I now own a 2002 640 Adv and did a 2 week tour of ireland.
I would seriously suggest that when you choose a bike for a trip you are honest with yourself as to what kind of riding you are going to do.
The KTM loves dirt and I wouldnt choose any other bike for it.
BUT it hates long stretches of tar!! And so will your arse!
A quick list of problems i had 12 days 2000 miles)

1. The battery terminal vibrated off
2. My side stand started to bend
3. the lower barrel gasket blew and pissed oil
4. the bike over heated and pissed coolant all over the place
5. The fan failed to kick in
6. A fuse vibrated loose and I lost ignition and battery charging?? Try find that problem..
7. Couldnt sit down for at least 3 hrs after a 250km stretch which pushed my Guiness bill sky high! Plus the reduced range!!!!!

I love my bike. I love looking at it....but I havent been back on it since the trip. Funny that.
For RTW find a bike thats like riding a sofa!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVkdWnRKs4k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSo4j...eature=channel

Exactly. That's why I bought not just 1 but 2 F650 Dakar's. Come on Molly, have a crack

Having done a trip on 2 so called bullit proof 3AJ's makes me think I know where you're coming from. We've had our little problems and ours were rebuilt by Dave Lambeth as well. The biggest was the one-way starter gear, weak suspension and thus breaking 3 or 4 caliper brackets. I think the conclusion from that trip was that old fashioned proven technology and design doesn't substitute knowledge of your own machine and being prepared for known faults. They all have them. That and comfort is everything. So we went with the latest and greatest of the current time insteaed. Only really looking at the 640 and the 650 we ended up with the 650. I wanted the 640 because I could take it trail riding on more technical stuff but the Mrs couldn't touch the ground.
The 650 would have been better suited anyway I reckon. Plenty of power in the alternator for all the gear you'd want turning it in a super comfortable smooth travel machine. Motor lasts forever if you look after it without any special needs.

It's all relative. Our lessons were to upgrade the suspension (shock and emulators work well) which you should do anyway with all the added weight and do you homework on all the proved weakpoint. Know your machine inside and out and get the tools needed. Which for the FI bikes should include a diagnostics tool. It's like a photocopier telling you where the paper jam is. I'm happily cured from carbs with their smelly floats and fuel taps pissing out fuel everytime you come off. Last trip we smelled of fuel each day every day.
I reckon I've got everything covered on ours which is good because we're leaving in 9 weeks time.

Yeah it costs more money, but who cares. When you're on your trip it won't matter. Smokers spend a fortune smoking, pissheads spend a fortune on piss, why not can we spend a fortune on a comfortable well laid out bike. Loving the tank under the seat thing BTW. Damn lifting that tank of the 3AJ gave me the shits.

Back OT though. I've seen photo's of a bloke on a Norton Pantera who was a few month ahead of us on our route. If he can keep that thing going, anything should.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

African Enduro - ADVrider

No real prolems and tedious off the normal route riding,eg.at one stage 45 mins in 1st gear rough sand riding....moto held up OK


Makes a great read over a coffee!!

African Enduro - Page 10 - ADVrider

He done about 20,000kms....scrollto post number 150 on the above page abd read a synopsis of moto upkeep. (Its after where he attends Alfie Cox`s ride out)

It’s funny how differently the term ” high millage” is defined from one brand to the next

As an aside,he did state that he did his valves quite often,maybe too much,and found that they had been a boit tight by teh time he finished his whole ride. Agreed ref.chain...weird...still,on a trip like that the fist thing I`d think of taking is a spare chain/sproket kit....stash it way somewhere and live with how heavy it is....its is the weakest link in a high dirt environment.

Anyhow speaking of high mileages...`Antware` on `Orange Crush``on adrider has about 80,000miles on his 950 Adv.

As far as servicing for the Orange beasts, I,ve visited dealers in Panama city,Bogota,Medellin,Cali,Quito,Cuenca and Lima.As for the rest of the Continent goes I cant imagine they don,t have dealers in Chile,Argentina and Brasil.
I,d happily take mine anywhere.
Al theturtleshead

Interesting tip on the CS sprocket. Don't want to test it out this time but would like to some other time. We carried 1 set of sprockets and chain on our last trip. Didn't really take care of it at all, and it lasted us from Dublin to Almaty (should have had more on it as well though). This time we're not bringing anything except links and the small section you have left over. I'll take properly care of it this time, and wonder how long we'll get out of it. The whole trip should be around 35-40k km so it should wear our on this distance. I lube it with ATF at night and just let it run off. Might wipe it during the day with a cloth if it's really gritty.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com