"Funny Novelty" is exact right!

There is a member here from India (I believe lives in the states now) who spent time on the Himalayan and wrote about it maybe 6 months or year ago.

Very critical review. I would not expect the bike to do well in mud ... TIP ... the DR650 or CB500X won't do it well either!

But the reality is the Enfield fails in numerous important areas. I would avoid like the plague.

If you read the forums I linked for you you'll find at least 6 seat choices.

A German guy on the DR Riders forum recently joined. He talked about his DR650 just recently bought ... it's a nice one and he says they ARE around in Germany. read the thread.
Who Knew? Check it out:

https://drriders.com/hola-folks-t22376.html

Thanks I hadnt found that forum yet, could come in handy. I also hadn't really given serious thought to looking on Ebay if I do indeed go with a DR, but I guess there's no reason not to. I'd be a good excuse to be able to ride it back home

I agree also...the point about pillion comfort is not to be understated. I'm trying to keep that in mind

I guess I'm not sure what serious off road is to other riders, probably more serious that what I am used to. But I can say I did some pretty tough muddy/snowy roads in Kyrgyzstan, and the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan (Wakhan valley route) all fully loaded and with a passenger...on a 1979 Royal Enfield without a single modification to enhance it's performance. I also did about 6000km two-up fully loaded in Mongolia, about 4,000 of it off road, on a 150cc bike. I guess just to make the point that it can all be done at 120lbs AND with horrible machines, not because I am a great rider, but because A.) both those bikes were super low which gave me better control B.) Neither was excessively heavy, and C.) I take it pretty easy

But yes, seat height is definitely important in my case...so is weight. But maybe seat height even moreso, so guess that's a plus one for the CB500x.

Anyways, I've got it narrowed down to these two, which I feel is a great accomplishment. So as you have all prescribed Im gonna try and ride some.

BTW @JM0, I watched some of Juans videos...including the one where he and you compare the level 1 to level 2 RR kit...helpful. Thanks.