will you avoid any dirt tracks? (You miss a lot if only on tarmac) You may also have big detours to avoid dirt tracks. Roads wash out all the time ... you may have to ride a tough, muddy track to get round the wash out.

Do either of you have dirt bike/off road riding experience?

BMW F700GS is a nice road bike but heavy, expensive, not that reliable, especially with questionable fuel. Certainly not easy to ride off road. Triumph better but also not great off road, quite heavy. (light compared to your Harley's of course)
(TIP: light weight is GOOD!)

IMO, go smaller on bike choice. Once south of USA, speeds are lower. So a fast road bike for crossing Oz not required for most of Mex, Cent. and S. America. Back roads are the best, most fun, most scenic. Figure speeds to be 35 mph to 60 mph average. Traffic in cities can be BRUTAL ... a small bike is much easier to work your way through on a 40C day.

The Honda CRF250L has been mentioned. Good choice if prepped properly. Fantastic off road, good on highway too, bit tight to pack up and a tiny bike. But if you're small folk, may fit you. ??

Other 650 class singles could also be good. They are my 1st choice in fact and what I ride. KLR650, G650 BMW(Sertao), XR650L Honda and Suzuki DR650. (Yamaha XT, 660 Tenere' series NOT SOLD in USA or Canada)

The Suzuki DR650 has lowest seat height, also inexpensive, reliable, easy to ride. Can cruise smoothly all day at 75 mph and will tackle dirt tracks nearly as good as the CRF250L. On single track, mud and deep sand, the CRF250L Honda will be better. Also consider Yamaha WR250R or Kawi KLX250S in 250cc class. All good, tough little bikes. I ride a 650 but have decade of off road/enduro experience. For beginners, a 250cc may be better. Another big plus for 250 is fuel economy!
60 to 70 mpg vs. 50 mpg on DR650, Honda XR650L, XT600. (BMW Sertao does 70 mpg)

I would not go larger than 650cc due to weight ... AND you may have MORE FUN riding 250's if new to off road riding. But NOTE: only about 30% at most would be off road ... probably a bit less. But when you need it ... YOU NEED IT. (off road capability that is ...)

All bikes I mentioned are sold here in USA. Easy to do, many Aussies have done this.

Thanks for all this information....we are going to look @ the 250's. We have off road experience but limited to messing about on dirt bikes in the outback and not a great deal of it. We are not planning off road to any great extent but as you mentioned, it's going to be there and we need to have the capability to manage it (will put in some practice Km's in Aussie prior).

The DR650 we had seriously looked @ but the height is still a tad over 800 seat height Interesting thought re the Sporty's, but feel that HD reliability is too questionable, as experienced enough issues on our around Oz trip.

Good point re the F700GS BMW and questionable fuel.....Lots to think of here.

FYI, reason we were shipping to SA is re bike set up and have family in Central America and thinking to leave bikes with and then return for another trip....even RTW eventually?
Cheers for your comments

Hi Guys,

The first thing Id look at is your time frame for the trip, if you have a long time to ride then then as the guys have said, I'd go with Honda CRF250L or buy 250 Tornado's in South America, if you have 6 months and you want to travel all around South America then Id go with something in the ~600cc class. Also if you plan on riding around North America later on and you have limited time then a ~600cc might be better. If time is no problem go with the 250's and keep off the freeways, you will NEVER wish your bike was bigger and heavier, the CRF250L is a great bike.

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Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

Keep in mind the DR650 seat height can easily be lowered 2 inches using lowering links. (about $40 USD)
To match with the front, you simply raise fork tube UP in triple clamps. We've set up DR650's for Women 5' 2. Feet in the floor!

Try one out, lots of knowledge on the DR650 in Oz, lots of support and expertise. One Ozzie expert is here, read all doctor grey's posts on the DR Riders forum or ask questions.
DR650 adventure series: putting lipstick on the bush pig! : Moto-Hollywood - Page 2

Good move to practice off road a bit in Oz before departure

If you have the money then ship bikes over. (add about $2000 USD per bike to budget)

Great planning, have fun. Do test rides, see what you come up!

There are some other riders from Australia, who toured the world on a Harley ElectraGlide. Peter and Kay Forwood.

You can read their adventures here: Peter and Kay Forwood on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. World's Most Travelled Motorcycle.

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Jan Krijtenburg

My bikes are a Honda GoldWing GL1200 and a Harley-Davidson FXD Dyna Super Glide

My personal homepage with trip reports: https://www.krijtenburg.nl/
YouTube channel (that I do together with one of my sons): motormobilist.nl

I think you may be overthinking it all a bit. You will have to actively seek dirt roads in CA and SA and most are relatively smooth. I'm riding a huge Victory cruiser and I'm in Ecuador now, having ridden from New York City.

I don't recommend the 250 bikes because not a day has gone by on this trip that I haven't run for at least an hour at over 100 kph. Not being a sitting duck is priceless

Most any bike with some aggressive tires can handle whatever Latin America can throw at it. If someone is short, try a Honda Shadow 750, they need nothing and will make it with just oil and tire changes.. The usual KLDR650s are fine, So are GS500s, Vulcan 750 etc.. Buy in the US where it is cheap. Spend no more than $2000 on a trip ready bike and don't sweat it.

This guy paid $700 for his bike in CA leather type saddlebags and everything. He's had no trouble so far going to Argentina.

The best bike for you is the one you feel happy with. What do you like? what suits you? You can do long distance trips on just about anything today, from C 90 Honda cub's to the often quoted Electraglide of Peter and Kay Forwood. Most opiners quote what suited them, or what they believe to be the ideal transport. There is a huge choice out there and it may be entirely different for you. If you like your F 700 and it suits your riding style/budget/planned route, then use it. You can get bogged down in the detail as other have said, and you may end up chosing the wrong thing based on opinion rather than suitability.

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-''It is better to walk alone than with a crowd going in the wrong direction''. ( Herman Siu)
-'' Live life then give life '' (www.lltgl.org.uk)