Welcome!
The fact that you want to travel the world on a bike but expect it never to break down worries me. May i sugest you choose your bike now and start preparing it for travel. You see, it doesn't mater if you get the BMW, Kawasaki, Honda or whatever, they ALL BREAK! They all need their short comings remedied and you need to create an intimate relationship with the machine which will become your most important possession in the entire world.
I work as a BMW mechanic part time and have built a few travel bikes. Having owned a 1200 GS, i would not recomend this bike for world travel, for reasons that were stated earlier. On the other hand, an older airhead, like the R80G/S or even the R100 GS, with the proper preperation has proven to be an excellent choice, along with the KLR's, DR's, XR's and XT's, but remember, ALL these bikes need to be studied, scrutinized and prepared for travel before you can proceed. There is only one simple answer to your question, buy a bike that makes you comfortable and puts a smile on your face, research it's shortcomings and prepare it for travel. Make sure you build a proper toolkit and try to get informational CD's on your model. Prepare your luggage and make sure the sub-frame is up to the task, otherwise re enforce it. Low horse power air cooled motors are usually an excellent choice. No bike has a real advantage for parts availability so consider using cleanable air and oil filters. Try to stick to the more common tire sizes, like 21" front and 17"-18" rear, the oil head BMW's have a big disadvantage in this area. Never under estimate the importance of a good skid plate! Make sure your charging system is ready for all the accesories you plan on bolting on, like lights, GPS, heated grips (i recommend them) and heated jacket. Trust me on the heated jacket, you won't regret it
If you buy a chain drive, carry lots of master links and only use a good chain like DID. Toss the alloy sprockets and replace them with steel or stainless steel if you can. Learn how to lubricate it properly, there's lots of opinion there! If you choose a shaft drive, make sure you get a greasable drive shaft and learn how to maintain it. I have around 100k km on mine now,. but i love to work on my bike
Prepare your suspension! Most bikes come with junk non-rebuildable shocks, except for KTM's WP. Ohlins has a good reputation, along with Wilburs, which is my favorite. Wrap your shock spring with a Shock sock to keep out dirt, this is the #1 killer of seals. I like to also cut a piece or rubber from a tire tube and drape it over the shock using a hose clamp to attach it. Protect your front forks with Gaitors to protect them from rocks and such. Consider your bike will be heavily loaded with stuff, adjust or replace your forksprings accordingly.
As reliable as the Japanese bikes are, their handle bars and brake lines are for the most part junk. Pro taper or Magura and stainless lines are a good investment, along with aluminum insert hand guards to protect your fingers and handles.
Do some research on your brake pads and rotors, they will cross reference with other makes of bikes making it easier to get them in foreign countries. I met a guy who thought he could only get brakes for his BMW from the dealer! Spoke wheels are superior to cast and usually repairable. I love the tubeless spoke rims from Behr of Akront used on the BMW GS's, very strong and reliable along with the ease of tubeless repair using a plug. Regardless, you must carry a tube in the event if a side wall puncture which is sometimes unrepairable. Purchase an air-pump, i like the Slime pump. Cheap and good! Practice repairing your tires, you'll need it down the road!
Finally, don't read too much into the bike bashing that goes on here, it's a waste of energy and really doesn't help you. One bike is as bad as another if neither are properly prepared for travel.
Enjoy!
BTW, i really like that new 660 Tenere, it just might be my next one. I'm looking forward to some good reviews in the future.

I agree! Listen to people that have used the bikes for tasks like your own, not to the ones that have read something somewhere.


As other has said there is no immortal bike. The idea of buying an oldish bike and prepare it yourself is good!

Another important question is where do you want to go? What type of roads? Will you carry much luggage? What petrol-range do you need? How many km do you want to ride?

Thanks everybody i v made a deciscion it going to be a 1989' Xt600 on wich i will place 3 trunks bags tenere tank the full load to live on the road for min 3 months iv anybody got good tips for this bike what are its weak points please share it with me

have a save ride everybody

Hmmmmmm - dont see any road bikes in these lists ? Before you laugh Nick Saunders and this dutch guy whose name i cant remember both used R1 s and they went off road there is also an australian guy who used a Fireblade !! If you aint going off road big time why use a trail bike :confused1:
Ok they may be a bit more tech but i defy anyone to say a gs IS MORE RELIABLE
And to hammer home the point my mates Fazer 1000 has just hit 83000 miles used every day and has never had a problem
Just a thought - bound to be plenty of replies to this one i bet Im not ignoring you cos im off to Turkey on my Blackbird - and they are certainly more reliable than a Gs .

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Yam Xt,
Good choice.
Both big enough, and small enough.

Enjoy

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Hello All,

i would like to retract my suggestion of the Yamaha XT350

In its place I would go for the bigger, more reliable Africa Twin.



It is heavier than the XT 350, but also has a lot more carry capacity.
If you are going solo, then the Africa Twin, will be your excellent companion.
You could probably load it with about 80 kg of baggage, and she would not complain.

I have had both the XT 350, which was good, make no mistake.
But now i have the Africa Twin, 750 Adventurer, I can say the AT is a more fuller and complete machine.

'vette

I think almost everything has been said about the different bikes.
It ALL depends on what you want to do, and where you want to go.
1- light = better
2- simple = easy to repair anywhere
3- technology = more problems that nobody in the world can solve

I had the same questions when I left 20 months ago. I long hesitated between a 250MZ with side car, and the bike I had for everyday. I chose to keep my bike and see what happens. So I went opposite the obove recommandations, but it does not prevent me from enjoying the trip:

- A k100 RS is heavy, very heavy, and to put it back on its wheels is tough, very tough, particularly with the wheight of luggages (three 45 litres Givi paniers)
- A k100 RS does not go off road that easily.

BUT:
- The engine is bullet proof
- since I added a side car, I don't hesitate to go off road
- You can't find parts, but you don't need parts (well, almost...).

Now, we're two of us travelling, and the side car is kind of helpful...

Regarding mecanic:
I have a master in Philosophy, and was a philosophy teacher for few years. So you can imagine that using my hands was not part of the job requirements. But maintaining a bike is just about nuts, bolts, screws and sometimes more complicated stuff. But it is something you can easily lear, if you want to.
Buy the bike, buy the technical manual, completely dismount the engine, try to put it back together (if possible, with all the components you took off the bike), and that's it! Do it three times, you'll know your engine.
Good luck, and enjoy yourself!

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http://www.terres-humaines.com

Thanks for that Mr Ron. That's probably the best and most accurate reality check. Maybe Grant should stick this in the prepping section or something. Can't add anything to that other than maybe

+1


Good choice ivandebruyn. We rode from Dublin to Vladivostok on an 88 XT. It think the 89 is still a 3AJ version. My experience was that it definately needs a suspension upgrade. Build a steel arc shaped bracket over the read brake calliper. The exhaust can touch/hit it when your shock bottoms out. We broke 3 and had them all get send out leaving us without a rear brake for over a thousand kilometers. They crack just above the rear pivot point. The fairing is also very wide making is fragile for cracking when you come off. Maybe also look at replacing the front indicators with flush car ones. We had a lot of worn and broken thread all over the place, so maybe get the ones used on regular services retapped of helicoiled. Definately check the oil everyday.

These are ours in Mongolia. Sold them when we got back in Oz. They didn't like the salty coastal air much.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

I still don't understand how people can recomend bikes when they have no idea what the bike will be used for.

Sometimes it's to help validate their choice or way of going about it...

The initial poster hasn't given enough information...hell, if I'd posted the same query on here before I took my trip...I guarantee you the k75 would not have made the long list...but I digress.

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edde
93 BMW K75s
www.motoedde.com

Ivan, I've just done Korea to Italy (via Russia/Kazakhstan/Scandinavia) on a Burgman 650 maxiscooter, and you know what?

If I do it again I'll be doing it on the same bike.

The Burgie handled the Khabarovsk to Chita section fine and had minimal problems with the offroading in Kazakhstan. I travelled 30,000km on the Burgman (and another 8,000km in China on a locally produced 125cc road bike). The total amount of offroad riding was around 3,000km or less than 8% of the total journey.

Why compromise 92% of the journey by doing it on an offroad bike that is slow, uncomfortable and offers little weather protection?

The Burgman handled the offroad with aplomb and yet was smooth, exceedingly comfortable, nimble (you can't beat them round bends) and economical (4-4.5l/100km) onroad. Add to the mix the CVT on the Burgman ,which made for a much more relaxing shift free ride, and you're laughing.

See my blog Across the universe for details.

Garry from Oz.

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Garry from Oz - powered by Burgman

Well, for a start I have visited the first countries he mentions (Belgium to Germany ,Czech republic ,Poland ,Lithuania ,Latvia ,Estland ,Russia) but sadly I don’t know about the road conditions to Vladivostok. If this road is good and he would like to follow the main roads in the other countries a street-bike might be an option.

But if the road is more like this for a few thousands km a streetbike is probably not right.


I know that petrol in Russia can lead to problems with certain bikes but I don’t know if you have to go 200 kms or 1000 kms between fuelstops.
Will he travel light or not…


IMHO the old XT is one of the best bikes out there, and with the right preparation it should work nice.

Gestapo greetings
AliBaba

Woohoo!! Cool picture!!

That is what I hope my Ural will be doing in a couple of year's time!! All that is missing is our dog in the chair!!

(Must admit that petrol range is my biggest concern for the Ural, though, and there is only so much fuel you can carry...)

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Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

Interesting question. I agree Mr. Ron in everything he said because I did everything wrong. And, like a miracle, I am still riding farther and longer. I mean, current bikes are all good and all bad. All of them break down. And it is a mess when happens, but that is the game. Waiting for a spare while stuck in Kazakhstan is part of this business.

I have to confess I’ve been riding all my life and I do not know a s…t about engines and mechanic issues. I am a sinner. I decided riding the world one day and I didn’t know how to change spark plugs. Of course, after few months on the road, you learn how to change spark plugs, tyres, wheels, oil, filters and even money at borders.

I am saying I didn’t know a s…t about Ted Simon, Touratech, Long Way Down, aluminium panniers and all the stuff. I just bought a preowned BMW 1200 G/S with plastic suitcases, no GPS, no new shocks and even no BMW gear, and went to Samarkand. Later I went to a lot of different places but I am still feeling like a foreigner riding crappy bikes and not well prepared for the adventure. But like the big fly who keeps on flying with small wings, I keep on riding farther and longer.


Even BMW found surprisingly riding the World in their standard bikes (not too confident, isn't it?)

http://www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk/news/?news_table=national_news&article_id=69


No matter about bikes, all of them are good and all of them are bad. Is about you. Do you want to ride? Ride.

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www.miquelsilvestre.com

I personally have no problem whatsoever with CANbus. Because it is a protocal, there is nothing to fail. It a language, or a program. The components operated by CANbus are what might fail, like micro switches, frayed wires and occasionally the computer itself. These failures are rare, and are no different than broken chains, dead coils and magnetic pick-up failure. CANbus has been around for a long time and is nothing new. The automotive industry has been using CANbus since the 90's, and industry even longer. CANbus is far simpler than the standard wiring system, is cleaner, lighter and has the added bonus of telling you where the problem is as opposed to having to diagnose it yourself. Most people are afraid of CANbus because they don't understand what it is or how it works. Carrying a GS911 diagnostic tool in your kit is no different that carrying the special exhaust nut tool for an air-head, or the right size axel nut wrench for your Suzuki. Like i mentioned before, you need to understand the short comings of your particular bike.
My thoughts on Fuel Injection: I recently purchased a Suzuki DR650. Excellent bike! Tough, solid low compression engine, air cooled and anvil like reliability. BUT... if there is one thing i could change, it would be binning the carb and installing fuel injection I hate carburetors! They suck in altitude change and are innefficient. They are a pain in the ass to work on and IMHO are complicated, filled with moving parts and have far more components that are prone to failure. FI on the other hand is far simpler, consisting of a pump, an injector, an oxygen sensor and a controll box. The only weak point is the pump, which is easily packable. FI is OLD technology!! Every diesel engine in the world has it. It's easy to fix, clean, and diagnose and rarely fails. I have NEVER read about a FI failure, never! I have read about pump failures, just like you read about much more common coil, condenser, spark plug and chain failure. It's cleaner, more efficient and over all better IMHO. People should not be affraid of FI!
People talk about being able to fix everything in the middle of nowhere. In fact i used to think this way, until i started travelling and realised that packing absolutely everything was futile! Why?? The world is full of people, over 7 billion of them if i recall! If in the event you have a severe breakdown in the middle of nowhere, instead of packing with you absolutely everything including the kitchen sink in the unlikely event of using it, i would rather take the chance and deal with the problem when it arrives. There will always be someone around who can help. There will always be a truck or a car that can tow you, and the world is filled with cities with even more people who are capable to fix anything. There is always a way and an answer. Now i pack only my essential tools and spare parts that are absolutely show stoppers in the event of failure, thats it. Your best defence is learning how to use your resources, which the world is full of!