Hi all,
I'm writing this as a sanity check, before I take the plunge (yet again). So, the current status:
- I have a heavily farckled V-Strom DL650 2010, ABS, on which I did over 50K miles, mostly pavement
- recently I have started to look for the dirt roads, fire trails, kind of easy stuff but not always
- last year trip took me through the 'Stans and Mongolia (20K miles in 1 tour)
- next trip will be yet again in South-East Asia (later years South America, than hopefully Africa), mostly paved roads but I expect more and more dirt riding as well (washboards, corrugations, washed dirt roads, probably muddy roads as well, deep gravel, river crossings, etc.) but not single trails or too technical stuff (if it can be avoided)
- riding solo, with lots of luggage (~50Kg in total), rider's weight around 80Kg
- riding partner has a F700GS
- I'm based in Europe
- I have test ridden both F700GS and F800GS (2014) (shortly and only on-pavement) and I liked better the feeling of the F800GS
- most important aspects are: reliability and ruggedness for the long haul
- I don't like singles

Reasons to change the V-Strom:
- bike is getting close to 65K miles, getting harder to sell (and I want a change)
- I want a lighter bike, lower CoG, more trust inspiring on rough sections
- I want a bit more torque/power
- I want some more ground clearance

I'm looking specifically at the F650GS SE from 2012 (with ABS) and 800GSA from around 2014. Both, of course, second had, ideally no more than 20K miles.

So far, I prefer the F650GS for the following reasons:
- lighter
- lower compression, so I can use lower octane gas
- tubeless
- cheaper
- lower seat height (~30" inseam)
- regular forks, more reliable for bad, dusty roads (and easier to service)
- I can install Ricor Intiminators (which I have on the V-Strom and love them)

So far I prefer the F800GSA for the following reasons:
- higher ground clearance
- almost a complete adventure bike, not too many upgrades required
- better suited for off-road sections
- more comfortable
- better range due to the larger tank

Overall my take is that the F650GS will be, in the end, roughly 15Kg lighter and 2.000USD cheaper than the F800GSA (carrying the same amount of fuel and farkles). And I'll probably miss the higher ground clearance the most.

For both of the mentioned bikes the suspension will be changed, at least all the springs, hopefully the entire shock will be upgraded. To be honest, I think a more suited bike will be Yamaha T700, but it's not yet available and I don't like the idea to beta-test a bike. That's the plan for the next bike .

So, any suggestions? Are my assumptions wrong? Do you have any better options?
Thanks a lot for your help.