the BIG Question once again: which bike?

[wiese]

been reading up for on HUBB for a while now, but this is the 1st post

long story short (hopefully)

28yrs,6'2" weighing in 150lbs wet, living in SE USA

back ground: play outside and traveling as much as possible, i have filled up a passport. i have hike over 10,000miles and through 22 states now (AT'99,PCT'01,CDT'05)
aka done walking. AKA time to sit on my ass and travel by bike. ((that is the feet speaking))

***but with this back ground i will be caring VERY VERY little personal gear (tents, sleeping bags, etc) as in 6-8lbs. i will also be camping the WHOLE time and never hitting up the hotels unless there are no other options***

bought a '99 BMW F650 a few years ago to RTW on. still planning on RTW but will be a few years away still (unless i get a backer$$$).

planning on doing a trip here in N. America 1st, due to the lack of time and lack of money. planning on riding the TransAmerica trail soon.

BUT, not as soon as i thought. i planned on leaving this June but am backing out now. i am having to much trouble with the BMW off roads. at 430lbs having trouble keeping her up right and once she's down i am havin a hard time getting her back up. i want a bike that i can go anywhere on and can allow me to stay off the main highways as much as possible. but at the same time i want to be able to do highway speeds if need be. aka i want to, not need.



planning to stay out of europe and off the beaten path. i would not mind being in the middle of no where and having to leave the bike behind. i could walk away from it even if it was 100 miles to the nearest people/help, knowing that all would be fine.


my bike "know how":is limited, (can change BMW tires and oil in the field) but will be taking a repair classes this fall at the local community college.



SO, the point to this pointless story is, am looking for a NEW (2 me) bike.

looking at everything there is but here are the priorities:
1: reliability
2: weight
3: aftermarket parts
4: support




thanks for the time ahead of time
wiese

[Wheelie]

What you want is a brand new Japanese bike, preferably Honda or Yamaha. Honda is the most sold brand accross the globe, also in the third world, with Yamaha as a close second. This translates into availability of parts and technical know how accross the globe, and lots of after market parts for the most sold models. Most Hondas and Yamahas have excellent reliability. There may be small issues with different models, as with all bikes, but usually things which can easily be resolved by fitting a superior after market upgrade for the particular part. In general though, they have few problems.

If you find your 650 a bit too big, then you don't want anything bigger than 450-500 cc. On the other hand, performance wise, you don't want anything smaller than 250 cc. For your intents and purposes, it sounds to me as the ideal is somewhere in between 350-450 cc. I must underscore though that the engine displacement is not allways positively correlated to the bike's weight, but it is often a good indication, and a good rule of thumb.

Ideally the type of bike you want, is a Honda or Yamaha Enduro/Offroad hybrid bike, of 350-450 cc with a strong sub frame and a comfortable seat. The only problem is that this bike does not excist. Your best bet is then to either live with the flaws of the available bikes, or do a bit of modification to whatever bike fancies you (seat, subframes, shocks, etc.). With a brand new bike, this will cost you a lot of money which you will never recoup if you were to sell. In fact, the money you sunk into it may actually devalue the bike.

As there is a long time until you will be riding, and you are interested enough to pursue technical classes, my suggestion is to buy an older Japanese offroader or motorcross bike. Join a forum for your bike, buy some tools and manuals, and take the entire thing appart and put it back together, every nut and bolt. In the process, swap all worn parts, strengthen the frame and subframe, fit the after market upgrades you want, and so on. Even if you have never done this before, you will be able to do it... if you've got patience, time and stamina... no prior experience needed, promise.

You will never again need a mechanic, it will make you even more passionate about your ride, you can build yourself the perfect ride, and you will save money in the long run (not in the short as tools and parts are going to cost you). You will of course become frustrated as things move painstakingly slow, usually in the form of waiting. Sometimes you do only 10 minutes of wrenching before you feel too uncomfortable to move on without a piece of advice. You place a post and have to wait for the replies. Then you wrench another few minutes before discovering that you lack a particular tool. You run out to buy it. You do some more wrenching, only to discover you lack a particular part. Your supplier is out of stock, so you have to wait. When you receive it, a week too late, you discover that it was the wrong part. When you finally receive the correct part, and have the new part fitted, a new problem occurs, and the entire process repeats itself, over and over and over. But don't worry, you quickly get much better and faster at it. In other words, if you pursue this route, don't sell your other bike before you've got your new custom overlander on the road.

Good candidates for you would be Yamaha's XT series or Honda's XL series. A bike less than 10 years old, and a bike with less than 50k km on it, and one which is in original condition and looking good. There are three reasons for choosing a bike with low milage and age. One is that the metal in the frame will not be as tired, the second reason is that parts are more easily obtainable for newer models than older ones, and the most obvious reason is that you will not need to sink as much money into replacing worn parts. But, if you are to take it appart anyways, every nut and bolt, and you are prepared to strengthen the old frame, etc, then you can go for much older bikes with far more kms. If you are real brave, then you could even try to customise a touring bike into an overlander...

[wiese]

Wheelie

thanks for the help! i agree with so so much of what you said. i love the "The only problem is that this bike does not excist"

1 question though. would you recommend the honda XR's over the Yamaha XT's due to them still being made? sounds like a no brainer but so many people love the XT's

tanks once again
WIESE