what bike for long trip??
 

hi
im planing on riding from the UK to oz. but cant make my mind up on what bike to use.
was thinking of a xr600 but read that the sub frames are week and there not very nice to ride for a long time so was thinking of the ether a klr 750 but worried it would break down as i had a klr 250 that was shi#. or a xrv750 or xl650v but worry that it would be to heavy and that i may smash the plastic front part to peaces over time.

what to do?????

You might want to give us a bit of info on the type of roads you plan on going on? I think the XRV750 is a shout but i have never ridden one but heard they would be good for any type of riding. The transalp also is a good shout but as i said before all depends on what type of roads your going on?

Also what is your budget for a bike?? This is a massive input into what you could buy or what someone to tell you about.

I just got a yamaha Xt660R which i think for type of jounry would be a cylinder too short. Its ok on the motorway but i wouldnt want to sit at 75-80mph all day. Also the tank range is about 120miles to a tank then you need to fill up.

What do you want to do exactly?
 

I agree with Maxwell; there are a few key factors that you have not revealed. There is already a shedload of discussion about the various bikes available, including a thread about what is arriving in 2008. I suggest that you take a look through them and then come back with specific questions or comment.

About the Yam Maxwell; as a comparison, my wife's 650GS is very smooth for a single and it is OK to gallop along at around 75-80 mph all day if that is what is needed - not as "good" as a more powerful bike on the motorways, but it is OK.
It always returns around 70 mpg, no matter how much I abuse the throttle and it gets, therefore, nearly 200 miles between refills - even then there are a few litres in the bottom of the tank.
All of this on tarmac only.

Read one of your posts before about the 650, i cant see how 70mpg is possible i have been riding the Xt660R for a week now and in that the best i got was about 55mpg, fair enough most of my journey is through town (belfast, stop start stop stop go go go stop) but i still cant see how a single cylinder at 70mph can be getting 70mpg. O well must have bought the wrong bike.

I have heard mixed reviews about the BMW 650GS but there is a good following of people that use them and there must be something good about them so this bike might be a possiblity.

But as explained before a little bit more info would help.:confused1:

about 50% of the factors in mpg values are located in the riders right wrist.
500cc Enfields regularly get 80mpg plus although often ridden by older ( and perhaps wiser) riders. I see no reason why a bmw single should not have a comparable performance.
Often we get the argument, I knew of someone who had a Jakusi and it was great/rubbish. All this proves is that a single example was capable of being god/bad. It does not give us the circumstances. A new to 3 year old bike should be flawless, if not the manufacturer should make it right. Recently we had a case of a Triumph failing in a big way , after the warranty. To their credit, Triumph supplied free a crankcase and crankshaft. The important thing is not how nice the sales man is atthe time of sale when everything is rosy, but how do they aquit themselves when the sh-t hits the fan. A bike that give sno trouble prove sthat a well maintained vehicle can work well. I doubt any bike would fail this test. This means any bike will do what you are asking of it. What you need do is find something that is comfortable and enhances your adventure. You need to write down a rough route, and check out the terrain over which you will be passing. Also check out availability of fuel, and affordability of accomodation. If camping, you need to allow for carrying the gear you need to accomplish what you are undertaking. You really need to think carefully aboutthe speed you -really- need versus the cost of fuel and range. Range is very important, it is no fun having to stop every hour and ahalf for fuel and worry about fuel for every half hour after each hour travelling.

I recently travelled to Germany with some friends. One had a diesel Enfield with a 9hp engine. He had to wait for us each day as we travelled to refuel (KLR and BMW) and along the non motorways road we were travelling at 80-105Kph. The only time the low power was a disadvantage was on teh German motorways. In my view anything over 18-20hp is adequate to go anywhere.. 25hp will get you 85Mph+ and the only legal place you can do that in Europe is on the German motorways.

Where For Spares?
 

Spare parts are the problem. Pick a route, then check what bikes are common where you'll ride. I ride a Honda 125 (Mexico to Ushuaia last year, now riding back north - blog at home). It isn't the most comfortable. However spares are available thruout South and Central America and it uses less gas than a sewing machine. Big heavy bikes hate pot holes. I was in Texas last year with a bunch of friends. One of them dropped his Harley into a pothole and smashed the sump. And think expense. The bigger the bike the more everything costs and the more complicated everything gets - inclusive of getting spares out of customs. The only problem I've had was being hit by three trucks - something that could happen to anyone. The rebuild of the entire back half cost less than a couple of BMW shocks.
:oops2: simon

Not cheap and a TON of work to do it right.

how are you going to get there?
 

You dint say if your going East or West. Africa, Mid East, south east Asia or threw the USA.

If you think about it any bike your going to take will brake down, get a flat, get stuck, or you will gust drop it. You or some else will brake something off it and will need to fixed. You can fix it, bypass it, or rip it off and run with out it. spend your time in a shop spend more than you think or do the job your self.
But if all you want to know about which bike to take id take any one you think is good for you. People have gone RTW on 50cc up to 1400cc HD full dressers its really up to you.
If I was to get a new bike for your trip? I like the KLR 650, looks dated but it gets the job done. Its got more than enuf power and its cheap. If I was to go on the trip right now Id use my DL650. Its payed off :mchappy: more cash for traveling.

mollydog knows his bikes but you do need to give him as much info on your riding experience, your riding stile, and what you plan to do as you can. Use his knowledge it will save you $, probably your trip and your life. As will many people on this forum. They may seem to short or mean but there information is exacting. Its hard to be exact with little information.

Now my thoughts are you going to camp or go hotels. Eat out or cook your food. Water? Extra gas? Which tent? When? How much are you going to pack on that bike? You dont need a subframe that will hold 500lbs. if your packing 50.

Your trip :funmeteryes:

Yes a BMW f650 can get 70mpg it can also get 30. I did.

Maxwell,

I am not sure if you want more info about the 650GS or from the originator of this thread; in case of the former, try
BMW F650 (UK)

From that site, some detail of fuel consumption:-

The Statistics Fuel

Other than that, there is no "wrong bike" - just different bikes!
Enjoy your XT660, you are just getting to know it!

To Walkabout and everyone else

Yep just getting used to the bike, my daily commute is about 10miles motorway,5miles grid locked town, then another 5 miles 30-40mph roads. Thats only one way so 40miles in total a day. The first time i checked the mpg i was getting about 50mpg, which i thought ok town works bringing it down. Did the same route but took it easy on the old throttle hand and oh 60mpg, and thats still doing traffic riding. So yea maybe 70mpg is possible but not if im riding the back roads home.He he. But i wonder how this would change when fully loaded with alu panniers, topbox, tank+tailpack??

Any way keep her lite.

Suspend your disbelief. I ride a TDM 900 and my average mph when touring is 60mpg. And the amazing thing is that this bike rarely drops below 55mpg even when giving it beans and 70mpg is not uncommon. I think it's probably the most economical big bike out there.

Well Mudlark, that's pretty good for a big bike IMO.
We are getting increasingly further away from the original questions of jex the bug, but, if he is interested in the TDM900, there is a thread here about it:-

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...50-900-a-29374

There isn't too much feedback in there in fact (maybe because it gets lost among the XT info!!), so if you fancy contributing to that thread, others will find that information more easily!
It's one of those bikes that seems to have been manufactured for ever and ever.

Cheers,

I ride an F650GS, often two up, and often hard out (but with no load), and the bike stays between 23 and 27 km/l, and has always done so. The average is closer to 25, and it takes a very heavy right hand or two up with head wind to get into the lower range.
Thats 70mpg, no bother. The fuel injected single is the most frugal engine for it's size I have ever used. My F650 Funduro is lucky to make 21km/l.
YMMV of course!

Regards

Nigel in NZ

..due to cost factor. The F.I. ECU would probably cost' the OEM more than the motor on a 100cc bike.

Hi Patrick. Yes, NZ is metric and has been entirely so since about 1972, so most people use metric measurements (but still say "mileage!"). The older you are the more likely to use both. As my grandmother said way back then "Why don't they wait until all the old people have died"!

I was well aware of the difference between US and "proper" gallons http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...s/innocent.gif
:innocent: but almost all of the posters on this thread, and certainly both maxwell123455 and jex_the_bug who asked the questions, are from the UK, by their profiles, so it seemed pointless and even churlish to use anything else.

Then there is the litres/100km and km/litre debate.... to say nothing of liters/100km and km/liter.... we make it hard for ourselves...

Regards

Nigel in NZ

Some things change, some things don't
 

Well Mollydog, there is no confusion in the statistics given in those fuel figures. All in MPG, i.e. average = 79, after riding at least half way RTW (over 14000 miles).
I wouldn't think that Nigel, being in NZ, is using that tiny gallon that you have in the US either, but he can answer for himself.

As an update on the UK: we have just got a "reprieve" from the EU (God bless them and all who live there:rolleyes2: ) after years of argument about Imperial measurements.
So, we will be retaining the pint of beer and pint of milk but continue to buy fuel in litres.
Similarly, we will be using metric measurements for such things as bolts, science and engineering generally but we will continue to ride/drive miles - as you say, those same miles that you guys are still using. Therefore, all of our road signs, such as speed limits, will remain in miles.
Not a problem when going abroad now that those thoughtful Jap manufacturers have given us digital displays which can be changed between Kilometres per hour and Miles per hour at the push of a button.

You will realise that we continue to use the hour/minute/second system of time measurement (i.e. it is, illogically, non-metric, just as Lats and Longs follow the same basic lack of metrication) and we still have the Prime Meridian that passes through Greenwich, London despite the attempts of the French to have their own mapping Meridian (based on Paris of course) as the map reference of choice.
TG, some things never, ever change!!

Interestingly, the author of the fuel statistics slips quite easily between purchases of fuel in litres in local currency, to converting this into;
A. MPG fuel efficiency figures and,
B. a cost comparison, based on the US$.

Fuel Injection: from Jan 08 this is "compulsory" throughout Europe - I believe that is the current situation with some exceptions made for bike models that sell less than 5000 per annum (and the latter maybe a temporary sop to the manufs). I think that is the situation and someone will correct the detail if I am wrong - don't really care, because it is going to happen sooner or later.

Regards,

Miles per tank
 

Wow Nigel. Can't see a lot of point in litres/100km; that's litres/60 miles just about - so what is significant about 60 miles run?!:rolleyes2:

Anyway, miles/litres is OK for us with our petrol pumps - that works for some, but I prefer miles run between tank fillups which is what it is all about when you get down to basics - I get around 200 miles between refuel stops on any of my current bikes, at which point the low fuel light has been on for just a small number of miles and there are a few litres of fuel sloshing around in there (maybe as many as 4.545 = a gallon, UK that is!).


ps Hurry up jex_the_bug and get this thread back on theme!

Cheers,

Me thinks Jex the Bug has....bugged off......Or should that be "buggered off'?:D

Hi Maxwell, i ride my 650 v-strom 6 days a week, i do a twenty mile round trip to work every day (mixture of motorway and town) and i regularly get 185 miles to a tank before my fuel light comes on.
However, when i took a trip home to Ireland i got 230 miles before the light came on, that was all motorway miles between 70-90 mph.
I reckon if you took the xt for a good spin down the M1 you'd probably reach the 70 mpg mark!
Jex, I would consider using the dl650 v-strom for your trip, its an excellent bike, easily the best i have ever owned, totally comfortable, excellent headlight, great wind protection, great reliabilty, very cheap to run, very easy to get parts for (mixture of sv 650, gsxr, gsx etc).
Best of luck.

Hi mudlark, I totaly agree.. i find the 900 an excellent bike for touring or scratching, even two up, :thumbup1:range is fantastic with the 20lt tank, as the miles mount up i have to keep looking at the fuel guage in disbelef, even my KLE500 used for comuting 40miles a day with mixed city/dual c/ways and low speed a roads consistantly gives 60mpg!:rolleyes2:
TDMalcolm

same question for a short woman
 

Hi
I just read this thread and get a lot of informations for my own trip. :clap:I'm in Australia at the moment, wanted to buy a bike to ride around Australia ( and probaply will take some dirt roads) and then want to go back to France with the bike.
Problem : I'm only 1m60 tall.:oops2:
I'm tented by the KLR 650 or the V-storm but I'm afraid I'll be too short. (I had already some problems driving my 600 Bandit at the beginning)
Any advise ?:helpsmilie:
Thank you

heres 1 vote for DL650
 

we are now in India, riding from Finland 2-up on our DL650, coming thru Europe then Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, some 12.000kms in two months so far.

The battery on this K7 ABS-model died on the way, but that was a freak incident, still dont know what killed it but replacement seems to work 100%. I had an SV650 with the exact same battery for over 4 years with no problems.

The bike's taken all abuse we've given it, like (over)loading it with 3 large bags, very heavy tank-bag, 2 extra tyres (hanging on special modified crashbars on sides of the fuel tank), even luggage bags strapped to the tyres, etc......... and the engine is STILL pulling strong, and going very well, even on the motorways, we would have no problem riding 140-150kms per hour (but we wont do that, not here). In Turkey&Iran we cruised at 120-130 all day. When riding slowly, 60-80kms per hour, sometimes rarely 100, like is normal in Indian traffic, we can ride 450-500kms on one 22 L tank. The K7 model with euro-3 norms seems to be even more fuel-efficient than the previous model.

Taking any fuel they claimed to be petrol in Iran or Pakistan, no problem. Even the cast wheels seem to hold their round shape, even though we've banged them into some very bad potholes several times. Put simply, it just hasnt missed a beat.

I would NOT want to do the same with any 650cc 1-cylinder bike, because it would need to be ridden with 100% throttle most of the time, and still feel very stressed. The engine in this bike is really something, I am very impressed that its doing so well, with all this weight on it. Have yet to ride the 700 Transalp or new 800GS, but so far, this is the benchmark in this category, by far.

Only ground clearance should be better, now the bashplate is touching ground in speed humps everywhere. Stiffer spring(s), especially on the back wouldnt hurt, either.

DR 650 or DRz 400?
 

I'm heading to Melbourne in 4 weeks (wayhay!) and am looking to buy something for using while living there and also to do the ride back to the UK. I am fairly set on the DR 650 but have recently been told the DRz 400 might also be a good un. I'm 6'2" so will needs something with a bit of leg room.

What do you guys reckon would be a good choice? I'm not excluding other bikes, will get some test rides of a few while I'm there.

just my 0.02 cents, but I wouldnt do a really long trip on a DRZ400. Its an offroad-bike, in fact quite excellent one, but its terrible if you need to do the distance on long highways.

Sometimes went on an enduro trip from Thailand into Cambodia, and sure it was the tool for the job, when we went some smaller roads or tracks, but still 80% of the trip was just smooth asphalt, and on the way back I remember even considering I'd hire some pick-up to carry it the rest of the way!

Wouldnt want to try how the 400 would carry a lot of luggage, like usually seems to be the case, when going on a long trip. I think that would make it even worse on the highway, and probably wouldnt help in the dirt, either. The lighter the machine, the less you can put cargo on top of it, without sacrificing performance and rideability. I would think its subframe could get some damage, too.

Sure you CAN ride it wherever, if you absolutely must, but why torture yourself, when there are much better options, like the DR650? I would get the 400 only if I was to ride at least 95% on unpaved roads.......... and a trip half way around the world would (in my case) probably be mostly on the smoothest asphalt I could find.

Good call! The Dr 650 it is then.

I know there has been a fair bit of info put on here about the DR so will get into that.

Is there a good model/year to go for? I read that the earlier ones were about 25kgs heavier so will most likely go for a late 90's or early 00's if I can find one.

Nice choice - Jealous!!
 

There was a post a short time ago which said the DR650 is still being sold new - it was either in NZ or Oz, can't remember which.
It appeared to me as if they are getting the new bikes out there which can't be sold where there are stricter emissions limits - like here in the UK!!!!

DR650 is still for sale in NZ and there are some unsold ex-USA ones here at the moment going out the door REALLY cheap. I'm talking about UKPounds 3400.
Don't know about Aussie though.

Regards

Nigel in NZ

(five valve heads, battery hard to get to...more) Cheap and cheerful.

and you're pretty much good to go. See my thread "prepping a DR650 for the long haul"