Definitive bike choice

[*Touring Ted*]

Im doing a Pan America trip and going nuts with bike choice. Iv shortlisted a few so please tell me what you think.

I know this has been done to death so apologies.

I have a budget of about £2500-£3000 for the bike. Options are:

Yamaham XT600E : Cheap, reliable & trustworthy but underpowered & not great handling (I own one now)

Kawasaki KLR: Same as above but even worse handling

Transalp: Tell me about it ?

Dominator: Tell me about it ? I hear its kinda fragile and drops valves, burns oil etc

BMW F650: Seems popular but I hear alot of reliabilty issues and its expensive

Africa twin: Iv had 2 but they're getting rare and rather big & heavy

KTM Adventure: Unreliable & impossible to get parts ?

Honda XR650L: Seems perfect but subrame is weak and very rare (import)

Honda XR650R: Great but subrame made of chocolate and very vibey (I had one)

The big GS's and KTM's dont really interest me. I dont want to look like a rich gringo plus they cost too much.

[Dodger]

Are you going to bring it over or buy in the USA ?

[JamesCo]

Get the KLR and you'll be happy. That was easy, eh?

Buy a new one in the states (£2,500) & kit it out there, too. You've left the DR650 off your list - that'd be the other bike I'd consider for doing my SA trip again.

Have fun,
James

[*Touring Ted*]

Originally Posted by JamesCo

Get the KLR and you'll be happy. That was easy, eh?

Buy a new one in the states (£2,500) & kit it out there, too. You've left the DR650 off your list - that'd be the other bike I'd consider for doing my SA trip again.

Have fun,
James

The KLR was at the bottom of my list Popular but kinda lame aint it ?

[*Touring Ted*]

Originally Posted by Dodger

Are you going to bring it over or buy in the USA ?

The plan is to buy and prep in the Uk and fly it over. I considered buying in the USA but i cant really be bothered landing without a bike and having to make a base to search and prep for a bike.

I wanna ride out of the airport

[Dodger]

Originally Posted by tedmagnum

The plan is to buy and prep in the Uk and fly it over. I considered buying in the USA but i cant really be bothered landing without a bike and having to make a base to search and prep for a bike.

I wanna ride out of the airport

Then bring your XT .

[aatc9988]

Hi Ted,

The KLR's on my short list. There's a crap load of relatively inexpensive stuff on this side of the pond to make it a reasonably well handling and an immensely reliable overlander.

Cheers
Al

[bikerz]

you forgot one,
how about a real basic easy to fix at the side of the road with minimal tools, tour all day at 65mph and return 80 mpg and remarkably reliable if you prep it properly before you go.cheap tyres, cheap chain sprockets etc and never likely to get nicked?
don't laff - a royal enfield 500.

[oldbmw]

Originally Posted by bikerz

you forgot one,
how about a real basic easy to fix at the side of the road with minimal tools, tour all day at 65mph and return 80 mpg and remarkably reliable if you prep it properly before you go.cheap tyres, cheap chain sprockets etc and never likely to get nicked?
don't laff - a royal enfield 500.

If you not in a hurry might work out, but I think your 65mph all day is slightly optimistic. more like 50-60 from memory . for about £150 you can up the fuel tank to 20 litres from the 14.5 that comes standard. This gives an easy 300 mile range.

[liketoride2]

If you purchased a KLR 650 in the UK wouldn't it be a C model, not the A model sold in North America? I've never ridden, or even seen, a C model but from what I've read they are much inferior to the A model as an adventure bike (see Chris Scott's "Adventure Motorcycling Handbook" for comments on the two).

I must disagree with your statement that the KLR handles poorly if you mean the
A model. I have two friends who are ex road racers and ride theirs incredibly quickly and often comment on how well they handle for the type of bike that they are.

IMHO, the KLR 650A is an excellent adventure bike - reliable, handles all types of surfaces and terrain well, simple and easy to work on and repair, pleasant to ride for a single cylinder dual sport bike, and inexpensive to purchase. They do need a few upgrades for improvement in reliability and performance but there is a large aftermarket for this here in the US and the finished bike still won't be costly. I would recommend not exceeding the bikes GVWR or using it for two up adventure riding.

After much mental agonizing about it I chose a KLR for my rtw ride, had no problems with it whatsoever except for an aftermarket chain breaking, and would make the same choice again. Just my 2 cents worth.

Mike
Idaho
www.rtwrider.net

[surf dude]

Most trips are on asphalt or dirt roads how about a Susuki DL 650?

[Walkabout]

Originally Posted by bikerz

you forgot one,
how about a real basic easy to fix at the side of the road with minimal tools, tour all day at 65mph and return 80 mpg and remarkably reliable if you prep it properly before you go.cheap tyres, cheap chain sprockets etc and never likely to get nicked?
don't laff - a royal enfield 500.

Another positive comment from this thread a while back; except some folk say that 100mpg can be achieved - I guess you have to go easy on the throttle.