Which bike is best?

[marc_spence]

Hey guys, I'm wanting to do some adventure touring around Oz and in future the world. Unsure on what bike is best. Looking at bikes around the 650cc range such as the BMW Gs, KLR, DR and husky Terra. Which of these bikes or others would be best on long roadtrips and a bit of offroad track. Thanks

[Warin]

Best?

Best bang for buck?
Best looking?
Best fuel economy?
Best range?
Best load carrying?

Best in what way?

----------------- Now you see a problem with the singular word 'best'.

If you are considering world travel then you may have to consider a carnet - that cost $$$ and depends on the value of the bike ...

less is more

If you consider picking the bike up after a fall then less weight is important

less is more

If you consider range then less fuel consumption is important

less is more

--------------
Most important factor - how well you know the bike. If you have some problem, being able to quickly identify it can save lots of time and $$$.

Now evaluate which one is 'best'? I chose the DR.

[Hustler]

Originally Posted by marc_spence

Hey guys, I'm wanting to do some adventure touring around Oz and in future the world. Unsure on what bike is best. Looking at bikes around the 650cc range such as the BMW Gs, KLR, DR and husky Terra. Which of these bikes or others would be best on long roadtrips and a bit of offroad track. Thanks

This subject has cropped up quite a few times in the past.

Start with a search in this Which Bike section and then come back with specific questions although you might find the answers already there.

And welcome to the site Marc.

[pecha72]

Originally Posted by Warin

problem with the singular word 'best'.

Exactly. There is no ´best´ for everything, or everybody, the trips are so different, and riders (people) are so different. And then there´s this “I never rode any of the others, but this bike must be the best, because I´ve got one!”-type of reply, that your probably gonna run into rather sooner than later.

But don´t worry, all bikes you listed are capable. So go ride them all, and then decide, which one spoke to you. Good luck!

[Genghis9021]

Originally Posted by marc_spence

Hey guys, I'm wanting to do some adventure touring around Oz and in future the world. Unsure on what bike is best. Looking at bikes around the 650cc range such as the BMW Gs, KLR, DR and husky Terra. Which of these bikes or others would be best on long roadtrips and a bit of offroad track. Thanks

Like most things . . . it's a progression. The rider becomes "better" at understanding the limits of the bike . . . and the rider, athletically, mechanically, etc

"Less is more" is a mantra. You don't need a pachyderm (aka GS1200, for instance).

There's not a small bit of confidence from having something that has a known number of failure modes that can be addressed a priori or that can be addressed on the road-side. (The DRZ water pump is a PIA to fix on the roadside but they rarely fail, for instance.) Being familiar with your bike can be a great advantage in terms of peace of mind and risk management.

Get something cheap(er) and if possible used. Don't be afraid to drop it. No dropping, no improvement in riding skills.

Eventually "less is more" might well lead you to something which is actually FUN to ride, versus just a conveyance or beast of burden.

No one EVER regretted having a bike that was "too light" so long as it could carry their gear without being overloaded. But that is also practice. I ride a KTM 950 for most stuff, including seriously technical rides in the Sierra Nevada, but . . . I only carry about 20kg of gear, even for long trips, through mountains and deserts. My tools are small, the absolute minimum (including a bead breaker) but high quality.

Practice makes perfect. There is no perfect bike.

[McCrankpin]

Originally Posted by pecha72

Exactly. There is no ´best´ .....
which one spoke to you? Good luck!

Yep, thats the long and the short of it.

Try a few bikes. Find people or shops that'll let you try out their bikes. Probably there'll be a lot you can't try out.
So wander slowly around 2nd-hand bike shops. Have a good look at the likely candidates, the ones on your list.
Sit on them, see what they feel like.
Waggle the levers, wriggle about on the seat, wobble the handlebars, look at what you can see from the riding position.

Look them over. Is it 'pretty' or 'ugly'? Which do you like?
Could you spend a lot of time with it?
Try to get a feel for the bikes, and listen to 'what they say to you'.

One day, when you've have a good look round a particular bike, sat on it and imagined you're riding across some wilderness, and listened properly, you'll hear..... "Here I am!"
That's the one!

But only YOU can decide. Don't pay too much attention to what others say, whether they be owners or not.

A bike good for someone 6ft 2in probably isn't much good for someone 5ft 6in.
A bike good for someone who does a lot of competition probably isn't much good for someone who doesn't.
A bike good for someone with with lots of skill and facility to chop it about and modify it probably isn't much good for someone who can't.
And so on and so on.

Whatever bike you end up with, you'll spend a lot of time with it. You'll be sitting on it, riding it, servicing it, mending it, feeding it petrol, feeding it oil.
All those things are much more ENJOYABLE with a bike you LIKE. However well it does other things or ticks your various boxes. Whatever good or bad things other people say about it.

If you're married - well - you'll already know about all this.....

There's also some merit in sticking to models of bikes that have been around for a while, have some history that isn't shot through with bad stories.

Lastly, try to get the word 'best' out of your vocabulary.

Good luck and Have fun!

[otr002]

My bikes the best and it's not for sale

[ta-rider]

The best bike is allways the one the local people use. With it you dont look loke a fancy tourist, you can get all the parts easily and people know how to repair it. Thats why i bought my 125ccm bike in Chile

http://reisemotorrad.eu

[Magnon]

The best one is the one you're riding