Hi everyone hope we are all keeping well I've bit the bullet an advertised my brigade blue rd250c for sale to chase my dream of riding to Norway an Denmark where my mums family are from.

6'2 32 inch leg an about 14 stone in my early 30s.

Not quite sure on the route yet as I'm starting to research that.

Previously I've had a 1200 gsa te (reliability issues) 1000xt an a f800gs.

I should have about a healthy budget of about 5k once the RD250C is sold.

So been thinking about getting one of the following bikes.

Cb500x vs Himalayan

Just wondering if anyone has done a similar trip what bike did you choose an why. Anyone had any of the above bikes if so how did you get on with it.

Thanks in advance

Thats quite a spread of bike models you have there, nothing inbetween 400 and 1150-1200 ccm...? There are some interesting models of 500, 650, 800 etc ccm too you know.... ;-)

After doing a 5 year/250 k kms RTW trip I have learned from experiences and come to the conclusion that lightweight and small is the way to do it and it what suits me best. But each to their own of course. If youre going mostly on paved roads any of these bikes will be fine. If you plan to do some of the TET maybe or other gravel roads I would definetively gone lightweight. Those tanks - SuperTen and 1150 GSA - will be a PITA to handle on the really rough stuff.

Anyhow - as mentioned above, there are bikes inbetween 400 and 1200 ccm. A V-Strom 650 is imo a great travelbike, so is the CB500X. Kawa Versus 650, some of the 800s would be great too.

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

Hi snakeboy thanks for the reply

Yeah I guess saying I've been a bit indecisive is the understatement of the year haha.

The cb500x caught my attention to being a twin an similar to my 650ss in some ways not seen one in the flesh yet though.

I've been running my Norton 650ss in some rubbish conditions weather wise fog snow etc for the past 2 years as a daily an I must admit it has been a bit of a revelation compared to the big gsa 1200 I had.

Had a nightmare on that GSA once off road when the track went down to the width of the bike haha on my first go off road getting sat naved' was fun backing it all the way up downhill.

Hated as well when the off road resembled the surface of the moon trying to put my foot down with an 880 ish mm seat height an keep it upright + a few moments on really off camber roads even hanging off the seat. Having said that though I have missed the wind protection an the smoothness of the engine just not missed the reliability issues which is why the s10 caught my attention.


Thinking alot of the 800's would be out of reach unless I revisited a f800gs which I didn't quite jell with. I still have my own hesitancy over what happened with the 1200 an bm' I think which might have coloured my opinion on the 800 while I had it.

Funny you should mention the v-strom 650 very nearly bought the xt earlier in the year but I got distracted with a ww2 Norton WD restoration

Would like to do some gravel/unsealed roads from time to time an maybe alot more if I grew into it which is why the Himmy an 390 adv caught my eye as you say the s10 an the 1150gsa are big ol gal's so would have to do some thinking on that.

It's great to hear from you guys that have actually done the stuff I'm dreaming of doing at the moment.


Hi Cholo yeah that's the main thing that's concerned me with the Himalayan love the idea of it from a back to basics bike but a 25hp 4 stroke that's slower than my rs125 I had when I first started riding concerns me slightly. Having said that my ww2 Norton has 12hp although I've not rode her yet.

An the need to do motorway work back an forward to both Scotland an Cornwall from Manchester after the Norway trip could be a stickler on the Himmy which is what led me to looking at the 390 adv although that's right at the top end of my budget if not a little past it.

I had a 1150 GSA myself and what shall i say, I loved that bike.

The engine is smooth, the brakes are awesome, huge fuel tank, wind protection, comfortable, capable of everything and good relibility, just check the ABS before you buy one
Sold it at the end with over 100k km with no issue and the new owner is still riding it.

Of course it is a heavy peace of metal, hardly comparable with a 390 KTM or a himalayan but also a different riding.

Reading my first lines you are probably able to predict that I would go for the big engine, especially considering the route you will take (but i also do not like small bikes, even my 400 DRZ was awesome in curves, there was always something missing).
I have done the trip from germany all the way up north, riding as much gravel as possible through sweden and finnland and even the 1150 gsa is heavy, it is a lot of fun sliding in and out of the curves and also possible with such a big machine.

At the and it doesn´t matter which bike you will choose. The trip itself will create great memories riding any bike.

Hi
I haven’t ridden up north yet but have lots of friends who’ve ridden to Nordkapp.
It’s a long way - are you really going to take the time to do knarly off road stuff?
It’s a long way - comfort for me is paramount.

People have mixed feelings about the GS - often through experience.
I’ve had an 1100 for 180K miles and now have a 1200TC for 40K miles - both very reliable.
For long road miles and dirt tracks I’d chose the GS. Of all the big adventure bikes I’ve ridden it has the lowest centre of gravity and is the easiest one to ride and pick up off road.
My wife had an 800gs and it was a pig off road she now has a 1200LC and loves it.
S10 also excellent, just a bit more top heavy.
Himmy - great, low COG, reliable, frugal and chugs along but the seat height will be too low for you IMO.
CB500x - too small for you.
Again if you go KTM I’d say something like a 1050 for comfort and GFM.

If you go 1150 avoid servo ABS and the Adv - my opinion is the GS best feature is the LCG, why loose it?

Don’t forget you can sell your bike after this trip and get something more suitable for your next trip. A GS will hold it’s value.

Good luck with your choice and trip

Thanks GukM an flipflop that's really good information and some great points, I must admit I never thought about the 1150gs as I fancied the fuel range on the GSA.

Yep that was my thought's on the 800gs.

I guess doing light gravel an roads could be the way to go as I wanna see as much as possible while I'm over there redundant after we lost the family print company so one thing I have got is time on my hands.

One thing that did cross my mind was the last time I'd looked at 1150s an owner kindly insisted on me having a go on his gsa with lowered shocks from a gsa so I could see what the servo brakes were like. From memory was a few years ago the cog seemed really nice although I didn't like the servo brakes which put me off it, on hindsight I should have just removed them an bought the bike but things happen. That was a twin spark as well so been leaning towards the single sparker with the earlier abs system.


really appreciating all the replies very helpful.

Tall rider.
European roads.
Perhaps some unsealed.

I think the 1150 is a decent choice.

I bought one to tour South America. It was heavy, and hard work on loose surfaces particularly as I was a novice off-roader and we were two-up. But the trip was a success, I'm alive and I really enjoyed it as a bike.

It was comfortable, and capable if not elegant and graceful in the dirt. It still outperformed me.

Alas, a driver in West London decided I didn't need it, but a scrapyard would.

It was plenty reliable for me: no issues that I recall, and it was pretty standard, as I recall (Bought it in 2005, lost it in 2007).

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Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

Thanks Warthog that's good to hear gutter on it getting taken out though! Sucks when stuff like that happens.

And never happens to the bike you'd be happy to get rid of....

__________________
Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

I’m biased but I would chose an 1100gs (with post 98 gearbox) over the 1150. The servo ABS has serious reliability issues and the 1100 gearbox spacing is, IMHO, better suited to off road riding.
Fit a GS John chip (very cheap) and it’ll return around 54 mpg and iron out any surging.

Thanks for the reply flipflop I was considering the 2002 with the iabs single sparker that's pre servo

I seriously looked at the 1100 too. I never really discounted it.

I just happened to find a 1150 first.

But, if I recall, the 1100 had some rear subframe weakness that the 1150 did not. THis required a couple of "Touratech Hard Parts" to rectify (these are bolt-on braces designed to stiffen up those weak spots).

Not overly expensive as I recall, and mostly probably completely unneccessary for the type of riding you have planned: as I explained, for me it was Patagonia two-up, not Norway.

But once you have the bike, who knows where you'll go next.

__________________
Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

The worst you will face in Norway in summer is long stretches of gravel from roadworks unless you choose to find trails.

The only thing required is new tyres because of distances and hard winter proof road surfaces.

The traffic moves at 90 kph because roads are small and enforcement draconian.

Any of the bikes on your list would do it, but so would a Harley or C90.

I'm no BMW fan so it wouldn't be my choice, but for this there is no reason not to go for one if you are.

Andy

Thanks Warthog an bonnie That's some really ace info I've been having a bit of a nosey at Iceland an Denmark as well at the moment the main focus is on Norway though

That's good to know about the speed limits as you say helps with the bike choice as anything is possible one it, was just reading about route 1 in Iceland looks cool! Guessing there's a bit more unsealed roads in Iceland from some of the pictures I've seen gotta start researching Denmark as well exciting stuff as you all say as well once I've done the Norway one who knows where I could end up going it's all very exciting an really different to my old type of uk riding on my Norton's.

I still keep looking at the Himalayan's but am not sure the 1150's probably my number 1 at the moment unless I started thinking about more technical stuff. It's a tricky one but exciting for sure.

Why not go for a test ride on a Himalayan?

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You will have to do without pocket handkerchiefs, and a great many other things, before we reach our journey's end, Bilbo Baggins. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you. The world is ahead.