Wow! Nice Africa ride there Lee! Great group of bikes!

One correction on the Suzuki DR650. You're right, post 1996 is the good one and one you want ... but DR650's have not been discontinued in North America, only in EU/UK.

So, you can buy a BRAND new DR650 (unchanged since 1996!!) anywhere in USA or Canada. Plenty of cheap used ones everywhere here. ($2500 to $4K USD)

Also, DR's are sold in Colombia, Ecuador and Possibly Peru'. Police use them there and Suzuki have an assembly plant in Colombia.

So the DR650 is alive and well. Check out the BIG DR650 thread in the Thumpers section on ADV RIDER. It's the largest thread on ALL of the ADV RIDER web site. 24 million views, over 120 thousand posts.

Still, over all, if rider is a novice dirt rider, I would forego a 650 and go with a 250 instead. Off road I can keep up with just about any rider on a 650 riding my 250.. The tougher conditions get, the easier the 250 is to ride, and harder for a 650.

I've owned a bunch of Hondas going back to the 80's: XL600R, XR600R, XR650L, XR400R, XR250R. May fav was XR250R.

The XR650L is expensive and runs too HOT. No oiler cooler like XR400 has, and has weak subframe and big battery box hanging off side panel. Many problems with the XR650L on many Baja rides since 1992. (I bought a '93 XR650L new ... sold one year later) Not good for me.

IMHO, the DR650 is by far the BEST ADV travel 650 out there today. Old tech but quite a remarkable bike. Ask any owner or RTW traveler. Many are out there right now riding DR650's. All things considered, very hard to top the
mighty Suzuki DR650SE. Mine has over 60,000 miles (NOT KMS)no issues despite serious abuse in Baja and elsewhere. Many long rides done both ON and OFF road. Best single I've ever owned or ridden.

That's correct. I was sticking to that 1996-2003 date as I have been searching high and low in France for my next bike for a Middle East and North Africa tour. They are rare, and rarity commands higher prices. 2000 Euros for an SE, and the bike is at least 15 years old. But plenty of cheap pre-SE bikes with their (sometimes troublesome) chain-driven countershaft and 25kg higher weight (and often without E-starter).

Interestingly, I have French buddies trying to buy new Honda XR650L and DR650SE from Canada to import to France... ;-)

I did Tunisia on a 1988 Africa twin 650 RD03 two years ago and loved the bike. Good everywhere. Then did another 20,000km tour the following year with a 1996 Africa Twin 750 RD07a and it is a completely different bike. Heavier. Less off-road worthy in stock form. But totally reliable.

Nonetheless I loved both bikes so much that I took them with me to Montreal.

BTW depending on what the OP expect from his bike, the original Africa Twin remains a great contender for short or long term adventure rides. It is totally bulletproof after the voltage regulator has been changed to a Mosfet unit (same problem on every single model Honda has produced until around 2005).

Thanks for all the answers so far

Regarding my physical condition, I'm young, 27, and people tend to consider me fairly strong, I'm heavily into olympic weightlifting and crossfit.

My offroad ability is hard to self evaluate, but I had my share of riding on smaller bikes and some on 450s (CRF). We have lots and lots of deep sand tracks here in the shore, so we get our share of that too. I'm no expert, very far from that, but not a complete novice either.
I already tried some of the 250s, including the WR250R but found them too weak, at least for my taste. An extra 15hp and that's the sweet spot.

Tremens, you mentioned the XT660Z Tenere, but without wanting to offend your bike choice, I really think that one was a wasted opportunity for Yamaha. Rode on one for some time and had a couple of them in the group on the Dakar expedition.
It's way too heavy, the rims are very soft and I really don't like the suspension, feels like a 90's MTB. Also, there is no racional behind the bike's height with such a short wheel travel, it seems mostly an exercise of style.


Mollydog, thanks, but I'm not interested on the DR650. Most here are very old and worn out and selling for the same price as a XR650R. I'm also after a more aggressive bike. Same with the XT600, I want more suspension travel and a 18" rear wheel, hence considering the TT600R.


Massive Lee, I understand the 10h maintenance thing on the 450 and 500s is mostly under race conditions and the absence of rear rack is a non issue for me as I want to use a Giant Loop.
Nice pics there, passed on Merzouga and Zagora last December, but missed Ouarzazate. Went to Mhamid and then Icht instead.

I'm probably scrapping the 640 ADV from my list, decided I don't want to deal with a fairing, at least for the Iberian rides.

Regarding the budget, limits exist, but I can stretch it a bit if I have a good reason. Founds will mostly come from the sale of the S10

well I don't quite agree with you here, newer xt660z has progressive suspension which is much better then before 2012 models. Also I said you can put this bike on diet plus remember it has 23 liters tank which is around 17 kg of weight. This translates to over 500 km range. For longer trips this is one of the most comfortable bikes IMO and you can load a lot on it. Trail bikes will never be like that. Definitely tenere is not light but I've been riding off-road much heavier bikes and for me this is not deal breaker. Dakar rally bikes weigh not much less.

The BMW 450 X Challenge seems interesting too. Probably on the same level as the KTM 450 EXC. But street legal.
50hp and 110kg (the 650 weights around 150kg)

Review
2008 BMW G 450 X | motorcycle review @ Top Speed

Sounds like no problem with strength and riding experience. I think you could ride ANY bike you like. Sounds like you like a lot of power ... this means KTM for you.

I would stretch your budget and buy the KTM 500 EXC. With Giant Loop would be perfect for your short trips in N. Africa. But for RTW, the DR650 or Honda would be better.

Once you have done a few LONG Africa trips, you may come to understand why a well set up 250 is a good choice. For now, go with the bigger bike and more power. Have fun, don't crash far from help!

The XR650R is great if you can find a good one and don't mind KICK START. I've ridden XR650R lots, many friends owned them. Most sold them and bought KTM 500 or new Husqvarna.


My friend Peter riding his well set up XR650R in Nevada, this about 8 years ago. GREAT BIKE. Many used ones here for sale cheap. But for travel, I still prefer my well modified DR650SE.

Remember, the DR650 is still being made, so you may find a New-ish one if you look around EU or UK. Some are being imported from USA, some ride them up from Africa and sell in EU. Once well set up they are quite capable off road.
(suspension, seat, open air box, re-jet)

But for your Africa trips, KTM 500 is way to go if you can afford one. THE BEST
dirt bike. Lower budget I'd take a nice XT600 or a well sorted KTM 640 with a FRESH engine and top end.