Best adventure bike for an ole fart?

My3Sons, check your PMs

I WANTED the GS...badly. i love that boxer engine...

I bought the S10... I feel i got the better bike.

all the other brands?...cant really speak to them as there are none to test in My area...and thus NO support. thats a deal breaker for me right there.

Is NOT good off road!

That a bit of nonsense as on the BWM website they list the weight of the bike fully fuelled and ready to ride, so that includes all fluids.

There is no mention of the accessories though of course.

Thanks for your post. I've not ridden any of the bikes you mentioned, but based on all the reviews I've read, I'd say your summary is dead-on accurate.

Thanks for your posts and for the helpful PM info. I'd like to test the Stelvio, but I'm in the same situation, as the only available brand in my area is the Yamaha...and dealer support, along with proven Yammy reliability, is very important to me.

Sounds like your answer in this post.........Yamaha.

Either the Ten660 or the Super 10.

Yamaha make good quality bikes at reasonable prices, reliable with no real issues- plenty of after market stuff and forum support as well.
Plus any bike shop will work on them, BMW's and other Euro stuff generally sees them running for cover.

I own a Wee-Strom, great bike two up or solo and manageable on dirt or fire trails, super reliable and great value for money.

The other bike in my garage is a '94 Kawasaki KLE500, also a great bike but not really two up capable for the long haul.

So you can see I'm not biased towards Yamaha [though I've owned a few, along with Honda bikes as well].

The Yamaha option just makes sense for your situation.

Well of course it says that on their website.

And of course we believe everything that is written on the BMW website.

d00d, you need to get out more.

I test ride new bikes as a hobby, just hoping I'll find something I'll like enough to trade in my GS. Since my own focus is more sport bike oriented I love the Multistrada, but not enough to buy one new.

For YOUR stated interests, any of the bikes mentioned in this thread would be completely competent. Ride them and get the one you LIKE.
Nobody has ever ridden a review or spec sheet.

If you lived where I live, you'd drive 2 hours to test ride the Yamaha and 6 hours+ for all the others. There are a couple of closer Yam dealers, but they don't have an S10 and probably won't be getting one...said they haven't had any/many calls or inquiries for it. Just haven't had the opportunity to do any test rides yet, but definitely will before buying.

BTW, what has been your experience with the GS:
* How long have you owned it?
* Is it as reliable as you thought it would be?
* What about cost of ownership?
* Does it require frequent trips to the dealer?

Any other info on the GS would be appreciated. To me, the GS/GSAs are enigmas. On the one hand, they've won every adventure bike award known to man and are consistently held up as the "gold standard". On the other hand, they're notorious for their FD failures along with other reliability issues. Those two "strikes" along with other serious concerns, like high cost of ownership, lack of dealer support in my area, etc., makes the BMW a strike-out and a no-go for me.

I agree with you that the S10 is looking like a serioius consideration. Question: if you were going on a 500 mile solo trip, would you tend to take the Wee or the KLE? Why?

went through the same process ... decided weight of bike was all important. next in line was complexity of machine and parts support in remote parts of the world. since my objective was a mount that would take me RTW.

ended up with BMW R80G/S .. first of the dual sports at 368lb dry.. with 9 gal fuel about 425lb. shortly after receiving my R80G/S which had gone through a frame off restoration by Beemerguru. hated to scratch R80G/S, but it was coming anyways.

laid R80G/S down in grass, then tried to pick bike back up.... No problems .. picked R80G/S right up no sweat .. this was with about 4-5 gal fuel and no luggage.

try that with some of the 1200cc class bikes suggested .... argggghhh my back aches thinking about it

They are NOT a dirt bike(KTM not withstanding), but you said "dirt roads", and they do that well/Very well depending on tire selection. Are they "better" than an S10? They're a little different, and like I said, I love the dive-free front end. But any differences between the GS, Super Ten, Tiger Explorer, or Stelvio will be purely subjective. You just need to ride them and decide which will be best for your money. The riding position will be similar with all of them, and so is the weight.

BTW, you can rent a GS for a day in many places. After spending a day on one, riding to other dealerships for test rides, you should have a good idea what suits you best. Cost of routine maintenance is an insignificant part of ownership and boils down to maybe few dollars a month difference between any of these bikes. Purchase price would likely be the biggest difference. If bikes were actually an investment nobody would ever buy a Ural! The only dividends paid by motorcycles are enjoyment.

If you're riding alone in remote areas, this could be your biggest issue. I can pick up my loaded R12GS alone...on dry level ground. But it ain't easy, and at 57 it gets harder every year!
BTW, Gorgeous bike!

thanks... hmmm .. dry level ground ... what if it was rainy/muddy going up a hilly rutted unpaved road. LOTS of those out there.

R80G/S is still a pig and heavier than KLR and DR650. but really wanted to ride an airhead RTW. otherwise logic dictated KLR or DR650 would be a better choice.

all three choices above if prepped properly can be dead reliable. unlike late model fuel injected/electronic wonders. one major/costly failure can be trip ending. check out what an ABS board costs on R1200GS :eek1

there's many documented engine failures on R800GS related to lack of knock sensor. this is with R800GS with almost no miles and remap to burn regular fuel.

* Does it require frequent trips to the dealer? Once a year, as I ride about 5500-6000 miles a year and the service interval is 6K. That's an oil change and valve adjustment @ 6k and change trans, FD, and engine oil and valve adjustment @12k. The new ones go 2-3 times as far between valve adjustments and fluid changes are simple DIY projects...if you're not too lazy like me

I don't know where you found this info but everything I have come across says the valve checks are still every 6k miles and that nothing maintenance interval wise has changed from 2012 to 2013. Sorry, just the facts.

And I certainly would make the drive.

I read through the entire thread - entertaining -- and shocking. I cannot believe that people have purchased bikes without riding them. Just wow. The last two bikes I purchased were way down on my shopping list. Rode them kind of on a whim and stopped shopping after the ride.

I think it's great that owners are passionate about their bikes but keep that filter in place. For example, one of the S10 owners who speaks very highly of the S10 has owned a bunch of bikes which don't happen to appeal to me -- chances are he is looking for something different in a bike than I am...

Like others have side, ride them and find which one speaks to you.

I agree....if you like riding...make a weekend out of heading to those dealers over a weekend. Ride the wing there and test ride the bikes. The best part is that you can immediatly compare to what your wing feels like.

I would also say that having no dirt experience might bite you when jumping to a large adv bike. It would be much better to pick up a small used dirt bike and spend a summer learning the ropes. The body positioning and so many other things are different on loose stuff than on pavement.



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For such a short ride I'd take......

The KLE if it was primarily dirt roads and trails, but the KLE is tar capable at 70mph even loaded with camping gear.

The Wee if it was primarily tar, but the Wee is more than capable on dirt with the right tyres [I have a Mefo Explorer on the front and a Mitas E07 on the rear].

My day rides run up to 250 miles [300-400 km]

My trips run two weeks on average and around 1,500 miles [I think I've done the maths about right- 2,400 km]

If I had to own just one bike to do it all........the KLE because it is lighter and better on the dirt, 30% tar/70% dirt while still capable of long distance touring [apart from the small fuel tank, but a Rotopax jerry can solves that].

But if I was doing more tar, like 70%/30% then the Wee would get the nod instead.

Unfortunately Kawasaki never continued the KLE500, it would be a top contender against the mid range DR650-KLR650-KTM-BMW- and so on, pack of bikes.

Would you please elaborate on this? If any manufacturer lists the weight of their bike and states "fully fueled, ready to ride" what else would need to be added ? According to most third party reviews ABS is about 6 pounds, ESA might add another 2 pounds. They all have center stands as OEM so that is already included in the published wet weight.

I've got an 07 GSA with the factory center stand, non-ESA, ABS, trip computer, alarm, GPS, metal Touratech mount, extended mud guards, extra driving lights, 10.5" Happy Trail Panniers with my tool roll and rain gear and on an actual shipping scale it weighs 588 fully fueled.

Yamaha had the pre order on FJRs. You couldn't even see one. I bought strickly on the reports
of others who had tried it. Ended up with a first genereration and 2nd generation.

I did not pre order a Tenere because after 8 years of a V Strom I thought I was done with large
dual sports. Then the reports start coming in about how much the owners enjoyed the bike.

I called the dealer and asked him to let me know if one was ever on floor to see before the
pre order buyer picked it up. He had a buyer back out and I bought it on the spot. I did get to
sit on it. Now one of my all time favorite bikes.

The OP said he had to drive 6 hours to test some of the bikes. Twelve hour round trip.
So throw a hotel room in, food, gas, time and the amount of bikes suggested for him to
try and it gets a little silly.

I agree in a perfect world it would be nice if we all could have a day to test ride bikes of
interest. When it just not practical listen close to what the owners have to say.