So that will be easy enough to carry over to a new bike. Clearly while riding in West Africa you will need more spares. Will it be enough to accommodate the extra water and parts for the trip?

Another issue is range. Most people I have seen attempt the west coast usually have 500km of range. I believe that is also just for insurance as fuel availability is sporadic. Of the three would I be right in thinking that the versys has the best range? The Tenere needs another 4-5L to get it to 500km, while the CRF 300 Rally needs another 3-4L. I would imagine something like a giant loop fuel bladder would be best as you could stow it away when not necessary.

The Himalayan should be a no go for parts availability vs reliability, in Africa. Power is on the low end also.

As for range, jerry cans will get you there. The T7 got plenty for 99% of the time. Just keep a can for those few legs where you believe availability to be scarce or unreliable.

As for flipflop's comment. You ride any kind of technical stuff with a loaded bike, in the boonies, alone - you must be able to pick up your bike - your life could depend on it. The probability of you dropping the bike on that trip is higher than not. That much said, you can lift a heavier bike than you think - even without having to take the luggage off... with proper technique (lot's of videos out there on it). When it gets tough is if you drop it over and over the same day. See if you can find someone that has the bike you are considering and see if you can lift it - or a bike that is similar. Hard panniers might help in that aspect.

A tall and heavy bike is easier to drop than a lighter bike that you can flatfoot with leg length to spare. At the same time, large wheels, long suspension travel, and high ground clearance will help to keep you upright in the technical bits. Therefore, the tallest bike that you can muster is your best bet. People that say you don't need to be able to flat foot a bike off-road are either really experienced (and forgotten what it is like not to be) or don't have any experience at all except for watching cortically youtubers who manage well.

There will likely come times where you will need to paddle backwards or forwards, or catch your footing when the bike is on the higher part of uneven terrain - maybe on both sides of the bike even (riding on or over a ridge). Just about every adventure bike can be lowered quite a bit through both seat and suspension combined, with negible begative effects. If you end up with an uncomfortable seat, you could always slap on a cushion for the less technical bits, where you will spend hours at end in your saddle and where being vertically challenged doesn't matter much - i e. on smooth surfaces.

__________________
Blog: www.bamakobyvespa.no
My Youtube Channel