V-Strom or XT660 R

[JoeSheffer]

Narrowed the choice down now really to V-Strom or an XT660.

Places near me are being arsey with test rides though because im still 33 bhp'ed for another 6 months or so, just really want the bike now to get some miles under my belt.

Really intimidated by the V-Strom's weight and sheer size (650cc version). I feel its abit of a beast.

On the other hand don't really like the XT660 R build quality and feel it might lack the grunt i want for motorway miles/fairing for day2day London commuter use. The V-Strom might be ahandful in traffic aswell.

Im almost a little scared of dropping the v-strom and dropping it.

Im crossing North Africa (won't be off off road but more gravel pistes etc) on the bike, followed by Eygpt, Jordan, Syria, Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal, KKH and home.

Give me some insight!