Not a rider yet and in dire need of advice!

[chicco]

KLR, best value for money, cheap to buy, cheap to maintain. Easy to sell again when upgrading.

My first adventure bike was a KLR. No problem 2 up on dirt roads even with soft luggage. Me and SWAMBO did many +400km trips on weekends to explore KZN.

Its also the right bike to hand down to your wife if you upgrade and she wants to ride by herself.

The next bike after the KLR will be a KTM.....Guaranteed......

My first KLR.

[the_BOBNOB]

all the advice is subjective

but what i can tell you is that 650 bikes can pillion no problem

but you start to feel cramped for space very quickly

xr650 and dr650 is out if you want to pillion more than 50km

the sloped seat also makes the pillion slide forward etc etc etc it is very uncomfortable

the klr has more space but it also has the sloped seat so you will have the same issue but not as bad as the xr or dr

in the 650 class if you want to pillion look at the f650gs/dakar, xt660z tenere or the 650/700 transalps

if you have half a brain you will survive - i would not do 250cc etc you will soon want to travel further and then you are stuck at 85km/h

i went from a 250cc to a 1100cc - i was scared witless but i quickly realised it only go as fast as you make it go 

[hamman69]

i bought the xr650 L awesome bike nice low down torque, its nice and high i had mine lowered, but i would not pillion for more than 50 km,  another problem is that the maximam weight limit of the bike  is 149kg's and if i am not wrong it would be the same for most 650 class bikes? i am also new to ds riding, and would rather buy your wife her own small bike than riding two up

[alanB]

i bought the xr650 L awesome bike nice low down torque, its nice and high i had mine lowered, but i would not pillion for more than 50 km,  another problem is that the maximam weight limit of the bike  is 149kg's and if i am not wrong it would be the same for most 650 class bikes? i am also new to ds riding, and would rather buy your wife her own small bike than riding two up

149kg's is quite light!  Some of the other 650's are 180-190g's, not much lighter than their bigger cousins.

Which is why the XR650L is quite a good choice IMO!

[g1_]

i bought the xr650 L awesome bike nice low down torque, its nice and high i had mine lowered, but i would not pillion for more than 50 km,  another problem is that the maximam weight limit of the bike  is 149kg's and if i am not wrong it would be the same for most 650 class bikes? i am also new to ds riding, and would rather buy your wife her own small bike than riding two up

149kg's is quite light!  Some of the other 650's are 180-190g's, not much lighter than their bigger cousins.

Which is why the XR650L is quite a good choice IMO!

I think he's referring to carrying capacity, specifically with reference to riding two up.

[Askook]

Ek het begin op n 250 md (motorcycles direct). K@k fiets, maar n goeie fiets om mee te leer.
Daar na het ek n 84 xr500 gekoop. N goeie fiets wat als wat jy vir hom gee kan doen. Kry net n beter shock.

Ek het nou n ou PE 400 vir veld paaie en n f 650 gs vir toer.

Die reel wat mens vergeet is: as jy respek vir die fiets het dan sal hy vir jou ook he.

As ek jy is sal ek by n 400 of so begin en later n monster koop.

[Bazinga]

Koop die een waarvan jy hou en leer om die do..erse ding te ry.

[gastank]

Koop die een waarvan jy hou en leer om die do..erse ding te ry.

Beste raad! Ry die ding.

[chopperpilot]

You mentioned you want to pillion.

Then none of the 650/660s mentioned will do the trick. Not with your weight and length, and GF on the back.

They are ideal for you to learn on, but a no-go for a pillion.

Look out for a good 950S/990S, even if you have to stretch the budget.

Both you and the GF will be 

[KTM2013]

For your budget, there are some amazing Ktm 990's on the market, as the 1190 has come in. I started biking 3 years ago and went straight onto a 990. Did intermediate course at Staals Amersfoort and then went straight into a 2 week tour through Bots, Zim and Moz, mainly offroad. Taking it slowly and practicing the things I learnt, I was comfortable within a few weeks.
My suggestion, for GF and you, 990 but must do course on how to ride Pillion and then practice in parking lots, vacant roads, etc. If you go the 690, 650, etc way, you no safer unless you do the above.
Either way, do some lessons, practice on weekends silly things like slow turns with GF on back, emergency braking, jumping potholes, etc. Safer rather than sorry. Good luck.

[chopperpilot]

 

For your budget, there are some amazing Ktm 990's on the market, as the 1190 has come in. I started biking 3 years ago and went straight onto a 990. Did intermediate course at Staals Amersfoort and then went straight into a 2 week tour through Bots, Zim and Moz, mainly offroad. Taking it slowly and practicing the things I learnt, I was comfortable within a few weeks.
My suggestion, for GF and you, 990 but must do course on how to ride Pillion and then practice in parking lots, vacant roads, etc. If you go the 690, 650, etc way, you no safer unless you do the above.
Either way, do some lessons, practice on weekends silly things like slow turns with GF on back, emergency braking, jumping potholes, etc. Safer rather than sorry. Good luck.

ADA training also an option.

[Lem]

Koop die een waarvan jy hou en leer om die do..erse ding te ry.

Beste raad! Ry die ding.

sê ek ook mos, ja!

[Chrissie B]

If you havent ridden a bike much I would actually say get a small bike like a 250 or DRZ400 or something (I wouldnt even go for a 650).  

No doubt someone is going to tell you to buy a 1200 soon, but those big heavy bikes are no fun to learn on.  They are very powerful and heavy and can make the learning process unnecessarily difficult.

Your girlfriend is not going to feel safe when you are really battling and wobbling along!  And the end result is you are going to avoid stuff like sand and mud and even gravel  but not want to admit it and just want to stick to tar - maybe that's OK?

But I would suggest a completely different approach.

Don't plan on taking her on the back while you learn.  If necessary get her a small bike too - you can within that budget.

Spend a year learning the basics and then choose the long term bike of your choice AFTER that.

But honestly, its just sooooo much easier to learn the basics on a small lighter bike.  

Bike riding safely and competently requires certain skills that have to be learnt - like anything else if you learn them properly to start with it just makes everything else that much easier later on.

The SA male ego will however tell you to buy the biggest most powerful bike you can afford right now - you choose!

Also everyone is going to tell you to go on a course - which is a VERY GOOD IDEA.  But again you will learn more and progress faster on a small bike.

Personally I think for a chap your size, a small bike is going to be a waste of time!  My first bike was a Suzuki GSX750 Katana (Superbike)... and although I always loved bikes, I was almost 30 when I finally got one!  My first duallie was a BMW 650 Dakar... although also a little under-powered 2 up (imo), it was a really nice bike, but after it got stolen I replaced it with my first Africa Twin (Honda XRV750)... and I'm now on my 3rd Africa Twin and totally loving it despite the fact that is is a very heavy bike, it weights a little more than a 1200GS and around the same as the KTM990!  Although I probably wouldn't recommend the AT for pillion riding, it is just too small.

Over the last few years I have ridden a large selection of different bikes, the ones that impressed me probably wouldn't suit a beginner (KTM990  & Triumph XC800  ), but the one's that I really didn't like were the KLR650 and the DR650... I thought they were quite awful!  Sluggish and ugly.... and two up with your height and weight it is going to be a problem!  One wants enough oomph to get out of trouble and to get up the hills.... even my Twin struggles a bit when I'm fully loaded or take a bigger pillion with.  The Honda XR650 is not very comfortable and really not suited for pillions and long distances, it's also rather slow! 

So I would suggest the BMW 650 Dakar (Although also not very fast), you can get good 2nd hand ones at a reasonable price.  The other one too look at might be the older Triumph Tiger and of course the 660 Tenere. 

The problem is that since you are new at this, it's going to be a bit of a problem test riding the various bikes without a license and not really knowing what to look for, so take a friend with that knows bikes!  And a riders course or two is a must!  I have done 3 courses and still have lots to learn! 

Anyway... that's my 'girls' opinion.