Adventure Bike Options

[istoptofly]

Hi all, haven't been here in awhile, well, a loong while actually.  I've been enjoying the hell out of my 2000 VFR800 but I'm thinking I want something else.  The adventure bikes really have my attention right now and I've been researching them for over a year now.  My absolutely first and favorite pick is the 2013+ BMW GS1200, but I'd love to hear from others that do the same type riding what bikes they are running.  The beemer just costs so damn much... but not so much that I won't go that way if it is in fact the best bike for my plans.

Two year goal is riding west to Washington and north to Fairbanks, then back to MN via Canada.  If not the BMW, what would you take on this trip?

Thanks!

John

[JoeRau]

I rode a KTM Adventure 1190 last month.  Really nice suspension, nice riding position, and very manageable even for my short legs.  Engine had some vibration (not bad, I'm just spoiled on my C14), but good power that came on hard at 5K RPM.  Lots of great accessories out there too for these. 
Last week on my way home from NW WI, I ran into a guy on a F800GS.  He seemed happy with it on pavement, but said it did not ride as well in the dirt & trails. 
As for your trip to Fairbanks... My dad did that last year on his Honda NT700V.  Picture half Honda ST, and half Pacific Coast with the non-removable hard bags.  Little EFI 700 V Twin motor, shaft drive, light weight, decent wind protection and adjustable wind screen.  I'd say just about any bike could work. 

[istoptofly]

Off road is something I'm worried about, I plan to not ride the pavement the whole way.  I'd like to explore as well.  I could probably ride the VFR but if I stayed on pavement, with some more modifications. 

My gripes on the VFR -
stock seat starts to be uncomfortable after a couple hours
pegs get uncomfortable after a couple hours
even with the touring windscreen, my head gets blown around
riding position is too forward after a couple hours, even with the risers
grips feel too skinny after a couple hours, hands start hurting (have aftermarket gel grips on now)

My likes on the VFR -
excellent engine
comfy suspension on the pavement
decent cargo capacity
decent fuel capacity
easy to maneuver

My trip will of course be mostly pavement, but I plan on getting on dirt/gravel pretty often.  Will be camping most nights so I imagine lots of off-pavement riding actually.

[Jvs]

Personally I would go with a Drz400 for a true adventure bike. Plenty capable off road. Dead Reliable. and Handles the highway a lot better than people think. Can be relatively comfortable with a seat concepts seat cover.

Lets be honest, are you really going to want to ride off road on some big heavy "adventure" touring bike? I bet 95% of those bikes have never even seen a dirt road.





Riding with a passenger on the drz sucks though. You have been warned.

[vince]

Lets be honest, are you really going to want to ride off road on some big heavy "adventure" touring bike? I bet 95% of those bikes have never even seen a dirt road.

Sure they have. Road construction. They work great.

[Mike Duluth]

The gs 1200 weighs in at just under 600 pounds, yikes that's a heavy dirt bike.

[Stinger]

Triumph Tiger

I lean a little more towards the Triumph Explorer for the shaft drive and power but it is bigger than the Tiger like the GS.

[pkpk]

I own a DL1000 VStrom.  You'll find no shortage of owners who off road this bike on the ADVRider list.  I limit myself to hard pack trails and gravel roads because of the weight.  Even though I feel it's worthless in sand, other riders have had this bike in all sorts of inhospitable environments. 

I have climbed some bad min maint roads with this bike but frankly I stress out on challenging environments because I know I will probably get hurt if something goes wrong.

[Plus_P]

Yamaha Super Tenere? It's on my short list for next-bikes.
+Wade

[Vander]

Hey Jon,

Long time, no see.   

If are you looking for comfort touring, longer suspension travel, sand/dirt worthy (low center of gravity) mid-weight motorcycle that wouldn't make you cry if you slid it on some wet class 5.... my recommendations are as follows:

Honda NC700X with off-road(ish) tires



People do complain that it is very tame on the streets and revs low... but that's what you have the VFR for, right?

Hope to see you around, good sir.

[DaleB]

I am  not a good (or even marginal) dirt rider. The ADV bikes appeal to me for the ergos rather their dirty nature.

My personal favorite is the DR650 (Post '96 version. Preferably post '04). If I were to ride to Alaska to Mexico and points south I'd use the DR.

I've had;

Kawi KLR650. Decent bike.
 Very tall (not a problem for me but it is for shorter people).
 Too fussy
  Shim adjustable 4 valve heads on a 39 HP thumper? give me a break.
  Chain tensioner on counter balancer needs an aftermarket fix. Why not
   do it right in the first place?
  Water cooled. Something else that can fail.
 Pretty bullet proof if properly maintained.
 Large stock gas tank. Good range.
 A ton of aftermarket accessories available.

BMW 1150GS ADV.
 Too heavy (don't drop it fully loaded)
 A decent street bike.
 Lots of accessories available
 Can carry a lot of stuff

BMW F800GS. (still own)
 Lighter and cheaper than a 1200 GS
 Tall for some people
 Still pretty heavy for narly dirt but lots of people do it. See you tube.
 Lots of accessories.
 Very comfortable if you replace the stock seat.

Suzuki DR650 (still own)
 Lighter and shorter than KLR650
 Simple as dirt
  air/oil cooled
  gear driven counter balancer (zero maintenance)
  Threaded locknut adjusted 2 valve head
 Lots of accessories available.
 Stock tank too small, Need one of the many aftermarket large tanks
 No stock rear rack.
 Stock seat sucks rocks

Suzuki DRZ400 (haven't owned one but have ridden one a fair bit
 Light and good handler.
  A blast on the street.
 water cooled
 not as common as the DR650

Dale B

[Powershouse]

Adventure biking covers a lot of ground - everything from gravel roads to forest trails and single track.  If you're thinking about single track type stuff you want something like a DRZ or perhaps a Yamaha WR250X; anything bigger takes the fun out of it fast.  If just want to be able to explore gravel roads or an occasional forest trail consider something like the Honda above or a Versys with dual sport tires.  For the price of a GS/Tiger etc you can have any of the bikes I've mentioned, plus your VFR and change left over for gear and gas.

[istoptofly]

Thanks all, great info, much more to chew on that I originally had.

Hey Vander, long time indeed!  Miss hanging out with the gang and I haven't been riding much at all either, spending all my time on the house remodel it seems.  But I'm definitely going to go adventure biking within the next 2 years, and trying to keep all my research up to date, while never riding it seems...  it's hard!  Maybe one of these days I'll get out again!

[JoeRau]

I'm hearing rumors of a 1290 Super Adventure from KTM.  Sounds like a cross between the 1190 and SuperDuke. 

[SilkMoneyLove]

This might be old news as this thread is a bit old, but I would look at the CB500X and get more dual sport tires for it than stock.  It looks to be the best bike for this type of riding.  Not really a dirtbike, but much more highway friendly than a KLR.

I have ridden from Anchorage to Prudhoe Bay (and more importantly, back ;-) on a KLR650.  It was a good bike for that.  A DR650 would have also been good.  I can tell you that the "dirt road" is either going to be gravel or super slick snotty mud in Alaska.

On another trip I went from Anchorage to Seatlle on an F800GS.  Coming into BC Canada, they use a lot of gravel where in Alaska it would be a mix of mud and rocks, so the roads are better.  Sometimes the gravel will be deep and loose.  That kept my speeds down on a loaded F800GS, but wasn't impossible.  By speeds down I mean 35 to 45mph.  The rest of Canada was 90-100mph as long as I was far away from towns/cities.  Once near towns, observe the speed limit.

Top of the World Highway was under scontruction on the US side and it was dodgy as hell for me on the loaded up F800GS.  They basically plow mud and rocks and sticks up and level it out to get rid of the ruts.  Sounds like a great idea but it was raining and the mud was a foot thick and slick as snot.  Trucks were getting stuck trying to go uphill.  I was able to tractor along at low speed throught he construction zones but the rear would start to spin and I thought "shit, if I drop this or can't keep momentum going uphill I am stuck here until the rains tops and this dries out.  Could be aweek!"

Coming from the Rockies to MN you are going to want a highway capable bike and the DR/KLR will get buzzy and boring.  So, the CB500X would be my choice for your outlined goals.

Good luck!