So who are the Adv riders here?

On-road or off? I have a friend from France who has been doing the Balkans 100% off-road on a DR650. Its unbelievably epic. I've done all of that area on my Africa Twin on-road, but hope to do it off-road some day. Like going back in time... no people, wonderful scenery, cheap.

 

Idaho or maybe the Kentucky Adventure Trail if you want east coast challenging ride. Some friends rode Ecuador a few years ago. Looked like a fantastic trip. Rented DR650's I think.

 

That's pretty much my conclusion. I just don't like the specs of these big ADV bikes. Sure, everyone says they feel light, but they're not. I guarantee you that once you're in a tight spot, or have 50lbs of crap loaded on the bike, it no longer feels light. I'll keep at it with my KLR650.

 

Couple FB pages I follow and worth looking through:

https://www.facebook.com/VietnamMotorbikeTour.AsiaHanoi/

https://www.facebook.com/Motolombia/

 

Guarantee you that Yamaha T7 won’t break, cost to much to own or ever see a shop regardless of what kind of abuse the owner throws at it. Kinda like my Honda Africa Twin, gas, tires and go! Breaking down or sourcing a part if needed ain’t ever one of my concerns on the Jap ADV bikes. Logged 1000s of miles on Yamahas, Suzuki’s and now Honda. They’ve all did the job above and beyond. I’ve had the Honda recently through boulder fields off road and it never missed a beat. 90% of off road riding on anything is momentum, the moment you hesitate is the moment you fall down. Doesn’t matter if it’s a 250# dirtbike or a 500# ADV bike. When in doubt gas it! They’re amazingly capable machines.

 

That sounds awesome. We prefer dual sport but either off or on road is okay if it's fun. I've been looking in that area. I'm a little nervous to DIY that trip without ever having been there and the language/cultural barrier.

 

There’s absolutely nothing to be concerned about. The people over there are going to be much nicer than most folks in the USA. if you run into trouble, they will gladly give you the shirt off of their back. The only thing to be concerned about are land mines.

 

Our last trip was to Cambodia

 

I’m waiting on the Husky 801 which could be announced in November. I’ll probably have an 801 before the T7 is available.

 

Didn’t know they were developing something. Should be awesome.

I agree. I think, Rome was developed and constructed faster than the T7.

 

I've heard there will be an 890 KTM at some point, hopefully in an Adventure frame. Now if they would make an 890 Super Enduro R, TAKE MY MONEY!!!

 

New Africa Twins will be released Sept 23rd. Up to 1100cc and meets the bullshit euro5, up 6 hp but supposedly more torquey than current model if that’s possible. DCT and manual versions both available in regular version or all sports tall boy version.

DCT is the tits is all I got to say to the nay sayers. Very good everywhere. Will not stall!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mo...crf1100l-announcement-coming-sept-23.html/amp

 

I guess they're gonna keep making the AT bigger until it becomes one of those overgrown ADV school buses? That sucks.

Isn't a smaller version coming though?

 

Rumored to be an 850. Don’t know if new ones are heavier or not yet. Mines a DCT which is 22 lbs heavier than a manual but doesn’t bother me. I came off a super tenere which was heavy! DCT Africa Twin is still lighter than a super tenere and way easier to ride. You want light chances are your gonna be fixing stuff regularly in this class of motorcycle.

Small cc bikes suck ass on the highway traveling. 500#s is about as light as you want out on the big road to the good riding spots. Unless your a trailer queen ADV rider. I ain’t a trailer queen ADV rider.

 

What's the weight of the AT? I have only ridden with one and he was a bit timid on the bike so no idea how it works off road. It sounded good and looked nice. I've ridden with a couple of guys on the 790 R's and they are nice. Probably a better all around bike than my 950 (better street stuff- wider/comfortable seat, wind protection, cruise control, electronics) but off road I'll take my bike any day.

A lot of the guys I ride with have all bought Super Enduros. One even bought two, so he has a spare in case something happens to one. Good enough on the pavement (one of the guys rode his from GA to CA and then to the arctic circle and back) and stupid fun off road. As with any bike that's 12 years old there are some areas that need attention but once sorted out they are pretty bomb proof.

 

Manual AT is 503
DCT AT is 534

I lost 6 lbs on my DCT by swapping to the Akro muffler. I don’t run big heavy crash bars or skid plate. Instead I spent my money on the suspension, ohlins 30 mil cartridges up front and the ohlins rear shock. The bike sits up tall now and no worry of bottoming out on a pebble. It handles very well with the suspension setup.

The triumph Tiger 800 XC I had briefly before the AT was more appropriate for my body size and I loved the triple. But this deal came up with the AT and I jumped to it. No regrets. I have way too much money in the AT but I made it the way it should have been built with at least better Showa suspension.

I put 600 miles on it last weekend and 1600 miles on it 4 days during Labor Day weekend. Much of that off road. Honda build quality is good nothings broke, fell off or just quit working. Oil changes are easy, air filters pretty easy to access and are up high. Spark plugs go for 32k miles. If I had one complaint I’d like 20 more hp but then it would probably lose the flat torque curve it has.

 

We did the KAT again over Labor Day. Two XR650L's, the Tiger 800 XC I bought then sold to my buddy, and my replacement 1190Adventure. It was a blast as always. Here's some pics:

the last time she'll ever be clean:


tkc80's do not belong on a big bike (less than 300 miles on it in this pic):

 

More things I've learned:

I've been on this trip in various iterations 3 times now. The guys that have done it multiple times typically show up with robust packs and mounts. First timers, like a guy on this trip, show up with $30 racks on the back of their bikes. Inevitably, these shitty mounting plans take up valuable hours of riding. I'll likely be harder on people that are coming for the first time, to make sure their packs are secure (and ready to go when it's time to leave, not to start loading their bike in the parking lot when we are supposed to be wheels up...)

Riding with faster people is awesome and really allows you to explore so many more trails. The hard part is its noticeably harder on your body.

Worrying about your tires (or any other equipment) sucks. I bought that TKC80 new for this trip and it started shredding within 300 miles. After I noticed it, I started babying the bike a bit and that really took the fun out of the trip for me. That only lasted about a half day, and I just said screw it, if it pops it pops. I'd rather have 3 great days than 5 mediocre ones. The problem was it was labor day weekend and there was nowhere to get a replacement. I used Mitas E07+'s on my last 1190 and they held up just fine on the KAT. No tire lasts very long on there, but I at least need them to hold together.

This was the first year I've had a tool tube and it was pretty nice because it was so quick and easy to get in and out of. I had to keep some tools in my trunk since they didn't fit, but they were very accessible as well. One of my simple additions that seems to come in really handy is a small towel for placing all of your tools and parts on when doing work in the field, so you don't worry about losing small bits in grass and dirt.

Finally, after totaling my last 1190, I really started to question what I want out of an ADV bike. I bought the standard 1190 the first time, because I really love KTM's and the R model was too tall (I'm 5'8".) I rode the Tiger for a while and just didn't find it engaging to me. I also noticed how the tall front tire didn't like to finish corners on the street. Sure, you can just add more input to the bars, but it was more of a chore than the fun feeling I had on my KTM. I also convinced myself that I can get the 19" front wheel on my standard Adventure basically anywhere that the R models (21" front wheels) can go. So, when a deal popped up on a super low mile standard 1190 Adventure, I picked it up and immediately fell in love with it again.

I think this trip really opened my eyes to the limitations of my bike, but also reassured me of the purchase I made. I think the R model has around an inch of additional travel over the standard, along with the 21"/18" wheels vs my 19"/17". Riding such a heavy bike with semi-limited suspension travel simply requires slowing down in some of the technical stuff that a dual sport could just plow through. Early in the ride, I was trying to ride too fast and would either bottom out the suspension or drag the engine guard. I do think the R model would fare much better, but I really don't think I care. Those sections that I had to slow down somewhat in were maybe 5% of the ride, on a ride I only do once a year. When I want to do really hard core off road riding, I have a true dual sport I'd rather use. And the rest of the year, I really really love my 1190. It rides like a sport bike on the street and is unbreakable offroad. I'd rather just become a better technical rider with it offroad than worry about its limitations.

 

That's pretty much exactly how I feel. Yeah, my GSA is a big girl. But if you take the side cases and rack off she looks damn near svelte and I can pretty much throw it around like a big motard. It was a little nervous at first but now that I've had it for 6 months I couldn't imagine riding anything else. When it comes time for a big highway tour I'll put the cases back on. Yet when I finally get around to doing the KAT, I'll be on the hunt for a DR650. I'd have one in the garage already if I hadn't spotted that MZ two months ago

 

Motoz Tractionator Adventure, for big bike tires. If you want more tire on the front, the RallZ is the next step. But, stay with the Adventure on the rear.