Hello! Looking for ideas for a long distance touring bike to get me in, and out of remote places. I'm 47 and don't take too many chances, and just don't feel the need to jump things anymore. Ridden steady since 12, yet feel like I took last year off but I kept a DR650 on Van Isle and got in 4 good rides before selling it (easy bike to sell). Critieria: Would like good range and long distance comfort, horsepower is not too much of a concern. The Spatsizi wilderness area and other remote areas of northern BC I've never really explored, and want to. I've always wanted to ride the loop, Hwy's 97, 16, 37, all 2,500 kms of it. I liked the DR650, but on long hauls my body didn't. The DR is/was a bit of a front runner of my choices, modded for comfort and range, but loaded on the heavy mountain passes it works so darn hard. But now my budget will allow for a wide range of choices and I can't honestly can't decide; A local dealer is willing to order me up a 1190 r adventure But if I don't want that much horsepower do I need a 1190?I've done tens of thousand plus kilometers on different bikes with 17 inch street tires on the gravel, happily, but had my eyes opened when I was allowed to log some miles on a 950 adventure in Thailand. Also a good friend swapped bikes several times allowing me to try his GS800, which really was the littlest bit more capable than the 650 Versys, IMO, I often rode. So, long dirt routes with chances of long paved run, might ride some quad trails at the most; for the first time in my life I'm in a position where' I'd like one of these gravel goldwings or big trailies. Been back in Canada for just over a year and not fully savvy on the choices. Now I'm changing to shift work, kids are almost gone, I have a chance to ride multi days like I haven't before If I receive even just one link to a discussion concerning adv bikes choices, fitting for the north, I'd feel that this post was a success! Thank you for stopping by
Ya... what she said :) <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Zibj7KnjClk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Hahahaha, "The can I kick it over and not want to commit suicide test" As tempting as an 1190 R is................................
I've owned a Vstrom 650 for the last 5 years. It's the only bike that I actually 'kept'. Owned a KLX250S, fully modded DRZ400S, FJR1300... they're all gone but the Strom stayed. It's never let me down. Always turns over and does everything I want. Ugly? You betcha. Uncomfortable for 1100k days? nope... add an Airhawk and you're golden. Almost 60,000 kms on it and started on 2nd crank after a long winter. Fine... it was a heated garage... but barely! I've added the Heidi K60's to it and it's confidence inspiring on the gravel and dirt now. But swap in some TKC 80's and you're way ahead of me. But you'll throw chunks on the asphalt in a while. Hope you find something suitable :)
I'm afraid you're just not going to find a bike out there that clicks all the right boxes: Price Comfort Power Reliability Ease of repair Lots of dealers Ruggedness, lack of fragility From the sounds of it, you've sold the DR650 because of lack of comfort, and lack of power. To me, this eliminates all the single cylinder bikes for you. The natural step up should be the 650 Vstrom. Sweetheart of an engine. Not sure how tall you are? If you are over 6', this bike will still be too small and comfort will not be realized. The next logical step is a bigger dual sport, or moving on up to an 'adventure bike'. At that point, of course, you will have to decide which type of big bike you plan on riding more, dirt, or pavement. And of course, stone axe reliable and bland, or complex and potentially fragile.
Well I'll admit to not giving the V Strom enough thought, just to focused on 21 inch front wheeled bikes. Besides the 2012 DR650SE, I've owned a DR600, a DR350 with much better bouncy bits, 2 RM 250's and a 125 RM. Enjoyed them all. And I know I will tackle a dirt road as readily as a paved one, most of the routes I see myself riding will be a mix of both. I'm 6', and with the northern distances not wanting a thumper; my last high mileage bike was a KLX250SM that I put over 100,000 km's on in the tropics in the last few years. And honestly knowing my personality I'd have no patience for niggly issues, expensive parts that I have to wait on in a already too short of a riding season, with a BMW, Triumph, or KTM machines. Why do they have to be so freaking desirable? Never ridden one, but riders do rave about the DL650 v twin. I do not enjoy inline 4's, and though the Versys is a great bike the engine does remind me of a sewing machine at puttering speeds.
I think Triumph is making good DS bikes these days. My next bike will be Triumph. My XL1000VA is a good bike for what you want. Not off road but highway and rough gravel are no problem as is a 1000 mile day. These Hondas can be bought fairly cheap as Honda quit making them. I have been running TKC80 for a while now. You get around 5000 Km out of the back one. I am going to try a different tire next time. The TKC does not chunk on pavement, it just wears faster than other brands but they are not expensive. Good tires for gravel, and even gumbo.
No offence but the TKC my friend used on his Vstrom was actually releasing knobs - what I call chunking - in front of me. It was probably near the end of it's useable life tho. Chunking - http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196860 But good tire pressure and 'seasoning the tire' may help. And be careful with a varadero. Another friend has one and parts are expensive. Not much support here in North America as they sold a ton more in Europe. And their brake rotors... don't get me started. It has lots of strong points though but it's nowhere near Vstrom reliable. And I've been looking to replace my ugly Vstrom for a few years. Tiger 800XC, Super 10, ...
Yes not considering the Varadero as local dealers already told me parts support is minimal (was considering a 700x and modifying it). Last summer I got a ~8-10 k ride on a friends Super Ten and was impressed (Can't say the same as when he let me ride his new KLR 3 years ago), but it really tipped the upper size limit for me to take off road. Living overseas introduced me to the XT660Z - why can't we get that in Canada. Thx
Interesting information regarding availability of Honda parts. It is possible but so far I have been able to get any parts I have asked for. I'll have to inquire at my local dealer. I'm a Honda fan, I have a few Honda machines and they just run for a long time. No major screw ups on any of them with years of service. Based on my experience with Honda you can get parts for their stuff for years, like 1960 bikes, still can get parts. Since the Varadero was only here for a few years this maybe different. These bikes were big in Europe, England so getting parts there shouldn't be hard. Actually shipping small stuff from England is cheaper and better than the USA, I buy lots of stuff from England. My take on my Varadero is that I will run this bike as long as it works for me. The resale value is low and it is a good bike so ride it like I stole it. If I see another one cheap for parts I might snap it up but that is down the road. If I crash it I will not fix it, no collision insurance. It is one of the best bikes I have ever owned, better than a BMW GSA I owned by a long shot. When I bought the bike I had to choose between the Suzuki DL1000 and the Honda. I thought the DL650 was too small for me. I knew the Honda was up for a change but no idea what would happen. I just decided the Honda was a better bike than the Suzuki, and Suzuki was and still is having financial troubles.
I'd be close to throwing in the F800GS to the pile but I have just spent a month waiting for parts from the Dealer in Calgary. We have one of the largest BMW dealers in Canada and the service is still terrible. I like my Dakar and it would likely fit all your needs but in a remote place, no way I would buy anything that didn't have aftermarket support for common parts. Stay away from the giant bikes like Tenerae and the Verado. Lots of guys will go on and on about how great they are on gravel.... They are talking about dry gravel. in the wet slick conditions of a remote gravel road I want the lightest bike I can get my hands on..... you will be waaaay more confident.
Very good point about weight vs ride-ability on said terrain. My strom is awesome... okay the Heidenau tires on my strom make it awesome - on gravel and such. But on wet stuff, i'll take a lighter bike in a heartbeat. Just depends how much time 'getting there' along the slab you figure you'll be doing.
yeah, power means nothing if the wheel is spinning. Too much weight combined with too much power and too much camping gear are not a good deal. I'm telling ya, go light..... I figure 50-60 hp should "enough" for road duty.... passing cars uphill with a headwind.... you may never notice the extra power but I guarantee you will notice extra weight.
I have a 2012 Versys 1000, 2005 KLR650 and 2003 KLX400 (DRZ in green), so cover the bases. Have to say that for distances, the Versys 1000 doesn't shy from roads like the South Canol, and getting to it is fast and comfortable. Still light enough to pick up (530 pounds). Roads in B.C. like Kaslo through Trout Lake, around Adams Lake, etc. are easy on it, 17" wheel or not. I find I'm skipping the KLR and either going big or going small. But if I could only have one bike, the KLR works and you can fix it with a rock. Unless you're actually riding mostly on gravel, a 90/10 tire is actually pretty decent (unless it's muddy).
