Decisions Decisions........

[Standfast]

Hello,
This is my first post, ive been lurking for a wee while and reading various posts trying to make my mind up about what 600-650cc Enduro/adventure bike to get. The AT is not an option im afraid, it was more the XR650R that I wanted but these seem to be thin on the ground and living in Inverness in the Highlands doesnt make finding the right bike any easier either, when I do find it I do have some of the best roads and trails but thats another post.

I have three bikes in mind so if anyone has experiences with any of them please post up your thoughts, I will be using the bike every day to goto work but that doesnt matter too much as the short jont to work could be done on a vespa or an AT as its a 30mph 2miles there and back etc. The bike I want, I want to be able to handle decent trails and tracks and hills, with the odd 150mile road journey, I cant see much more than that in a day for now anyway.

These are the bikes ive narrowed down:

2002-03 Honda Xr650R
2003 KTM 640 LC4 Adventure
2004-2005 Yamaha TT600RE

The Honda and Yam both have small tanks but are lighter, especially the XR but larger tanks are available, the yamaha is aircooled and therefor the differences would be?........ Good/Bad/indifferent?? KTM comes with nice quality parts but the possibilty of spanner time, the XR comes with some nice parts too but maybe not so comfortable for that 150m journey and the Yamaha has had some Italian flair/cool added to it but again comfort? Now I know that these bikes arent designed for prolonged road use and individual preference plays a major part but its just your experiences I want as these bikes are hard to come by locally and therefor test-riding them is impossible without big distances. The nearest Ive found an XR from Inverness (North of Scotland) is Sheffield! So any comments are totally welcome.
Thanks
J

[Sharribee]

Welcome to the site, I'm afraid you wouldn't want my opinion because I'd just go with the one that looks the prettiests.

Some other very clever bod will be along shortly to give you some more useful information (and I am sure Vader and Lutin will be along to throw your thread off track a bit too)

There is an excellent sub forum for XR's where you'll find loads of stuff in there about the bike and I know Mudwiz loves his even if it does give him a numb bum after 50 miles.

[Lord Vader]

Sharrie How dare you suggest such a thing
Welcome to the site Standfast,we have a good few members in your part of the world.Why not pm Lowflyer as he is in Inverness as well.Maybe he can help you as he knows a lot of the roads and tracks up there and might be able to commend on your choice of bike or recommend something which might be better suited to your needs.
I love Inverness.Had the pleasure last year to stay over at lowflyers and loved what i managed to see in the short time we where there.Got to come back me thinks
I am sure there will be soon the "proper" bikers along to help in your quest but in the meantime you have to put up with sharrie and me.

[headseeze]

Out of the three you bikes you have listed there is always going to be a compramise between road and trail, but if want to be able to handle decent trails and tracks and hills then i would say go for the xr650r.lighter than the others but its not without its faults,the main problem for me is lack of electric start(aftermarket e-starts are around but it'll cost you an arm and a leg),not so much of a problem when on the road but wait till you're halfway up a hill on your third atempt,its the end of a long day riding and you're totally knackered,oh and stuck in a foot of mud,and you will really miss it. i know because i was that soldier! The range of the standard tank is also a problem I get about 70-90 miles from mine including light trail work and a good thrashing home but larger tanks are easily avaliable.the engine seems unburstable but you need to change the oil every 1000kms,not a problem for me as i dont get to use it so much at the moment,but if you are planing regular long rides it may be a problem.as may the seat,it's not exactly comfortable,I've been on a lot worse and 150miles is not too much of a problem. For off road the xr beats the yam in my opionion feels lighter and easier to handle on the trail(never ridden a ktm 640)but possibly too much power if that can be classed as a problem,but all depends on the type of trail you are riding and maybe your right hand! the lack of an electric start is the real prob for me and i keep thinking to sell it,but when it comes to the crunch I just cant bear to part with it.
Oh and its a honda.