There were a couple of options when it came to buying a bike for the trip. The first was to buy a bike in the ' States, given the strength of the pound against the dollar. The second was to buy at home and ship to the start point, which would cost more but cut down on paperwork and preparation hassles.
The bike needed to be on road and off road (unsealed/dirt roads) capable, have a decent-sized fuel tank, excellent reliability and reasonable comfort for several hundred mile days. At first I was looking to buy either a 2008 Kawasaki KLR650 or a KTM 640 Adventure in the US state of Montana, as there is nothing in the way of sales tax to pay (and what a sweet place for test riding!). The KLR ticked all the right boxes, according to Kawasaki they'd even sorted the notoriously uncomfortable seat for 2008. In the end I decided I wanted a more road-oriented bike as the vast majority of the route would be on sealed roads.
The next bike on my list was the Suzuki DL650 Vstrom. Fitted with appropriate protection and decent tyres it would handle dirt tracks, was good on fuel, comfy for mile munching and could carry a decent load. I eventually decided to buy in the UK as I had a part exchange, and although that now means I have to pay for shipping to North America, at least the bike will be run in and hopefully prepared before the trip starts.
I bought the DL650X, which came with a bashplate under the engine, handguards and engine bars to hopefully save some damage to the bike if I drop it, and a short windshield. I ordered a centrestand too, in case I have to remove a wheel on the road. When I picked it up the bashplate was not fitted as the fittings had not been supplied, and it came with about enough fuel to get me to a petrol station. Ahh, customer service :)
Cheers,
The bike needed to be on road and off road (unsealed/dirt roads) capable, have a decent-sized fuel tank, excellent reliability and reasonable comfort for several hundred mile days. At first I was looking to buy either a 2008 Kawasaki KLR650 or a KTM 640 Adventure in the US state of Montana, as there is nothing in the way of sales tax to pay (and what a sweet place for test riding!). The KLR ticked all the right boxes, according to Kawasaki they'd even sorted the notoriously uncomfortable seat for 2008. In the end I decided I wanted a more road-oriented bike as the vast majority of the route would be on sealed roads.
The next bike on my list was the Suzuki DL650 Vstrom. Fitted with appropriate protection and decent tyres it would handle dirt tracks, was good on fuel, comfy for mile munching and could carry a decent load. I eventually decided to buy in the UK as I had a part exchange, and although that now means I have to pay for shipping to North America, at least the bike will be run in and hopefully prepared before the trip starts.
I bought the DL650X, which came with a bashplate under the engine, handguards and engine bars to hopefully save some damage to the bike if I drop it, and a short windshield. I ordered a centrestand too, in case I have to remove a wheel on the road. When I picked it up the bashplate was not fitted as the fittings had not been supplied, and it came with about enough fuel to get me to a petrol station. Ahh, customer service :)
Cheers,
Frase.
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