BMW 650 Sertao

Very similar to the Dakar, only its engine came from Loncin (China) instead of from Rotax.
Its newer than the Dakar, it has EFI, its a BMW with a chinese engine, how reliable it is I dont know...? It only has a 14 liter gasoline tank though and even with a very low fuel consumption it seems not adequate in my opinion.

https://motorbikewriter.com/bmw-g-65...rcycle-review/

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

What about a Royal Enfield Bullet EFI 500 It does have the specifications that you ask for...

Its 500 cc
Its EFI
It has a 19’ front wheel and the rear is 19’ too btw...
Wet weight 187 kilos
Royal Enfield has dealers in more and more countries nowadays.
Reliability is discusable of course but still...
It should be easily available for 4500 £ for a almost new second hand.

https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/mo...00_EFI_15.html

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

The Himalayan is on my list

Sorry, getting you mixed up with Flipflopdog/Mez and his CRF500L.

I wish

Can't add to the list but can comment on three of the suggestions having lived with them:

The EFI Bullet is the best Enfield to date, but is still a 25HP plodder that needs searching thoroughly for Indian production stuff-ups. Mine snapped a chain as they didn't rivet a link properly. Once sorted it's lovely to ride and easy to live with except the now ever changing spec confuses parts suppliers used to bits from the 50's fitting bikes from the 90's. I'd have another as a second bike.

The CB500 seems close to my ideal bike. Light, powerful enough, long ranged, long service intervals, haven't found anything it won't do. The biggest complaint after 18 months and 12000 miles is that you can see where my boots have been on the brake pedal. Might be through the paint by 2035, but don't tell Honda or someone in the paint shop will be getting a new letter opener in the internal mail.

The Rotax powered 650 BMW is an Aprillia POS the Bavarians used as a cost cutting exercise. Water pumps and reg/recs fail, chains are the size are rated for a 250 twin, paint comes off the engines, forks have been known to snap. What was not a bad cheap commuter design in 1995 was past it's sell by date at the FI update and is now just nasty. Only reason I can see to get one would be as a bargain, but as rat bikes go XT600e's are better (but carbed).

Andy

But it doesnt fulfil your own requirements... as its not 500-800 cc..

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

Hahaha yes allow me 1 exception

Cubic capacity seems an odd measure. A 498cc CB500 makes 47HP, same as a 652cc Rotax BMW, which both have a higher power to weight ratio than the Enfield although the Himalaya is making more power from less CC's than the Bullet.

Given the spec has a weight element and from experience I'd want 30HP. This brings in a number of options like the 300cc Versys and CRF250.

Also no mention of the service intervals?

Andy

Tubeless tyres are an advantage when riding solo in remote places. I think I'm right in saying most bikes with alloys wheels can take tubeless. You may also want to consider service intervals, some of the enduro-type bikes have service intervals measured in hours rather than thousands of miles. The KTM 500 is an example of this as it's a highly tuned engine with an oil capacity of only 1.5 litres. And some enduro-type bikes don't have a subframe suitable for taking heavy luggage.

The words below are something I wrote earlier about the KTM 690 Enduro R (dry weight 142 kg). There were major improvements in 2012 so I wouldn't look at earlier models. You should be able to get a 2012-2013 model for £4,500.

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Any bike by definition is a set of compromises, especially in the long distance comfort vs off-tarmac choices. The KTM 690 Enduro is one of only a few bikes that you can stick 50 kgs of luggage on, ride 1000+ km, and then head off over a ploughed field or sand dunes with the luggage still attached.

Whilst not particularly comfortable, it swallows long distances and motorway speeds—I’ve ridden my London-based 690 from Aberdeen to London in a day which is 880 km (550 miles). In a 20-hour period I rode my Spanish-based 690 from Marrakech to Tanger, waited several hours for the next ferry to Spain then with the help of much coffee, rode on in the night via Granada to our cave in the mountains which was 1100 km (690 miles).

There are lighter (i.e. better) bikes for off-tarmac adventures, but they can’t carry sufficient luggage, would be excruciatingly uncomfortable for long distance, and have a service interval measured in hours rather than 10,000km. There are better (invariably much heavier) bikes for distance travel but unless you are an off-road god they are impossible riding in loose sand—I’ve been there and done it, with a BMW 1200 GSA, and have no wish to revisit the nightmare.

When I’m in Morocco I normally ride solo, often in very remote places, sometimes in 40ºC heat with no shade. Getting a puncture in tubed tyres in those conditions is a real downer. I'd prefer tubeless tyres but the wheel rims aren't suitable, so at the moment I run the Spanish 690 with mousses, an expensive solution as the mousses cost as much as the tyres and need replacing as often.

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

Okay, thanks to all - I have my list