Quote:
Originally Posted by chris
The great thing about the vast majority of this HUBB thread, compared to the ABR thread that was linked in post #56 is that here people can discuss and disagree without people having tantrums about it...if you go against the forum's (self proclaimed) opinion leaders' topic for the next love-in, they get really shirty.
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Yeah, tell me about it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mollydog
...off the top of my head I would pick from the following road legal bikes to include in the Comparo to the CCM:
Husqvarna TE310 (made by KTM)
KTM 450EXC
KTM 350EXC
Yamaha 250R
Beta 450 dual sport (road legal)
Also in contention?
Honda 450RR Rally Bike (if available)
Suzuki DRZ400S
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The list you've given above is great for an afternoon's dirt riding, but what Minkyhead and others (including me) are looking for is a lightweight adventure tourer.
A bike that's designed to be used for long distance trips, able to cruise at the legal limit, weather protection, capable of taking luggage for a long trip, decent fuel range, good lighting and as agile as possible off tarmac.
So I don't think most of the bikes you've quoted above are comparable to the GP450. The competitor that comes up time and time again is the KTM 690 R. Both have long service intervals (10,000km for the KTM and 8,000 for the CCM), both can carry touring luggage. The GP450 has the edge on fuel capacity and touring fairing, the 690 R has the edge on performance.
I had an inconclusive test ride of the GP450 (road tyres, only 500m of off tarmac, no luggage). But after a bad experience with BMW I'm not prepared to be a 'beta tester' again for a new range of bikes so I went with the 690 R and last month concluded a four-week 7,800 km tour using a practically standard bike with zero mishaps.
I wish CCM well and might well be interested in the GP450 a couple of years down the line.
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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)
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