Nothing wrong with having a preference for one type of vehicle over another - as long as you realize that other folks will have different tastes. Even if I won a million dollars in the lottery tonight, I would never buy a Mercedes or a Cadillac - it's just not my thing. Why should bikes be any different?

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Bruce Clarke - 2020 Yamaha XV250

Well said.

Every activity that gets any attention has it's Charlies. I've owned training shoes but have no intention of doing any running or jumping. I could claim they give me the chance to win medals once I've done some training and given up the pies and the and got over the stage where the thought of any physical exercise makes me sick and you'd simply think I was daft. Lots of fat old blokes wearing football shirts enjoy themselves and do little harm. Same goes for the sixty year olds with squared off tyres and Rossi lookalike leathers and the bad boy rebel bankers. It's telling some kid that he's only got a chance of getting to the Olympics/Premier league/RTW if he buys the kit with certain expensive logos that I find annoying.

I hang around here because despite having no intentions of going anywhere that involves lots of paperwork to get in and doesn't serve a decent cappachino when I get there, the ratio of guys with real information to Charlies is pretty high on the whole. There are a couple of other sites where your comments may be taken the wrong way but not I think here.

Andy

I think the question is in reality unanswerable.
You should ride the bike you like to be with. That way you will find it easier to live with its downsides. All bikes have good and bad points in various proportions. It is your own mindset and physical abilities which will determine which particular bike will serve you best.
You can optimise your choice of bikes good points by selective routing. Conversely you can choose a bike that is optimised for your preferred routing. It is up to you where to make the compromises.

Totally agree, go for what you like, get the best basket trainers if you like basket or just the shoes, do not need to be in the Olympics. Or sometimes you plan to do it, but never get to that. But please do not lie yourself or the others with an stupid reasoning. You keep it to yourself, but if you still try to convince the others, then you may get an honest answer. I also belong to the group of ideas that often do not materialize as planned: it's always better to have dreams than nothing, especially if they are more on "doing" than "owning".

Thanks, I am happy nobody got harsh (I am not as honest as Touring Ted yet!), but it is a feeling I sometimes have to tell it... and could not stop myself when I wrote it.

Anyway, no matter what is the bike of anyone's preference here, just enjoy it for your purpose.

Esteban

A few random thoughts based on my travels so far. Many of these are already noted by others.

I recently dropped a lot of weight by switching from hard luggage to soft (on a KLR650), and dropping a few extra items. After doing this I found I had a lot more fun riding. Easier on dirt roads, which I seek out often, and more nimble on pavement. Just be certain whatever bike you use is setup to be comfortable.

If you like carrying lots of stuff, get a larger bike. It will handle the heavy load better.

If you carry a pillion AND need lots of stuff, get a larger bike. But I am 100% confident I could travel happily on a KLR650 with a pillion that travels as light as I do. I've done it for short distances and been happy with the impromptu setup.

If you want to do all your own maintenance, choose a smaller bike, preferably with a carburetor. It will be a lot easier to work on.

If you are traveling lots of highway miles and must go very fast, get a larger bike. But I would only consider this in the USA, Europe, etc. where the roads are good. If you don't need to go fast a smaller bike still works fine. Just modify the bike to be comfortable by changing tings. Comfortable seat, possibly changing final drive gearing, better windshield, better grips, better handlebars, throttle lock, etc.

If you like to get on dirt roads away from civilization, take drop as much weight as possible. I would consider it more important to have less luggage weight than a smaller bike, but decreasing both is best. Also seriously consider soft luggage for this type of riding.

If you like being the center of attention, get a bigger bike. Ditto if you want fashion.

I ride a KLR650 setup for dirt riding and have one of the smallest amounts of luggage I've seen among travelers. I've spent a lot of time practicing riding dirt roads. But I still see small 125cc street bikes with tires resembling racing slicks going places that are impossible for me. Next time around I may try a smaller bike....

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Traveling The World Since: 2011
Blog: The Seductive Life (General Travel)

This is a good point.

We found this guy in Mongolia who let us follow him to a monastery we were looking for. Despite having a couple of heavy bags of grain and his wife on the back, his route included a couple of trickier little bits that I could describe as goat trails. Fortunately we were also on a lightweight bike as I suspect being on a large "off-roader" would have led to the embarrassing situation of not being able to keep up, or more likely dropping the bike in a river.

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UK to Mongolia 2009, on a DR350

Very interesting topic that there is no definative answer. Each to his/her own. I'm influenced by people like Lois Pryce - 225 Serow and TTR 250 - but have just bought a BMW G650GS Sertao as I believe it's the right bike for me - planning to go back to Africa in 18 months ish. Even then I wish the tank was a bit bigger - only 14l, but not often you need more than 200 miles range. So carrying a can or two is the answer. Weight, isn't too much and feels so much easier than my KTM950 adventure that is at home bombing about Europe but consumes nearly double the fuel and is far too fast for the trip I'm planning.
My view is that nothing is perfect!
Recently saw AJP motorcycles at a show in Manchester, they seem to be testing out a 250 adventure travel bike. Ideal for most of us and I hope they go on and produce 'em!
Cheers and happy riding
Col