Tenere 700 or Africa Twin would get my vote. The KTMs are nice as well, but just like my cars I prefer and only buy Japanese due to design & maintenance philosophy. The biggest bike I'd ever really want would be actually be the Tenere... am more partial to lighter, lower powered dual sports/offroad bikes being used for 80%+ offroad orientated including mud & sand. Honda CRF300L Rally would be my interest in side grading to a street legal dual sport from my Kawasaki KLX 300R due to 75% larger fuel tank, rally tower style windshield, and all the useful accessory options available where the Kawasaki is lacking.
In reply to gearheadE30 :
The transmission on the 690 isn't great gearing wise, but I found the gearing to be similar to my old 640 Adv, at least in freeway cruising. It'd be nice if it had a wide ratio box, but, well, it doesn't.
End of the day, while I certainly would like the smoothness of a twin and maybe cruise control, I just don't want to pick up that extra 75-100lbs that they weigh over my 690. A lot of that is due to where I live and what I ride. If I had to ride more pavement to get to dirt, then I'd probably take that hit in weight. Since I can get to dirt really quickly from my house and hit the Alpine Passes easily, that weight is a real detriment to me, especially since I'm an average, at best, rider.
For Tom, if he wants better highway performance but without much weight penalty over his 650, it's going to be a "middle" weight bike that's around 450-475lbs. If cruise is a must, that knocks out the Tenere, at that point it's the Aprilia Toureg (small dealer network, new bike, unknown reliability) or the KTM 890. The Africa Twin weighs more and performs worse than both the Toureg and 890...
It's certainly very personal, in no small measure by your body dimensions.
Just took the BMW F750GS Low out, and was quite disappointed in it. That's not a bike I'd care to try to get through anything technical or low speed demanding.
A year and a half ago, I demoed the Pan America, and was blown away by that machine. Currently trying to decide if I want to sell some toys to buy one.
wawazat
SuperDork
5/22/23 7:20 p.m.
How about the smaller Ducati Multistrada-the 950S? A buddy has a year old one but wants to get back to a bike more like his previous Monster. For sale in MI if you're interested.
mdshaw
HalfDork
6/9/23 8:07 p.m.
The Transalp XL750 looks really interesting but then it means buying new because I don't thing they're even for sale here yet.
Whelp, I did a thing....
Picture featuring skeptical Nicole:
I'll start a build thread in the morning.
ddavidv
UltimaDork
1/23/24 8:04 a.m.
The obvious choice. I just have never been one to like the BMW drivetrain. You are either a BMW guy, or you ain't.
ShawnG
MegaDork
1/23/24 9:26 a.m.
In reply to ddavidv :
The telelever front feels weird to me.
I can't explain it but it almost feels like a tiny bit of lag from the steering input. You tell the bike to turn and a split second later it actually does it.
Once you get used to it, you don't even notice. It just felt a bit different after riding conventional bikes for a long time.
docwyte
UltimaDork
1/23/24 9:30 a.m.
Obviously great bike but god help you if you need to pick it up off road. They're easily 600lbs before you pack stuff on them.
In reply to Tom Suddard :
I would like to note that as this photo was being taken, I was saying "This is a horse. You bought a gas-powered horse."
ShawnG
MegaDork
1/23/24 1:46 p.m.
In reply to docwyte :
My Stelvio weighs the same and it's not bad to pick it up.
You only want to do it once a day though.
In reply to Tom Suddard :
I've had several R1200GS's: three '05-08' hexheads which is what you bought, a '11 camhead, and two wasserboxers '15 and '16. Every upgrade on those has been a spectacular improvement over the previous model. As noted, they are pigs (or horses!) and can be a handful to manage in technical terrain. The way to make them easier to pick up is to not drop them. Or make sure there are other people around.
My '15 and '16 GSA's are the best bike I've ever owned. They'll do anything I ask of them and then some. I've routinely rolled kids on liter sportbikes on twisty roads but some of that if not all is amount of schooling I've had over the years. Nontheless, they absolutely rock. I look forward to your build thread.
