Which 600-750
 

Myself and a couple of mates will be riding from UK to Aus/NZ over varied terrain so are looking for something that will handle a bit rougher stuff.
We have already decided that around the 600-750cc range should fit the bill but are now having a bit of difficulty trying to decide on a model. It appears even after we have decided on a particular model it will then need to be research thoroughly. The general models we are looking at are the following: XR 600, XT 600, SUZUKI DR 600s, F650, KTM/KLR etc. BUT I may be missing a few of this Varity of bike! We have the ability to make modifications as far as racks luggage etc and would lean more to a cheaper and reliable bike then comfort. We will have around £2000 to spend but the cheaper the better. Any ideas would be great !-!

For the Suzys I would recommend the 650SE over the older ones: lighter (165kg wet), no balancer chain, electric start. Got one myself, about to buy the second for our trip. Check out the details in the Suzuki Tech forum.

However, they are hard to find in the UK.

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Salut from Southern France, the bikers' paradise,

Peter.

If you're looking at the F650, make sure you visit www.f650.com

That site is absolutely one of the best single-focused model sites for motorcycles out there and the FAQ's will help you tremendously.

You'll struggle to get a decent F650 for £2,000 in the UK. If you do find one at that price, be sure to check it thoroughly.

If you're set on a single cylinder bike, I'd go for a Honda XR6XX of some sort but you won't find one with electric start for under £2,000. You can get DR650's with e/start in that price range though. If you do buy the older DR600, let me know as I have a whole bike for spares/repair with many workshop tools for sale.

Steve

We wnt 2 up thropugh Marocco on the Piste on a 1989 xt600 Tenere I am 5'10" and my pillion is 6'1" it was a bit cramped with luggage etc but the bike held up will which is pretty good for a cost of £1200 with 36000km on the clock. IOts fast is and efficient

BD

Transalps have been around for years, so finding one for less than £2K shouldn't be too much of a problem. They are reliable, comfortable and quite strong. Also Suzuki's Freewind 650 might fit the bill. I reckon you could get a good low mileage one for under £2K, if you can find one as they never sold that well.

i got myself a 3AJ tenere here in oz fer riding the outback.i also ride bout 170kms everyday, also have a cbr1000.was suprised at the tenere s roadhandling. nimble and fast.aircooled not much maintanence issues too. i think its a very reliable mobike fer touring.

Thanks for that everyone. Ended up with a
XT Tenere 88 3aj. Should do the job nicely