Recommend me a small/mid sized Fuel injected adventure bike....
 

Hi. Im hopefully heading off to south america in a year or so and am starting to think 'what bike?' All my current bikes are what most people call 'old' and are carb fuelled. I quite fancy the idea of a FI bike to make the altitude changes easier. I was considering ccm gp450 or Ktm 690 but money may be a sticking point. So basically im looking for an off road biased adventure bike (cheaper than the above), Between 400cc and approx 600cc, lightweight (less than 175kg) and FI. Im happy to modify stuff, fitting tanks/ crashbars etc. Any thoughts?
Cheers,
Karl.

How tall are you? KLX450R?
Ride safe, and enjoy the planning stage,
Simon.

Sorry, scratch that. I think the 450's still on a carb. It's the 250 that's efi, and actually very effective torquewise, but not very exciting as the revs rise.

Buy one out there - saves shipping costs. And you'll know that parts are available.

At the moment the two main options are the 690/701 and WR250R, but KTM is rumoured to be releasing an 800 Adventure in November so keep your eyes peeled for that.

How about playing with a big bore DRZ and megasquirt FI? You've got a year to get it running right! Sadly, as the previous post suggests, there're not a lot of options at this size hence why the CCM generated such a lot of interest. Wait for CCM to sell their next batch of demo bikes?

Whilst we may hear some news on the expected KTM 800 twin motor at EICMA next month (and may even see a 'concept' Duke 800 with the motor in) I don't expect we will see an 800 Adventure until 2018 model year at the earliest. And then it will be another year before you can get all the necessary 'Adventure' kit for it and all the year one bugs are ironed out.

A 690 would be a pretty good solution - ideally a used 'Adventure ready' one with sumpguard, luggage, big tank, decent seat and all the other bits fitted, just like the one I may have for sale in a few weeks ..........................

There really is not much in the 400 - 600 range with FI and under 175kg as the guys have said, how long are you intending to spend in South America, do you intent to ride it off road much or just on sealed and easy hard packed gravel roads - and what are your plans for the bike afterwards?

I ask this as if you are planning to spend a long time there, then shipping your own bike is not so bad cost effectively, but if its only for a few months then I would rent one - and as mentioned the cheapest way would be to buy one there locally and sell it after your trip.

maybe something like this:

Honda Chile

A Honda CB500X ticks all of the boxes apart from being over 175kg, or if you don't mind a smaller bike a locally bought CRF250L would be a good buy.

These seem to be getting decent reviews. Many will say Chinese bikes are rubbish but I'm not so sure. They said that about Japanese bikes too not so long ago

THE NEW TRAIL 400 - 400cc TRIALS BIKE FROM WK

As many have said there really aren't many options that fulfill those requirements.

I think the closest bike would be the CB500X with the Rally Raid kit that gives it an off road edge. Rally Raid offers 3 different upgrade 'levels' depending on your needs. You can try to find a used CB500X to bring the cost down.

A used F650GS Dakar version could be another good option too.

sa bike
 

i'll wait for the new versys 300x or the new ktm 390,or pick a wr 250r,127 kg very good sus' &cheking valve every 40k+over 70mile per gallon.the wr had bullet proof eng' and can cruise 70 mph all day long,y can find more info' on big dog site.the rally raid cb500x level 3 will cost 11grands for a new one and over 200 kg to deal.

Have you considered a Yamaha XT660R?

FI with a wet weight of 181kg that can be reduced by 10kg+ by replacing the dual exhausts with a single sided exhaust.

These are very reliable, relatively cheap bikes with 21"/17" wheels, excellent fuel economy (I average 23km/litre keeping speeds at or under 100km/hr), decent service intervals, relatively comfortable seat and readily available spares/accessories.

The major downsides are the cheap but adequate suspension so long as you are not in race mode.

I have 30k km on mine and needed nothing more than consumables.

Ok, so i opted for the bmw xchallenge. Im afraid it was mainly the price that swung it (ill have it all prepped for less than a good 2nd hand ktm). Also, the fact that you can upgrade the alternator. Plus they seem to be pretty reliable and uber economical. Ive only been for a quick blast so far, but i think itll more than do the job!!
Cheers for all the advice anyway.
K.

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great choice, the XC is an excellent bike

The Honda Chile looks like a Derby Terra on steroids!! may by because the engine is a Honda one :-)
TDMalcolm