Adventure Bike Rider Forum

So here goes...

I am an ex transalp 650 owner - who sold his much beloved transalp to fund the purchase of another bike....Now I am slightly better money wise, so I would like to build myself a dual sport bike to ride the local trails and do some short 2-4 day trips in easy trails in italy....I thought of starting with some sort of large trail bike and adding some luggage capacity

I need a bike which is

1. lighter than my transalp - looking at between 150 and 200kg
2. 450 cc is enough, I am also happy with a single cylinder...but I was finding the transalp engine to be too bland...so something peppery would be appreciated
3. if possible aircooled simply for more ruggedness and ease of maitainance
4. reliable and easy to maintain...so something japanese...and no crazy 30hr engine rebuild service schedules
5. I dont care about modern gizmos like ABS, blah blah blah....
6. seat height is not a problem...i am tall with long legs and quite fit....

I am perfectly happy to restore an 80s bike to fulfill this role, as i believe that a true adventure bike should be capable of being badly treated without major financial mishap, but i have no idea which bikes are ideal for this role, so I would appreciate your suggestions

R.

DR350(se)

A TTR 600 might tick most of your boxes??

Suzuki DR350SE/DR650SE/DRZ400, Honda XR650L, Yamaha XT600/TTR600, Kawasaki KLR600/650, BMW F650.

I know you said 450cc is enough but that would limit your choice a fair bit.

CCM 644

boboneleg wrote:Suzuki DR350SE/DR650SE/DRZ400, Honda XR650L, Yamaha XT600/TTR600, Kawasaki KLR600/650, BMW F650.

I know you said 450cc is enough but that would limit your choice a fair bit.

I think Bob's covered most of the likely candidates. If your staying local the smaller bikes would be better but with trips across Europe I'd be looking at the 650s.

Steve

Ttr 600, or xt 600 would be a good solid choice imo, and have a history of such use.

Last year I did a 3000 mile solo tour around the Pyrenees, French and Swiss alps on a CCM GP450. A bit boring at 70mph on motorways but other than that ideally suited for alpine passes and off road trails whilst carrying a reasonable amount of luggage in panniers and a topbox.
Light enough to pick up if you drop it and brilliant for the swooping bends of mountain passes.
Not the cheapest solution but probably ticks all your boxes.

XR400 with a Acerbis fuel tank. (thumbs)

Hi long time fellow xrv member. You the same guy who lives on Malta?

If so your probably restricted by local availability or even Italy, a old dr350 from France or yam ttr with upside down merry christmas