What make of travel bike do you own ??
 

So... What's between your legs ?

No other than the "Ewan & Charley special", i.e. R1200GS... :thumbup: :tt2:

Something big and functional.. :thumbup1:

:innocent:

BMW G 650 X Challenge

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._2643290_n.jpg

How can Suzuki have two votes when Ted is the only one who owns one?

I actually like these ! The only BMW in the current range I would actually buy ! :thumbup1:

Good point !!!! Maybe someone voted who isnt signed in ??? If they can ???

Me too

King of bikes, numero uno, the one before whom all other bikes must bow, the original and best, the only one that meets the true design design of a proper overlander, ladeeeees and gennelmen, I give you ..............my 34L

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/i...r/IMG_1000.jpg

Rone, what seat is that on your G650X?

http://imgur.com/wE4wA.jpg
Honda NX400 Falcon, it's rather ghetto compared to some of the bikes above!

It's made by a guy in The Netherlands.

link => Rayz zadels - Motorzadels:

Not true:nono:

beerchug

Poeh! ...did Ewan & Charley ride one? Nooooooo! :devil2:

They just needed a little more style and class - sadly they fell short and got the Beemers instead

True greatness is limited to the privileged few these days unforunately

Love it, Cheers ... :biggrin3:

Right now there are 7 bikes and 6 owners, maybe it's japanese software :taz:

2nd hand you can .... as they are no longer made. doh

Just goes to show how closely I follow BMW sales :rolleyes2:

Another interesting feature is that the %-column is based on the numbers of owners and not owner of bikes so right now the sum is 125% :offtopic:

I think it was me - I voted, but only realised afterwards that I wasn't signed in, so I voted again to register the bike make against my name...

You are not the only one

For sure there is a problem with the poll.
When you are not loged in, you can vote even on every make that is possible.

The newest babies are the Pegasos, but my oldest love is the XJ900 which has been all over Europe followed by the XJR1300 which went to the US in 2007.

So, what you need to do is break the poll down in model :-)

+1

:-)

Explain how that works please. I can't post anything on any thread without being signed in. How do you post or vote in a poll without being signed in?

EDIT~ WHOOPS ... you are right! you can vote when unsigned in over and over! How does that work?
(no wonder BMW are leading)

Ted, you need to start over!

Something's a little odd; the sum of the % votes is 146.

As I said:

In "real" votes BMW has 18, Yamaha and Suzuki 10.
But I'm not sure if this is a competition.. :confused1:

Oh Christ !! Well it was only a bit of fun... If people chose to "tamper" the results with multiple fake votes, theres not much I can do about it !

It was just for a vague idea is all... Looks like the BMW marketting machine is indeed stronger than I thought !!

:Beach:

It looks like there is a lot you haven't realized with BMWs :rofl:

I know the important things !! :blushing:

Mee to :thumbup1:

I bought into the BMW thang, with the new boy on the block:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...0GS/grubby.jpg

Not sure why Ted is so bitter and anti BMW?

haha Im not really mate !!! Just one or two models that frustrate me. But it's not JUST BMW....

In that case you should call yerself...............Frustra Ted :biggrin3:

Hmm, ...those lumpy BMWs are not so bad after all :whistling:. Would be interesting to see how the different Beemer models do among themselves, i.e. F, G, R etc.

:clap:

Thanks, you saved my day!

Another Suzuki: DR650.


...........shu

http://karst.smugmug.com/Other/ADV-R...62_mwHAc-M.jpg

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_pXs6Z_85Tj8/TG...50_yH74n-L.jpg
Vstrom party ... five more not shown here. We had about 10 on this ride
from back in 2003.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_pXs6Z_85Tj8/TG..._gwZrK-L-1.jpg
The hot bike of 2000 ... DRZ400E

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_pXs6Z_85Tj8/TG..._f4tPx-L-1.jpg
November in California ... DR650's ... five on this ride ... only 3 shown.

Maybe we could have the guys over on the DR650 thread on ADV post up votes here? 4.5 million views, 38,000 posts. ALL DR650, ALL THE TIME!
Most of any individual bike thread on ADV.

A much cheaper alternative to some of the options above

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._6172957_n.jpg

hahahhaha ! good one ! I'm going to have to use that again. :D


It makes a nice change from "Dick Ed", "Nob Ed" etc etc !! :biggrin3:

Needs breaking down more before you can conclude that. I don't think BMW marketing will be as impressed with my 24 year old, matt black hand painted, mad-max styled brick as they would be with some of the E&C style bikes. I havn't bought anything from BMW since the 2003 walking season!

Andy

Of course BMW is only leading because BMW owners cheat...:rolleyes2:

I am surprised that Suzuki is second, with everything you hear about Africa Twins and Teneres, I would have guessed honda or kawasaki, although the DR650s sound like great bikes.

I think it's more down to DRZ's and Vstroms... In the UK anyway.

Africa Twins are no fairy thin on the ground. They've been out of production for nearly 10 years and all ridden to death or kept under blankets in the garage.

I did expect a lot more Yam owners with the XT in all it's formats. Although, the Tenere owners are probably riding theres rather than stuck at home on the computer. :scooter:

Corrected it for you.

Having said that, though, I have been enjoying mine recently: even managed to bodge a Givi rear rack for the pillion to rest on!! (A job I'd been putting off for months...)

The Ultimate Humiliation
 

I was riding along merrily at peace with the world at a steady 50-55 ona bit of dual carriageway when I was overtaken, ( Just) by a Ural with a sidecar. I could see its rear drive shaft spinning merrily. 10 miles later I did catch it up ( just by chance ) at a roundabout where we parted company.


Later on confidence was restored when I stopped to help a goldwing parked by the side of the road in a barren deserted landscape. Sadly it turned out he only stopped for a comfort break :)

26 real BMW owners (not 37) and 18 real Suzuki owners (not 35) :nono:

New Poll?
 

I'd like to see a more accurate poll ... allowing just ONE VOTE each. Should require the voter to POST and state which bike they prefer. No idea if this is possible with V-Bulletin software. :confused1:

I'd also like to see brands broken out in different models. IE:
Suzuki:
DR650
DRZ400
DR350

V-Strom 1000
V-Strom 650

on so on ...

You can check the voters profile for bike-details.

But you have to be a bit selective because some people (like yourself) have listed one bike in the profile but selected another bike in the poll.

So how should I vote? The Triumph I did Finland and two elefant rallies on, the MZ I ride every day that I'd love to try and ride RTW just to prove it is my favourite bike ever or the BMW I'm setting up for future use in places I'd have taken the Triumph while it still had the sidecar on?

Faced with a list of DR's, KTM's, GS's etc. I'd just vote other. A list of everything from a Fireblade to an Enfield would be rather long.

Andy

Oi! Enfield!! Outside!!
:innocent:

My Ural actually managed 60 mph the other day! It did not last long as I started to lose fillings that I don't even have! 45-50mph: far better!

maybe time to make your own poll, in more detail !! :thumbup1:

Great poll Ted, seems to be generating plenty of discussion:)

Can't imagine that it was intended to be scientifically accurate but merely a snapshot at a point in time to see if anything interesting could be inferred from the data and whether it would generate a few good arguments over beer:)

It's interesting to look at though, however haven't spent enough in your part of the world to know if it reflects the general break down of the travel bike segment in the UK. For Canada I would probably guess that using the recent HU meeting in Nakusp as a proxy, the BMWs are the largest single bike make with a fairly large contingent of Kawasaki (KLRs) and Suzuki's (DLs and DRs) next. But then again one tends to notice bikes that we own or have owned.

As for experiences of meeting general folk and HU members on the road, on the African continent at least (west and east coast) there were a lot of BMWs but also a ton of KTMs, the owners of which do not seem to appear too often on the HUBB for some reason. Strangely did not see a single Suzuki other than my DL, but did see a few Yamahas (XTs) and the odd Honda (Africa Twin, Dommie). With statistical sampling being what it is, not too sure how much can be inferred from that. It'll be interesting to hear what you see on your upcoming trip.

Seems most members don't fill in profile information. Does a bike listed in a profile make it "official"? There is no correlation to a vote cast in a poll to ownership far as I can tell.
Bike ownership can be in constant flux. Bikes come and go ... and few ever update their profile. Profile doesn't mean much really. And why would anyone take the time to look up profiles on every poster in a poll? :confused1: A proper poll allows one vote only. Simple. End of story.

But I guess software "experts" can hack into anything to "fix" the outcome? Dunno ... BTW, how did you know what bike I voted for in the poll ....? did you hack into the system to find it? I didn't see that information listed anywhere .... voting results in most parts of the world are proprietary. Brave new world I guess, eh?
I would do a poll but have no idea how to go about it and ABSOLUTELY no interest in learning such arcane "skills". I'm planning the next ride ... for late October. Best time to ride. :Beach: It's a little too warm here this week for riding with temps in the low 90F's but the coast is fog free and 10F cooler. Good beach weather. :palm:
Ok kids, back to your Texting now! :wheelchair:

Well, it's not to hard to click on their name is it?
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...travel-bike-do

Yes, this is clearly a bug but as long as we can count the votes manually it's not to bad.


Relax, you are not allowed to make polls.

I get you 100% Andy, but what you've done gets beyond a Poll and into history books. Thing is ... the kids don't give a Rat's Ass about anything, only themselves and their BlackBerry or Iphone. The Rude generation.

I've owned a few bikes too .... going back to 1964. But the Poll didn't ask for favorite "all time" bike, just "what bike do you ride" . I could say, "I've ridden many" ... but no one cares. If I listed them all everyone would fall asleep ... and wouldn't believe it anyway. Why should they? ... They didn't see it online ... or on Wiki, so can't be true :smartass:

beer

Well, the question was:

What make of travel bike do you own ??

I can also be interesting to discuss what make of travel bike did you use in 1982 or what make of travel bike you don't want to own etc, but that's another discussion, isn't it?

Travel bikes I currently own:
1987 Honda Transalp
1995 Honda Africa Twin
2005 Suzuki DRZ400e

Randy

Maybe I should of been more specific in the question....

I was just trying to get a "SNAPSHOT" as MickyD says of what's in peoples overland garage.

I meant NOW, not what you owned 30 years ago.

I left the poll open to multiple votes as many people own a few bikes. I put my trust in the honest members of the hubb not to sign out and vote over and over for the same bike to mess up the numbers.

Still, its no big deal is it !! I'm sure the trends are "fairly" realistic of what HU visiters are riding. I still think there might of been some tampering on the Suzuki side of things. If you take a snapshot of the bikes at Ripley, most are BMW. Suzukis dont seem to be more popular than hondas, yams etc with KTM's being in the minority (maybe they broke down on the way ;) )

For better or worse, Ripley does not adequately represent the world. I trust this does not surprise anyone.

Of the twenty or so actual riders I've met recently on their way south from North America, there have been far more DR650 riders than any other, with a smattering of GS's and KLR's to thicken the mix. In South America I remember a preponderance of BMW and KLR plus a surprising number of KTM's...but my memory is certainly suspect. In North Africa, hordes of BMW's and just a few of anything else.

I'd take the poll for what it is: a flawed but more or less accurate representation of motorbike ownership among a highly self-selected group of internet junkies. How this actually applies to the rest of the very large world is up for discussion.

Mark

(Kawasaki and Suzuki)

And who could argue with that !!! :)

I own all these bikes now and would consider any of them for a longer trip depending on the weather and what mood I'm in.

The Bonneville BTW is a nice, modern, reliable bike that some fool named after a semi-mobile 1960's oil slick whose maker went bust because their product was rubbish. I can understand you thinking I was talking about an old bike, but I aren't.

Andy

I have a 21 year old BMW R100GS and a 2009 KTM 690. The BMW is still my travel bike but there is no way I would buy a Charlie & Ewan replica. In my view BMW have gone backwards since about 1998 and KTM have come to the front.

Old bikes and long owned bikes have many advantages as travel bikes.

+1

Having had a little walk in the desert related to an F650 water pump, I'd put the date the rot started a little earlier, about '93 where they'd dropped the last airhead and given up on the K as anything but and an autobahn bike. The crowning **** in the watercloset to me was the servo brake system which was dropped three years ago now? As hand held CAN devices are coming though, maybe in ten years I'll be back on an oilhead or F? I worked with vehicle electronics (ABS and Suspensions) for thirteen years, so it's the service departments support that scares me off, not the technology. When I can buy software patches from someone who doesn't work for BMW anymore I could well be back.

For now though I'm firmly on technology I know. A stroker you can repair with a swiss army knife, a Brick (24 years old, 23000 miles :clap:, came with everything except a good sidecar body and leading links, in the process of Australianisation) and a Triumph that's really just airhead technology made six years ago.

Andy

here we go again about how BMW can't make bikes anymore...:sleep1:

I'm not saying GS12s are the most reliable bike in the world--they are not--but they are certainly better than you make out, or least mine and many others' have been. While I wouldn't want to take one to Africa, etc., that is because it is too big and heavy, not because it is too unreliable.

Regarding the technology, hand-held diagnostic units are not coming, they are here in the form of the GS-911, which gets rave reviews. I recently got one but haven't had a chance to play around with it yet...

In 1995-96 some guy s in Germany realized that new technology scared a lot of conservative riders so they introduced this:
http://actiontouring.com/pic/basiccom.jpg

But time goes by and most people get used to new technology and now the most-selling bike in Europe has can-bus, traction-control, ABS, ESA etc

Gotta love that... :thumbup1: I especially love the Spray on mud (you can buy that btw lol)

Yup, people do get used to new technology and they like it.. When its working.

But, as we all know.. What's good for carving up the Stelvio pass with some shiney luggage for a long weekend is usually not what's good for crossing the Sahara etc !!

The BMW debate is done to death. (just by me).

Hehe, but included in the price (16.000DEM (8.000€)) was a weekend at Hechlingen offroad-park so you could get some real mud.

Why?

I voted twice by selecting two models: Once for Honda and once for Ural because I use both to travel depending on where and with whom I'm going....

With those two votes I answered Ted's question. Having voted, I can no longer vote.

I don't think there's anything wrong with this poll, or thread. I think it's interesting.

The only people who can vote possibly more than once would be guests (if I've understood previous comments correctly) and I can't imagine why people would want to vote again if they've already done it once.
After all it's not a competition.

If you want statistically sound surveys contact Ipsos Mori.

For my part: nice thought, Ted...

Cool, where can you buy that :w00t:...? Are there color choices, i.e. jungle- or mountain mud...?

Here abouts the greenish sort is best avoided. Dairy farming by-product, the effect on paint is the least of your troubles :(

:offtopic: but why was the Basic white? It looks dirty fastest and doesn't particularly stand out in the sort of enviroments it was designed for (or maybe it does against lush greenery?). White was cheapest in the 80's?

:offtopic::offtopic:. Can't decide on a colour for the brick. It's matt black now and is getting an aluminium chair. Can't decide between flourescent orange for the mudguards for a bit of anti-camoflage or overall KTM orange for the fun of it. How does one start a poll on this sort of thing?

Andy

I can go with that. No problem. But you missed my point ... see below.

Not a competition? Really? :innocent:
Thing is, you or me or anyone can vote AS MANY TIMES AS THEY LIKE, by simply logging OUT of HUBB. Then come back as a "Guest" and vote. You can do it endlessly. Why do you think there are so many VOTES and SO FEW posts by different members? Someone thinks its a competition, obviously, but it ain't me. I voted ONCE ... and I didn't include the 4 other bikes in my garage or the 50 I've owned previous.

I don't see this as a contest.

There is no use cheating as long as we can count the votes manually. But of course then we can see what brand the cheaters prefer :rofl:

The Basic was white because the first G/S was white and "back to Basic" should lead your thoughts back to the good old days. It also has a subframe and cockpit from the old era.

I don't agree on the dirt-bit, dark colors are the worst.

Could be useful on the numberplate for those that ride on tracks of dubious legality!

Let's see...

Because some people vote, but don't necessarily need to add anything in a post?
Technically once you've voted you've answered TT's question, unless you voted "Other"...

I voted once and didn't post anything on the thread for a couple of days and then only to lark about....

I think you suspect a subtefuge where none exists...

Subterfuge? Who knows? Here's the breakdown as of now, you decide Chef:

139 Voters

180 Votes recorded

23 different members posted on the thread in total.

Given the super slow traffic on HUBB, I'd wager several here are doing multiple votes.

Thanks for implicating yourself.

I know of a few "naughties" who have multiple voted just for a laugh. !!

Ain't the end of the world is it now !

23 members posted, but about 115 voted: so not every one decides to post on the thread...

OK, here's another breakdown:
For the HUBB as a whole as of the time of this post:

"Currently Active Users: 237 (23 Users and/or Members and 214 guests"

- Almost 10 times the number of guests as there are members.
- Not all voters may feel the need post a comment.
- Some may vote for two or more brands, such as myself.


So, as you suggested, I've decided:
It's all legit' and representative - voters just like to say which brand they have and most have better things to do than post more about it!!:smartass:

I really don't think there is a problem here....

And what makes you think I work in a restaurant...? :rofl:

Yes it is!!!! Yes it ****ing is!!!!
AAAARRGGHH!! :taz:

(must stop posting whilst necking coffee)

with your figures to prove it then you should win that wager, and you can see the names of who voted on each type anyway

for the record, I multi voted 'cos like many people I have two touring bikes :-)

I voted "other" because I have more than one bike .
Norton,Suzuki ,Yamaha,Yamaha sidecar outfit .
Most of them in various states of disassembly .
Only the V Strom is immune and has remained 100% reliable and in need of no modification .

So if multiple voting is allowed ,I wish to indulge :D,if only to boost the Suzuki vote .
[but I won't cheat by logging on as someone else !]:rofl:

HAHA you would think so sometimes wouldn't you !

beer

I must admit, I voted without logging in :( So I'm one of the 214 guests...

But here is my trusty old bike:
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...astal_road.jpg

Hans

Just to clarify my involvement in this hugely worrying mystery.... I voted while not logged on. I ticked 2 buttons: Honda and Suzuki and pressed submit once.

Can somebody please ammend the data? I only voted Honda once, but I own 2 of them!

Later
Randoloph

It shouldn't matter if you were logged in or not.

You're still a Honda, Suzuki, KTM, BMW owner etc, as far as the poll is concerned.

Your vote is counted and that is what was important, unless you want your username to be visible...

We seem to have another of these mysterious threads which continually self-bump without anyone posting to them. What gives?

When someone votes the post bumps.

My travel bikes are a 2002 Harley Davidson Road King Classic

http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...ePics001-4.jpg

And a 2005 Suzuki V-Strom 650

http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...ska2009899.jpg

Travel Bikes
 

When i nip to Malaga its the Busa and when the boss is on the back its the GSA.

If in doubt nail it,

Can't go wrong with either one...:thumbup1:

Auto thread bumps?
 

HU must have "special" software that continually bumps threads up. Now, why is that? Don't tell me its a glitch. :innocent:

Doing a search shows T-rex posted one hour ago. (its now 8:35 pm PST) Go to thread and you see NO NEW POSTS .... and in fact T Rex's post was made two weeks ago.

I've seen this happening on a lot of threads, over and over. I guess its like the number HU quotes on the HUBB front page that says 200 Non-members are online on HUBB NOW, but only 10 Members online.

Oh Please, give me a break. I guess this helps keep ad rates up? Or? Clearly inaccurate. If there were over 200 people here, more would sign up and post. Yet very few do. :smiliex:

.....

Suuuuzzzuuuukkiiii
 

This is "THATH" second SUZUKI

Oh I don't know about that. I read here a lot before I finally signed on.

If you look at the portal, or adv you will see the same thing, many people who are not signed in but still reading. I never sign in if I am on any else's computer either, no need for someone to be using my account (intentionally or otherwise.)

Just my two bits though.