A couple questions about Honda's and Suzuki's
 

Hello everyone!

I made a similar post a few years ago but I never went on buying another bike, mainly because my travelplans got delayed by COVID.

I'm now planning a big trip for in around 1.5/2 years. I'm planning to travel for at least a year, with possibly two years. It will be RTW and I'm going to ride offroad. I don't plan on riding the smallest of trails, but I do expect to go offroad and off the beaten path. I'm thinking 65/35 on road/off road. My weight is 85kg and I'm 1.82m.

I've done some research which yielded me more questions, hence this post. A couple of rules I set myself to:

- Easy access to parts all around the world so no KTM/Triumph/BMW.
- Under 200kg (440lbs) wet without panniers, preferably around 160kg (350lbs) because I'm going to drop it.
- Able to go on highways, considering I'll travel RTW I'll have to do some highways.
- Worth under 6k (because of carnet de passage and bike theft risk).

After the research I found a couple of bikes:

Suzuki:
- DR650 (cheap, lots of available parts and mods, but not as powerful and light as the other bikes)
- DRZ400 (cheap, light, lots of available parts and mods, but not that highway worthy)

Honda
- CRF450L (light, not as great on the highway)
- XR650R (light, powerful, not always street legal and quite pricey)
- XR650L (light, not as great on the highways)

Yamaha
- Tenere 700 (heavy, expensive, not that good offroad but has got everything except for price and weight)
- XT660Z (heavy, not that powerful and not as good offroad as other bikes)

Kawasaki
- KLR650 (tested RTW bike, not that powerful and light)

I've got a couple of questions regarding the bikes:

- DRZ400 too light/tiresome for long rides on the highway?
- XR650R: too aggressive for long RTW rides?
- I've heard some people about single cylinders making too many vibrations for long rides, thoughts? I'd rather not get vibrated of the bike.
- I don't want the most powerful bike, but I would like to be able to cruise at 100kmp/h without squeaking everything out of the engine.

Currently I'm drawn to the Suzuki's, the CRF450, and XR650R. The Suzuki's because they're quite cheap, light (especially the 400) and moddable, the Honda's because of the weight/power distribution. What are your thoughts on this? I know it's an age old question, but I hope you guys can help me a bit out.

CRF300 rally is everything you need.

If youre located in parts of the world where the carburated bikes you mention such as Suzuki Dr650 or Kawasaki Klr 650 are available both will be good alternatives. The Dr650 will need more upgrades but are much lighter than the Klr, thats worth considering. Carburated bikes will struggle more in altitudes though.

Edit: The new KLR now comes as EFI from 2021.

Crf450L? Did you check the service intervals on that one? Oil change every 1000 kms and valve check every 3000 kms. Forget it mate, you are planning the adventure of your life, not let it be ruined by spending time or money servicing the bike every other day.

Some guys have already «adventurized» the KTM 500 - and get good results(?) I still havent understood how often oil change and valve jobs are required on such «adventurized» bikes, but I hope its not as often as standard.

Tenere 660 - I have taken one rtw, 200 k kms, too heavy and to unreliable. Not recommended!

If you can live with 27-28 HP I tend too agree with the last poster - the CRF300 RALLY will be all you need. Lightweight, reliable, economic, ok range (not great) not great on highways but will do 100 km/h, but not much faster. Will need better suspension, handlebars and hand protectors, bash plate and a few minor things more. But then again - most bikes will need some improvement.

Start your trip in Australia and buy a new DR650 at AU$9480 on the road.

@Snakeboy: I hadn't looked at the service intervals of the CRF450, so thanks for pointing that out. It's not gonna be a CRF450 then. That's also why I didn't want to go with the KTM 500.

27-28hp is just a bit too little for me, I already know that I'll get annoyed by it on the long rond.

Looks like it's gonna be the DR, tho I'm still interested in the XR650L/R, depending on the service intervals...


Thanks for the invite but I was planning on starting it from western Europe, it's a bit easier to prepare the bike while I'm still at home.

Another vote for the CRF300, one of the lightest on your list but still perfectly capable and spares available in many places.

Where are you based at? Western Europe you write..... just for your information - the DR650, the KLR and those other carburated bikes have not been sold in EU since around year 2000 where they were banned due to emmision standards. You can of course with a bit of luck find a 20-30 year old bike in western Europe of those models, but chances that you wanna take that bike on a journey to the other side of the world are not so high.

Yes some guys have imported Drs to EU from USA, but for most people thats not really an option you want to do.

Remember that you need a bike for the worst part of your trip, not the best part. A big, heavy and powerful bike is not what you need...

Whatever bike you choose will be your lifeline for a couple of years. You don't really want to go with something that will drive you mad after a month. There's a few bikes on your list that go back a few years so finding decent ones will be the biggest challenge.

Re the two 'X' Hondas - the XR650 is one I looked closely at years ago but concluded it was too crude for travel. It's kickstart only for a start and while that's ok for a small engine there will be days when the effort will be just too much - maybe you'll be feeling lazy or hung over or ill, and you won't want to do it. The XR600 that I have was like that. I either used to leave it idling outside shops or pay the the local kids to push start me. Plus the 650 rear subframe isn't designed to take any weight. You'd need to rebuild / reinforce it considerably.

The 650L is a different animal altogether (and quite rare in the UK). Chris Scott went through the process of turning one into an overlanding bike and the story might still be on his site. Worth reading if you can find it but the big thing for me is it's stepladder high to get on. You're taller than me but it's another one of those things that's fine for a month but you come to hate after a year.

I've done a few miles on KLR's (in the US) and that would be my choice from your list - if you can get a decent one. They're two a penny over there with a huge backup of bits / fixes etc so very much a known quantity. It's not the most exciting bike but six months or a year in what you'll be most grateful for is that it starts, not that it feels 'sporty'.

The Western Europe equivalent of the KLR 650 is the KLE 500 I think... same 35 KW, decent enough offroad and on tarmac, they are plentiful here and can be had for 2-2,5k EUR.

I helped a couple Israeli guys buy a pair of them in Estonia... they rode them along the Silk Road all the way to Vladivostok and sold them there in good working order.

OP, I would say - think of how difficult an offroad experience do you want to have for most of your trip... Chances are, a Suzuki V-Strom 650 or Honda CB500X will do 99% of anything you will ever need, and for that last 1%, you can walk!

You will be able to lift the Teneres if dropped, multiple times over, do I would not worry too much about that. You will likely drop it more often though, and have to muscle it more - than the lighter options.

I second the Honda Rally, CRF300. You might find the suspension a bit plush, but an upgrade won't break the bank. You might also want go up a few teeth on 4he rear sprocket to improve low end torque, a cheap and easy fix. And the other bits and bobs mentioned - the typical for most bikes.

I will never again buy a carbureted bike for serious travel. I will never again buy a bike without ABS, but it must be easy to switch it off, atleast the rear.

Yep, definitely a very interesting option for a rtw.
12,8L tank vs 7,8L at CRF300L.
3,1l/100km.
153kg.
Engine oil change interval 12.800km.

P.S.
Motortek just showed a video of small looking prototype panniers which can hold a 1 gal Rotopax = +500km range. Crash guards without heavy tubing are in construction they anounced.

As far as I can see, none of the bikes you have listed adhere to your rules.
Perhaps general rules are too ridged. The ‘bike’ is both a personal and technical choice.
May I suggest you plan your route, time frame and style of travel eg wild camping, site camping, hostels, hotels etc.
Then see how technical the off road sections are and cross reference that with a realistic view of your skill set.
Are you limited to 2 years or can you keep going till the money runs out?

That will give you a better idea of the bike you will need.

Then think about the bike you would like to travel on, this is very important - are you riding a motorcycle RTW or are you doing a world trip on a motorcycle? There is a difference.

Don’t forget your skills will improve as you travel so at the moment your rules say a lighter bike but by the time you reach Mongolia you might be happy do river crossings on a 200kg bike. However a smaller bike will be cheaper, all round, on your travels so will keep you going longer.

I will argue the case for a CRF300 Rally:
New - the bike will do 50K miles at least with only oil services and general replacement parts - tyres, brake pads etc.
Light - cheaper on fuel, easier and cheaper to ship, easier to get it into the hotel lobby. Good for off road sections.
Cheap and reliable.
Honda network of parts - not that you’ll need any, unless you crash.
Looks - it’s a light adventure bike but looks like a big adventure bike so has presence.

As for highways - the 6th gear on the new 300 Rally is an overdrive, this is good for 75mph cruising which is faster than the speed limit of 99.9% of countries in the world. BTW, after the first week, I suspect your percentage of highway riding will be minimal - unless you’re on a time schedule.

Hope this is helpful - good luck with the trip

Thanks everyone for your input. Tl;dr: I'm first going to make a route and then think of the bike instead of the other way around, tho I'm always interested in your thoughts because I'm curious of your thoughts.

I'm based in The Netherlands, but I don't mind buying a bike inside a radius of 350ishkm. And you're right, I have to buy one secondhand and it's probably going to be old and worn. I am indeed aware that I don't need a powerful bike and I don't really want one. I just want a bike that I don't have to ride on 95% gas while driving on the highway. The CRF300 that multiple people are arguing in favor of has got an overdrive, so that's for sure an interesting bike. I'm gonna see if I can test ride it soon just to get a feeling of how the bike is.

Fair enough, I get that. What kind of KLR did you ride btw?

I haven't planned my whole route yet, but I do know I would like to ride on the TAT, TET, Pamirs + Stans. I'll probably also go offroad in South America and Africa, but I haven't looked at those continents yet. The most difficult roads are probably the high altitude roads in the Pamirs and the Andes. I know this is a bit vague, but I find it hard to sketch a picture for you guys because I don't have that much personal experience with off road riding so I don't know how to describe it. I hope I gave a bit of a picture.


This is a good idea, I will start with route, etc etc and then match the bike to it. Stupid of me that I never thought of it haha. I can keep going until the money runs out, tho I do have the flexibility of being able to work everywhere because I work in healthcare. This can prolong my travels a bit longer.

Re the CRF300: I really like the overdrive on the CRF300, so that's a good pro. I'm not on a time schedule, and as you said: a lighter bike is often a cheaper bike and I rather travel more because I have to spend less at my bike than chopping off my travel time because of my more expensive bike.

Why not?

A friend in the US has a 2007 KLR and it's his 'loaner' bike when we've been over there (every couple of years pre Covid). I've ridden tarmac and dirt roads on it and it's ok. It's not great at anything but one of those bikes that's 75% at everything. Over here I have a Honda XR600 and a CCM 604 - both 600 singles. The Honda has a great engine (mostly) but the rest of it is much too minimal for travel - and believe me I've tried. The CCM has great peripherals - WP suspension, Brembo brakes etc (and you really can tell the difference) but the engine is, frankly, junk. The KLR is softer than the Honda and looser than the CCM (and heavier than both) but overall a far better package.

Re cruising speeds on trail bikes. You'll do well to find any sort of big single that'll top 80mph / 130kph when loaded up. Mostly the 600s do 160kph on the test track and 130 everywhere else. Plus aerodynamics starts making them feel a little unstable from about 120kph (those with high front mudguards anyway). They're at their best cruising in the 100 -110kph range. That's not Porsche on the autobahn territory. Given a choice I much prefer to use their engine characteristics on back roads - roads that are usually speed restricted either by posted limits or curves or surface. For me that's what travel by bike is about.

suzuki
 

DR 350 1996-1999 if you can find one in good shape, This bike will take you anywhere with less problems and you will have plenty more cash in hand
put a 4 or 5 gallon tank on her and a good luggage rack and go