Switching from 4 to 2 wheel solo travel

[worthingtontw]

Without doing a complete overshare, I just finished a divorce of my high school sweetheart and I am wanting to get out on the road and explore to clear my mind. Her family introduced me to the concept of overlanding when I was 18 (now 31) and have spent a lot of time cruising around the pacific states, but have not really ventured much past Nevada with the exception of one major trip through the Rockies.

Now that I don't have someone in my life saying that I can't buy a bike I'm thinking about quitting my job and for about 3 months doing a combination of Backcounty Discovery Route trails, but also checking out a few cities that I am interested in moving to.

I ride a little Aprilia Scarbeo 250 to run into town right now and have ridden dirt bikes a bit out at my ex's uncles ranch. He rides a KTM 990 Adventure, BMW R1600GT and a KTM 400 dual sport (when we do our big Saline Valley family trip annually) about 3 months out of the year traveling all over. The advice he gave me was to be looking for something in the 600-800cc class as that would not be too big to get to through the type of terrain I like exploring, but not to small to beat me up on days with a 3-400 mile transit. I have my eye on BMW F800GS as I think that would be a happy medium from what I have read about them. I am a little concerned that it may be to big of a bike though to jump on given my current skill level off road. I will add though that he promised to take me out to the ranch to practice slow speed off-road maneuvers, picking up a bike on slopes, etc. He puts on a little clinic before doing big ADV rides with new people every year, so I am thankful for his expertise and willingness to help me out.

Would love to get any thoughts or recommendations on other bikes I should be looking at that fit into what I am looking to do right now.

 

[kwill]

I have the BMW G650GS Sertao and am happy with it. Friends think it is too small but I have no trouble keeping up with a G1250GSA or others. It will do 100MPH+ and can cruise all day at 75-80. It is much lighter and easier to maneuver in the dirt but does fine on the highway. I think the F800GS is a fine choice too. Sorry about the divorce.

 

[This Big Road Trip]

Hi @worthingtontw - Sorry to hear about the split. Did you get the dog?

We are in the similar situation as you currently. Going from 4wd to 2 wheel. I am not an experienced biker. I had a 50cc Honda at 16 and a Honda CBR600F at around 35. But not for long. We are selling our camper and travel differently now. Moto will be part of our future fairly soon.

From my inexperienced research it seems the mid-size bikes start to sort themselves once you dial in what you are actually going to do with them and how you want to travel.

- Light and durable .... the Kawasaki / Suzuki 650's are cheap, reliable and fixable all over.
- Lots of On Road with a bit of light off roads - something like the BMW 750
- A little more off road? The BMW 800
- Great on and off road - Triumph Tiger 900
- Great for lots of off road - KTM

I get the feeling, may be wrong, that the bikes kind of shake themselves out into an order when looking at the percentage on road to off road. So ... I am currently researching the Triumph but not sure that's the best option for more global travel.

Good luck and keep us updated with what you find.

 

[worthingtontw]

I have the BMW G650GS Sertao and am happy with it. Friends think it is too small but I have no trouble keeping up with a G1250GSA or others. It will do 100MPH+ and can cruise all day at 75-80. It is much lighter and easier to maneuver in the dirt but does fine on the highway. I think the F800GS is a fine choice too. Sorry about the divorce.

I have heard great things about 650 beamers but wasn't sure about the high way performance. Really appreciate the input!

 

[worthingtontw]

Hi @worthingtontw - Sorry to hear about the split. Did you get the dog?

We are in the similar situation as you currently. Going from 4wd to 2 wheel. I am not an experienced biker. I had a 50cc Honda at 16 and a Honda CBR600F at around 35. But not for long. We are selling our camper and travel differently now. Moto will be part of our future fairly soon.

From my inexperienced research it seems the mid-size bikes start to sort themselves once you dial in what you are actually going to do with them and how you want to travel.

- Light and durable .... the Kawasaki / Suzuki 650's are cheap, reliable and fixable all over.
- Lots of On Road with a bit of light off roads - something like the BMW 750
- A little more off road? The BMW 800
- Great on and off road - Triumph Tiger 900
- Great for lots of off road - KTM

I get the feeling, may be wrong, that the bikes kind of shake themselves out into an order when looking at the percentage on road to off road. So ... I am currently researching the Triumph but not sure that's the best option for more global travel.

Good luck and keep us updated with what you find.

Unfortunately not... I lost my hiking buddy,

We have a similar break down of the bikes on the market. I will note that the gearing on the Triumph stock is way to long for anything technical from what I can tell. Watched a family friend who is a fairly experienced rider smoke the clutch on a Tiger last year on a fairly trivial obstacle.

Greatly appreciate the input!

 

[billiebob]

Without doing a complete overshare, I just finished a divorce of my high school sweetheart and I am wanting to get out on the road and explore to clear my mind. Her family introduced me to the concept of overlanding when I was 18 (now 31) and have spent a lot of time cruising around the pacific states, but have not really ventured much past Nevada with the exception of one major trip through the Rockies.

Now that I don't have someone in my life saying that I can't buy a bike I'm thinking about quitting my job and for about 3 months doing a combination of Backcounty Discovery Route trails, but also checking out a few cities that I am interested in moving to.

I ride a little Aprilia Scarbeo 250 to run into town right now and have ridden dirt bikes a bit out at my ex's uncles ranch. He rides a KTM 990 Adventure, BMW R1600GT and a KTM 400 dual sport (when we do our big Saline Valley family trip annually) about 3 months out of the year traveling all over. The advice he gave me was to be looking for something in the 600-800cc class as that would not be too big to get to through the type of terrain I like exploring, but not to small to beat me up on days with a 3-400 mile transit. I have my eye on BMW F800GS as I think that would be a happy medium from what I have read about them. I am a little concerned that it may be to big of a bike though to jump on given my current skill level off road. I will add though that he promised to take me out to the ranch to practice slow speed off-road maneuvers, picking up a bike on slopes, etc. He puts on a little clinic before doing big ADV rides with new people every year, so I am thankful for his expertise and willingness to help me out.

Would love to get any thoughts or recommendations on other bikes I should be looking at that fit into what I am looking to do right now.

With an ex Uncle like the one you have, I wouldn't second guess anything he says. Darn lucky to have an ex anyone with open arms.
BMW makes an incredible all around bike for the type of riding you describe. Which bike does the Uncle recommend?

And whatever you pick, find a nice low mile used machine so it won't depreciate too fast from some trail rash.

PS, when I was riding the biggest bikes other than HD were 750s. And we went everywhere on them. I'd be looking at 500 thru 650 for a solo rider.

 

[worthingtontw]

With an ex Uncle like the one you have, I wouldn't second guess anything he says. Darn lucky to have an ex anyone with open arms.
BMW makes an incredible all around bike for the type of riding you describe. Which bike does the Uncle recommend?

And whatever you pick, find a nice low mile used machine so it won't depreciate too fast from some trail rash.

PS, when I was riding the biggest bikes other than HD were 750s. And we went everywhere on them. I'd be looking at 500 thru 650 for a solo rider.

He just recommended looking in that class of bike. When I asked he said he had no brand preference. He did mention he liked the reliability of the Rotax engine BMWs and that was it. I think he wants me to "figure it out" which is very much his style. Can't blame him for that. He is not directly recommending anything. Just get another bike and we will figure out how to make it work.

I think he wants me to experiment, fail, and learn which I can appreciate.

I am extremely lucky with the family I married into. Even during the divorce, I couldn't have asked for a more amazing group of people that want to keep me around for god knows what reason.

 

[billiebob]

The great thing about bikes is they are all kind of affordable and a lot of low mileage used bikes in great shape are on the market all the time. For less than the cost of any diesel overlander you could buy and sell a dozen different expo bikes.

 

[perterra]

Technical and good highway manners are really kind of incompatible. Technical can be done on a big bike but its no fun and exhausting, 800 mile days can be done on smaller technical type bikes, but its no fun and exhausting.

A 650 whatever single would be my choice. The new KLR 650 is pretty nice, a lot nicer than my 06. They arent loaded with horsepower but have a weight capacity like a pack mule, great range at 250 miles+ on a tank when ridden conservatively and dont seem to care what fuel you give them. All the different bikes right now are about as good as you can get. There are trade offs on all, just up to you whats important.

I have an old work acquaintance who has traveled all over the west on a Rally Raid Honda CB500X with no problems at all. I guess my advice is just pick something and go.

 

[jkam]

I'd go play on that Scarbeo 250 on a couple of the routes.
Put a top box on it and head out.
Then see what shortcomings it has and look for a bike that fixes them.
My little Kawasaki Super Sherpa is a 250. I'd have no problem riding it around the world with a few mods.

 

[worthingtontw]

Technical and good highway manners are really kind of incompatible. Technical can be done on a big bike but its no fun and exhausting, 800 mile days can be done on smaller technical type bikes, but its no fun and exhausting.

A 650 whatever single would be my choice. The new KLR 650 is pretty nice, a lot nicer than my 06. They arent loaded with horsepower but have a weight capacity like a pack mule, great range at 250 miles+ on a tank when ridden conservatively and dont seem to care what fuel you give them. All the different bikes right now are about as good as you can get. There are trade offs on all, just up to you whats important.

I have an old work acquaintance who has traveled all over the west on a Rally Raid Honda CB500X with no problems at all. I guess my advice is just pick something and go.

Just spent some time looking at KLR650s and realize that I should give them another look. The weight capacity is a great point. I have a bunch of ultralight type backpacking gear that I am planning on carrying, but I also think I am going to end up carrying some non standard stuff as well because I will be exploring some cities so I want to carry a change or two of casual clothes, decent set of shoes, etc. I can always ditch the extras before going off-road though to lighten up. The local powersport shop has one so I'll have to go check it out.

 

[worthingtontw]

I'd go play on that Scarbeo 250 on a couple of the routes.
Put a top box on it and head out.
Then see what shortcomings it has and look for a bike that fixes them.
My little Kawasaki Super Sherpa is a 250. I'd have no problem riding it around the world with a few mods.

I live in the mountains so I have ridden the Scarbeo on fire roads quite a bit. I haven't done a trip on it though. That is a fair point that I should experiment with it a bit. I already have a top box on it as well.

I think a 250 will be undersized because I am planning a 80/20 ish split of highway to off-road. The game plan is to do a kind of a hub and spoke thing and bounce between cities. So travel to a city, meet some locals, get recommendations on local spots and go explore them. Originally I was thinking more BDR type stuff but I am realizing as I am going through the process of planning this that my main priority is to find a new home and explore the areas I am interested in. That does still mean that I am going to do a fair amount of off-road riding, but having a comfortable bike for several days of highway transit is a very high priority.

 

[billiebob]

I live in the mountains so I have ridden the Scarbeo on fire roads quite a bit. I haven't done a trip on it though. That is a fair point that I should experiment with it a bit. I already have a top box on it as well.

I think a 250 will be undersized because I am planning a 80/20 ish split of highway to off-road. The game plan is to do a kind of a hub and spoke thing and bounce between cities. So travel to a city, meet some locals, get recommendations on local spots and go explore them. Originally I was thinking more BDR type stuff but I am realizing as I am going through the process of planning this that my main priority is to find a new home and explore the areas I am interested in. That does still mean that I am going to do a fair amount of off-road riding, but having a comfortable bike for several days of highway transit is a very high priority.

Looking at time vs mileage....I think your split might be closer to 80% trails, around town.... less than 20% on the interstate... A day of droning on the interstate.... a month doing the urban street fighter, dirt trails basher thing. I'd go 500cc max. Or 650cc single thumper.

 

[worthingtontw]

Looking at time vs mileage....I think your split might be closer to 80% trails, around town.... less than 20% on the interstate... A day of droning on the interstate.... a month doing the urban street fighter, dirt trails basher thing. I'd go 500cc max. Or 650cc single thumper.

That is a really good point... I was thinking in raw mileage and not time spent in the saddle. More to noodle on for sure...

 

[Jupiter58]

You will regret the 800 bmw on anything technical off road. The BDRs were designed to be a challenge on big off-road bikes. I have over 10k of actual off-road miles (TAT, TET, CDR etc)on various machines, dr650, KTM 690, rr cb500x loaded for travel.
Not a Klr fan but I am impressed with the new FI model. That would be a great choice. I don’t know how deep your pockets are but the KTM 790 and Yamaha 700 tenere are excellent bikes for what you have in mind. Even an Africa twin. You might even be able to get away with the KTM 390 or a royal enfield himalaya.