Like you I'm 5'8" and ride a R1200GS, but the Adventure version. After putting 48,000 miles on my previous 1200GS, I've now done 45,000 miles on the 1200GSA in 20 months and have done 3,000 miles offroad, mainly riding solo in Morocco.
I took my XR400R on one Moroccan trip but this didn't have electric start, had extremely limited fuel range, problems with luggage and couldn't handle fast main roads, let alone motorways. So I've now sold that.
I wanted something lighter and lower for a second bike, but still something that could do gravel/rock tracks, take luggage, had a reasonable tank range and could handle long distance (France>Spain) motorway sections. A year ago I would have said the Ténéré would be the bike I was going for, but in the end I decided on the new 800cc F650GS twin cylinder which I'm picking up this week.
On paper it's a compromise on the offroad specification, but I think it will be ideal for my particular set of needs.
Tim
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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)
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