Mark, Throw a leg over a Versey 650. Twin cyl, every road sort of bike, and I reckon you could tackle the Porika/Manga/single track on one IF you had any talent. Good second hand ones go for bout 7-8k.
May have been broached before but you could get a good airhead for $5-6Kish They don;t all need work on them - some of us like doing it that's all.
I know its slightly out of $ range, but a BMW f800gs would suit you. Rode Jatzs the other night and it reminded me of my KLR with a lot more urge. very similar feeling really. Lovely. I want one.
A pity - but understandable At that price there are a whole lot of other bikes I'd consider (gs1200 or ktm990 etc) I'd consider first. They always were a bit left field and now that they are orphans they are way left field. Passed one coming out of the molesworth yesterday that had a spare drive belt strapped to the back..... Bummer - Welcome to old adventure bike ownership - at least new/improved parts are readily available and there is no shortage of advice around. If I was going to buy an old adventure bike it would be an airhead just for those reasons Tim's brother Danny dropped his airhead in a deep hole in a stream crossing in the Sedgley Lake track yesterday and drowned it (tool tray under seat was full of water...) What an easy bike to strip and de-water - seat/tank of in under 5 minutes, float bowls clip off, plugs are stupidly accessible, tool-less air filter access (could use a drain tap...) . Was all cleaned out and running in about 20 minutes. I'm surprised how long its dragging on for - I was expecting it to be resolved in a couple of weeks. There is no question that the scrambler is more 'involving' to ride - if the wind blast doesn't keep you awake the kidney punches will - its more of a raw motorcycle than the klr. I absolutely loved it but that suspension and probably the fuel range (Tim's ride choices yesterday were limited by where he could next fill up - I hate that - klr did 380km yesterday and I haven't filled up yet) are show stoppers I'd own a 640 E or A instead of the klr but my hands can't take the vibration. A true quality piece of equipment - I loved the 625sx I road a while back. The ride yesterday was great - a great charge down 88 valley road etc (who stole the gravel?) to St Arnaud so the Scramber could gas up then into the Rainbow where the 4wd's were very considerate. Accross the ok ish but very useful Sedgemere track to Molesworth where the others turned around and I continued up Molesworth to find a rat airhead with massive white appendage compensating tank parked by a tree - with Steve sitting in the shade. We had a great blast up the Molesworth apart from the pricks towing horsefloats who thought they owned the road and the oncoming truck trailer who refused to slow down or pull over - I ended up wobbling in the thick gravel on the virge of the road trying not to fall off while the prick passed within a meter of my shoulder. Off to Seddon for some laaate lunch and onto the 7pm ferry and off home. Great fun (all on one tank of gas)
So, you arse, are you saying I couldn't ride one over the Porika/Manga??? If the Versys engine was in the klr this thread wouldn't exist. I have ridden one and found it a bit bland and a bit cramped. Apart from the engine the klr is superior in every area I care about. I don't know of any airhead owned by people I know that hasn't had major work (apart from Danny's which has been trouble free for 20k km). While they certainly have character, the performance is a bit stodgy and the seat/pegs gap is a bit tight for my knees. As a second bike, project bike - certainly - but not as a primary bike. As you would expect from a previous lc4 owner - what Collin said about everyone trying to fix me up with their sisters....(or dismembered ex's in this case) I'm not even going to go there - on paper it appears perfect but its at least 10k more than my klr is worth. The only way I could buy a bike for 16k is if I do up our bathroom first - and I've been putting that off for nearly 10 years.... I'm going to keep looking at all sorts of bikes - I think I'll be heading north next so Brent you aren't really an arse (much).
So it doesn't do everything as well as a KLR..... Shirley that's gotta be a major plus.... It's taken you three KLR's to bludgeon all enjoyment out of your motorcycling. Take a bow...., it took me three corners of the Takaka hill on that thing to start thinking about buying a cemetery plot. It's hard to believe that the company who gave us the Mach 3 widow-maker, could systematically drain every bit of possible motorcycling fun there is and build it into one model, but in the KLR, there you have it. Ok, maybe that's not entirely true, there is the fun that non-KLR owners can have by pointing and laughing. I assume you got home ok, probably caught up on your sleep on the ride back
And therein lies your problem... Goin on your original post you want something with some grin factor. what you want, and what you want to pay don't necessarily make good bed fellows. (I understand that problem as we've just been through it ourselves buying a car.). IMO: If bikes are your thing... and this is what spins your wheels... find the money to buy that thing that makes you smile. Saving $2-3k isn't going to make you smile if you're sitting on a naff/shit bike that isn't what you wanted. The 640 that Colin posted link to is beautiful. (I have one), but i'd be hard pressed to recommend it. IMO my old 950adv was just so much better as a jack-of-all-trades bike. Way more comfort and capability on road and better with a pillion, and you'd have to be doing pretty extreme off road stuff to find a track that the 640 could do but the 950 couldn't. Unless I read this wrong you're planning on having 3 bikes? take a 950ADv/Se for a ride and then evaluate whether you could live without one of the others. If you could make do with 2.. maybe you could justify the extra spend? You know what... all this is entirely moot unless you have a point of reference. I will bet money, that If you got to take one for a ride, you would decide in minutes if it's got what it takes to press your buttons, or if it's not the bike for you. (With some schmoozing... If I could get you a test ride on one... would you be interested?) Ahh gold. Poor old KLR's... I old wish they'd continued building KLX's and had a more adv friendly version of one of them...
Do you see Paul Henry looking back when you look in the mirror - maybe its time for a snickers bar..... While bikes are my only hobby I spend most of my time on my trail and trials bikes and really only ride the KLR when I'm bored with he others or giving my slightly tweaked back time to recover (like at the moment). I've only done 6000k on the klr since I brought it last March. So while I don't want to buy something that doesn't push my buttons I also don't want to completely empty the biking fund into the least ridden bike. So there is a definite 'catch 22' thing going on. I may be unable to find a replacement that lights my fuse for 10k but be unwilling to spend more because it effectively delays replacing one of the other bikes that i ride more often. I have kept the details of that tidy 950sm you posted a link to and was intending to contact him if I head north this weekend. even if'n I can't find anything I'm sure enjoying looking As my kids are fond of saying - its a RWMP (rich white man problem)
Peet's comments are spot-on. The 640 wins for me because it is the better solo/hard enduro bike, and it's also cheaper all-round. For more road work and/or two-up, the 950 wins. The 950 is a litre-class trail bike with road bike comfort. I can appreciate the distribution of funds making it a big juggling act. 950's are 10+ years old now, what's an older one worth?
Yeah, problem is that under 10K they're going to be older and have higher k's. I understand Mark's dilema. He's got a budget and is trying to find something that makes him smile, but by the sounds of things he doesn't want to sacrifice the other 2 bikes. He might get lucky find something that ticks all the boxes... but I kind this turning into one of those "have your cake vs eat your cake" conversations.
That's why kanny loves her KLE5hundy. Detuned 500twin in a nice soft chassis. The bike that Kawasaki should update. Crawling uphill in 2nd, and idling, and I still can't catchup
Generally seems you have to spend 13k+ for a good adv like this then there is the odd older sub 10k one that is worth a look like this Yes re the 'cake and eat it' comment. I'm simply going to ride a really diverse range of bikes and if I find something that really pops my wad I'll just have to find a way to pay for it. That situation may not be due to the competency of the KLE....
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/motorbikes/motorbikes/dual-purpose/auction-671263451.htm probly get for a tad over 10k. Dunno wot they goi lke tho.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/motorbikes/motorbikes/dual-purpose/auction-692227491.htm What the KLR could have been
as a replacement for the klr - maybe as a bike that lights my fire - nope I suspect the klr is a better road bike (smoother,roomier decent rack) - which is where most klr's get used. Off road is another thing entirely Yes the world really needs a $50k kle. That said a kle800 at a klr'sih price would be pretty hard to beat So you must have some thoughts for a replacement? cmon spill the beans. Given that you've had some relatively flash bikes where to next? On a slightly different note - can I come up and sit on your trials bike to see if I like the add on seat - tank?
Haven't a clue mate I want a bike capable of handling the odd single track so light weight, with some grunt, good springzies, plus be comfortable on road with least 350klm range, good service intervals, able to carry some weight and lift the front reasonable easy in 3rd gear, easy to work on with cheap parts and with a bit of mongrel - got an ideas? Yup, no worries. Its round at Jims place at the moment sleeping next to his 300. He lives on an orchard so you could take it for we spin and perve at the 3hundy . The seating position is pretty cramped for my 6 foot frame so I don't use it for long highway excursions but its perfect for resting my legs and back while fanging around at the river or out in the bush and the extra fuel capacity is awesome. You don't even notice it on the bike. Let me know when ya plan on coming over and I'll sort a viewing & caffeine ingestion.