Hi All,

Many thanks to those who replied to my post in the XT Tech forum. I'm moving here as it's more appropriate.

I have a shortlist of bikes for a RTW off road trip with lots of stops planned to unload luggage and play on more challenging trails. I'd appreciate any comments on these bikes from those in the know.

1. Honda XR650L: Not as hard to get hold of as I first thought, heavy-ish, heard some reports of poor fuel consumption.

2. Yamaha TT600E: Easy to get, slightly cheaper than the XR650L, heavy-ish, heard some reports of leaky forks, spares cheaper than honda.

3. Honda XR400 with E-Start kit from joe racer products in the US: Lighter, same power and torque as TT600E. Higher compression 9.3 vs 8.3 for the others, oil carried in frame (not sure if this should worry me or not), sub-frame may need strengthening to carry load?, bad fuel consumption?, cheapest although e-start kit adds 1300USD

All are air cooled (simple) and seem to have bullet proof reliability as far as I can gather. I couldn't find power & torque and compression ratio figures for the XR650L so if anyone knows...I'll most likely go for a new one rather than a used one unless it is nearly new especially for the XR650L and TT which are easier to get new.

Thanks Andy.