Adventure Bikes.

Not an adventure bike but it does well in all kinds of terrain
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ZX600 said:
Not an adventure bike but it does well in all kinds of terrain
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That looks purposeful. What tail pack? Care to review it? I cut my Buell seat to single and will be mounting new tail pack. Presently have seat hump cafe racer shaped tail pack but is too small.
 
inreb said:
That looks purposeful. What tail pack? Care to review it? I cut my Buell seat to single and will be mounting new tail pack. Presently have seat hump cafe racer shaped tail pack but is too small.
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I can fit a timmis coffee inside, that is all you need to know :)
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On a serious note, this is the Axio tail bag, I have used it in my last two bikes and I find it very good, does not make the bike top heavy and surprisingly fits a lot inside. It also has these pockets inside good to put all your cabling, wallet and small stuff you take on a trip. easy to install and take out to bring inside the hotel room.

I hate tank bags so this was a good alternative, however if you are going for multiple days and need a lot of stuff to wear, it won't be enough. this is more like a 2 day ride taking your rain gear and a few pieces to wear and maybe an extra set of gloves.
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I just bought this from Doozerdave to eliminate the tank bag

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Interesting tail bags, had not heard of that brand before. Checking them out now. Thanks ZX600.
 
I have a vstrom 1000 (dl1000) set up as a sport touring bike. It sees some gravel and occasionally a hard dirt double track but with the tires (pr3s) it's not a mud machine, it's a bit heavy even with the right tires and at the speeds I'd be doing mud I'd be riding the clutch too much. Gobs of torque though. Why set it up for sport touring? Because it's comfortable. I had a vfr 750 and while my upper body was comfortable my legs felt like they were folded up like paper clips. I would like a second bike more capable of off-road, but dual sport. Even though I have a trailer I don't want to be limited on which roads I can go.


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Clem said:
There is just something so wrong with that picture. Why buy a GS in the first place? I can think of much better bikes for the street.

I almost bought Jesse but got a great deal on the Touratech so went with them. They have taken a lot of abuse and have been down a few times and have held up well.

I think the GS is best for gravel, dirt and rough Tarmac. It works OK slabbing on the highway but It gets tiring. At least I find it tiring in the arms, possibly due to the wide bars. I did 2 trips from Vancouver to Cabo San Lucas. Once you get out of Tijuana there are some amazing desert trails. This summer we went up through central BC and then to Anchorage, Fairbanks, Fort Yukon and then crossed back into Canada to Fort McPherson, Dawson, Whitehorse, Dawson Creek and home.

It was beautiful. Sometimes I think we take Canada for granted .
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I did Whitehorse > Mayo > Keno > Dawson > Chicken > Haines Junction > Whitehorse (although I was in a pickup, not on bike, met two crazy guys on ADV bikes on the Top of the World between Dawson and Chicken, though). It was an awesome trip. Then spent a week in Vancouver on the way back to Toronto.
 
DemonPig said:
I have that Axio tail bag - very useful. Never take it off. Finish is a bit weak. Top layer peels off after a while but that doesn't compromise the integrity. Fits a pair of shoes with a bit room to spare. Extra zipped pocket inside for a camera or keys.
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I spray painted the top black. Never peeled
 
There is only one ADV bike that makes me drool anymore......290 lbs, 44 hp. BMW reliability. Sophisticated and trick....but it's pricey for a 450 cc single at $12,000
But now all other ADV bikes pale in comparison. Nobody every went on an adventure ride and said " Boy, I should have brought a faster bike like a 140 hp KTM 1290 twin! I sure could have used the extra power!"........but they always say " I should ave brought a lighter bike!" The bar has been set too high. Now they need to get thru CDN regulations.
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omnivore said:
There is only one ADV bike that makes me drool anymore......290 lbs, 44 hp. BMW reliability. Sophisticated and trick....but it's pricey for a 450 cc single at $12,000
But now all other ADV bikes pale in comparison. Nobody every went on an adventure ride and said " Boy, I should have brought a faster bike like a 140 hp KTM 1290 twin! I sure could have used the extra power!"........but they always say " I should ave brought a lighter bike!" The bar has been set too high. Now they need to get thru CDN regulations.
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I was looking at a KTM used in the paris-dakar before. Beautiful bike, but even after being beat to hell in the race they wanted something like 15000 for it. Apparently it was ~45 to start. Yikes.
 
A lighter bike with a decent seat seems tough to come by. A single 450 at that weight is very appealing against the stodgy KLR650 but I can and have ridden the KLR a few hundred KM in day with comfort thanks to the Sargent seat.

You can also buy them for $3-4k almost anywhere in the world and resell them for not much less.

$12k is ludicrous and saying BMW reliability is well....:rolleyes:

KLR is reliable. I wish some company would address seating with a comfortable solo seat option on a light affordable bike.

The Honda CB500x is getting there tho I don't know about the seat.
A 400 single with better shocks and a stiffened frame including ABS that can be turned off could be a winner if Honda pays some attention to seat comfort.

If they can make a light comfy 1000 at under 500 lb. Surely a 320 lb single that is also comfortable for distance is an achievable goal. Basically a modernized DRZ-400

The 2016 from Suzuki might be getting there.

http://www.suzukicycles.com/Product Lines/Cycles/Products/DR-Z400/2016/DRZ400SM.aspx

This is the Supermoto version

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and a proper dual -sport

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http://www.suzukicycles.com/Product Lines/Cycles/Products/DR-Z400/2016/DRZ400S.aspx#Specs

I should really put my money where my mouth is and opt for one in Australia.

317 lb tho the seat height is daunting at 36.8 in. for my 30" inseam :(

Still $6500 brand new and a long proven track record plus loads of farkles
 
I like the looks and the specs of the CRF250 Rally concept... if only they'd release that in a 400 or 450 I could be set with one bike:

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Mac, you could ride a DRZ if you got a seat concepts seat. I don't think I'd be tall enough for a regular DRZ, but the seat concepts seat removes a lot of the material where the tank meets the frame. I definitely cannot flat foot the DRZ with both feet at the same time, but it is a light enough bike and easy enough to handle that it is not a chore to ride and deal with:

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considering it - talked to buddy in Aus about looking.
Seat Concepts looks good. Main reason for flat foot is stable camera platform.

I definitely ahem "depress the suspension" so that helps and the narrow seat helps.

KLR is not lowered and can flat foot that with the Sargent seat.

I could consider a Scarver but not as good off pavement and not much weight difference.

I just read the DRZ can be lowered and if I get a used one with "tired" suspension then I'm probably okay.

Found this in Aus for about $2800 CDN

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http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/annandale/motorcycles/suziki-drz-400-07-2006/1093598709

any insight?
 
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omnivore said:
There is only one ADV bike that makes me drool anymore......290 lbs, 44 hp. BMW reliability. Sophisticated and trick....but it's pricey for a 450 cc single at $12,000
But now all other ADV bikes pale in comparison. Nobody every went on an adventure ride and said " Boy, I should have brought a faster bike like a 140 hp KTM 1290 twin! I sure could have used the extra power!"........but they always say " I should ave brought a lighter bike!" The bar has been set too high. Now they need to get thru CDN regulations.
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Is this the CCM GP450? I saw one at the Toronto bike show the year before last. I've heard good things about it. Unfortunate price, though. Several dealers are listed in Canada. There is also a thread on ADVrider of an Englishman who rode one across the TAT this summer.
 
The adv segment is just like any other segment of motorcycling - there's subsegments and subsegments. There's something for everyone, and something to argue about for everyone.
 
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