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Need advice - looking for adventure motorcycle

N

NATEWA

Active member
Joined
Nov 12, 2014
Location
Sac
Moto(s)
17 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 and 07 Kawasaki Ninja zx6r
Name
Nate
Need advice - looking for adventure or sport touring

Looking at the Honda Africa Twin as a commuter, occasional off road bike and touring bike. Was also looking at Triumph’s Tiger 900 but read reports of it having a lot of vibration on highway speeds (maybe the rally pro model). Trying to keep cost around $15 - $17k.

Live in Sac and thinking about west coast adventures. Saw this (see link below) and the author mentioned never needing to go off road. Most places up around Tahoe are fire roads. Bike will realistically spend 90% of the time on pavement.

EDIT: I changed the title and now looking at sport tourers as I’m not considering renting a motorcycle if I travel to another country and trailering my bike to destinations and staying on paved roads. Example - trailer my bike out to the Utah area and then ride to various National Parks. The thought of selling my 06 gsxr 1000 to fund a new bike makes me cringe. Was looking at these two bikes this morning. Anyone have experience or thoughts on these? Any other sport tourers, with an emphasis on sport I should be considering?

https://www.kawasaki.com/en-us/moto...?cm_re=GLOBALNAV-_-PRODUCTGROUPLIST-_-VEHICLE

https://suzukicycles.com/street/2022/gsx-s1000gt-plus


Friend discussed going down to Chile and shipping bikes down there. Have always wanted to ride to Alaska.

https://advtravelbug.com/usa-roadtrip-best-places-to-see/

I have experience riding in the dirt but not a lot.

Thoughts and suggestions?
 
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I'm more dirt oriented and getting a little older, so I tend to want my adv bikes smaller and lighter. But if I was thinking it would be mostly on pavement with the occasional dirt road, Id get the most comfy farkelable bike I could find for touring. I think the bmw's are pretty deluxe for long distance riding and can be ridden well off road.

Id recommend riding as many different bikes as you can and then decide by which one makes you smile the most.

I'm currently excited about the new Aprilia Toureg 660. Seems like its got all the benefits of the T7 with all the electronic gadgets of the 890r. I've ridden the t7, 890r, 1090r, 990, 950, gs1200, its hard to go wrong with all these options. I haven't ridden the africa twin yet, though. I'm sure its a nice bike too. Good luck!
 
Coming to the USA is the Husqvarna Norden 901. Based on the KTM 890 Adventure R, but not so hard edge.
 
lots of great choices out there for sure. If you know you will be using it mostly for commuting and joy riding and doing little offroad, you will be happier with the bigger bikes.

Like Daniel says above, if you want to try out more offroad the bikes he mentioned are all great bikes.

Boils down to brand and look that you like and what you will do the most!

Always fun to go motorcycle shopping!
 
If you're really considering shipping a bike to Chile then you need to think about reliability and dealer support. Modern bikes and all the electronic doo dads are great but a simple broken wire or failed sensor can leave you where you don't want to be. Some of these bikes can only be repaired at dealerships. KTM and BMW no longer release service manuals and you have to have the software and interface unit to troubleshoot any of the electronics.
 
dravnx said:
If you're really considering shipping a bike to Chile then you need to think about reliability and dealer support. Modern bikes and all the electronic doo dads are great but a simple broken wire or failed sensor can leave you where you don't want to be. Some of these bikes can only be repaired at dealerships. KTM and BMW no longer release service manuals and you have to have the software and interface unit to troubleshoot any of the electronics.
Click to expand...

I cant believe they no longer release the manuals! When did that start? I have a manual for my 2020 KTM. I'm sure you need a factory gameboy for some of the fancy electrical stuff and that makes sense. I agree with being worried about the modern stuff too, thats part of why I still have the 950. Its kind of the sledge hammer of the ADV world. Reliable and smashes through stuff nicely!
 
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bmwbob51 said:
Coming to the USA is the Husqvarna Norden 901. Based on the KTM 890 Adventure R, but not so hard edge.
Click to expand...

The 901 has the same suspension as the standard 890. Super disappointing to me. In the dual sport and enduro world the Husqvarnas normally get the good stuff before the KTM's do, so I was surprised they didn't give it nicer, longer travel suspension. I'm sure its still nice and it does look fantastic to me.
 
matty said:
Hang on, have you seen the ducati desert x
https://www.ducati.com/ww/en/bikes/desertx/desertx-937
Click to expand...

wow, thanks for the link, had not seen the new Dacati yet ... 21” and 18” wheels. don’t know much about the engine:

The new DesertX is equipped with the latest evolution of the water-cooled 937 cc Desmodromic 11° Testastretta engine with 110 horsepower and 92 Nm of torque.
Click to expand...

six different models ... are they all over $20k otd?

the OP link was fun too, guess I have some work to do, only been to half of the 15 places listed ... plus AK and Chile sounds like an awesome itinerary (don’t forget Baja, ha).

fun stuff, good luck with the new bike decision, OP! :ride

I kinda like the ADV Moto Guzzi ... :party
 
SFMCjohn said:
I kinda like the ADV Moto Guzzi ... :party
Click to expand...


We saw one in the wild! We saw the TT Adventure E5 parked at Bear Mountain Pizza in Squaw Valley (the original one in rural Fresno County) and it was stunningly beautiful! Really a lovely machine, and I bet the motor is a dream, too. I'm a fan :love It wouldn't work for me, as I'm hoping to go in the other direction (smaller and lighter) but wonderful to look at!

As far as places to go, my mind has been on overdrive lately. Maybe it has to do with getting older and watching the last few years slip by without going anywhere or doing anything. I also know that the current situation will change sooner or later, and we will have the freedom to do some exploring once again. My eyes are on the horizon...

Good luck in your search, NATEWA! :thumbup
 
Not 100% sure about KTM but I remember reading something about it. Definitely can't get BMW manuals anymore. The used to be available on CD's but BMW stopped the sale of them.
 
I did some searching and it appears that Ducati no longer has service manuals.
 
did Clymer give up on late-model aftermarket manuals?

I used to get both the factory/Clymer manuals, which could to be helpful, sometimes, having two looks/descriptions/sets of photos of the same process.

seems like you set out on one of these Patagonia RTW style trips, hoping not to have bad luck. once you're there, you just have to deal with it, part of the adventure, blah blah. I used to pack the wiring diagram, maybe, but would never pack a manual ... although I guess you kids might put it on a phone.

see if I can see if the Africa Twin has a current factory manual. that would be a mind-blowing sea-change from Honda, the great engineering company, if you can't get factory manuals for their modern bikes.

Mr Soichiro turning over in his grave.

idk, maybe the old-school factory manual just didn't make sense to print anymore? with all the updates/recall stuff modern engineering solutions require? just update on teh cloud ...?
 
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WoodsChick said:
As far as places to go, my mind has been on overdrive lately. Maybe it has to do with getting older and watching the last few years slip by without going anywhere or doing anything. I also know that the current situation will change sooner or later, and we will have the freedom to do some exploring once again. My eyes are on the horizon...
Click to expand...

:thumbup

have a vague plan to get over Walker Pass, or maybe sprint over Hwy 50 and get into the desert for x-mas ... keeping an eye on the weather, and trying to find my motivation. :laughing

the OP link, helped, motivation-wise. :party
 
SFMCjohn said:
did Clymer give up on late-model aftermarket manuals?

I used to get both the factory/Clymer manuals, which could to be helpful, sometimes, having two looks/descriptions/sets of photos of the same process.

seems like you set out on one of these Patagonia RTW style trips, hoping not to have bad luck. once you're there, you just have to deal with it, part of the adventure, blah blah. I used to pack the wiring diagram, maybe, but would never pack a manual ... although I guess you kids might put it on a phone.

see if I can see if the Africa Twin has a current factory manual. that would be a mind-blowing sea-change from Honda, the great engineering company, if you can't get factory manuals for their modern bikes.

Mr Soichiro turning over in his grave.

idk, maybe the old-school factory manual just didn't make sense to print anymore? with all the updates/recall stuff modern engineering solutions require? just update on teh cloud ...?
Click to expand...

The last Clymer BMW manual is 2016. I've been trying to get a repair manual for my 2018 R1200RS and have not been successful.
 
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WoodsChick said:
We saw one in the wild! We saw the TT Adventure E5 parked at Bear Mountain Pizza in Squaw Valley (the original one in rural Fresno County) and it was stunningly beautiful!
Click to expand...

They're gorgeous. They tickled all my funny bones, but I just wasn't comfortable enough with it to pull the trigger.

They're like Ducati's. I fear wanting is better than having.
 
The KTM 1090 Adventure R would be in your price range. Not sure if they're still selling that one, though. I found it better for pure street use than the 790R, but not quite as nimble off road.

You should have a look at the Suzuki V-Strom.
 
I try and get one to go with the new bikes I get, 2019 Monkey manual was also acquired, no issues.

Must be fallout on the "no service but factory service" , thing that Cat started a bunch of years ago.
 
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