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Which Bike? Comments and Questions on what is the best bike for YOU, for YOUR trip. Note that we believe that ANY bike will do, so please remember that it's all down to PERSONAL OPINION. Technical Questions for all brands go in their own forum.
Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 4 Jan 2011
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Wow £8000, you are a lucky man.
It's a lot to play with. You can virtually get any bike you can think of for that.
I would save the money for the trip. Spend it on petrol and .

I can recommend this bike, Yamaha XTz 750. Go anywhere, reliable, less weight than the gs or ktm, good on the road,cheap too, you can save some money on the intitial purchase and kit the bike out how you want.
I got mine for £500, trip ready for £950. Even if you spent £2000 on a bike, £6000 will get you a really long way.... I travelled in France, Spain, Marocco, Western Sahara and Mauritainia for 3 months for just under £3000 all-in, including buying the bike.
You could always get the Drz to get back into it, then take it around the world.

let us know what you get...
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  #2  
Old 4 Jan 2011
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I'm currently scouring the web trying to decide which bike would be best suited to buggering off too.

Shaft-driven bikes appeal to me, for the simple fact that for 3 years all I had was a bike, riding through 3 winters chain/sprocket wear, ever increasing adjustments and cleaning became a pain in the backside.

Having said that though, the Africe Twins look kinda sexy, with a sense of purpose.

When you say the GS is too big, was it the 1150/1200 that you tried, or the 650?

John.
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  #3  
Old 4 Jan 2011
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Lot's 'O Cash!
Ha ha ha! For £8,000 I'd have to agree with Elnota and buy a cheaper bike and save the rest for either running repairs, longer travels or 'on the piss' during the trip!

Like said before - £2,000 on a reasonable bike or even go to £4,000 and buy some great kit for it in preparation and save the rest. Do you NEED an 8 grand bike? Or just think £8,000 will buy you reliability... cos it won't! An 8 grand bike broken down at the side of the road is 8 grand lump + repair costs. However, a 2 grand bike broken down at the side of the road is only a 2 grand lump but with a pocket filled with 6,000 smiles to help you out! Not such a bad day then really is it!

and on a perso-'anal' note........ I'd go for a Japanese bike XT/XL/DR/etc (I think the 'etc' is a chinese copy, LOL)

Let us know what you do.
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  #4  
Old 4 Jan 2011
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bike
maybe look at what is going your riding style ( more on or off road ) and then pick your bike .
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  #5  
Old 6 Jan 2011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by geoffshing View Post
Ha ha ha! For £8,000 I'd have to agree with Elnota and buy a cheaper bike and save the rest for either running repairs, longer travels or 'on the piss' during the trip!

Like said before - £2,000 on a reasonable bike or even go to £4,000 and buy some great kit for it in preparation and save the rest. Do you NEED an 8 grand bike? Or just think £8,000 will buy you reliability... cos it won't! An 8 grand bike broken down at the side of the road is 8 grand lump + repair costs. However, a 2 grand bike broken down at the side of the road is only a 2 grand lump but with a pocket filled with 6,000 smiles to help you out! Not such a bad day then really is it!

and on a perso-'anal' note........ I'd go for a Japanese bike XT/XL/DR/etc (I think the 'etc' is a chinese copy, LOL)

Let us know what you do.
Cheers for the reply looking at a drz400 for some fun over next couple months ! hope to looking at finding more the bike i want by end of summer
i work in the motor trade so will strike some sort of deal !
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  #6  
Old 6 Jan 2011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elnota View Post
Wow £8000, you are a lucky man.
It's a lot to play with. You can virtually get any bike you can think of for that.
I would save the money for the trip. Spend it on petrol and .

I can recommend this bike, Yamaha XTz 750. Go anywhere, reliable, less weight than the gs or ktm, good on the road,cheap too, you can save some money on the intitial purchase and kit the bike out how you want.
I got mine for £500, trip ready for £950. Even if you spent £2000 on a bike, £6000 will get you a really long way.... I travelled in France, Spain, Marocco, Western Sahara and Mauritainia for 3 months for just under £3000 all-in, including buying the bike.
You could always get the Drz to get back into it, then take it around the world.

let us know what you get...
Thanks for advice yes it is alot of money must be getting posh in my old age ! lol
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