I''ve been looking to get a 950 Adventure for ages and was talked into buying a 640 instead but today I finally took the plunge and took a deposit on my 640 adventure(08 registered) and headed straight to the bank to do a deposit onto my 04 950 adventure S. Have to take a road trip to collect it some time next week. Really looking forward to getting to grips with it.
Not so sure myself.I have a 2002 640 LC4 and a very recent new 2012 990 Adventure.Just returned from a 4800 mile jaunt from Cincinnati,OH to Madrid NM to and through nearly all of SW Colorado,road and trail on the 990.Did average 400 mi for 12 days W/o missing a day.990 was wonderful on the roads,freeway and dirt roads,jeep trails(easy).Have Happy Trails Cascade boxes which were wonderful and tank bag with crash bar bags which swallowed everything and more spacewise.To say the least,mounting,dismounting was an ordeal,constant worry on the dirt due to newness and the unknown responses it might have. It is big and heavy and I had to return home!Riding from Okla.City to Tucumcari,NM and from Pueblo,CO to Dodge City KS was truly a miserable experience with wind and heat(EXTREME!) which I will NEVER do again.I was able to check off another bucket list experience and glad I did the trip!4 or 5 other times I have towed my 640 to NM,riden almost the whole state plus Arizona and Utah(Moab),hauled a tank bag and back pack,could cruise the highways at 70mph and go on any rough trails and have FUN!I am 65 yo and have a bad knee,hip and shoulder and getting wimpier but I have ridden continuously for 50 yrs,am an "A" AMA enduro rider,surviving the 1973 Little Burr and have won AHRMA cross country and road race Ntl Championships from 2001-2007 and am still active.I drank the Koolaid and imagined myself blasting through the dunes and riding the stuff I see in pictures of 990's in ADV Rider.I truthfully don't know which one to keep! Maybe both!If you have good knees,are fit and taller and strong and not so old,go for the 990.Just realistically evaluate where you want to go,how far you want to ride and where,your abilities and strength and health and hopefully make a wise choice! Bob Merkel,AHRMA 484
I'm 6ft 3 inch. 38 so still young. I found the 640 wasted on me. No real dirt in my riding. The 950should suit me better.
