You need to say what kind of riding you're looking for. You are riding a heavy bike. What is your skill level? Will you ride it on rough terrain in the Andes or plan to stay near the coast? If there is a landslide on a dirt main road in the Andes, and you find a detour, it will be a steep up hill/down hill rocky, muddy goat track. You can be forced to make stream crossings that will be a challenge on a heavier moto - or turn around and back track. If it rains, it can be pretty sloppy on some road surfaces. Some Andes roads, meeting a truck or bus means you are off the one lane road and in the skinny ditch, or hugging the edge of the mountain on the drop off side. My skill level is not at the level to ride a big moto in these conditions. I know riders with the skill level to handle a heavy moto in these conditions - but not me. Can you pick your moto back up when it tips over?


On the other hand, you can stay on the PanAm Hwy and be on good blacktop all the time. It depends on where you want to go on your trip with your particular moto. Because of where I wanted to go, my preference is a small cc, light moto so I don't fall down and so it's easy to manage on the gnarly stuff. I just returned from 6 weeks in Peru, and I did not see any big motos on the Andes mountain roads that I was riding. I used Perelli full knobbies, and would use nothing else where I rode most of my trip. Read the SA ride reports on AdvRider and HU for your research. You are going to have to decide where you want to ride, and then your tire choice is easy. My ride report is Leaving the Arrowhead country to ride Peru and north | Adventure Rider