Transalp to Dommie?

[Mudwiz]

Say I was to convert to a Dominator, from a 650 Transalp. Quite what differances would I experience?

One of the main advantages for me would be the far simpler bike, with less to break, and easier "on the fly" fixing. (I think.)

The jobs it would need to do are mainly short (up to about 50 mile) trips to green lanes etc, and longer (250 mile) trips to UK rallies. Ideally, it would also do the sort of gentle enduros I do, with an eventual aim of the Baja UK and possibly Dawn to Dusk, and the b2b (africa) trip.

OK, so I really need an xr400, but the heart really doesn't want to go that way!

[boboneleg]

Chris, I've had both bikes and would sum it up like this..........

Dominator.....a lot lighter and therefore better off-road, good on A/B roads but tiresome on motorways.

Transalp..........heavier but suprisingly competent off-road (but you know that) and like a big comfy armchair on tarmac and will do motorways.

Last year I rode my Transalp down to Spain, did a rally on all types of tracks and rode it back home without a single problem........nuff said.

However I am not knocking Dominators as I had one for 5 years and loved it.

My score...........Transalp 9/10.............Dominator 8/10

cheers, Bob.

[beep]

I've done similar, going from a Transalp to an FMX. I've also ridden the Dommie and used the XR400 in europe and africa.

Obviously the Dommie has a bit more get up and go than the FMX and would be considerably better offroad.

The first thing you'll notice is the massive drop in weight, the wet weight of the FMX/Dommie must be at least 20-30kg lighter and it feels it! The Dommie makes an even better town bike than the TA, but is next to useless on the motorway or fast A-road. 200+ miles are quite possible but forget about going much over 70-80 for any length of time.

The riding position on the Dommie (and FMX) is just as feet forward as the TA, but the seat on the Dommie is as hard as nails and soon becomes uncomfortable, if you're riding on straight roads. Windblast can be problem too, but there is a small nose fairing which helps.

It can take some time to get used to riding a big single. Gear selection is vital and once you learnt to change up early(ish), I think the Dommie engine is probably more fun than the TA. There's definately a sweet spot in rev range and the Dommie isn't happy being revved like the TA, it get pretty rough at the top end and snatchy at low revs. Engine breaking is more on the single too.

Maintenance is obviously a bit simpler on the Dommie, but being a big single, you'll need to get used to checking the oil carefully (check it after you've been for a run, to get a true reading). But it is a lot simpler, with no watercooling to bother about. The Dommie will probably eat more chains too. I'd say they're both very reliable and low maintenance. I don't see any overwhelming reason to trade in a TA for a Dommie, in terms of maintenance - afterall the TA is "bulletproof".

I'm happy with the FMX, but wouldn't want to do much more than 100miles a day on it. I'm sure it'd be okay, but the TA would make a better job of it.

It really comes down to how much offroading you intend to do. Personally never even considered using my TA offroad! From this point of view the Dommie wins hands down, much less weight and less to break when, sorry if, you drop it.

You mention the XR400, which is great offroad, but it'd be a real pain to ride on the road, you really would be searching out the b-roads or unclassified roads. Flat out it'll do 80 or so but is much happier at 65 or less. It has much faster handling than the Dommie and it's a "proper" offroader, softer suspension - a great desert bike. Kick start too, but not too much hassle, once you've learned the technique. I've been on a couple of trips with Motoaventures and the owner regularly ran them up to and beyond 25000km off road with no problems - a very reliable bike. And far more crash proof than even the Dommie - which makes it fun to ride, not having to worry about breaking anything.

Another bike worth considering might be the XR650L. Dominator engine (electric start) in a more offroad chassis. Although I've only seen a couple for sale in the UK, there are some about and parts aren't a problem (they are a US/Oz model and parts are available through the likes of Bikebandit). Very tall seat mind you. Might be the ideal compromise, but hard to get hold of. Or an XR650R - bit higher maintenance, no electric start, but it's not much more difficult to start than the XR400. Only ridden one very briefly and it's faaast!! It has a LOT of power, not sure if this is what you're after, it might be a bit of a handful offroad.

[storm]

hoi

i'm doing 150kms per day on my dommie, in two parts [there-return] and about 65-70% of it is on motorways. i'm trying to figure out, what should i get - even if i feel the dommie as the best driveable ever bike. it was only two days mine, but i've felt that i've rode it since the eternity. but it's waaaaay unconfortable on motorways... i'm riding it around 120-130kph, to consume less, but it's a pain in the @ss - exactly it is. the journey takes 1-1.5 hours per route, but it's hard to do

winds are ok around this speed - i've tried an yamaha xt, that has no headpiece: at 110kph the wind rips me off of the bike.

i'm trying to figure out now, how could i get a transalp without telling it my wife... [in hungary i cannot get a transalp for the price i can sell my dommie]
the other choices would be a yamaha tdm or an africa twin [waaay more expensive, just dreaming...] the tdm could be in the same price level, but it's not off-road capable [at least not that way i mean off-road capability...]

[babybadger]

Last year I rode my Transalp down to Spain, did a rally on all types of tracks and rode it back home without a single problem........nuff said.

How long did it take to get down to Spain on a Transalp? I have to do a trip to Valencia later this year.....

[boboneleg]

How long did it take to get down to Spain on a Transalp? I have to do a trip to Valencia later this year.....

Two days to get to the Pyrenees but Valencia would take longer.

[Sohoeasy]

Not much I can ad ! I've had 3 Domi's (all back in the 80's) one of my all time faves Ran one from Calais to Rostock flat out & non stop.Never a whimper! (what's more suprising -my mate mate was with me on his XT500)......Best ever off road though was the KLR,but it did like to bend valves

[piguglyshandydrinker]

Hmmm, I can see the ligic Mudwiz but having ridden wheeliebins Dommie last Sunday, I certainly wouldn't want to undertake a longish motorway trip - particularly if limited time is available.
Light, agile & pokey around town but feels vibey & very light/unstable on the front end at mainroad speeds.

Phil

[wheeliebin]

Not wanting to upset any Dommie owners, but, the under-powered piece of sh!t had to go. It was doin' me head in on open roads.

Really impressed with it off-road though even on Avon Distanzias.

[Mervinh]

Underpowered try an SLR 39 bhp or FMX 36 bhp? i quite like the flexibility on the lanes though
Merv