Touring on a 125cc machine, offroad/street
 

I have some experience riding far on a single cylinder small displacement bike, like driving around india on a Bajaj Pulsar 150 and crossing northern scandinavia on a CBR125R, which was my latest bike, that i have recently sold. The main reason is that the riding position is too cramped to spend month after month on the road, even for a thin guy like me. And the fuel tank could be a little larger too.

Now i am looking for the ultimate tourer for my style of travel and i have come down to 2 models and i cant decide which one i should buy: CBF125M vs XR125L.

The things i like about the cbf is its extreme range, low fuel consumption and a perfect riding position for me. I also find street bikes more appealing in general for some reason. The XR has a slightly higher fuel consumption but it is a offroad bike, which means that i could go to the places i could not go before. Or is that really true? Is the XR really that much better in offroad conditions, or will it just add a little extra comfort on bumpy roads? I remember i had absolutely no problems of handling the cbr on trails, sand, gravel roads etc, even though i had to take it easy.

I guess my question is if the XR is that much better in tougher conditions that i should take it instead of the cbf?

I rode to Azerbaijan on an XR125L and it was a great bike, apart from the big end failing but I think that was due to a lack of maintenance by the previous owner.
It had a comfortable seat and riding position for my 5'8" frame and the 12 litre tank was good for over 200 miles when cruising at 50 mph.
It handled the few dirt roads I took it on very well and apart from the lack of power you get from a 125 it was an excellent small travel bike which I would take again, it gets my vote.

The man to ask is...
 

Klous-1 aka Nick Jones - Tales from the Saddle - Solo Motorcycle Tour Around the World on a Honda XR125 & Yamaha YBR 125

is the man to ask.

Equipment
This page answered all my questions, thanks!

It was interesting that this guy first considered riding a bicycle but choose a 125cc bike due to hamstring problems. Exactly the same story in my case!