hi, am thinking of buying a one year old dakar ,it is fitted with the touratech extra side mounted fuel tanks ,what sort of range can you get with this setup?also i am five feet six inches tall and most people think i will have real problems handling such a tall bike .anyone of similar height
had experience riding this bike?thank,s

Hi I have a Dakar and am around 5ft 9 - I bought a lower seat for it. It depends what sort of riding you will be doing. With the bike loaded with luggage the ride height comes down quite a lot but if you are going on rough surfaces you may still have a problem putting both feet down firmly, which might be a problem.

Also think about getting on and off the bike with a full load piled on the luggage rack or seat behind you - how will you hook your leg over? Shorter people with tall bikes can struggle. On the other hand I am travelling with a German guy about your size and his KTM is taller than mine. He´s a good rider and has no problems handling the bike - but sometimes with lots of wet weather gear on, when range of movement is restricted he struggles to get on.

Try the bike out with a full luggage load and wearing a set up for cold wet weather. If you can still manage it then it should be fine.

On the fuel side - i have a standard tank which gives me up to about 200 miles before the reserve comes on and around 50 beyond that. With the estra tanks you will almost never have a problem with range.

hope this helps

richard

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Richb
http://www.postmaster.co.uk/~richardbeaumont/60684/

Tip:

Don't try to "hook your leg over" the back of the bike.

Just leave the bike on the sidestand and stick your leg straight through and sit down.

To get off, put the bike on the sidestand, and step off by putting your foot down away from the bike and pulling your leg back through.

Enough flexibility to lift your leg up and over the seat helps of course, but we'll assume you can do that!

Hope that is clear... it's dead simple but confusing to describe! Just imagine a 6 foot high box on the back - what would you do then?

As long as you can get one foot solidly on the ground, and you're a good rider, you can ride it easily. If less experienced, you may have trouble until you get used to it, and yes you may well drop it more than someone taller. Oh well... bikes fall down occasionally, such is life. Don't hurt yourself trying too hard to save it - just let it go.

Also fo course the bike can be lowered a little easily - I believe first there is a low seat option available, also you can raise the forks in the clamps, and run the rear spring on the softest setting. That will give you at least an inch, maybe two, plus the seat.

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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
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One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

thanks for the quick replies ,i rode the bike today ,not as much of a problem as i thought,like most decent bikes once you are moving its fine ,might have to buy some 1970,s platform boots for whenever i need to stop .thanks