So who are the Adv riders here?

That's why I kept the 701 and sold the T7. The 701 is about 80 pounds lighter and has more HP. The T7 would make a great touring bike. The guy that bought mine took it to Colorado for two weeks to ride with friends. I saw pics of where he was riding and I know the 701 would have been a lot easier for me. Then he rode the T7 home to TN. I'd do the same with the 701 but it doesn't have the weight to be as steady on the highway, although I've made two trips through Baja with the 701.

 

For me it doesn’t feel heavy and I ride it with the 1 1/2” taller rally seat. I’ve done river crossings on it up to my knees with no issues. I love the engine it’s got good off road tendencies. I’ve jumped it with both wheels cleanly off the ground and it just reminds me of a heavier 250F I ripped on in the woods.

Any lighter and the wind would make interstate travels miserable imo. Very windy here yesterday and I avoided the freeway. I did not add any weight to it like crash bars and all that unnecessary junk. I focused on removing stuff and I am still doing so. The oem mirrors were recently ditched for Rottweiler Arrow/CRG barkbuster mirrors.

All of my riding is with bigger KTMs, GSs and big Tigers and I have no problems keeping up. In fact I’m the first into the rough stuff while they watch and play it safe. Another cool thing is it is super easy to work on and all the body work can be removed on the trail easily with the provided pos tool kit. And it’s built very solid just like any other Yamaha. Yep they could have thinned up some stuff but it would have been more prone to breakage out in the wild.

It’s a keeper for me, my Africa Twin is for sale I no longer ride it.

 

I’ve toured a lot on bigger ADV bikes and I have no intentions of touring on a T7, that would be like getting tossed around on a klr out on the open highway.

 

Without me having to read 40+ pages...
Whats the thought on the Suzuki V-strom 1000 or 1050 Adventure?

 

I'll admit that I rather like the 1050XT Adv. When I finally convince myself that I'm not doing Dakar or riding to Prudhoe Bay every summer, I'll probably come around to the Suzuki...but not for the $17K asking price. I'll give them a couple of years when they're going for $8K in the used market.

 

short answer? the V-strom is a street bike that might wander down the occasional groomed dirt road. The 1050 Adventure (or any KTM "Adventure" bikes) are far more dirt worthy when considering suspension, setup, geometry, aftermarket accessories, etc. But it will also handle pavement with aplomb.

I have two friends that have V-stroms and one does crazy mileage on it, but it's basically a sport touring bike. The other won't take it down a dirt road, he's afraid to drop it and mess up the bodywork. Most of my friends have KTM's and abuse them to varying degrees. They have their issues but if you ask around, you can usually easily find out what they are and how to get around them.

 

You do realize the 1050 we're talking about is the new Suzuki 1050XT Adventure, correct?





Although I kind of like the yellow version too

 

This would be intriguing, if it were 100lbs less weight.

https://www.advpulse.com/adv-news/2021-benelli-trk-502-usa/

 

I actually like the lools of the 2019 version V-strom 1000 XT Adventure better than the 2020 version...

 

That's a cool looking bike(Benelli), but the numbers on the paper are not good.

 

Not sure which number is correct, but I'm finding 486 to 512 dry weight on the V-Stomboli. Yikes. I can sometimes barely pick up my Hyper (390 dry), depending on where I fall off. Wimps gotta ride light bikes.

 

I actually like the new 1050 big Strom but it’s just too big for me like 90% of the adv bikes on the market. I think Suzuki has done a really good job on the Vstrom. I mean it’s not going to win a fast trail ride or the like but the new one has some pretty good electronics on it like the 6 axis IMU. I owned the 1st year vstrom 1000 back in 2002 then moved down to the vstrom 650 in 2006. Both were solid reliable. At their price point very hard to beat for the value.

Women in a van took me out on the 1000 and I sold the 650 to a guy in Texas who toured Mexico on it. Then he sold it and the guy put 175k miles on it before the throttle bodies died on it up in Idaho. After that he bought a donor 650 and made one outta the two. He still rides it today. He has a thread on ADVrider. Our paths have crossed many times over the years on that old bike I sold.

 

thats been my MO for years now on ADV bikes lol

 

had no idea. Haven't kept up on all the latest from Suzuki...

I wondered, the KTM and the Suzuki are pretty far apart.

 

Alright. I’m gonna nite the bullet since I’ve now realized I can’t handle a full year off and took a great role at a big company. I want something not too bad on the highway but still light / small enough to not totally kill me in adv shit. I won’t be taking it cross county but wouldn’t mind taking twisty back roads to and from work. Would love to keep it in the under 10 range around 7 even better. Don’t mind used if lower miles.

 

Ehh, just spend the money and get a 790 Adventure and be done with it. Hell come up and take mine out for a day if you want to try one out.

 

Congrats on the new gig!

You owe me a vodka tonic for the one I just spit out reading that.

 

I'm diggin' the all new 2020 Honda Africa Twins...reviews pretty much say it's better than the 2019 by a long shot. The top of the line Adventure Sports ES DCT (MSRP ~$18K) model weighs 553lbs with a full 6.5 gal tank and the base model (~$14K) weighs 501lbs with 5.0 gals fuel.
Big enough for extended highway, agile enough for more serious offroading. Too many vids to link the good ones, but definitely worth the time to check 'em out.
The questions are black, red/white/blue, manual or DCT.

 

You gotta’ figure out your priorities, as far as what mix of riding you plan on. That’ll dictate weight, wheel size, and accoutrements you‘ll want.

More dirty: SWM Superdual is very hard to beat. Light for what it is and will rip, offroad. $8K for 2020 models, right now. It’s based on and very similar to the TE610/630, which is considered by many the best ever dual-purpose, ADV bike.

Best ADV mix: T7 is about the best it can get, right now.

More street: Any used Super Ténéré, GS, AT, ‘15+ Tiger 800. All can be had <$10K, with cruise control, and with farkles.