XT660Z or XT1200Z 2up across Asia
 

Hi all, as mentioned in my intro thread my wife and I plan on travelling east from Istanbul for a lengthy period...somewhere between 6-12 months beginning next year. There's no set route as such but we will want to swing by India to visit family.

I currently own an 1200Z which we have used for countless rides across Turkey and Europe. It has performed flawlessly and is very satisfying riding two up, specifically over tarmac. I dropped the bike with empty panniers recently in Greece and found it relatively easy to pick up, however I have a herniated disc and can't imagine it being an easy lift after 4 or 5 drops in rugged terrain.

So I'm now thinking maybe the S10's smaller sibling, the 660Z, might be a suitable alternative. It's about 50kilo's lighter, has a large tank, decent enough power and a proven reliable engine.

I realise the S10 is reliable too, but dropping her could cause greater damage potentially leaving us stranded road/trail side. Also, if there were technical issue I'm guessing parts would be harder to source than the 660.

I used to have an XT660X which we used to travel 5500kms around Turkey 2 up over a couple of weeks. Sure it was cramped but it did the job. One of my main concerns is whether the 660Z would be able to carry 2 people, hard panniers and luggage? I would envisage installing an upgraded suspension unit and if possible strengthening the subframe.

So....I would love to hear peoples thoughts on which bike they would chose for a 2up trip across Asia and potentially further afield, giving reasons too.

I have xt660z tenere and I like it a lot but I wouldn't mind it had a bit more power. Nevertheless I ride from time to time with my wife and there is no problem. IMO models after 2012 don't need for suspension upgrade, they put
progressive spring starting that years and it's more then satisfactory for normal riding on and off road. It's reliable, relatively cheap and crash-proof, tested frequently :)

Regarding ST1200 - personally I would not take this bike for any kinda off-road situation especially when traveling far. First, it's very heavy alone, not to mention when fully loaded plus pillion. It's simply dangerous when crashed, many cases on the net with broken legs under the Super Tenere. Second, it has vulnerable "belly", again check info on the net. Very easy to crack the oil filter or oil pan, even with factory skid plate. Besides that, costly when dropped, more expensive parts. But, if you travel only pavement
Super Tenere definitely has an edge here.

A Tenere 660 would be comfortable and big enough for two persons on a long journey but the big single cylinder caracteristics that are made even worse with the very lean set up on the engine is far from ideal, especially with two up.

I am taking a Tenere660 around the world and it has been very very very far from reliable. And I know several others with heaps of problems as well.

Personally I would go for something else if I was going two up on a long distance ride. Since youre two up any hardcore offroading is out of the question, an ok and relatively firm gravel road yes, but no real bad stuff. So you might as well take your 1200. I would take something like a V-Strom 650 or similar, maybe even a Honda CBb500X. For the economical aspect of it.

WeeStrom or VStrom
 

I would go with the Vstrom suggestion of the last posting, but maybe the DL1000 version.
That's my idea anyway for my next bike: better value than the other large bikes and it seems to have a large comfortable pillion seat.
You will know that if your pillion is uncomfortable then the journey can be a misery.

Hey guys, we've ditched the 660 idea so it's looking likely that we'll be on the S10.

As mentioned previously, nothing seriously planned but it's either Istanbul - Mongolia then back on the trans-siberian express, or Ist-India and possibly onwards. Was wondering what the deal with unleaded fuel is over those parts. Will I need to strip/remove the cat from the S10, or is unleaded generally available all over the place?


edit. another question, is the CDP bike value taken from the local market value? Does it have to be accurate? My S10 is worth roughly $11k here in Turkey, but it's probably worth half that in USA/Europe (2012 model).

About the bike value/Carnet value, you better ask the issuing company, they are the only one who will know how to put a value on the bike and CDP for sure. For example when I got the Carnet for my bike in Norway the guy at the automobil association automatically set the lowest possible value available according to their policy for my bike. Which was probably half of what is was worth on the market in my home country.