Big guy Little bike?
 

Lately my thoughts have been turning to smaller bikes. This has raised a concern about how small I should or could go. I'm a big guy (6' and @ 260 lbs. 30" inseam) I have been looking at 650's but am intrigued at the prospect of something in the 200cc to 400cc range.( ie. tw200, tw225 up to Drz 400s) I would love the mileage advantage of the smallies, just don't know if they could handle freeway speeds with me aboard. I also would want to mount some reasonable hard luggage. Anyone of my size have any experience with these?

On the Chinese bike group forum that I belong to, many of us own 200cc enduros. Some of the members (not me) are 6' or taller and are getting around fine on them. I am not suggesting you get one, just mentioned this for size comparison, even though they are proving to be good around town bikes or commuters, and are very cheap at around $900-$1100, but I don't think that I would go for long distances on one, and would recommend the TW200 or XT225. I would lean toward the XT225 due to your size, although a DRz400 sounds intriguing!

i'm 6' and have had my xr400 since january, i've done some weekend runs that have taken in some motorways and its coped very well.
It would be better if it ran standard gearing.

thanx
 

Thanks for the info, but I guess I'm more concerned about how they would handle my weight more than my height. ie. how much mileage I might lose and the suspension handling me and another 30-50# of gargo.

thanx
 

Thanks for the info, but I guess I'm more concerned about how they would handle my weight more than my height. ie. how much mileage I might lose and the suspension handling me and another 30-50# of gargo.

Hi, we are riding Honda XR250's round africa (see link below for our blogg). I am 6'1" and about 15 stone (100kg). I have jacked up the rear suspension as high as it can go and it can be made stiff enough to cope with my weight and the luggage - fits me fine now I also upgraded the fork springs to suit my weight better because i believe the std springs suit a person of around 70kg. So i guess you could do the same with any bike of this size.

In terms of luggage i would say hard luggage with the weight of metal panniers and the racks needed would be a bit much for a bike in the 250cc and below range. I think soft luggage is defo the best option for this size of engine.

In terms of speed - these are not motorway speed bikes. They cruise comfortably at 90 to 100km/h so they are fine for us in africa but for EU or US they would prob be a bit slow. They can be pushed harder, i can reach 125km/h but the bike is not comfortable at this speed.

At normal africa cruising speeds of around 60 to 80 km/hour I am getting about 315 km out of a 14 litre tank.

hope this is of some use to you!!

ACROSS THE ANDES ON A Honda 125
 

Small has advantages. I bought a Honda 125 new in Mexico and rode it to Ushuaia (blog at www.simongandolfi.com). I am ancient (74) and couldn't lift a bigger bike. Spares are available everywhere. Gas consumption exceeds 100 miles to the gallon. A small bike doesn't errect a wealth barrier between you and the locals. As to reliability, I had three flats in the rear tyre. Next month I start north to Duchess County, NY. My one dream, a more comfortable seat!!!!

Enfield 350 ? If so get a modern ( with electric start 500, and convert it to 350. that way you will have a much stronger crankcase and bottom end.
The lean burn enfields are really modern bikes, although the 350 version is not often sold outside india, it is capable of doing 90+mpg. It also has the advantage of teh new 5 speed gearbox. Note also, they very easy to chaneg to Right or left hand gearshift ( a big plus for me )