Choose me a "watered down" adventure bike.

I've been bikeless for about 22 mos. It's getting tedious. I really wanted a bike I could put some panniers on and ride on or off road but with a predominance for great road manners.

I have been shopping BMW 1150 GSAs thinking they were probably the silver bullet but people are asking CRAZY money for them. $7k for a 12 year old bike with 60k on the odo is nuts to me. The ones that go for half that are torn up, used up or have something broken that needs repair.

I'm not really going to ride it across Mongolia... I'm going to ride up an occasional narrow track to a mountain top or hit a few dirt roads in questionable repair for a hundred miles of every 3000 of windy asphalt. Who else plays in this space that gives my 80% of the BMW at 50% of the cost?

I had a DRZ400S that I bought for it's dual purposeness. It was great as a dirtable bike on the road, but a little too heavy for the woods. It would get a little buzzy on the highway, but was fantastic on windy back roads. I'd say give one a try. They have a huge aftermarket.

Vstrom? ER6?

I paid $3500 for my DRZ with about 1200 miles on it. I rode it for a year and when it came time to renew the insurance, I put it on Craigslist and sold it two hours later for $3400. If I hadn't bought the Montesa, I probably would have kept it.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: ...80% of the BMW at 50% of the cost?

KLR 650. First thing that came to mind. I swear I have seen them for $6-7 grand NEW, but I haven't really looked in a while.

SEADave wrote:

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: ...80% of the BMW at 50% of the cost?

KLR 650. First thing that came to mind. I swear I have seen them for $6-7 grand NEW, but I haven't really looked in a while.

Not in comparison to a 1150 GS Adventure. Not saying they're not good bikes (they are) but the GSA is in a different league.

GPS, have you looked at prices for regular 1150GSs? At least around here they are much cheaper (OK, more in the $5k range) than the Adventure and they're almost as capable. Not to mention that they've got a somewhat lower seat compared to the Adventure.

I did own a GSA for a little while, they're great for long distance touring (hence the miles you see on them) but not a bike I'd try to take off road. I'd prefer to do that with a 250 , but that's more because of my skill level. Keep in mind that with the GSA you get a choice of it being really tall or really, really tall depending on the seat height.

Also, with the 1150GS/A, unless you buy it from someone who has been meticulous when it comes to maintaining them, I'd skip the ones with the servo brakes + ABS. The servo units absolutely need to be serviced exactly as per schedule if you want to avoid an expensive headache, but unfortunately you can't get ABS without it.

I've ridden a KLR and it is a paint shaker. I think they are cool but in no way something I want to be on blacktop with for hours at a time.

I am looking for the functional equivalent of a VFR with 3 more inches of travel, case guards and knobbies. A capable street bike that can ride a little off-road as opposed to a dirt bike with headlights. It needs to carry things and go down the highway at pace so wee displacement bikes are out.

The Vstrom is the right category I think - prices for the 1000DL are under $4k. What do I need to know about them? Common issues, etc. Are the 650s strong enough for gear + rider or will I be pissed off I didn't get he litre bike on the first all-day ride in the mountains?

This is about as "watered down" as it gets:

I ride a KLR and would certainly recommend against it for your purposes.

I think that the V-Strom might be a good choice. All of the singles will shake you to death and a BMW GS is too big! Argue all you want but it is if you want to do more than fire roads. The V-strom is a killer road bike and a fair bit lighter than the BMW GSs. I have heard that it is very much like you would expect, an SV650 with way more travel.

How about DR650? I think they are everywhere. DR650SE

Maybe you can find an old Trans Alp.

Re the DR650, make sure you don't buy a first generation one - they have hardly any aftermarket support. 2nd gen has very good support.

Woody wrote: Maybe you can find an old Trans Alp.

Holy hell! That has 90s sex appeal out the wazoo! Furious interwebz searching to commence in 5, 4, 3, ...

I think it actually has 1987 sex appeal.

I've got about $1600 invested in my ratty, old KLR650. Great for local rides and fairly short highway jaunts. Fun for cheap money.

VFR800 with dualsport tires on it.

pres589 wrote: VFR800 with dualsport tires on it.

Is this a real thing people do - or are you just saying that because you know I loved my VFR more than any other bike I've owned (or ridden since, actually).

In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:

I dunno but this is my campsite a few weeks ago in the Michigan UP;

The thing I don't like about this VFR and this idea is having basically no way to throw crash bars onto these bikes and have something solid to attach to at the bottom. Never mind trying to hide the cooling system and electrical wiring on these bikes without the fairings installed. There's a lot of junk hanging around these things.

Then again, there's this thing; http://www.bikeexif.com/honda-vf1000r

Wow that Trans Alp is awesome.

I ended up with a DR650 for my commuter and trips onto trails close to me. Honestly wouldn't recommend for extended rides on the highway, though with a windscreen it will hopefully be better. Its also heavy enough that ATV trails are about my limit - but I'm not an amazing rider and with practice could probably do more. Still lots of fun though!

Yeah - a naked bike would be a lot easier to protect from a low speed tip-over on loose dirt/sand but the flat torque of the 750 and the balance of the bike would possibly be fine - maybe it could use a taller 1st though.

I'm kinda digging the TransAlp 650 above. They are not exactly prevalent on ebay though. I've found exactly zero for sale in the US.

See if you can get a ride on a VStrom 650? I kind of like the 1000 as well, having ridden neither, but looking from a distance.

Sportster "Scrambler"

The bike shown is a pre-2004, and has the rigid-mount motor. About 50# lighter than the later rubber-mount bikes. Need longer rear shocks to get the stance.

In reply to FSP_ZX2:

I'm actually thinking about buying another one to build in that style.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: I'm kinda digging the TransAlp 650 above. They are not exactly prevalent on ebay though. I've found exactly zero for sale in the US.

A friend of mine had two of them and I think his brother had one too, but they were never easy to find.