BMW F650 Dakar or KTM 640 Adventure?
 

I am looking at getting my first motorbike and i'm looking to do quite a bit of touring, one of the reasons is that i have just recently moved to Dubai and will ride the bike back to the UK in a few years. I will also be travelling to Oman and Iran, with it. I have been to both KTM and BMw and tried the bikes, I really liked the BMW for seating position and ride KTM seemed quite a pain to actually get on and im 6ft!

I am a bit worried about parts and getting hold of them, especially for the KTM. I understand due to the presence of BMW worldwide it is slightly easier for them to get hold of parts.

Can someone help this poor newbie!

Go for the BMW.
The KTM is a great bike in many ways, and I,m shure the owners are thrilled with them. Nevertheless..... the vibrate like crazy, they have a cinderblock of a seat, they use more fuel, have shorter serviceintervalls and due to vibrations part come off. To get spareparts can take time, and the number of places where you can get it is also limited.

Just got back from West Africa with my F60 Dakar. Never missed a beat. Great bike.

Met some KTM 640 LC riders in Mauritania. If I was to ride only sand and desert I,ll concider the KTM, but nobody only rides offroad, and the KTM suck on the asphalt. Thats MHO :-)

Its true, the KTM is an offroad orientated bike and will put a smile on yur face again and again.... Blasting those dunes will be fun!

What i like about the BMW???? uhhh, its 10K service interval (5K for KTM)...thats it!
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

oohhh yeah, im slight biased

Poor newbie
Consider the Honda XLV650 Transalp
Better value awesome power
Honda quality

O.K. I agree with the BMW but I'm also looking for my 1st bike and am caught between the BMW650Dakar and the new XT660R> What do you think for a small trip through Namibia, Botswana and South Africa?

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the factory pilot

I would buy the Yamaha.The insurance,taxes,and servicing will be much lower.The Yamaha uses the well proven ,and simple 660 engine.This is the same engine that is used by MZ for their big enduro bike.I wish that Yamaha would import this model into the U.S.