My idea is that you want to spend as little money as possible, but you want a manufacturer to invest in building this bike for you.

Anyway, the answer is CRF250L. 145kg. Modify the tank if it's not enough (but I bet it's enough in the real world - carry a rotopax for anxiety).

R80 GS : 186 kg
F850 GS : 229 kg

Development in the wrong direction.


Suzuki DR 650 SE: 162 kg
That would be a good candidate for med. Even if it isn't "small"
But never imported to where I live due to not EU complient.

Youre totally right about the Suzuki DL/V-Strom 250, 178 kilos is waay beyond acceptable for a 250 cc bike. Very disappointing it is...

Anyhow - in stock form there are not many models that will fit your criterias.
The CCM 450 ADV will probably fit your wishes but its not sold anymore and I dont know about the second hand market and I dont know about reliability and spare parts availability.

The KTM LC4 400, also made as an sturdy army model. (There are threads on this forum about this bike, just use the search function) Of course not many avaialble for the moment and reliability and spare parts I dont know about.

KTM 640 ADV - maybe a tad heavier than your wish and not made for many years but there are still some around.

Suzuki Dr650 - an ancient relic and not available in Europe since around year 2000 due to emission restrictions. But readily available in most other part of the world. Its actually a great bike but will need some upgrades. Dry weight below 150 kilos but will need bigger gas tank, suspension upgrades, windscreen etc etc

All the current 250 dual sports of Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha will fit your need except they will need bigger gas tanks. Which I belive isnt too much of a problem to get a hold of.

Edit - forgot the Suzuki DRZ 400. It should fit your whishes except the gas tank size, which I guess you can find an aftermarket solution for.

__________________
In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

The new CRF250 is supposed to have a bigger tank. I'm expecting 11.2 litres rather than 19, but it helps.

The weight is partly self inflicted (by the motorcycle community in general) and partly because the world cannot support 7 Billion people driving Ford Edsels.

ABS because we want to be safer in mass traffic. There isn't space for everyone to have enough stopping distance on cable operated drums.
Catastrophic perverters because we don't want St. Greta whining at us.
Masses of bodywork because we want to look like we are doing the Dakar
Electronics because rider modes, LCD displays and adjustable suspension sell.
Simple materials that are light and effective are banned because we want to use ten times the amount and they kill fish even in 1970's volumes.
Bikes are cheaper than ever because they are designed for manufacturer and rarely used extreme performance not everyday use.
We demand ever bigger numbers on the spec sheet.

I am currently restoring a 1973 CL350. It is superior in so many ways to my CB500X. The basic shape is everything I could want in a bike.

I would love Honda to make a modern one but know a physically small bike will be slated on ADV-rider, MCN and other clown sites. I would love MASH or one of the other Chinese front companies to sort themselves out on quality, but the market is too small for £6000 400cc bikes.

Andy

Yes, but would you purchase it with your own money, new from a dealer?

There are things people "know" and things that actually happen. "Clown sites" seem to love the 390 Adventure and the CB500X to death.

I change my modern bike every three years at most, so buying a Scrambler style CB300 type thing would make more sense than another CB500X or CRF250 or BMW310 or Himalayan or other offerings that failed to tick as many boxes back in April.

I'd actually want to pay more if they'd save me the hassle of replacing ****y OE tyres etc. but that definitely won't happen. They still don't see why a rider with 30 years riding experience and no huge limitations on funding won't buy an Africa Twin. You'd assume plenty do.

The CB500X is a nice enough bike, it does exactly what my F650 did 25 years ago with fewer break downs. In terms of current offerings I think its the best all-rounder. In terms of innovation it does what a rebadged Italian learner bike did in 1995!

Andy

I'm sure your dealer will happily take your money to let you take delivery on a bike with different tires.

They absolutely do. Anecdotally - last year in my moto marshal team, the most popular bike by far was an R1200GS. Now all those people have switched to Africa Twins (and some prior V-Strom 1000 and NC750X owners too).

ADV-rider is a "clown site"? Uh oh, I better stop going there to read the epic ride reports...

__________________
Bruce Clarke - 2020 Yamaha XV250

ADV-rider a clown site !!! - now hang on a minute They've got the best girl on an old motorcycle section I've ever seen. Pity Grant doesn't have one here.

Is Gunz-gunz-gunz-and moar gunz still going?

Andy

I have just bought a 2nd hand MASH 650 x ride which looks like an XT500 but uses a Honda Dominator 644cc engine but now fuel injected (50mpg easy but 12litre tank) and only 500 mile on the clock for just over £3500 which I intend doing NC500 in scotland and later this year the marakesh loop.

Seat higth 875 mm.
OK for having fun in the woods.
But I would not travel on that,

Bike building is expensive, even if you do it yourself, plus then it’s time consuming too.
Lowered CRF250l would be my choice or one of the last Serrows.
I think Honda have a bigger footprint around the world for spares (except, possibly, Africa where Yamaha are very popular due to Dakar success - so I’ve read somewhere) either of these, nearly new, would last for tens of thousands of miles without needing repairs - both are well proven.

It’s certainly a nice place to be, planning a trip and trying to decide what bike. I’m at that stage myself, although the trip will not be till 2023. My conundrum slightly differs to yours in that I’m tall and need a big bike but don’t want weight.

Happy planning