..bikes close to be immortal are: 1. Honda XR650L 2.Suzuki DR650SE 3.Kawasaki KLR650. If you check who is travelling around the world you will understand, that they are using simple single motorcycles as the above. You can travel everywhere and you can do everything, with and on them.

Welcome!
The fact that you want to travel the world on a bike but expect it never to break down worries me. May i sugest you choose your bike now and start preparing it for travel. You see, it doesn't mater if you get the BMW, Kawasaki, Honda or whatever, they ALL BREAK! They all need their short comings remedied and you need to create an intimate relationship with the machine which will become your most important possession in the entire world.
I work as a BMW mechanic part time and have built a few travel bikes. Having owned a 1200 GS, i would not recomend this bike for world travel, for reasons that were stated earlier. On the other hand, an older airhead, like the R80G/S or even the R100 GS, with the proper preperation has proven to be an excellent choice, along with the KLR's, DR's, XR's and XT's, but remember, ALL these bikes need to be studied, scrutinized and prepared for travel before you can proceed. There is only one simple answer to your question, buy a bike that makes you comfortable and puts a smile on your face, research it's shortcomings and prepare it for travel. Make sure you build a proper toolkit and try to get informational CD's on your model. Prepare your luggage and make sure the sub-frame is up to the task, otherwise re enforce it. Low horse power air cooled motors are usually an excellent choice. No bike has a real advantage for parts availability so consider using cleanable air and oil filters. Try to stick to the more common tire sizes, like 21" front and 17"-18" rear, the oil head BMW's have a big disadvantage in this area. Never under estimate the importance of a good skid plate! Make sure your charging system is ready for all the accesories you plan on bolting on, like lights, GPS, heated grips (i recommend them) and heated jacket. Trust me on the heated jacket, you won't regret it
If you buy a chain drive, carry lots of master links and only use a good chain like DID. Toss the alloy sprockets and replace them with steel or stainless steel if you can. Learn how to lubricate it properly, there's lots of opinion there! If you choose a shaft drive, make sure you get a greasable drive shaft and learn how to maintain it. I have around 100k km on mine now,. but i love to work on my bike
Prepare your suspension! Most bikes come with junk non-rebuildable shocks, except for KTM's WP. Ohlins has a good reputation, along with Wilburs, which is my favorite. Wrap your shock spring with a Shock sock to keep out dirt, this is the #1 killer of seals. I like to also cut a piece or rubber from a tire tube and drape it over the shock using a hose clamp to attach it. Protect your front forks with Gaitors to protect them from rocks and such. Consider your bike will be heavily loaded with stuff, adjust or replace your forksprings accordingly.
As reliable as the Japanese bikes are, their handle bars and brake lines are for the most part junk. Pro taper or Magura and stainless lines are a good investment, along with aluminum insert hand guards to protect your fingers and handles.
Do some research on your brake pads and rotors, they will cross reference with other makes of bikes making it easier to get them in foreign countries. I met a guy who thought he could only get brakes for his BMW from the dealer! Spoke wheels are superior to cast and usually repairable. I love the tubeless spoke rims from Behr of Akront used on the BMW GS's, very strong and reliable along with the ease of tubeless repair using a plug. Regardless, you must carry a tube in the event if a side wall puncture which is sometimes unrepairable. Purchase an air-pump, i like the Slime pump. Cheap and good! Practice repairing your tires, you'll need it down the road!
Finally, don't read too much into the bike bashing that goes on here, it's a waste of energy and really doesn't help you. One bike is as bad as another if neither are properly prepared for travel.
Enjoy!
BTW, i really like that new 660 Tenere, it just might be my next one. I'm looking forward to some good reviews in the future.

I agree! Listen to people that have used the bikes for tasks like your own, not to the ones that have read something somewhere.


As other has said there is no immortal bike. The idea of buying an oldish bike and prepare it yourself is good!

Another important question is where do you want to go? What type of roads? Will you carry much luggage? What petrol-range do you need? How many km do you want to ride?

Thanks everybody i v made a deciscion it going to be a 1989' Xt600 on wich i will place 3 trunks bags tenere tank the full load to live on the road for min 3 months iv anybody got good tips for this bike what are its weak points please share it with me

have a save ride everybody

Hmmmmmm - dont see any road bikes in these lists ? Before you laugh Nick Saunders and this dutch guy whose name i cant remember both used R1 s and they went off road there is also an australian guy who used a Fireblade !! If you aint going off road big time why use a trail bike :confused1:
Ok they may be a bit more tech but i defy anyone to say a gs IS MORE RELIABLE
And to hammer home the point my mates Fazer 1000 has just hit 83000 miles used every day and has never had a problem
Just a thought - bound to be plenty of replies to this one i bet Im not ignoring you cos im off to Turkey on my Blackbird - and they are certainly more reliable than a Gs .

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Yam Xt,
Good choice.
Both big enough, and small enough.

Enjoy

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Hello All,

i would like to retract my suggestion of the Yamaha XT350

In its place I would go for the bigger, more reliable Africa Twin.



It is heavier than the XT 350, but also has a lot more carry capacity.
If you are going solo, then the Africa Twin, will be your excellent companion.
You could probably load it with about 80 kg of baggage, and she would not complain.

I have had both the XT 350, which was good, make no mistake.
But now i have the Africa Twin, 750 Adventurer, I can say the AT is a more fuller and complete machine.

'vette

Thanks for that Mr Ron. That's probably the best and most accurate reality check. Maybe Grant should stick this in the prepping section or something. Can't add anything to that other than maybe

+1


Good choice ivandebruyn. We rode from Dublin to Vladivostok on an 88 XT. It think the 89 is still a 3AJ version. My experience was that it definately needs a suspension upgrade. Build a steel arc shaped bracket over the read brake calliper. The exhaust can touch/hit it when your shock bottoms out. We broke 3 and had them all get send out leaving us without a rear brake for over a thousand kilometers. They crack just above the rear pivot point. The fairing is also very wide making is fragile for cracking when you come off. Maybe also look at replacing the front indicators with flush car ones. We had a lot of worn and broken thread all over the place, so maybe get the ones used on regular services retapped of helicoiled. Definately check the oil everyday.

These are ours in Mongolia. Sold them when we got back in Oz. They didn't like the salty coastal air much.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

I still don't understand how people can recomend bikes when they have no idea what the bike will be used for.

Interesting question. I agree Mr. Ron in everything he said because I did everything wrong. And, like a miracle, I am still riding farther and longer. I mean, current bikes are all good and all bad. All of them break down. And it is a mess when happens, but that is the game. Waiting for a spare while stuck in Kazakhstan is part of this business.

I have to confess I’ve been riding all my life and I do not know a s…t about engines and mechanic issues. I am a sinner. I decided riding the world one day and I didn’t know how to change spark plugs. Of course, after few months on the road, you learn how to change spark plugs, tyres, wheels, oil, filters and even money at borders.

I am saying I didn’t know a s…t about Ted Simon, Touratech, Long Way Down, aluminium panniers and all the stuff. I just bought a preowned BMW 1200 G/S with plastic suitcases, no GPS, no new shocks and even no BMW gear, and went to Samarkand. Later I went to a lot of different places but I am still feeling like a foreigner riding crappy bikes and not well prepared for the adventure. But like the big fly who keeps on flying with small wings, I keep on riding farther and longer.


Even BMW found surprisingly riding the World in their standard bikes (not too confident, isn't it?)

http://www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk/news/?news_table=national_news&article_id=69


No matter about bikes, all of them are good and all of them are bad. Is about you. Do you want to ride? Ride.

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www.miquelsilvestre.com

I personally have no problem whatsoever with CANbus. Because it is a protocal, there is nothing to fail. It a language, or a program. The components operated by CANbus are what might fail, like micro switches, frayed wires and occasionally the computer itself. These failures are rare, and are no different than broken chains, dead coils and magnetic pick-up failure. CANbus has been around for a long time and is nothing new. The automotive industry has been using CANbus since the 90's, and industry even longer. CANbus is far simpler than the standard wiring system, is cleaner, lighter and has the added bonus of telling you where the problem is as opposed to having to diagnose it yourself. Most people are afraid of CANbus because they don't understand what it is or how it works. Carrying a GS911 diagnostic tool in your kit is no different that carrying the special exhaust nut tool for an air-head, or the right size axel nut wrench for your Suzuki. Like i mentioned before, you need to understand the short comings of your particular bike.
My thoughts on Fuel Injection: I recently purchased a Suzuki DR650. Excellent bike! Tough, solid low compression engine, air cooled and anvil like reliability. BUT... if there is one thing i could change, it would be binning the carb and installing fuel injection I hate carburetors! They suck in altitude change and are innefficient. They are a pain in the ass to work on and IMHO are complicated, filled with moving parts and have far more components that are prone to failure. FI on the other hand is far simpler, consisting of a pump, an injector, an oxygen sensor and a controll box. The only weak point is the pump, which is easily packable. FI is OLD technology!! Every diesel engine in the world has it. It's easy to fix, clean, and diagnose and rarely fails. I have NEVER read about a FI failure, never! I have read about pump failures, just like you read about much more common coil, condenser, spark plug and chain failure. It's cleaner, more efficient and over all better IMHO. People should not be affraid of FI!
People talk about being able to fix everything in the middle of nowhere. In fact i used to think this way, until i started travelling and realised that packing absolutely everything was futile! Why?? The world is full of people, over 7 billion of them if i recall! If in the event you have a severe breakdown in the middle of nowhere, instead of packing with you absolutely everything including the kitchen sink in the unlikely event of using it, i would rather take the chance and deal with the problem when it arrives. There will always be someone around who can help. There will always be a truck or a car that can tow you, and the world is filled with cities with even more people who are capable to fix anything. There is always a way and an answer. Now i pack only my essential tools and spare parts that are absolutely show stoppers in the event of failure, thats it. Your best defence is learning how to use your resources, which the world is full of!

+1 to that. The MZ gives me no hassle and if it does I have a whole spare carb that I could either fit as it is or strip off one of the six or seven bits that actually do more than hold it together. Same went for the Enfield although the AMAL was very poor construction wise. I dare say you can get bits for these anywhere in the world in three days. The Bonnevilles twin, diaphramed, linked, heated things on the otherhand would be well replaced with a simple pump and squirt set up (and will be once the small matter of about £5000 is sorted).

I had BMW R1100's and disliked only two things about the FI. One, It was pointlessly set up for a few extra HP or marginally flatter torque curve and so was no more efficient than carbs (41 mpg no matter how you rode them). Two, the loom started to wear at five-seven years old and the parts (Bosch relays etc.) weren't standard and off the shelf. Compared to the Triumph carbs it was no better or worse. Now the Tenere system (when they finally get the map right) looks promissing at 70 mpg. The hardware is 30 years old, but the bike software has IMHO only caught up in the last few years as the Euro regs are killing off carbs and they can't just sell a carbed bike to those of us who complained about surging and stalling etc.

Andy

1200 GS .... good in Europe where there is lots of mechanics who can deal with all that electronic stuff . Definetly is very strong, very hard to brake but very hard, close to impossible, to fix any problem since its very electronic itself ...

I would go for a bike which is full mechanical .. dont worry too much for your mechanical skills . You will learn on the way (which i think how everybody learned....hard way)

I would go for a bike with a supplier who ships parts worldwide ...

I would go for a 2 cylinder bike ...

I used to work for WABCO, we made ECU's for truck and trailer brake systems. The number of actual electronic failures was less than 1% of all problems we saw. The rest of the issues were a mixture of "suicides" (mostly involving welding or jump starting) and plain mis-diagnosis. The most common problem? Water in the wiring. If they'd plugged the "old" ECU back in the same day as the new one it would have worked. I used to love the calls that started "I've switched 3 ECU's and none of them work", the answer is "then it's not the ECU". The fact people are scared of the black box means all logic goes out of the window.

The problem on the road is finding the problem. In a workshop it's easy, just plug in and the vehicle tells you. Would you go on a big trip without a multi meter? Then why have an R1200GS a thousand miles from the nearest service tool? You can do field repairs (and the big tip; assume it's NEVER the electronic), but the skills are very different from finding a problem with an older style system.

The conclusion is the same of course.

Andy

Hello everybody,

I've taken in this thread with lots of amusement by the high pitched controversy re. BMs reliability.

Not wanting to put any oil into the flames and admitting that you CAN be lucky to ride an airhead without any failures, my personal experience is another one

I've had an R100GS, rode it for 4 years from 30k to 100k kms, mostly in europe on tarmac, with some, but not much travels on gravel and sand. In this time I needed to replace/overhaul gearbox twice, shaft twice, alternator twice, starter motor twice, diode board twice, ignition switch once, hall sensor once, front wheel once (leaking air), rear shock once (snapped literally), brake rotor once (coming loose from the hub), to name just a few. This gave me some unpleasant situations in the libyan sahara, eastern anatolia, christmas day in southern spain and so on. three times it was a show stopper, vehicle to be towed / trucked. Total cost of spares (without consumables) 3500 Euro. Now thats impressive....contacted BMW, they wouldnt want to know about it, telling me I was the only one to experience all this...warranty? Nope.

After this I was absolutely fed up with the BM, sold it and, as my wife got a 89 transalp with absolutely nothing going wrong on it in all this time, 2004 went for a 99 Africatwin with 40 k km.

Now, after many travels and a 9 months trip all over South America the AT is at 100 k, the Transalp at 130k and all we had to change after the trip was the head bearings.. Oh, I forgot, the AT's speedo worm gear wore out in Patagonia...

So, for me also BMW is finished. Altough I would not use all the bad language used in this thread so far, there were times when would have ranted the same way or even worse....

Its unlucky as the BMs are made in my country but for me Japan rules...and that is not second hand opinion but bitter experience...

Martin

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