adventure bike

[liquidmonkey]

hey there!
i'm a total noob when it comes to motorbikes but after watching 'long way round' and 'long way down' i'm up for some adventures!!

ok, so, am planning a trip around australia to start early next year BUT i need a good bike

so, can someone recommend 5 good adventure touring motorbikes to me please AND keep in mind that since i'm only doing my license next week i'm limited to bikes 660 and under

i know of the BMW 650 Dakar and KTM but thats about it.

any help in this area is much appreciated and thanks in advance!!

[womper]

long way round helped me getting into motorcycling...

i went the cruiser route though as i wanted to do city and highway riding before i started going offroad... not practical for me around here...

i think eventually i'll be getting a motard, but for now i just take my bike anywhere but trails

[donny662]

Suzuki DR650, DR350, DR250, DR200, V-Strom 650, V-Strom 1000

Kawasaky Versys, KLR650, KLR250, KLX300, KLX250

Yamaha XT600?, XT225/250, XT350, TW200, WR250R, XT660Z Tenere (in Europe only now, if you get this next year, send one my way)

Honda XR600?L/XL650R, XR400, XR250, TransAlp (750?), Africa Twin (?), NX650, NX250

Triumph Tiger (too big)

Ducati Multistrada (too big)

Buell Ulysses XB12X (1200)

The ones in bold are the ones I think are better suited to a new rider. The DR650 and KLR650 are probably the most popular of the ones in bold for "adventure" touring. You'll find many that I listed are dual sports, which is the easiest way you are going to get a smaller displacement "adventure" tourer and is the most enjoyable way to learn off road riding; even the 650s are going to be a pain to learn how to handle in sand and mud if you have no motorcycling experience.

[liquidmonkey]

thanks for that amazing list, will totally be checking those out, much appreciated!!!

[liquidmonkey]

first off, a HUGE THANKS to donny662 for your list of recommendations!!


the amount of off-road will depend greatly on my skill by the time the tour starts and as skills improve, more off road might happen.
having said that, MOST of this tour will happen on pavement and dirt roads. i'm so not going to be ready for anything harder than that.

so, i'd like to get a dual-purpose bike (hate being limited) and as a new rider (or L and P rider here in oz) i am limited to 650cc or less.

the bike needs to be dual purpose and must be able to have panniers attached to it. preferably the aluminum ones.

after a whole day on the net i've narrowed my list to these bikes...and please, feel free to cross bikes off the list (as i'm new to this and have only half a clue ), add new ones or make any comments on each one to help me narrow down my choice

BMW
F650GS
F650GS DAKAR

Kawasaki
KLR650
KLE650 Versys

Suzuki
DR650SE
DRZ400SM
DL650 Vstrom

Yamaha
XT600E

Honda
NX650 dominator
XL650 transalp

any other bikes to consider or stay away from???

and could someone PLEASE tell me what the letters in each bike mean??? S SM E GS CS and so on, i have NO CLUE...

[donny662]

GS - G is for Gelände ("offroad" in German motorcycle vocabulary) and S for Strasse ("street" in German)

From Suzuki, S or SE is the dual-sport (street legal) version of the bike, and SM usually stands for SuperMoto, which is basically a dirt bike with 17" wheels and street oriented tires. You might want to look at the DRZ400S as well as or instead of the SM version; off-road riding will be a little nicer on the S version because the tall, skinny front tire rides a lot better through sand and ruts than the shorter and fatter tires on the SM.

E a lot of times means Enduro, which is supposed to mean an off-road motorcycle intended for long, sometimes cross country racing. Enduros are not always street legal.

You've narrowed your choices down pretty well. The Versys, Vstrom, Transalp, and F650GSs will be heavier and harder to ride off road and at low speed than the other motorcycles on your list, but those bigger bikes will be much more comfortable at speeds above 60mph/100kph. If you're worried about the limiting factors of each bike, the bigger ones will limit the amount of off-road riding you can do, and the lighter bikes will limit how long you can comfortably ride on the freeways at high speed.

As far as luggage is concerned, you can get hard cases for every bike on your list. One thing to think about though, if you dab a foot on the ground while traveling at even low speed, which sometimes happens off road to keep falling over, your leg can get pushed back into the hard case and get broken. Soft luggage is less likely to break your leg in that situation.

One more bike you might want to add to your list is the Honda XR650L, which is comparable to the DR650 and KLR650 (the XR650R doesn't have electric start and isn't street legal in the US, but it is more powerful).

[liquidmonkey]

this clears up sooooooooo much! thanks!!
i like your advice and it is much appreciated!

i was a bit curious why anyone would take the BMW 1200 GS adventure bike on a adventure tour which would involve some off-roading. that is a MASSIVE bike!!! i'm sure its a good one too but at this point it just seems like such a beast.

i love the look of the suzuki DRZ400 SM but i guess its not really meant as a touring adventure bike or do you think it could work? i would need to add a windshield and the tank is only 10 l

[donny662]

I'm glad I can help.

I think the 1200GS would be a great bike for gravel, dirt, and bad pavement with an experienced rider. When you get into sand, mud, and tight trails, the 1200 is way too heavy to handle for many experienced riders.

The DRZ400SM will probably work as well as something like the DRZ400S. Put Avon Disanzias, Metzeler Tourances, or any other 17" 90%/10% on road/off road dual sport tire on the SM, and it should perform very well on anything besides sand and mud, in which case the S will be better because you could put some decent knobby tires on it. Knobby tires aren't made for the wide (3-5"), 17" diameter SM rims. Who cares what the manufacturer's marketing department says the bike is good for? Get the bike that you want and will be comfortable with and have an adventure!

Most accessories that fit the DRZ400S will probably fit the SM. You'll want to research the particular items (windshield, tank, etc.) that you want to get by asking the vendor/manufacturer or reading websites/forums to make sure that the parts are interchangeable.

[liquidmonkey]

thanks for that about the DRZ400SM, it is by far my favorite looking bike but after looking around at the bike shops it is not the choice bike to do 'around australia' on.

instead, i've chosen a suzuki DR650SE with a few mods for the trip.
thanks to all for your help, much appreciated!!

[donny662]

The DR sounds like a great choice. Are you buying used or new? Post some pictures when you get it. It will be great if you post pictures of your trip!!!

[liquidmonkey]

thanks!
am planning on used but to be honest, the used DR650SE's in australia are almost as much as a new one. time and budget will tell
pics will be on their way when the deal is done....