Dividing the MPG by 5 & multiplying by 8 will give you kilometres per gallon.

Divide that result by 4.54 to give km per litre if you're using Imperial gallons or divide by 4 if using US gallons.

Most Euro types work on how many litres per 100km. To get this, divide 100 by number of km per litre.

45mpg (Imperial) divided by 5 x 8 divided by 4.54 =
15.86km per litre.

100(km) divided by 15.86 = 6.305 litres per 100km.

As a rough guide, 57mpg (Imperial) equates to approximately 5 litres per 100km which is considered pretty good. My partners DRZ is currently returning 70+mpg in South America which is just over 4 litres per 100km.

They're not necessarily expensive or thirsty.

My 1150GS can return 55mpg fully loaded & is pretty easy to service. We have one each, I service both of them including the valves every 6,000 miles which is very easy. Tyres (Tourances in our case) last 9-10,000 miles.

Parts are not particularly expensive either, there's plenty of aftermarket support also. If you get a non-ABS version, you can bleed the brakes by the roadside with ease, they're no harder to service than most bikes and easier than many (my KTM 950SE springs to mind..).

Sure they cost more but they also hold their value well. Note that I;m not trying to talk you in to getting a GS, merely countering a couple of misconceptions in your opening post.

Enjoy your trip. :thumbup1:

Tks Steve, I agree I may have misjudged the GS costs just by looks. They certainly do hold their price though.

It appears this thread has become the Triumph Tiger appreciation page judging by the comments (and thanks for them) so I am going off the TDM idea and I'm tracking a couple of Tigers (on EBay not in the jungle..) but some of the colour schemes are hideous!

Thanks for all the input. Shame there isn't a UK Hubb meet to attend and get some first hand looks at various touring bikes together.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_pXs6Z_85Tj8/TH...75_EA5xy-L.jpg
The Tiger devouring Nevada roads.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_pXs6Z_85Tj8/TF...0/P1010722.JPG
Here are few guys I ride with ... good representation of what we ride. R12GS, DR650, DL1000 Vstrom, 1150GS. Any and all can do the job in spades. Below see the new Ducati 1200S Multistrada and Tiger compared on tough California roads. Don't leave out the Yam 1200 Super Tenere ... I think you can buy it now in the UK. Bit pricey. doh
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_pXs6Z_85Tj8/TF...0/P1010744.JPG

Vstrom
 

Hi

Take a look at the Suzuki Vstrom.

We have done europe, bits of russia and san francisco to usuahia (spelling!) on ours (we have 650)

It stood up to two up on ripio and was fantastic in the not so good roads between bulgaria and turkey

It ain't no looker and it really isn't good at any one thing but it can do everything

Great pictures Mickey, what a setting! No waterproofs for you guys then?

Thanks Tina. I did look at the 'weestrom' but I just have a thing about Suzuki's for some reason. Can't explain it, and no doubt they are great bikes, but can't see myself on one.

It will probably be a Tiger, or maybe even a BMW 800GS which I'm now considering - too many choices!

I don't know how old a bike you are looking for,but have you looked at the Cagiva Navigator?
Fitted with a (slightly) de-tuned TL1000 engine it has all the go you need,is fairly comfy with a decent seat height and a wide pillion seat.
Even the electrics seem ok for an Italian bike!

Andy

Hi would suggest any of the following
Suzuki Bandit good reliable bike (I have the 1250)
Suzuki V Storm quite a few rate it on the forum here

I have looked at one of those Andy, but not knowing anything about them I was nervous of getting stuck overseas with no-one having any parts etc.

Selous, the bandit is a good bike all right, but my preference is for something that can do some mild off road as well. Nothing too adventurous as I'm not going into Africa or anything but I have done some off road in my earlier years, and had a Jeep Cherokee that I did off road with, so always up for seeing 'where those paths go..'.

What about a Triumph Scrambler? I have not read that much about them, but people seem to like them. And I think they look great!

Triumph Scrambler?

What's that...?

come on, now, google it! I would post a link but a simple search will get you the same thing. cool retro-looking bikes, if I needed another bike it would probably be a Scrambler, but as mentioned I haven't done a lot of research on them.

CB1300S Rocks!!
 

Best road bike I've ever had. Put the ole' girl in top gear and leave it there. And you can get 200 miles out of a tank if you're not riding like a spanner. Great 2 up, great handling, just a bloody great bike.

Ah, OK - you mean a Bonneville with upswept exhausts....

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...hScrambler.jpg

Honda Transalp XL700V.

• Solid.
• Road biased but with adequate off-road pretensions (especially with the right tyres).
• Comfy
• Economical (very, if ridden with that in mind)
• Planted on the tarmac.

Thing is, if you are riding solo and not riding on the motorway all the time (although this bike can do it) you don't need to go into 4-figure engine sizes. It will be cheaper to run on fuel and tyres than a bigger bike and still do most of what a bigger bike can do.

Either way the answer to your initial question could essentially be any bike, bar a race rep.

Perhaps you should now be doing some test rides to see what sort of power and weight category you can or can't live with, especially if you've been used to a Fireblade.

Way back, I went from a Suzuki TL to a Yam TDM. It was the right move for me at the time, but by goodness did I miss the TL's engine for the first few months. After that, though, I got used to the TDM and found that it was perfectly good for the job: it was only a case of getting accustomed to it...