For a couple of more 2 cents worth:

On occasions, I ride (tarmac only) a standard F650GS, two years old, that belongs to my wife; it always returns at least 70 MPG (that's a UK gallon) - about 15 miles per litre for the metric folk - so it gets to 200 miles before the fuel warning light comes on, at which point it has over a gallon of fuel remaining = about 260 miles on the standard 17 litre fuel tank.

The more I thrash the engine the better it goes; the bike loves to be revved, in some contrast to my own TT600R Yam which delivers the power in a very different manner.
Some people say they are "heavy" but there is rarely any mention of the CG as a factor; on the 650GS it is very low (see where the fuel tank is located) - the Yam is lighter overall but it feels heavier.

Never ridden a TA but I notice that the technology still has not changed!!

Dave

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Dave

1-cylinder GS will be better in the worst places you can go with a bike, but everywhere else, and especially 2-up, I´d go for a twin.

Dont mean to hijack threads, either, but I, too, would take a serious look at the DL650, if your considering a Transalp. Nothing at all against Honda, in fact i´ve had an Africa Twin, and ridden my friends Transalp for quite a while. If you just maintain them properly, you cant break them, which is excellent. But the XL´s just a very old construction these days.

If you really dont want fuel injection - personally I dont know if theres something to really worry about it nowadays - and want spoked wheels (which require maintenance, mind you!) with offroad-suited 21´´ in front, then it might be the right choice. But technically the Suzuki is miles ahead, especially the engine is a peach, and compared to it the XL´s just plain lazy. Were talking something like 20 horsepower here, which is a huge difference considering neither of these is a real "powerhouse" to begin with. If you load up both of them heavily, as you would when going on a big tour with 2-up, I would take the DL anytime over the XL (or even 650GS for that matter!)

Ive only ridden some 8.000 on my DL, but I had an SV before, which did 62.000 with absolutely zero problems, so I believe its just as bulletproof as the Honda. People seem to have done some very serious touring with the DL, and there have been very few complaints. Maybe its about time Honda did something to renew its big trailbikes.