Hi there!

I should probably apologize for not doing my first post in the "new to HU" part of the forum. Sorry

This thing with doing longer travels on a motorbike is something I've been dreaming of for a long time (I won't mention the show with the famous guy and his slightly less famous mate that went around the world)

Finally the kid is big enough that my wonderful wife has given the go ahead for me to start my adventuring days. Being the sensible person I am, I'll start of with something less time consuming and terrifying then Mongolia and the Road of Bones.

So in the beginning of September I'll be riding from Stockholm (this is where you go, "ahh, sensible, I see") riding on through the northwestern parts of Europe, taking the train from Calais over to Folkstone and then through England, Wales up to Scotland.

I won't bore you with more details then that but the issue I'm facing is what bike I should put my money on.

Now what made me contemplate changing my bike is to have as new a bike as possible and in the process getting a bike that'll see me through a number of longer trips to come.

In my planning this "not so adventurous" trip is just a shakedown trip, for me, my gear and the bike. Next trip will raise the bar by going somewhere less populated and developed.

I'm not a hardcore off-roader, nor do i aspire to be. I do, however want to be able to comfortably end up riding off-road if that's what happens. I also want to consider things like comfort for long daily hauls, fuel consumption, ability to pack on luggage, reliability and how easy it'll be to service the bike and/or find spare parts for it in places that aren't western Europe.

So, now for the important bit. The two bikes I'm currently thinking of are right up there in the title.

Currently I'm on the Austrian Beast and I have no bad things to say about it really, it's not given me the slightest problems, it's plenty agile and comfortable for the type of riding I've done so far. Haven't brought it off-road at all but figuring it's a KTM and watching Youtube I don't believe the bike will be the limiting factor.

The things about the 1190 that makes me think of changing bikes are:

Fuel consumption, 150bhp isn't exactly the most economical performance numbers if you want to max out the distance ridden between stops.

Electronics, I've gotten this notion that the fancy electronic suspension and ridemodes might not be so stellar for going out in to less civilized areas where the local KTM dealership might be 2 countries away when the bike decides that it wants a reboot.

Wheel dimensions, 19" front and 17" back. If I keep it and in a year or so decide to do a more off-road oriented trip, will this give me grief because the selection of dual purpose tires is much smaller then if I ran a more traditional 21/17 wheel setup?

As for the Tiger 800XC. I've owned one for a season, think it was an -11. I liked it, I came from a Tiger 1050 so the lack of omph in the engine was of course noticeable. Today I'm thinking that performance isn't as important because I actually want to see what I'm passing, rather then blazing down the road trying to be the next big TT-racer.

What makes me think of the new Tiger 800 XC then.

Improved suspension, WP is in my book a very good manufacturer, Öhlins might be better but not many bikes come with that kind of hardware. With the reliability and performance of WP suspension, and the fully adjustable front fork I feel that the new Tiger came a little bit closer to being more dual sport.

Electronics, or rather the lack of, hence the XC and not the XCX. Having traction and ABS is nice, and if the electronics decide to ferk me over, well I learned how to ride without both systems so it wouldn't mean "trip over"

Mileage, well at 55 bhp and 390cc less it seems rather obvious that it'll give me more range between stops.

Tires, with 21/17 I won't be wanting for options when looking at tires like the TKC or Scout etc

I know it'll be able to go off-road, especially now with the WP-suspension. It's plenty comfortable to ride, agile but still with enough character and performance to make things rather entertaining when it needs to.

Reliability, Having had to Triumphs and not had any significant troubles I'm kind of liking them for being solid and good bikes that'll be able to carry me and my gear pretty far.

I should probably mention that I can trade my 1190 in for the brand new Tiger without having to put up any cash in between.

There, a rather lengthy post with my process of thought concerning what bike to go for.

Any advice, opinion or insights is very much welcome.

Ride safely