Look, I will cut you a break ... you rode an Italian Aprilia built bike with an Austrian built Rotax engine on swedish supension, a bike that retailed for about a third of the typical bike of that brand ... there is pretty much none of your feared brand in there. So dont beat yourself up too much mate! There is nothing to fear. Its not a REAL one of that brand of bikes. In fact it was so lacking in that brands DNA that they refused to recognise it, and kicked it out of the family home. !!! You did a good deed. You took an unloved bastard, orphan of a bike, a bike whose German father kicked it out of the family home cause he thought it was useless, a bike whose Italian mother, from whose loins it sprang, has never shown any interest in since birth, ... and you made it feel loved - you gave it a purpose - you showed it what its good at !

Ted: another thing I DO recommend you consider strongly, as its inevitable that there will be MANY deep puddles and river crossings, is to make sure your air intake is located as high as possible on the bike. I dont know how the 650L is set up, but if it isnt somewhere up near the fuel tank / upper head stem, then you have time to think about how you can relocate it or make a semi permanent snorkel.

There are many of these small things that back in the comfort and good weather od Europe you think ... " naaaa ... a couple of water crossings ... its no big deal. Worst comes to worst I will push the bike thru".

When you realise you have 20 of them a day, for a week, and how each puddle or river is full of football sized boulders that are a real struggle to push a bike over, you will wish the air intake was such that you can ride your bike thru anything less than "nuts deep"

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