Another "what bike for me?" post

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Wild Hearted Son

Race Dog
Joined
Jun 1, 2007
Messages
1,416
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12
Location
Sandton
Bike
Honda XL1000V Varadero
Hi folks

I know there have been a lot of similar posts on the forum at the moment but hereâ??s my own request for bike advice.

I have recently sold my Varadero, which was my first DS bike & Iâ??m now ready to get another.

With the Vara, I had these grand ideas of spending every weekend touring Africa with my lady wife, which, due to one thing or another, didnâ??t materialise & for the most part the bike stood in the garage, quietly depreciating & gathering cobwebs.

I am 1,79 m tall & weigh 78kgs

Itâ??s time to buy a bike to ride the kinds of rides I WILL be doing rather the kinds of rides I WISH I WAS doing.

So, what am I going to be using it for :

- Mostly short breakfast run type trips maybe once or twice a month with various local WDs. GundaGundaâ??s recent canal road trip is a perfect example of what I envisage doing.

- An annual long distance, high speed touring trip over a few days, (the WD bash !). My riding buddy on these type of trips is Pom  & he has the big â??Strom

- I must be able to maintain a 140-150 km/h highway cruising speed

- Commuting every now & then in a mixture of bumper to bumper & open freeway from  the West Rand to Germiston.

- No pillion riding whatsoever.

Additional factors

- Cheap  â?? so itâ??s depreciated as much as its going to & making monthly payments on something Iâ??m not using doesnâ??t upset me too much. I had originally planned a 30k limit but I have had to revise this to 40k

- Reliable â?? within the boundaries created by â??cheapâ?

- Financeable- my missus has already spent the money I got after Iâ??d settled the Vara at the bank, so Iâ??ll be borrowing again..

I â??m aware that there is not such thing as the perfect bike â?? there is always a compromise somewhere, but so far my shortlist has got the following  :

Africa Twin
Originally this was first prize as far as I was concerned, but the prices seem to have gone through the roof this year â?? not sure why. I have seen them advertised recently at up to 50k. There seem to be a lot of older grey models on the market at the moment & 40 grand for a 10 year old, fairly scruffy bike seems normal at bike shops. Also, lately I see a lot of WDs with ATs seem to be having carb & fuel pump problems.

XTZ Super Tenere
I read somewhere on the forum that the SupaTenny is for those of us who want a KTM990 but canâ??t afford it . I believe the only problem with these bikes is that the frames can crack if they have been frequently overloaded â?? but fixing something like that is relatively easy. They have the added bonus of being virtually identical mechanically to the TDM850. I have test ridden the one for sale at Randburg Motorcycles & unfortunately I canâ??t say I was impressed. Also, paying 35 to 40 grand for a tatty 10 year old bike that is out of production & a grey import seems ludicrous â?? I suppose this logic applies to ATs as well .

KLR
This would definitely fit the bill , Not sure about the highway cruising speed though - however not really my cup of tea.

KLE
A great little bike - this is a possibility, as I was very impressed with KLE400 I rode to the WD bash last year ( thanks Pom). However I have only ridden the 400 version, not the 500 & so donâ??t know how they compare. Battled my ass off in the cross winds on the way back from the bash though.  Highway speeds a concern .

Suzuki DR650
I donâ??t know enough about these bikes, but on paper it seems like it will do the trick. I believe itâ??s design is at least as old if not older than the KLRâ??s

Suzuki DR800
Isnâ??t this the Suzy version of a SupaTenny, Iâ??m pretty sure the same comments will apply

XT 660R
Add a screen & a bash plate & I think this will do. All the mod cons plus fuel injection. Not sure if itâ??ll fit the budget though.  Seems to be top of my list at the moment especially after seeing the Shimwells Yamaha one in an issue of BikeSA a month or so ago, the one that had all the Hyde carbon fibre goodies on & the re-routed exhaust.

BMW Dakar
Will definitely do. However, I think that a decent Dak will be out of my price range. Also concerned about highway cruising ability loaded up. I know Hidalgo battled a bit in the cross winds on the way back from the bash last year on his. Also , not really keen on the location of the fuel filler cap â?? right where a saddle bag goes.

BMW Funduro
An unknown quantity for me, but I have just read Kykdaarâ??s post on his new bike & have decided to add it to the list- does this also have a funny fuel filler position?

I am not in a hurry as long as Iâ??m mobile by WD bash time
I intend to enjoy this shopping experience & make sure I ride every bike on the list before I make a decision.

All thoughts and suggestions & possible additions as well as positive / negative feedback greatly appreciated.

regards
WHS >:D



 
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