Iceland bike choice?. 390 ADV vs 300 Rally

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

I'd see what your Dad is happiest with/most comfortable on and take 2 of those.

[adventure steele]

Cheers guys yep dads a 30 inch inside leg n I'm 32 inch
So the Rally raid level 1 suspension would be ace for the rally / 300l or the Himalayan's out of the box. An yep totally agree what he ends up more comfortable about is the one we will both get as I tend to enjoy riding anything really. Very interesting seeing what more experienced travel an off road people think bike wise between them all.

I'm gonna try get us a day at Stephs n pick some new skills up and one at Nathan's once the shoulder is better.

Hopefully after the Iceland Trip next year we will be doing alot more travel so trying to forward think a bit on them

[Jak*]

The stalling issue on the Euro 4 is easily remedied by a booster plug. You can make your own, buy an expensive one from Hitchcocks or buy one from a bloke off the Himalayan Owners UK Facebook group.
If you are tall the 300 rally is probably better off road. I found the 250 CRF too revs for me and although in theory it is lighter than the Himmy it felt more top heavy. The Himmy is really easy to pack luggage on and has a good tank range as standard. If you want to make it lighter, ditch the centre stand, the original silencer and put a Hagon shock on it. The worst bit of it for the trip you have planned is probably the seat. Some are okay but a lot of UK owners have had them reworked by SAS auto trims, who do an excellent job, quickly and at a good price.
To me for what you are doing the Himmy is ideal but then I am biased as I have done 34,000 miles on mine. Itchy Boots rode hers halfway round the world and another young lady is travelling the world on hers and has clocked up 37,000 miles. In your situation I would definitely would a day at. Nathan’s. Good luck whatever you choose.

[adventure steele]

Thanks Jak that's great information yep weight isn't always the full picture lots can come down to centre of gravity to, that's really interesting to see how you've got on with the Himalayan does the other woman have instagram or anything always good to see new travellers.

Yep Nathans is gonna be my first port of call once I'm able shoulders finally feeling a bit better today so hopefully I can get some sleep tonight haha! Just been re binge watching all his videos.

[minkyhead]

remind nathan to pack his front axle tool when u see him

[adventure steele]

Lmao will do that's one way to sort a puncture on the Rally then strategic weight saving!

That screen setup is smart on the white n black CRF assuming it's an L?

[garyboy]

If you have the Strom, that's what I recommend you use.
In Iceland off roading is not allowed. The Strom is good for the F roads as long as they don't get too sandy. It's better on the main roads than most others mentioned here. I'd take the Strom and put on new knobby tires on arrival.
If you had no bike I'd recommend the Honda rally. Or get the L and add a screen.
KTM 390 adventure is something I'd also recommend.

I was thinking along the same lines .. 390 sounds a good choice though I got no personal experience of it ..
If you can't get hold of a 300 rally at the moment, possibly try a 250 Rally, as not a huge difference to the 300, even though higher than the 300.

I would try one 250 Rally, keep the v strom, .. you can swap as you go, .. remember that the 250 will feel the cross winds on the highway, but handle, probably, easier off road .. andyou can swap, when the going gets tough for one of you?

When you get back, you can make a more informed decision, especially as the crf will sell ok.

BTW, loads of rough trails in Iceland.. I seen Tim's reports.

[adventure steele]

Thanks Gary really appreciate the reply was actually thinking along those lines bringing a bike in while we still have my vstrom once the superbikes are sold that way we can try whatever we get back to back.

[minkyhead]

Lmao will do that's one way to sort a puncture on the Rally then strategic weight saving!

That screen setup is smart on the white n black CRF assuming it's an L?

one more thing to consider i guess night riding on the L is interesting ..headights are at best marginal ..the rallys are much better but although they look trick there not optimal ..they benifit from a cheap led strip wired to the high beam which makes em pretty decent if cought out after dark ..i were lucky with the lynx fairing ..picked it up 2nd hand for 300 bats ....but new they are a price to land
its correct i think to say that if you want to ride unmettled roads mostly twin track theres a huge selection out there that will do that and the highway better than the crfs ...if you want to be able take on single track stuff deep ruts rocks and steps the full remit of whats possible to come accross ..you will have a rough time on the himmy ..ive near 13inches clearnce ont crf and still banged it proper on some horrible leg dangly rut fuck last week . i rode darrens 300 last week and all hes done is a stronger fork spring and a yss rear shock cost was 400 quid all in and it rides very very well plush controled stable and very capable ....the newer model forks can do a very decent good job at trail speeds ..the rear shock as always is scrap ...but it doesnt take a gazzillion quid at rally raid to make the bike proper trail ready ..there is pleanty of pretty expierianced lads doing just fine on the rally o/e forks they really do soak stuf up in pleasent plush way ..one advantage of the big travel they have as standard ..you would be surprised how many of our crew have crfs now ..all running yss shocks and no ones complaining ..they are very very good.a guy you size with luggage woulkd need a 100nm spring on but they do give exelent daming and rebound control and traction

[adventure steele]

Thanks Minky that's a good point on the headlight it's a shame we didn't get the one the aussies got they got an LED unit.

Wow awesome video and pictures really goes to show how capable the CRF is and how as our riding experience on travel and off roads grow the bikes ability would be more than ready. I'd love to do Morocco one day and Central America and Africa but that's further down the line.

Just want to say I really appreciate you all taking the time to comment