drumboy said:

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Tim Weaver said:

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Royal Enfield seems to be pretty legit. They are working hard to make the company relevant again.

I'll say this: They seem to make a good product, but they aren't exactly caught up to 21st century standards. It's still a relatively low powered, simple machine. If long distance touring is in your future you would be best served by one of the middle-weight Japanese bikes. The big Japanese manufacturers have this segment on lockdown. They are efficient, trouble-free, and make decent power. Can cruise at 70+ for hours on end with no worries. This is something that even the expensive Euro brands can't really do.

The Euro bikes are good, but super expensive, require more frequent and more difficult maintenance.

The Chinese bikes (CF Moto, etc) are on the come-up, but it remains to be seen if they'll be succesful and how does the parts supply look in ten years?

Royal Enfield has made an impressive mark on the industry, but innovation is understandably slow. They don't have the same performance of the big guys. They look incredible though if vintage is your thing.

The Japanese make boring appliances that just work. That however is a benefit if you are riding around the world. You want something with no drama and parts availability even in Mongolia.

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Japanese bikes are cheaper but BMWs are on a different level for ride & build quality. I've had 4 or so KLR650s and a DRZ400 (and countless 2 stroke Honda/Yamaha mx bikes) and the GSPD and & 1200GSA felt night & day in every aspect. I'll be riding a GSA to Alaska at some point in my life after the first go round on a KLR.

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I wasn't trying to throw shade on the Euro stuff. They are a premium product, but that comes along with a premium price, both at purchase AND during service.

My Son had an Aprilia Shiver for a while and blew the motor on it. We swapped in a motor from ebay and cslling it "difficult" is quite an understatement. I've done car motors and transmissions a lot, but this bike was worse than any of them. The Euro stuff is just so dang complicated and difficult to work on. He has a Husky 701SM now and its much the same.

I like my "simple" Jap bikes.

Avoiding aggravating an old injury really. Looked at an 80s RM250 that had been restored and decided it was a no go. Was looking at a 90s DR350 and decided it was a bad idea for same reason. Really got no business with a 2stroke but still want one.

More rumors that an updated DRZ in the works.

https://www.advrider.com/updated-suzuki-dr-z400-appears-to-have-efi/

What type of riding clothes are you guys wearing for "adventure" type riding. Mostly rough pavement and not very well maintained dirt roads? I'm new at this and will be needing a helmet, boots, etc.

In the same boat. Trying to figure out what works for worst case scenario. Have looked a the boots with more protection but can also imagine a scenario where you beak down and need to walk for miles. Don't want to be stuck somewhere in boots that aren't made for walking. Also some sort of jacket with more protection in order.

I'll get panniers or saddlebag eventually and carry shoes and camping gear.

For pants have found carhartt overalls the most comfortable.

marcel ledbetter said:

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What type of riding clothes are you guys wearing for "adventure" type riding. Mostly rough pavement and not very well maintained dirt roads? I'm new at this and will be needing a helmet, boots, etc.

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I have a FirstGear Kathmandu riding suit that I'll sell for cheap, I believe it's a medium.

I just ride in jeans and work boots most of the time.

I do have a pair of first gear overpants, but somebody snuck into my house and shrank the waist band so I can no longer button them properly.

Looks like the rumors of a new DRZ are true.

ABS
TBI
New frame
Fly by wire
398cc

Look like the improvements they made were to meet emissions and safety regs in the EU, AUS and Japan.

The older I get the less I'm interested in new whiz-bang technology.

So far it seems like a pretty solid machine.

Finished that documentary Long Way Round the other day.

Documents a trip from London to NY going east for 13,000 miles through Siberia, Mongolia Eastern Russia, then flying the bikes to Anchorage.

Before they left they were trying to work a deal with KTM to use their bikes. KTM rep shows up and looks at what they were going to do and pulls out of the deal thinking they wouldn't make it and the company would look bad.

They end up on three BMW R1150GS. Two for the main guys and one for the camera guy

Bikes performed well up until they got off in Kazakstan, Mongolia, Siberia. They end up cracking the frame on two of the bikes and frying the ABS module on the camera guys bike when they tried to have the frame welded. He ends up buying a new Russian made bike out of a crate for $1300 and continues on the trip.

All the time off-road they struggling with the weight of the big bikes. They might have been way better off on a KLR, DR or XR. Otherwise the heavy BMWs performed great once they got on western highways in NA.

In any event, good show.

I watched that via old school iPod at motels on bike trips and it's really good.

Inspired me to get a 1200GSA that I unfortunately never rode due to life.

Moved on to Long Way Down filmed in 2007 where the same group goes from Scotland to Cape Town. This time on updated BMW 1200GS (~500# dry weight).

First failure was a blown out rear shock riding on washboarded road in Sudan. Support vehicle shows up and they didn't bring a spare. So the guy has to keep riding with no rear suspension.

Second failure was a sensor on the gearbox not allowing the bike to shift into gear. The guy calls BMW tech on satphone and he tells him which wires to cut to ground it out, and they carry on.

Weight and vibration seem to be causing the most problems with the bikes and also the support vehicles.

They had those bikes loaded down. We tried some off road in Baja with the green loaded KLR above and it got sketchy quickly.

Now the rear shock on the cameraman's bike fails. They smartly ordered an extra when they replaced the first one that failed. During the repair it look like they were carrying a bunch of random unnecessary tools that were heavy but who knows.

Bikes been dropped a few times beat up with w/ no major damage. The aluminum panniers they got carry cargo and most importantly limit the damage to the bike.

Washboard roads the enemy of these heavy bikes and the riders. Hands and feet going numb.

That said the roads in Africa look much more manageable than east Asia and much less remote. Every time they stop people come out of the woodwork.

I've always wanted to watch Long Way Round but it doesn't seem to be available to stream anywhere... What service are you using or did you just buy on dvd/bluray?

Watching on Apple+

They've got the Asia, Africa and SA to LA available on streaming.

I'm not quite ready for a trip around the world but I did get a bike that can do it. Had it about 16 months now and have put about 6k miles on it, I've done a few ergonomic mods and can easily go 500 miles with no discomfort and I've also done a couple of 250-300 mile days on 90% gravel roads. Planning to do a BDR at some point but want to do some offroad training classes first.

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Planning to do a BDR at some point

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Looking to do a section of BDR at some point this summer.

Watching these to see what kind of problems they run into.

What I've gleaned so far:

-limit weight as much as possible (they threw away a bunch of unnecessary stuff halfway into east Asia to save weight) Probably a lot to be learned from the 'ultralight' backpacking community here.

-any transition from dirt to gravel / sand warrants extreme caution.

-better off walking alongside the bike through deep mud, not worth the risk to see if you can make it'

-Will wear you down after a couple days, one guy having problems with hand due to vibration.

-Doesn't show them smoking at the start of the trip, but mid-way through Africa and Asia they smoking. Nicotine probably helps with alertness and fatigue.

You got the same tread pattern they using in Africa.

They started with less aggressive tires through western Europe and thenhad a BMW dealer switch the tires in Italy before they got on a ferry to Tunisia.

Even on gravel roads those tires make a big difference off pavement, in the sand it's night and day. I totally agree on weight, I am planning to remove the racks and use my lighter mosko moto revolver 80 bags for the BDR, already have ultralight tent, sleeping pad / zenbivy setup and have learned to pack very minimally. It's already a tall, heavy bike and I'm 6'4" and 285 lbs (working on that still) so I need to save weight everywhere I can

Finished the Africa. Not much happened with regard to the bikes. They swapped tires again about halfway through with spares carried by the support vehicle. Seemed like they were glad to get on fresh tires.

Had a puncture / split on a rear tire that they patched with a kit as they got into south Africa. Used two plugs and some glue. Look pretty sketch but I guess they finished the last couple days on it.

Last day of the ride with 300kms to go the camera man runs into the back of one of the guys and damages the bike. Looked beat up but still rideable and he finished it out.

More than fair to say the BMWs performed well. Was expecting them to have more problems. Terrain going east through Asia seemed much more difficult than Africa. Logistics of border crossings in Africa seemed like a bigger issue. Didn't seem like they had any real security or health related issues in Africa.

Looked into the one where they go from Argentina to LA on prototype electric bikes and Rivian EVs but that sounds far less appealing.

Watched EP 1 of Long Way Up (Argentina to LA) and it looks to be good. I was too quick to judge based on the EV component.

Before they decided to do the show, Ewan McGregor was going to do the trip solo on a XR 650 w/ extended range tank.

Same crew as first two. The guys are noticeably 12-years older.

Show had the backing of Apple+ from the get go so there is a noticeable difference in slickness of production but also due to 12-years more advanced tech.

Charlie has a couple serious wrecks that he's recovered from.

They partner with Rivian who custom builds them two prototype support vehicles. 01 and 02 off the Rivian line. Rivian also commits to installing fast chargers along the route for the trucks and bikes (so we'll see).

HD builds them two custom adventure bikes based on their street EV bike platform.

Any thoughts on the new KTM Enduro 390 R? It appears to check most of my boxes and I am ready to buy. I have a motocross background but with 2 kids now, looking to putt putt around the less crowded streets and do a little trail riding. I am doing a Baja Moto trip with some friends next year so need to get back on 2 wheels.

Additionally, do we have an Aggie relationship to purchase bikes from?

I had a '23 390 Adventure for a short time last year. It was definitely more of a street bike with a 19" front wheel and slightly more dirt-friendly tires. I liked it overall. Pretty fun engine that likes to rev with a 9-10k redline. The bike had a lot of features for the price like ABS and traction control.

It was stolen and later recovered. The bike was too damaged for me to want to keep it, so I took the insurance money and bought a KLR 650 S model. The KLR is more basic but a lot more of a true adventure bike.

Strapped a 1-gallon rotopax to the back of the DRZ and rode about 150-miles with it mostly on gravel / hard-pack dirt. It's functional but didn't care for it too much as it threw off the balance and feel of the bike. Weight was too high up and too far back. Probably go back to a single MSR fuel bottle for normal trips. Calculated 63 mpg over this stretch. Hitting reserve on a DRZ + 1 MSR bottle should be good for 50 miles to find gas.

Suzuki did a good job with the design of it and it stands the test of time. After 2K miles got no complaints. It does what it was designed to do. Still surprised at how good the suspension is.

I just moved back toward the ADV side of things. I traded in my Tracer on a '22 Multistrada V4S. I loved the Tracer, but missed having the capability to explore a dirt or gravel road on occasion. I've only gotten to ride it a couple times so far, but this Ducati is impressive.