Wild Dog Adventure Riding
General => General Bike Related Banter => Topic started by: Whaleson on May 29, 2013, 08:40:19 pm
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Hi Guys,
We're looking for a 2nd Bike so that my girlfriend can come tag along and fall in the mud. Budget is 50k Max. Since she plans to leave the tarmac we need a DS Bike she can manage. It needs decent long distance performance for those long road stretches but she wont have a problem taking on more technical offroading/trails/whatever the bike can travel on.
Things we've looked at:
1) 650GS Dakar
2) Vanilla 650GS single
3) 650GS twin
4) S10 660
5) KLR650
6) Transalp
7) Aprilia Pegaso
I'm partial to BMW simply because there are so many of them, makes maintenance and parts easier to come buy and there is a healthy 2nd hand market. The Transalp is an option but it weight doesn't count much in its favour. The S10 is a great bike but on the expensive side for our budget. (Its also the brand I have the most experience with).
The Pegaso was parked randomly next to a KLR so thats why its on the list. Its a very good looking machine, but its an Aprilia so I have real concerns regarding maintenance and accessory availability(which are basically none).
Opinions?
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The dakkie is perfect for what you want
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Dakkie.. or an xt660?
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Suzuki DR650?
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Doubt you mean the S10. That's a 1200 cc, 250kg brut. You talking about the 660 Tenere. Great bike, but tall. The one to look at in your budget would be the 660 R.
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DR650 - More offroad orientated.
KLR 650 - more road orientated.
Lecap's got a DR for sale, and I've got my KLR. Both second hand though, if you interested.
Very good bikes, reliable the both of them.
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So far I only ride on tar.
But I rode a DR650. First really big bike I've ever had the chance to play around with. I dropped it at a stop street when it stalled. I managed to pick it up by myself, uphill. It isn't super light, but it was do-able. I'm about 1.7m tall and weight 60kg. Not fit and not particularly strong.
Don't know if that helps when it comes to looking at weights and stuff of bikes for the softness ???
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X-Country.
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Hi
I have a nice dakkie for your girlfriend that is well within your budget and in excellent condition. It is a 2002 model with 17300 km on the clock. Very nice bike but have to many bikes ned to sell as I will not get to ride it. PM ME AND I WILL SEND YOU PHOTOS TO YOUR PERSONAL E MAIL ADDRESS.
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Dakkie.. or an xt660?
ditto
en n G650 X-country :thumleft:
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Don't forget a Ktm 640 has a dry weight nearly 20kg lighter than a Dakar.
A factor is also her height.
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Doubt you mean the S10. That's a 1200 cc, 250kg brut. You talking about the 660 Tenere. Great bike, but tall. The one to look at in your budget would be the 660 R.
Correct! I meant the 660. Luckily her Legs are long ;D
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Doubt you mean the S10. That's a 1200 cc, 250kg brut. You talking about the 660 Tenere. Great bike, but tall. The one to look at in your budget would be the 660 R.
Correct! I meant the 660. Luckily her Legs are long ;D
In that case, if you can stretch the budget a bit, you'll never regret the 660 Z. BUT, its also nice to ride a bike like the R where you can plant your heels firmly on the ground. It can do distance although not nearly as comfortable as the Z.
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I have a Pegaso for you @R30k has just been serviced
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50k knocks all the twin cylinder bikes but the Transalp off the list, she will certainly be glad she is on the twin on the longer stretches, Alp is super reliable, low seat height as opposed to Tenere, Ktm640 etc and they are tough bikes to boot, the only down side is their fuel consumption really.
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KLR.....already got some built in wind protection...ok range...spares available as well as aftermarket stuff.
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I will go for the BMW 650 GS single. Trusted bullet-proof engine. Lower than the Dakar (for incase she is not tall enough). If she is a tall lady and can handle the Dakar, that will be the first choice.
Hope you are very happy with what you buy!!
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I saw DR650SE on special for R54,000 at Suzuki South. Brand new. Can't go better.
The DR does do long distances well (I have been as far as the Kunene) but it will NOT supercruise happily at 140 (at least I don't think it will, I feel sorry for the bike and myself doing more than 120 sustained).
IMHO all the bikes you have listed are too heavy to be really enjoyable off road or are at least a handful for someone who's not experienced. tall & reasonably strong.
Dakar, too tall, too heavy, too pretty.
Girlie GS: Too heavy, too pretty, limited offroad performance.
650 twin: As above. Although it stars with oodles of power compared to the singles. The choice if you actually want a road bike which looks like a DS. Direct competitor: Suzuki DL650 VStrom.
Tenere 660 & KLR: Capable allrounders but both a bit on the heavy side if it gets messy. Both also not exactly low. KLR in dire need of crash bars to protect expensive bodywork and components.
The Transalp I would throw into the same category with the F650GS Twin and Suzuki DL650 VStrom although it has a slight advantage on dirt due to its 21" front and the related choice of tires (that is for the Transalp 650 only). The 700 and the old 600 are pretty much on par with the BMW & Suzuki Twins. A road bike with some dirt road capability. They demand both care & skill if used in rough dirt conditions and don't crash well unless protected with additional crash bars. On fast tar nothing will beat the twins. Even a Transalp 600 is more enjoyable at 140 that any of the singles.
The (early, 1994 - 2000) Pegaso is pretty much the same as the F650Funduro and shares a lot of parts and most of the engine.
The second generation (2001-) Pegaso shares its Minarelli-built engine with the current Yamahas XT660 models.
I rate both the Aprilias pretty much on par with the Girlie GS. Not really made for playing in the dirt, more for posing in front of a bar in Riomaggiore :D
650's qualifying as lightweight & capable on dirt are the DR650SE, the Honda XR650L, the XChallenge and the KTM LC4's (620 / 640 & 690 - all around 150kg. They all crash fairly well too.
The Honda, XChallenge and the KTM's only really work for tall people (less some drastic modifications).
The XCountry might be an option (due to height) but I'm not too sure about its dirt capabilities and how well it crashes.
Maybe you can find one of the rare 620LC4 in the DS setup (19" front, relatively low). Just get rid of that lousy Dell' Orto carb ::)
The Suzuki is suitable for short riders due to the option to set the bike up lower without a significant loss in suspension performance.
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How competent a rider is she right now? If NOT then I feel the likes of a 650 is throwing her in the deep end...the weight will be too daunting for her. A learning curve would be advisable...first a smaller bike on which she will ease into it and improve/develop her riding skills. Then later go for the likes of a 650.
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why not look at a KLE
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why not look at a KLE
Does not exactly qualify as "lighter" ???
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How competent a rider is she right now? If NOT then I feel the likes of a 650 is throwing her in the deep end...the weight will be too daunting for her. A learning curve would be advisable...first a smaller bike on which she will ease into it and improve/develop her riding skills. Then later go for the likes of a 650.
She is quite competent (4 years on a street bike) and handles my 800 easily enough on the road. It really comes down to low speed handling in the rough, hence the requirement for a lighter bike.
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DR or the XTR Yamaha.....both fall really well also. the DR is a bit more bumpy on the long road....the most cushy ride on longroad is the Dakar..or the standard 650...but the most fun on dirt in that class I would say, as a lady....would be the first two...
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I did 5 000 km solo on the Xcount. A real pig in sand and bad handling on dirt, otherwise OK.
The KLE was too top heavy, gearing and torque unsuitable for off road. Great handling on gravel (I did 5 00 km with my daughter on mainly tar - good touring bike).
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I will go for the BMW 650 GS single. Trusted bullet-proof engine. Lower than the Dakar (for incase she is not tall enough). If she is a tall lady and can handle the Dakar, that will be the first choice.
Have to agree , the Yammie 660 is good value for money. Wil have to add a bit of protection under and in front of the engine.
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Xt660r, with a screen mod :thumleft:
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If you get yourself a big strong girlfriend, the decision on the bike would be so much simpler - anyway it is your choice - think outside the box!
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I did 5 000 km solo on the Xcount. A real pig in sand and bad handling on dirt, otherwise OK.
SWAMBO has put 25k km touring on her X-Country in the last two years. I'll have to tell her about the bikes kak handling. She doesn't know that and seems to ride fine on all surfaces.
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I did 5 000 km solo on the Xcount. A real pig in sand and bad handling on dirt, otherwise OK.
SWAMBO has put 25k km touring on her X-Country in the last two years. I'll have to tell her about the bikes kak handling. She doesn't know that and seems to ride fine on all surfaces.
u know its really true....I started on my F650gs...did not know any better...all the boys said that's the bike to have...so I put 28 000 dirt on her the first year...only after taking the XT for a test ride (Ive never ridden anything but the gs before) did I realise that riding a bike CAN be less stressfull than what I was use to on the GS. So Ignorance is Bliss in a way...all too true...if you want to ride a bike, you will make any bike work for you.
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I visited my friend Koos in Zeerust on the XCount on its factory tyres. There is one stretch of gravel which has a few patches of corrugations, combined with sand, which made me think that those tyres weren't suitable for my lost distance trip. I changed to knobblies and found the handling on the same stretch to be just as bad. There was definitely something very wrong with that bike's handling on gravel and especially sand. I've done that piece of road four times with the XL500 and there's just no comparison.
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I did 5 000 km solo on the Xcount. A real pig in sand and bad handling on dirt, otherwise OK.
SWAMBO has put 25k km touring on her X-Country in the last two years. I'll have to tell her about the bikes kak handling. She doesn't know that and seems to ride fine on all surfaces.
u know its really true....I started on my F650gs...did not know any better...all the boys said that's the bike to have...so I put 28 000 dirt on her the first year...only after taking the XT for a test ride (Ive never ridden anything but the gs before) did I realise that riding a bike CAN be less stressfull than what I was use to on the GS. So Ignorance is Bliss in a way...all too true...if you want to ride a bike, you will make any bike work for you.
So wat jy sê is die X-C is 'n sleg bike en sy ry goed omdat sy eenvouding nie van beter weet nie.
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Get her to ride as many of these options as possible...besides, it's fun! ;D
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I did 5 000 km solo on the Xcount. A real pig in sand and bad handling on dirt, otherwise OK.
SWAMBO has put 25k km touring on her X-Country in the last two years. I'll have to tell her about the bikes kak handling. She doesn't know that and seems to ride fine on all surfaces.
u know its really true....I started on my F650gs...did not know any better...all the boys said that's the bike to have...so I put 28 000 dirt on her the first year...only after taking the XT for a test ride (Ive never ridden anything but the gs before) did I realise that riding a bike CAN be less stressfull than what I was use to on the GS. So Ignorance is Bliss in a way...all too true...if you want to ride a bike, you will make any bike work for you.
So wat jy sê is die X-C is 'n sleg bike en sy ry goed omdat sy eenvouding nie van beter weet nie.
nee op die eerste en ja op die tweede. Sommige bikes doen sommige kondisies beter. AS jy nie van beter weet nie, ry jy hom soos n rental kar....enige terraine.
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I did 5 000 km solo on the Xcount. A real pig in sand and bad handling on dirt, otherwise OK.
SWAMBO has put 25k km touring on her X-Country in the last two years. I'll have to tell her about the bikes kak handling. She doesn't know that and seems to ride fine on all surfaces.
u know its really true....I started on my F650gs...did not know any better...all the boys said that's the bike to have...so I put 28 000 dirt on her the first year...only after taking the XT for a test ride (Ive never ridden anything but the gs before) did I realise that riding a bike CAN be less stressfull than what I was use to on the GS. So Ignorance is Bliss in a way...all too true...if you want to ride a bike, you will make any bike work for you.
So wat jy sê is die X-C is 'n sleg bike en sy ry goed omdat sy eenvouding nie van beter weet nie.
nee op die eerste en ja op die tweede. Sommige bikes doen sommige kondisies beter. AS jy nie van beter weet nie, ry jy hom soos n rental kar....enige terraine.
Stem saam daar!
In hindsight, I should probably have gone for a lighter bike. I am not knocking my XT... totally LOVE IT, but with short legs it does make it tricky at the best of times.
The KTM 640 is a DREAM!!!!!!!!!! Has enough oomph, can go the distance and is lighter than most.
DR is light and goes the distance, but lacks in the looks and ooooh that feels / sounds good department.
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My wife (RedRo) was not comfortable on a DR650, yet she loves the F650GS Twin I bought her to bits.
Let her ride as many options as possible, the right one will be easy for her to spot.
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IMHO a 650 Dual sport is not all that light&small. Remember when an XT500 was considered huge? This phenomena of taking massively heavy bikes off-road is relatively new, and I think it will blow over again in a few years. (already seeing lots of guys selling up and moving on to the next thing)
I would try and find an XT350 somewhere. Failing that, XT or XR 250
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I did 5 000 km solo on the Xcount. A real pig in sand and bad handling on dirt, otherwise OK.
SWAMBO has put 25k km touring on her X-Country in the last two years. I'll have to tell her about the bikes kak handling. She doesn't know that and seems to ride fine on all surfaces.
u know its really true....I started on my F650gs...did not know any better...all the boys said that's the bike to have...so I put 28 000 dirt on her the first year...only after taking the XT for a test ride (Ive never ridden anything but the gs before) did I realise that riding a bike CAN be less stressfull than what I was use to on the GS. So Ignorance is Bliss in a way...all too true...if you want to ride a bike, you will make any bike work for you.
So wat jy sê is die X-C is 'n sleg bike en sy ry goed omdat sy eenvouding nie van beter weet nie.
nee op die eerste en ja op die tweede. Sommige bikes doen sommige kondisies beter. AS jy nie van beter weet nie, ry jy hom soos n rental kar....enige terraine.
So as iemand goed ry, dan weet hy/sy eenvoudig nie van beter nie. :biggrin: (Beteken dit dat iemand wat sleg ry is well informed? :scratch:)
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I visited my friend Koos in Zeerust on the XCount on its factory tyres. There is one stretch of gravel which has a few patches of corrugations, combined with sand, which made me think that those tyres weren't suitable for my lost distance trip. I changed to knobblies and found the handling on the same stretch to be just as bad. There was definitely something very wrong with that bike's handling on gravel and especially sand. I've done that piece of road four times with the XL500 and there's just no comparison.
....try telling Country Girl that.......she rides that bike as comfortably at decent gravel speed as good as the the next guy.
Go figure. ......maybe you were riding with an hangover. ;D
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I did 5 000 km solo on the Xcount. A real pig in sand and bad handling on dirt, otherwise OK.
SWAMBO has put 25k km touring on her X-Country in the last two years. I'll have to tell her about the bikes kak handling. She doesn't know that and seems to ride fine on all surfaces.
u know its really true....I started on my F650gs...did not know any better...all the boys said that's the bike to have...so I put 28 000 dirt on her the first year...only after taking the XT for a test ride (Ive never ridden anything but the gs before) did I realise that riding a bike CAN be less stressfull than what I was use to on the GS. So Ignorance is Bliss in a way...all too true...if you want to ride a bike, you will make any bike work for you.
So wat jy sê is die X-C is 'n sleg bike en sy ry goed omdat sy eenvouding nie van beter weet nie.
nee op die eerste en ja op die tweede. Sommige bikes doen sommige kondisies beter. AS jy nie van beter weet nie, ry jy hom soos n rental kar....enige terraine.
So as iemand goed ry, dan weet hy/sy eenvoudig nie van beter nie. :biggrin: (Beteken dit dat iemand wat sleg ry is well informed? :scratch:)
Yes if you you realise that you could have been riding better.
I
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A KTM 640 will put a big grin on her face!
It's light, has a suspension that works, has a tank like a petrol bowser, mine does 440km before going to reserve, it's simple carburation allows it to run on just about any fuel in Africa, and best of all.........IT VIBRATES !!!
Malabu and Lee are your best references, not sure about the other girls that ride them.
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A KTM 640 will put a big grin on her face!
It's light, has a suspension that works, has a tank like a petrol bowser, mine does 440km before going to reserve, it's simple carburation allows it to run on just about any fuel in Africa, and best of all.........IT VIBRATES !!!
Malabu and Lee are your best references, not sure about the other girls that ride them.
But it's ridiculously tall!
I am about this girl's height and weight, and cannot put my feet on the ground with the KTMs. They literally dangle in midair, so stopping would be a bit of an issue.
I learnt to ride on a 650 and don't understand why everyone keeps going on about not learning to ride on something so big.
Ignorance is bliss.
I happily tackle sand, mud and boulders on my 650 and love every second of it.
I can't pick it up, though... Guess that's what the boyfriend is for? :ricky:
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A KTM 640 will put a big grin on her face!
It's light, has a suspension that works, has a tank like a petrol bowser, mine does 440km before going to reserve, it's simple carburation allows it to run on just about any fuel in Africa, and best of all.........IT VIBRATES !!!
Malabu and Lee are your best references, not sure about the other girls that ride them.
But it's ridiculously tall!
I am about this girl's height and weight, and cannot put my feet on the ground with the KTMs. They literally dangle in midair, so stopping would be a bit of an issue.
I learnt to ride on a 650 and don't understand why everyone keeps going on about not learning to ride on something so big.
Ignorance is bliss.
I happily tackle sand, mud and boulders on my 650 and love every second of it.
I can't pick it up, though... Guess that's what the boyfriend is for? :ricky:
You lower the front suspension by 3cm and apply the lowering links for the rear.
154kg dry weight.
Way to go.
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A KTM 640 will put a big grin on her face!
It's light, has a suspension that works, has a tank like a petrol bowser, mine does 440km before going to reserve, it's simple carburation allows it to run on just about any fuel in Africa, and best of all.........IT VIBRATES !!!
Malabu and Lee are your best references, not sure about the other girls that ride them.
But it's ridiculously tall!
I am about this girl's height and weight, and cannot put my feet on the ground with the KTMs. They literally dangle in midair, so stopping would be a bit of an issue.
I learnt to ride on a 650 and don't understand why everyone keeps going on about not learning to ride on something so big.
Ignorance is bliss.
I happily tackle sand, mud and boulders on my 650 and love every second of it.
I can't pick it up, though... Guess that's what the boyfriend is for? :ricky:
Not that tall... I am 1.64m and even though I can only touch with one toe, the lightness of it makes up for it... even with a full tank.
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You missed the Yamaha XT 660 and the Husqvarna 650
Went through this exercise about a year ago - the BMW are just to heavy, take the missus to go and sit and handle the bikes she'll soon tell you...
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Suzuki DR650?
agreed.... :thumleft:
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A KTM 640 will put a big grin on her face!
It's light, has a suspension that works, has a tank like a petrol bowser, mine does 440km before going to reserve, it's simple carburation allows it to run on just about any fuel in Africa, and best of all.........IT VIBRATES !!!
Malabu and Lee are your best references, not sure about the other girls that ride them.
But it's ridiculously tall!
I am about this girl's height and weight, and cannot put my feet on the ground with the KTMs. They literally dangle in midair, so stopping would be a bit of an issue.
I learnt to ride on a 650 and don't understand why everyone keeps going on about not learning to ride on something so big.
Ignorance is bliss.
I happily tackle sand, mud and boulders on my 650 and love every second of it.
I can't pick it up, though... Guess that's what the boyfriend is for? :ricky:
Not that tall... I am 1.64m and even though I can only touch with one toe, the lightness of it makes up for it... even with a full tank.
Eh each to their own. I suppose it depends what type of riding you are doing.
It does make me realise that my bike is quite light, as it is only about 9kgs heavier!
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If there x country where not so cheap I would have got myself a DR650 since I am also a short lighty. But yeah the bike really does take a while to get used to. It will be different for others. Can't say I have done much technical riding with it apart from the odd sand and mud patch. Seems okay on an average dirt road, but had little confidence with the stock tires.
Maybe it can do with a suspension upgrade? :)
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XT 660 R.......if the budget can be stretched a bit, XT 660 Z Tenere.....
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XT 660 R
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Have a look at the Husky Terra 650, its quite light, quite powerful with the reliable BM engine :thumleft:
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Hi Guys,
Thanks for the great feedback! Going to take your suggestions and get some test rides in over the next few weekends :D
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Ok, so test drove the following:
1) G650GS
2) KLR650
3) Pegaso
Our opinions from about an hour on each.
1) G650GS. Nee. Not for that price. Its actually not a bad bike at all, Far outclassed by the other bikes BMW makes but...
2) ...2010 Pegaso What a surprise! The was the best of the 3 for what we want to do, rides like an absolute dream, has plenty of low end punch with great handling. Light and agile.
3) KLR. This is a mans bike. My girlfriend hated it. I can see how this could be a great bike if you really want to rough it. Simple, functional but not what we are looking for.
Riding a Dakar tomorrow but I don't expect that her opinion will be swayed.
The Yamaha 660 and its variations share an engine with the Pegaso and I would consider these but they are out of budget.
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Consider to Laurika's input - she's had both a vanilla GS and a XT660.
Let her choose whatever bike she likes - after she's ridden them.
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Consider to Laurika's input - she's had both a vanilla GS and a XT660.
Let her choose whatever bike she likes - after she's ridden them.
That's what we've doing :P
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you can get a XT 660 R (not the XT 660 Z ) for your budget price, not new, but a two year old, easily...
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Een van my pelle wil sy vrou se wild mooi dakr is te koop, ek dink dis 'n 2005.
Hy hetndie bmw boks en tankbag ook, die bike is regtig mooi.
PM my as jy sy details soek en as jy besluit het op 'n bike.
Die dakar's is net baie meer betroubaar en as jy 'n BMW het, sal dit nice wees ook!
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ek stem saam met laurika. Sy moet defn XT gaan toetsry. Oorweeg een vir my oudste dogter sodra sy moeg raak vir die XR125