Too many choices......
 

Looking at buying a bike to make a couple of lengthy trips over the next few years, all involving limited trail/poor surface riding

My heart is crying out to do it on a Royal Enfield Trials, but my head is telling me that a DR650 would be a better ride, and knowing first hand how reliable Honda V twins are I'm very tempted by a Transalp

Looking at travelling very light - so reliablity, servicing while on the road, and spares availablility through Europe and Africa are an important consideration

Any thoughts? Any compelling reasons to go for one bike over any of the others?

Spending just a few minutes reading through older posts and you will have more information regarding "which bike" than any man could read in a lifetime..

Transalp is a fine bike and will do what you want !! It's a nice middle of the road "do everything" machine. The 650 and 600's anyway. The DR650 is also a fantastic touring bike for the offroad orientated. XT600 also !

Remember... You can do any trip on anybike !

A few things that would help folk on here offering you advice is..

1. Your height
2. Your riding/offroad experience
3. Your fitness/strength
4. You mechanical competence.
5. Your BUDGET
6. 1 up / 2 up
7. Your ability to ignore marketing and go with what works instead of what looks like it works.

Welcome to the hubb :D

Thanks Ted,

I had sifted through doing a search on each bike and there was no clear winner - and even the Royal Enfield dealer looked at me like I needed locking up when I told him what I wanted to use the bike for, which tells me all I need to know about the Enfields suitability :thumbdown:

If it will drag out any more opinions the answers to your questions are....

1. About 5'9 / 190cm
2. Professional road rider, off road experience limited, and a long time ago
3. Fit, no health issues
4. No problems with daily maintenance, routine servicing, but bleeding brakes, changing tyres,carb set up, timing, and anything internal would need to be passed over to somebody more adept, or taken very slowly and (haynes/clymer) step by step
5. Budget of around £2500 for a servicable bike - to this I can add necessary spares, better tyres, touring essentials as needed
6. 1 up - looking to put luggage where the pillion would be
7. Not a brandname slave or taken in by advertising, otherwise it'd be an easy choice, I'd just have to pick my favourite BMW colour :laugh:

5'9 or 190 cm ?? I'm 5'11 and 181cm lol.


Well, stay away from anything too complicated and electrical. I think a 600 Transalp would be well within your criteria. The 650 Transalp maybe out of your budget.

The DR650 is more offroad biast and maybe a little tall for you, especially as you have little offroad experience. They are very hard to find in good condition too. (in the uk)

The XT600E would be great too as long as your not looking for go anywhere faster than 65-70mph. Very simple, capable everywhere and very reliable. Not too tall either.

the dealer is clearly a tosser. which dealer is it ? has he been anywhere with an Enfield ?

you can't trust a dealer to tell you about the suitability of bikes, for the trips you are wanting to take. what do they know ?

my enfield was the easiest bike I've ridden off-road (in the sand and in the mud), just plugs away and pulls you through the goop. 16,000 kms through Africa, without any reliability problems.

the only thing I'd do (if I did it again) would be to upgrade the shocks, or carry some spares, as they wore out. but 90 mpg was a major plus point for the bike. the other plus point was having TKC80's that could be swapped around after 10,000 kms; as the front and rear wheels are the same size.

Honda TA .....
 

I have to agree with "Touring Ted"!! The Honda TransAlp is one of the most reliable bikes you can get (this goes at least for the older version and definitely the TAs that were still "Made in Japan").

I own a 1991/92 model built for the Japanese market (400ccm license limitation). It has now roughly 60.000 kilometers on the clock and is still going strong! Everything is original except for fork spring upgrade (Wirth progressive springs) and H&B rack & panniers. I am more than pleased with my "baby", and checking on the internet you will find lots of useful information concerning the TA. Besides you should be able to find a TA in your desired price range without any problems. Some are sold on eb.. and other places. Again, yahoo or google the net.

Hope you will make a smart decision and enjoy touring!!!

If you are buying in England then I would test ride the XT600 or XT660. The DR650 is not imported to UK, so as Ted says, only worn out, old ones around. Avoid. Maybe find a better one in France? Or Germany? Fly in, ride home?

BTW, the DR650 is very low seat. I'm 5'6" and get along fine.

If you want, you could start your trip in the US and maybe head south from there? (many do this) If you buy in the US you've got a few choices for dual sports. But the Trans Alp is not one of them, unless you want an old beater from 1992! :laugh: Honda only imported the T.A. from '89 to about '92 to the USA.

But the main positive for buying in the US is price. Much cheaper here than the UK or anyplace else. So bring your gear, buy the bike and GO!

IMHO, a single suits you according to what you listed here. Easy maintenance, reliable, light weight, good on dirt/mud/sand. Better than the TA is this type of riding. I ride a DR650 so am biased but the KLR and XR650 Honda are both great bikes and can be great travel bikes. (I owned both)

If you buy in the USA you have these choices among Japanese Singles:
DR650 Suzuki
XR650-L Honda
KLR650 Kawasaki

You've also got all the Euro and new China bikes. The China bikes are everywhere here, cost about $2000 NEW, for a 200cc or 250cc bike.

Newish (1 to 3 years old), Used Japanese bikes in very good condition, low miles (under 5,000 miles) are commonly available from "about" $3500 to $4500 USD. Figure that out in UKP and compare to your local prices.

:Beach:

The Enfields aren't as labour intensive as the weekend-mechano brigade make out. But, if as you say you intend to hand over the maintenance, these aren't for you. If you went this route you need to get one now, ride it (which at 55 mph is a PITA in the UK) and see what breaks. A 12 month old 6000 mile run-in Bullet would do any trip except maybe the length of the M-1 (which makes getting out of Europe a slog).

What you describe is IMHO an AT or XT.

Andy

Slightly off-topic but if you're thinking of venturing in to remote areas, then learning these two skills will make your ride so much easier, especially the tyre changing. You only need the correct tools, all quite cheap, and a bit of practice. I taught myself about 16 years and have picked up more useful tips along the way from others.

Was at the start of a trailride at Box Hill, Surrey early on Saturday morning, had breakfast, went to get on the bike (950SE) only to find I had I had a flat front tyre. Popped the wheel out, off with the tyre, fitted a new HD tube, put a bit of air in the tube to prevent pinching it, levered the tyre on, pumped tyre up & re-fitted it and rode off. It saved the day and only delayed the ride by about 30 minutes. I used the KTM toolkit, 2 sorts of valve tool, 2 x levers, a Bead Buddy & a 12v pump that ran off my battery. Total cost was £30, used countless times & paid for themselves many times over.

If there was one skill I'd recommend all offroad or long distance riders learn, this would be it.

Hmm, I give my Enfield an annual service just like I did my BMW. Only extra thing I do in between is lube the chain from time to time but I can do that instead of pouring petrol into the BMW and oiling a chain is a lot cheaper than filling a fuel tank. So servicing time is actually less for an Enfield :)
Here in France and much of Europe the speed limit on non dual carriageways is 56mph, which suits the Enfield perfectly.

As Steve mentioned, you really need to learn to do basic maintenance ... on any bike you buy. Changing tires is a must, and setting up carbs is a doodle.
No timing issues on modern bikes. I would seriously consider taking a basic mechanics course. Some schools or shops offer this. Well worth it and will give you confidence out on the road. Knowing a few basic things and having a good basic tool kit will see you right. :thumbup1:

Once you've bought the bike, ride it to Oxford & I'll show you how to change tyres etc. Got all the tools, compressor etc here.