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So who are the Adv riders here?

Discussion in 'General' started by rd400racer, Mar 19, 2018.

  1. rd400racer

    rd400racer Well-Known Member

    Looks like I sold my old 96 GS today and I'm ready to join the 21st century. I'm eyeing a 2010-2013 GS, an early WCGS or a 14+ Tenere. Those of you that may own one of these...opinions?
     
  2. ryoung57

    ryoung57 Off his meds

    I’m not but I want to be. Of all the bikes I’ve considered, right now the triumph tiger would probably get the nod. The GS is really expensive and seems to break a lot, and the Yamaha is ugly.
     
  3. Woodsrider

    Woodsrider Well-Known Member

    KTM:clap:
     
    skee, duggram and Britt like this.
  4. Past Glory

    Past Glory I still have several AVON calendars from the 90's

    I bought a 2017 Yamaha back in October and absolutely love it. It's a street bike for me, so I can't give any feedback on dirt riding.
     
  5. motion

    motion Nihilistic Member

    Honestly, KLR650 is the only valid ADV bike, IMHO. Everything else is either too heavy, or too under-powered and can't hold a week's worth of camping gear. I'm talking about actual off-roading here, not giant GS's with street tires.
     
    ChuckS, gixxerboy55 and ChemGuy like this.
  6. rd400racer

    rd400racer Well-Known Member

    My friend has an 1190...just doesn't do it for me.

    And GS's aren't that bad. You can find 10-13's with under 20K miles for 9-12,000.
     
  7. SuddenBraking

    SuddenBraking The Iron Price

    Interested to hear feedback on this. Looking for a 1K for the street and leaning towards an ADV/touring bike.
     
  8. CR750

    CR750 Well-Known Member

    I think you need 2.
    A DR650 or KLR650 for light trail and back wood riding. My preference is the DR because the KLR is well a KLR. I have treated both like an Asian prostitute and they survived well.
    Then I like the 2002-2005 Triumph tiger. With minimal work they can be a very good ADV bike (logging roads only). Buy the good crash bars for the tank and off you go. Love the big tank and comfy ergos, they are a little ugly but the 955i motor makes up for it in friendliness. Oh if you are short this is not the bike for you.

    I bet you could shop around and buy both with low miles for less than 6K.
     
  9. XFBO

    XFBO Well-Known Member

    I still have a '12 Tiger Explorer......it's been one of my fav street bikes. Don't really have any off road experience on it to share but that may change in another 2 months. :D If you plan on spending more time on black top, IMHO, this motor is hard to beat.
     
  10. gt#179

    gt#179 Dirt Dork

    what do you want to do with it and what's your budget?

    the SuperTenere (S10) is a fantastic bike and if you are on a bit of a budget (relative to the BMW) or don't want to do a lot of maintenance, the Yamaha might be the ticket. At least one friend (very good off road racer in FL) has one and can tackle just about anything with it.

    the BMW is a fantastic bike. With the '18 version check out the new dash. Pretty cool, but they still have '17's around so maybe better deals to be had on those. BMW can be hit or miss with some issues (drive shaft, electronics, etc), but usually pretty good and plenty of aftermarket and online support. Might start to see some prices drop, I saw something today about spy photos of a 1250GS, but since it's not my cup of tea I didn't bother to check it out.

    For any bike, again depending upon what you want to do with it, you are better off buying a lightly used one that's already got all the shit done to it. People buy these things, ride around town and then sell them all the time. bags, shield, GPS, protection (skid plates, crash guards, etc), heated stuff, electric gizmos, etc. ADV rider is FULL of used bikes that are normally in good condition, with some basic mods for good deals.

    If you plan to do more street miles and are keeping the costs down, the V-stroms are nice, a few friends have them and are happy with them but they are really just street/graded FS roads bikes, but the new ones are pretty nice. S10 is a bit more rougher FS roads and maybe some easier double track. Ditto the BMW. I would take a serious look at the newer Triumph, particularly the 800 versions if you aren't going to be riding much two up. Solid bikes. one friend (long time KTM 950 rider) just bought a 12GS, sold it a few weeks later (wasn't water cooled) and moved to a new Triumph 800. He's pretty excited about it.

    I have a soft spot for KTM, there's enough flavor to pick whatever suits your style. the new 1090 sounds good to me, more of a stripped version of the 1290 if you want things a bit more "raw". The 1290 has a killer motor, but good suspension, electronics and work well in street bike mode as well. 1090 if you want to ride it more off road, 1290 if you want more street oriented but still more off road than most other brands/bikes. Lots of folks waiting for a 790 adventure but that's going to be a while I'm sure.

    KLR's are nice bikes, and if you want to ride around the world on a budget, it's the bomb. But IMHO it just doesn't put a grin on my face like others do. I've ridden them, and a few friends ride them all over the place. I did a 24 hour race last year with one friend that rode his in the race (Team Heavyweights, 2 950's, a DR650, KLR650 and our "ringer" on a 690 Enduro). No thanks, not interested in joining the milk crate club.

    my "dual sport" is a 950 Super Enduro, but I try to ride it off road as much as I can. Sure I can ride it to alaska and back (a buddy with one just did that this past summer) and might do that in a few years, but it's at home a lot more on trails and in the woods. Still has 100hp so it keeps me entertained on the pavement if needed.

    Where are you, might be able to help out with some test rides if you are in the SE.
     
    ruckusracing likes this.
  11. rd400racer

    rd400racer Well-Known Member


    My plan is Colorado this summer, and try deep into Canada with Prudhoe as a possible goal next summer. Not really into riding a KLR that far. I wouldn't mind having one for tooling around my state though.
     
  12. motion

    motion Nihilistic Member

    They are great bikes. No HP, of course, but dead reliable. Riding mine to Prudhoe last August was a piece of cake!
     
  13. rd400racer

    rd400racer Well-Known Member


    You're a beast! I don't think I have that in me anymore :bow:
     
  14. ChemGuy

    ChemGuy Harden The F%@# Up!

    Yeah...well then youd probably want something with more power....i rode mine (KLR) to work, in Tijuana, 40 mi each way, freeway miles mostly....it sucked....and i had better gearing for higher speed. But i did put like 25K miles on it with no issues
     
  15. lee955i

    lee955i The Traveling Gnome

    Have you considered the Honder Africa Twin? Not as good as a Tiger or Tenere on the roads, but not bad. Much better than either in the dirt.
     
    seroj likes this.
  16. GrayGhost

    GrayGhost Well-Known Member

    I've ridden almost everything on a vstrom 650 , if adv is what you're looking for that's my budget bike for sure (had the 1000 as well, its garbage). No budget abd light enough for sketchy shit? BMW 800
     
  17. motion

    motion Nihilistic Member

    Sketchy, as in a gravel road? I sure wouldn't take an 800 up any gnarly single track. Especially loaded up with ADV gear.
     
  18. motion

    motion Nihilistic Member

    I have the old 750, based in Europe. Its a pig!!!! Would love to have one of the new 1000s. I'm hoping for a smaller, lighter version, though. A guy can dream.

    at.jpg
     
  19. GrayGhost

    GrayGhost Well-Known Member


    Sketchy as in most single track , remember an 800 gs is only about 30 lbs heavier than a KLR. Roy826ex and I actually got moderately lost in Arkansas and ended up in a JEEP Rock crawling area him on a Tenere and me on a Vstrom 650 . We trials our happy asses through it believe it or not. That said, yes a KLR 650 is by far the more capable ADV bike but I just refuse to ride one long distances and the 800 GS is a dream when it comes to that.
     
    roy826ex likes this.
  20. 5axis

    5axis Well-Known Member

    A bit rare but the ktm 640 adv hits the mark pretty well.
    FB_IMG_1519893001126.jpg
     
    Britt likes this.

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