I'm sort of approaching this from the other end. I don't need a KTM that'll do Dakar stages at 60 mph after a ride from the UK, I need a bike that'll live all year in the UK, pootle across France and make it over a couple of days worth of trails a little faster than I can walk it. The R80GS as basically a road bike with a big tank and better wheels is IMHO the right approach. Where it went wrong is when damn fool journalists said an 80 mph wasn't quick enough and we got the 2 tonne R1100GS. The latest 800cc Starbucks tourers I actually have some hope for. I might trash the OE shocks, I wouldn't run to replace them (I buy loads of Bonneville silencers on e-bay to replace ones I bash on the lanes, plenty of fools out there selling so they can turn petrol into noise faster).

The industry (I was trucks not cars) has problems. It's run by old men who still read paper, they don't know this site exists and so long as Truck and Bus/MCN accepts whatever bribes they offer they are happy. They give away the vehicle and make money on parts, service and finance. It is better if you guys throw away your silencers and shocks and buy aftermarket, the brands are all interlinked so the cash spreads out. Crap like slotted, wavy, lumpy, made of cheese brake discs, made fashionable by their racers are better still. The slots wear the pads and there is a growing proportion of riders who will do to the dealer to get this stuff sorted. It's better still if the bike needs an Ashtray warning light reset every pad change.

Making a fuel tank bigger won't happen while the paper is still out there, MCN quote weight not range.

Andy