Hi all,

I'm looking into buying a motorcycle for a trans Africa trip. My choice has fallen on the F650GS or R1150GS. I need to (but cant) decide between these two lovely machines. Although safety and comfort is paramount during the African journey, I'm hoping that my eventual choice will serve me for many years as a touring bike in and around Europe and later Southern Africa. I'll also be using the bike for daily commuting in the future. Finally, I don’t want the bike to be shy for a little off road’ing (and with this I mean occasionally tacking a dirt track instead of a tarred road; no serious motor-x'ing is intended)

From what I've been reading it seems as if money was no problem the 1150GS would be favored, given the sheer power and comfort is offers. The only downside seems to be the weight and consequent handling in sandy conditions.

On the other hand, there are numerous testimonials of people using the F650GS down to Cape-Town, two-up'ing with comfort and almost never complaining about any lack of power.

So what are those magic pointers which I'm missing to make up my mind? Per example, taken the following criteria, which would come out tops:
- Using leaded and unleaded fuel
- Availability of accessories, such as long distance fuel tanks
- Comfort for touring 2000 km + tours, single with small load
- Comfort fro touring 1000 km + tours, two up with medium load

If the answer to all these indicates the R1150GS to be favored *slightly*, does it justify the additional cost? If I bought the F650GS and did all the above, where would I go wrong?

Thanks for the insights!

Rudi