Thanks Flipflop - appreciated. The more I've read the more I'm erring towards the Honda CRF300Rally. Lightness and reliability are very good. Rear suspension can be upgraded although I'm only 85kg and I believe they are designed about this weight. Okay, the power is not exactly mind blowing but a lot is achievable with a good knobby tyre and a low gear given the lightness of the machine.

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That does make a lot of sense Turbofurball. I've seen Urals operate in Siberia where imports struggled with the cold and little light Chinese bikes getting to places that the big adventure bikes struggled

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Hey rachel_norfolk and thanks for your post. So currently I have a GS1200A at home here in Ireland and a KLR650 somewhere in Zambia. I've done a lot of biking in Siberia and really want to take it to a new level with some projects on what they call Zimniks or winter roads. Lightness will trump all. I'm strongly erring towards the CRF300Rally right now. The GS is great 2up mopping up European Roads. The KLR is fine although a little old school and the fact that I fitted Aluminum Panniers was a lesson learned re:hard luggage which I'd never do again.
Declan

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It depends how 'Hardcore' your adventure is.

If you want a proper off-road capable bike then you can literally scrub 90% of the suggestions above.

I love DRZ's. The gearbox doesn't suit the road well. But it will do 65mph all day long with a few mods and gearing. And if you're in places with no real roads, then you'll be lucky if you're riding at 50mph.

It's old school. But not XT600 old school. It's watercooled, proven reliable, simple enough and comes with modern quality cartridge forks and a fully adjustable showa rear shock. There is a reason they're shooting up in price.

I think the CRF300 is a contender if you don't mind the gutless motor. It pulls the bike around fine but you have to wind them up. Suspension needs immediate attention if you're to ride it seriously. 6th Gear and FI are hard attributes to ignore. The Rally is more weight. If you're getting all that fairing and weight just buy a 600cc etc.

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You can't ride offroad on Iceland as far as I know, but you can find some terrible roads where choice of bike matters a bit.

Not a 300, but the Yamha wr250r is a really capable, light weight and reliable dualsport with an extensive dealer network world wide. This bike is not a commuter bike in wolf skin, but the real deal. It is not like the wr250f which is a racing beast that needs a lot of maintenance and is unsuitsble for travel even if you made it road legal, but the wr250r is based on this racing bike, but with a more road friendly engine, all the road legal requirements, and more comfortable suspension, etc. This is the bike I would have chosen as a second bike for weekend trail riding - if I was to do it often.

If it has to be a minimum of 300, then the Honda CRF300 Rally might be something to conscider, but if you want to ride it hard on the roughest stuff, then you might want to beef up the suspension. As for a travel bike that will see some really rough stuff, I think it is a better option than the yammie. Also the Honda, like the Yamaha, is a reliable bike with an extensive dealer network (even better). This would probably be the bike I would have chosen for myself for very long adventures - and keep it pretty much stock (even the suspension, except for s stronger rear spring). I would be happy to have this as my only bike.

If you want power and borderline out of the box race ready, then conscider either the Husqvarna 701 Enduro or the KTM 690 Enduro - pretty much the same bike. It is ofcourse in a completely different price bracket than the two above. (I know that if I was to purchase a bike in this price bracket, it would probably end up costing an extra 100% in mods to get it to be a "perfect". I wo (strengthened sub frame, larger tank, new cockpit...). Also, with the KTN/Husqvarna you don't get the reliability and the extensive and superior dealer network of the two Japanese options. When contemplating the KTM/Husqvarna, I would probably end up with a T7 Rally instead (which I am very glad I actually ended up doing), and maybe conscider a WR20R as a second bike if I were to go riding trails every other weekend. The T7 for me is the perfect compromise as an allround bike for me (touring, commuting, and the occasional one month adventure in Morocco or crossing Iceland, or just horsing around on a trail a seldom once in a while).

Now, for a really long adventure, like crossing both the African and South American continent, I might find that I'd want to get a Honda 300 Rally and sell it after the trip - or just take the T7, which is a bit heavy, but is all farkled out and tailored to my preferences, and is very capable even stock. The T7 is a bike I will own for many years and be racking up a ton of kms on - on all types of trips. I would only conscider something different for a very special need - like a one+ year RTW or weekend trail warrioring every other weekend.

I rode a BMW F650GS Dakar criss cross and around Iceland, fairly stock bike, and found it to be a very good bike for this. Some would argue that the lighter bikes would have been better here, but I would disagree - the going doesn't get so tough here that the 40 kgs less matters much, and the Dakar has many redeeming factors that made it an awesome bike for this trip.

I have been to Russia, but not in Siberia. As for Siberia, I have no experience, but I would assume mud would be something to endure - and that a Light weight yammie or Honda would outshine a heavy T7 massively.

In short, take a look at the Honda. I think it might be the best option.

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A few more great ride reports - bikes used were (I think) BMW Xchallange KTM (not sure which) 230 Honda.

If you fancy a trip over, look up ‘Nathan the Postman’ - he does days out on small adventure bikes, including on trails and you can ride the usual suspects back to back.
North Devon is lovely and he’s a top bloke into the bargain.

@Declan how did this pan out for you with bike choice..?? Just gone through this thread and couldn't help but seek comfort from comments that bolster my decision to build a dual sports 'Unicorn' using the mighty CB500F engine. 140kg is asking a lot mind. Be interesting to see which way you went on this.....

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I currently have a BMW X Challenge. Before I bought it I struggled with whether to get a KTM 500 EXC or the X Challenge.

Are you planning on riding to Mongolia/ Siberia? If your plan is to ride all those miles to get there than get at least a 500 cc bike.

The X Challenge sounds like a good fit for you, but it does have a couple of annoying flaws. It has an aluminum sub frame, so if you break that in Mongolia, good luck. The original clutch cover has a flaw and that is a $300 fix, so make sure the previous owner has fixed it. The stock suspension sucked, so make sure the previous owner upgraded it. You check the oil under the bike's seat which is a super dumb design on BMW's part. Despite being a good bike, it came out in 2008 with the global recession, so hardly anyone bought the bike and BMW has stopped supporting it with spare parts. The good thing about the X Challenge is 3000 mile oil change intervals. It is good both off road and on road. It is light enough that you can pick it up by yourself.

The KTM500EXC has a great reputation but the largest problem is 600 mile oil change intervals because of a 1.5 liter engine. You can upgrade it to carry 2 liters of oil, so you can extend the intervals. At 240 lbs it does not have a sub frame, but it can be upgraded. 240 lbs!

I test drove a Yamaha T7 and it seemed like a good bike, but not a bike I would spend the $$ on.

I have owned a DRZ400 and I think you would really like this bike. They are a lot of fun "off road." The 400 cc's isn't enough if you have to ride hundreds of miles on highways.

The CRF300 rally at 300 cc's is too small.

The CRF450L looks like a promising bike, but it has the 600 mile oil change interval and used ones are still too pricey.

Rather then having to ride a bike all the way to Mongolia and back from the UK, a better idea might be to buy the bike there. Watch the Hubb for sale section and when a bike comes up for sale in Mongolia, negotiate a fire-sale price, fly there and ride it for 3 weeks. When you are done fire-sale it to someone else. If a $1000 bike breaks down in Mongolia who cares?

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