following my other thread I have come to my senses! I think I bought into all the hype and was convinced I needed a big bike. As I want to get off the beaten track in Africa I now realise it is sensible to take something smaller and after a lot of thinking I feel a bike in the 600 range will be right for me. Thinking about my preference I would very much like:

1) Air cooled reliable engine
2) kickstart or ability to retrofit a kickstart



From reading around, the Honda xr650L and yamaha xt 600 seem to fit my preferences, with many positive reports of people riding through Africa on them. Are there any other proven bikes which people feel would be a good choice based on my preferences?

Out of the two bikes which do you think is the better choice and what is the best year to go for on these bikes? Weight wise they seem quite similar with the Honda being a few kg lighter.

I heard the Honda can run hot, but wonder if fitting an oil cooler is the answer? Does the Yamaha run hot? Which is the most reliable engine out of the two?

Both bikes will obviously need bigger tanks, but I don't mind spending a bit of money on a Acerbis tank. What about parts availability? I guess Honda parts will be easier to come by in Africa?