Henry I think 'Elefant' says it all! That bike looks a liability in size but thank you for your input

Patrick thank you for taking the time to construct such a post
What I've taken on-board most heartedly from what you've said is looking at spending more $$. Since reading your post I've done some reading on the Vstrom and it reads well. The only thing that I question is its looks, but from what road tests I've read the performance more than makes up for anyone questioning its looks.
Patrick I must admit to having first looked at the Vstrom and thinking.. well not much. Then I was thinking it looked like a tamer version of one bike that has taken my eye these last few years, the Ducati Multistrada. Did I say 'tamer'? Maybe that should read: 'more like a motorbike'

In a matter of hours you've got me thinking about the choice of bikes and applications. Right now I'm looking at Europe and into the Balkan states which the Vstrom looks like fitting into perfectly. In the future I want a bike to travel down to friends in West Africa but that's 18 months-2 years away, so I have to consider the higher tarmac miles and not suffer with a true DS in the mean time.

Patrick if you have any travel logs or photos you feel OK with sharing I'd be appreciative at seeing them.

I can't remember when I first started looking into this but it just goes to show, no matter how much you read and for how long, its other peoples experiences that count

What would we do without 'tinternet' eh

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