Simple yet sophisticated?

I've had both and I have to say I preferred the 650. It was much
lighter and made decent power. The 1000 is slightly faster but I
couldn't see the point even when most of my riding was 2 up touring.
Both are fairly shit for anything more hardcore than gravel roads.

Fraser

 

I'd want something with a bit more off-road ability and slightly less
frangible plastic.

 

DR650. A friend of mine swears by his. Needs a safari tank and an
airhawk though.

Fraser

 

Is an across the frame 4 the ideal engine for something you might want
to ride on crap roads at some point? I'm thinking of how much damage you
could cause compared to the minimal impact our multiple crashes on big
singles caused this winter.

 

For off road/rough road use I just don't think you need more than a
650ish cc single. On our little 'outing' it seemed pretty ideal to
me.

The big Tenere (1200?) is a road bike, I can't see 'normal' riders
taking it off road. Ditto for the KTM 990.

I've been pissing about off road on a KTM 200 and a yamaha WR 250.
The respective dry weights are I think 96kg and 102kg.
The 6kg difference (maybe it's more since the yamaha probably holds
more water, oil?) is certainly noticeable.

What I want is the KTM lightness and handling with the yamaha 4 stroke
engine.

 

Holy ****!

And it won't get any better until interest rates start to go up a bit.

 

That's what I was alluding to.

 

That's the Crossrunner, not the full-on adventure thingy in MCN.

 

GBP against just about anything else looks much the same. The EUR and
AUD charts are particularly horrific. The USD one just highlights that
their economy is as fundamentally fucked as ours.

 

Fine in parts of Oz, Africa or US fire trails, but not over here.

You really should blag yourself a go on an Aprilia RXV. I was blown
away by how good WavyDavy's was.

 

Had a look in MCN at the bike shop this morning whilst waiting for my MOT
and if you believe them the bigger bike will be called the Crosstourer.

Some pictures here:
http://enterrocks.com/honda-v4-crosstourer-2011/

 

I reckon if you looked at a longer term (20-30 years) the recent drop
would a correction after a bubble. Although it makes foreign holidays
more expensive I'm quite happy if it boosts exports and makes offshoring
less attractive.

 

That's the badger. Attention paid to crash protection, I see, but
still: 14 grand? I'd sooner have a Tenere and spend the rest on a Big
Trip.

 

A ten year bubble?

 

Something like that, yes.

 

Isn't the Tiger a 4?

 

No. Triple. Triumph don't make any fours these days.

 

That's the Crossrunner, not the full-on adventure thingy in MCN.[/QUOTE]

Which is based on the VFR12, not the VFR8 as hinted at in the OP.

So it'll be priced to compete with the Multistrada/R-GS/SuperTenere12

 

Ah, right, yes.

Yes, which is sort of my point. I'm not sure whether these behemoths
are actually what you'd want to take on a Big Trip. I suppose the BMW
is proven, at least. But I'd love something rather cheaper and more
basic. Something between the Pegasos that Bruce and Jean have recently
used and (say) the Triumph and BMW 800s.

It seems to come down to a class of one, really, and that's the Tenere.

 

And not a popular class at that, otherwise every other bike on the road
would be a Tenere, rather than a BMW GS