A couple of things:

First of all, be quite clear that you must not leave the road in Iceland on your motorbike. They really strongly enforce this. Of course, what they call roads encompasses some pretty wild tracks that will test any rider!

But on your main question, most bikes will get you interesting places if you try hard enough. The nature of the challenge just changes: is it your own skills, your strength to pick it up again and again or even the adventure of dealing with bits falling off!

What bike have you got? ride that one.

Then again, I’m the last person anyone should listen to about appropriate bike choice ;-)

If I was going to do truly hard core adventure I'd pick whatever locals in the area use to get to remote places, something small and light enough to lift over obstacles, go in a small boat over a river, and any mechanic can coax into working after a breakdown ... and cheap and readily available enough that if it gets run over by a bus it's not the end of the world (as long as you're not on it at the time).

However, I don't do hardcore, lol

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BMWs single cylinder Dakar 650 or the later Sertao 650 could be alternatives as well….

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https://ukgser.com/forums/showthread...ilitation-tour

This is a write up of an Iceland trip. The organiser will periodically take a few people round Iceland, sometimes on a trip suitable for big Adv bikes but mostly a more hardcore one.
As you can see, for these hardcore trips the average bike is a midsized KTM (520 - 690). It seems that just being light is not enough, you need power for the terrain. Other popular bikes for the trips are BMW X challenge and Husqvarna.

If you’re worried about reliability then:
A- learn to do your own mechanics
B- Have a good mechanic go through the bike with a fine tooth comb before you go

It sounds like your trips will be one offs rather than round the world ie coming home after each trip - if that’s the case then long term reliability is not so much of an issue.

Good luck

Thanks Flipflop - appreciated. The more I've read the more I'm erring towards the Honda CRF300Rally. Lightness and reliability are very good. Rear suspension can be upgraded although I'm only 85kg and I believe they are designed about this weight. Okay, the power is not exactly mind blowing but a lot is achievable with a good knobby tyre and a low gear given the lightness of the machine.

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That does make a lot of sense Turbofurball. I've seen Urals operate in Siberia where imports struggled with the cold and little light Chinese bikes getting to places that the big adventure bikes struggled

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Hey rachel_norfolk and thanks for your post. So currently I have a GS1200A at home here in Ireland and a KLR650 somewhere in Zambia. I've done a lot of biking in Siberia and really want to take it to a new level with some projects on what they call Zimniks or winter roads. Lightness will trump all. I'm strongly erring towards the CRF300Rally right now. The GS is great 2up mopping up European Roads. The KLR is fine although a little old school and the fact that I fitted Aluminum Panniers was a lesson learned re:hard luggage which I'd never do again.
Declan

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It depends how 'Hardcore' your adventure is.

If you want a proper off-road capable bike then you can literally scrub 90% of the suggestions above.

I love DRZ's. The gearbox doesn't suit the road well. But it will do 65mph all day long with a few mods and gearing. And if you're in places with no real roads, then you'll be lucky if you're riding at 50mph.

It's old school. But not XT600 old school. It's watercooled, proven reliable, simple enough and comes with modern quality cartridge forks and a fully adjustable showa rear shock. There is a reason they're shooting up in price.

I think the CRF300 is a contender if you don't mind the gutless motor. It pulls the bike around fine but you have to wind them up. Suspension needs immediate attention if you're to ride it seriously. 6th Gear and FI are hard attributes to ignore. The Rally is more weight. If you're getting all that fairing and weight just buy a 600cc etc.

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You can't ride offroad on Iceland as far as I know, but you can find some terrible roads where choice of bike matters a bit.

Not a 300, but the Yamha wr250r is a really capable, light weight and reliable dualsport with an extensive dealer network world wide. This bike is not a commuter bike in wolf skin, but the real deal. It is not like the wr250f which is a racing beast that needs a lot of maintenance and is unsuitsble for travel even if you made it road legal, but the wr250r is based on this racing bike, but with a more road friendly engine, all the road legal requirements, and more comfortable suspension, etc. This is the bike I would have chosen as a second bike for weekend trail riding - if I was to do it often.

If it has to be a minimum of 300, then the Honda CRF300 Rally might be something to conscider, but if you want to ride it hard on the roughest stuff, then you might want to beef up the suspension. As for a travel bike that will see some really rough stuff, I think it is a better option than the yammie. Also the Honda, like the Yamaha, is a reliable bike with an extensive dealer network (even better). This would probably be the bike I would have chosen for myself for very long adventures - and keep it pretty much stock (even the suspension, except for s stronger rear spring). I would be happy to have this as my only bike.

If you want power and borderline out of the box race ready, then conscider either the Husqvarna 701 Enduro or the KTM 690 Enduro - pretty much the same bike. It is ofcourse in a completely different price bracket than the two above. (I know that if I was to purchase a bike in this price bracket, it would probably end up costing an extra 100% in mods to get it to be a "perfect". I wo (strengthened sub frame, larger tank, new cockpit...). Also, with the KTN/Husqvarna you don't get the reliability and the extensive and superior dealer network of the two Japanese options. When contemplating the KTM/Husqvarna, I would probably end up with a T7 Rally instead (which I am very glad I actually ended up doing), and maybe conscider a WR20R as a second bike if I were to go riding trails every other weekend. The T7 for me is the perfect compromise as an allround bike for me (touring, commuting, and the occasional one month adventure in Morocco or crossing Iceland, or just horsing around on a trail a seldom once in a while).

Now, for a really long adventure, like crossing both the African and South American continent, I might find that I'd want to get a Honda 300 Rally and sell it after the trip - or just take the T7, which is a bit heavy, but is all farkled out and tailored to my preferences, and is very capable even stock. The T7 is a bike I will own for many years and be racking up a ton of kms on - on all types of trips. I would only conscider something different for a very special need - like a one+ year RTW or weekend trail warrioring every other weekend.

I rode a BMW F650GS Dakar criss cross and around Iceland, fairly stock bike, and found it to be a very good bike for this. Some would argue that the lighter bikes would have been better here, but I would disagree - the going doesn't get so tough here that the 40 kgs less matters much, and the Dakar has many redeeming factors that made it an awesome bike for this trip.

I have been to Russia, but not in Siberia. As for Siberia, I have no experience, but I would assume mud would be something to endure - and that a Light weight yammie or Honda would outshine a heavy T7 massively.

In short, take a look at the Honda. I think it might be the best option.

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