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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

I think almost everything has been said about the different bikes.
It ALL depends on what you want to do, and where you want to go.
1- light = better
2- simple = easy to repair anywhere
3- technology = more problems that nobody in the world can solve

I had the same questions when I left 20 months ago. I long hesitated between a 250MZ with side car, and the bike I had for everyday. I chose to keep my bike and see what happens. So I went opposite the obove recommandations, but it does not prevent me from enjoying the trip:

- A k100 RS is heavy, very heavy, and to put it back on its wheels is tough, very tough, particularly with the wheight of luggages (three 45 litres Givi paniers)
- A k100 RS does not go off road that easily.

BUT:
- The engine is bullet proof
- since I added a side car, I don't hesitate to go off road
- You can't find parts, but you don't need parts (well, almost...).

Now, we're two of us travelling, and the side car is kind of helpful...

Regarding mecanic:
I have a master in Philosophy, and was a philosophy teacher for few years. So you can imagine that using my hands was not part of the job requirements. But maintaining a bike is just about nuts, bolts, screws and sometimes more complicated stuff. But it is something you can easily lear, if you want to.
Buy the bike, buy the technical manual, completely dismount the engine, try to put it back together (if possible, with all the components you took off the bike), and that's it! Do it three times, you'll know your engine.
Good luck, and enjoy yourself!

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