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Want to Buy Two up bike

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texaspatrick

texaspatrick

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Patrick
Alright, this is going to be kind of vague from the get go, but I’m a serious buyer looking for a bike I can do two up riding through the backroads of Mexico. I’m currently on a wr250r and I need a little more engine to get me and the old lady around.

Right off the top of my head, the bikes I’m considering are (in no order):

DR650
KLR (prefer first gen, no 08-09 years)
BMW800/1200GSA
Vstrom650
Super Tenere
CBX500

While I know all of these bikes are vastly different and capable in different departments, I’ve owned and ridden all of them (except the 1200GSA/CBX-just rode them), so I’m not really looking to get in a debate about which is best. I just need something that can haul us and our minimal stuff around for a few weeks.

I really like working on bikes and don’t mind putting in the time on some projects, but I’m not looking for a basket case right off the bat. That said, I also can’t buy your 2019, $14,000gsa. Let’s meet in the middle.

If you’ve got something not on the list that I can take on some dirt (think of the road on the back side of Bucareli), let me know.

Im not really looking for a swap, but I’ve got a 1997 DR350 (E-start), 2013 Burgman200, and a 2015 metropolitan that I could be talked into trading…But I’d rather buy another bike because I hate having space in my garage


Send me a message or reply here, I’m curious to see what people may want to unload.
 
I know you'll get a good bike but more importantly, I want to hear about this adventure when it happens.
(Ya shoulda bought my wee Strom ;-)
 
I have a good strom 650. It has almost 70k miles but I wouldn't hesitate to ride it anywhere. Super comfortable and way more power than a KLR.

Edit. It will be up for sale soon but if you are interested and need it soon, let me know.
 
Last edited:
SpiritAtBay said:
I know you'll get a good bike but more importantly, I want to hear about this adventure when it happens.
(Ya shoulda bought my wee Strom ;-)
Click to expand...
I saw it for sale and thought about it, but I wasn’t 100% sure what kind of trip we were going to take!
jkelley82 said:
I have a good strom 650. It has almost 70k miles but I wouldn't hesitate to ride it anywhere. Super comfortable and way more power than a KLR.

Edit. It will be up for sale soon but if you are interested and need it soon, let me know.
Click to expand...
Message sent!
 
We love our GS' for 2-up riding (both the 1200 & the current 1250) to the point where, in Portugal, after our 1st day on one my wife pointed to the bike and said "we're buying one of these when we get home!" Previously we had an 800GS which was ok but carries its weight a little high for 2-up & always felt a little tippy.

The BMWs with electronic suspension are nice because they automatically adjust when you go solo or pairs.

I think you'll find anything under 800cc rather underpowered for extended pillion use.
 
Hi.
I have a 2013 Triumph Explorer with a complete set of saddle bags and top case. I listed it today on cycle trader. Bike has 24000 miles, needs nothing and has brand new set of Anakee 3 tires (less than 100 miles on them). Perfect bike for a long trip like you are planning. I picked up a 2019 Triumph Tiger 1200 with 1000 miles, I cant justify two similar bikes.

It is listed on Cycle Trader. This is the link:


Let me know if you want to see it.
 
This might tick some of your boxes...

I have a DL1000 Vstrom, 2002, with about 67,000 miles. It has relatively new Anakee's on it, less than 500 miles as I recall but maybe a touch more.
It is about to have the master cylinder rebuilt on the clutch (IT's hydraulic on this unit).
It has the original sport windscreen that came with it as well as a Madstad adjustable windscreen.
It has a Seat concepts seat on it that treated me well riding from Dallas to Toronto
It is setup with Givi side bags with a generic Ebay rear trunk but I also have some soft bags the previous owner .
It has crash bars (slightly used from some dual sport offroading and tipping over in soft grass)
It has some HID LED strobes on the front fork tubes and when riding with folks the general consensus is they really had to approach visibility.
I have also installed LED headlights.
I do have a set of LED front blinkers that I have put off installing but would be happy to get them on for anyone
Stebel air horn is installed
It's got some minor scratches and rub marks here and there but it runs great still.
It has a power commander on it but it was installed by the previous owner and I have it set dead neutral.
Battery is about a year old - I have had it in a tender regularly when not riding it and been keeping stabil in the fuel it and running it regularly to try and prevent any standing fuel issues.
Has heated grips along with some of the soft Pro-grip handles
I installed a USB port on the Fairing plastics
Has the Re-worked clutch basket modification to eliminate the clutch judder that it had when I first bought it.
Chain has about 2500 miles on it but the front and rear sprockets looked in great shape
I'll have to dig around some but I think I have a bike cover for it

I'm sure there is some other farkle related stuff with it but I'm hard pressed to remember right now

The bike is very solid and has never failed me but it does have three things that I nor the previous owner were able to resolve.
  • One being is that it has a rattle that I believe is in the fairing plastics area because there is a crack at the point where the plastic for the headlight comes together and it's just one of those things were I have been very tolerant and gotten over it but the first time you feel or hear it it does give you a *** moment. I just never wanted to chase down all the parts to try and fix it because they are harder to come by than ever before
  • The second is that sometimes the clutch reservoir just empties itself with no apparent leak. I believe it is dumping with grease and dirt into the area with the front sprocket because when I changed the chain it was an unholy mess so I have the parts to rebuild it but just have not gotten around to it because of life and all
  • The third issue is that sometimes after sitting a while the bike will backfire a little upon decel. The previous owner indicated that he put the power commander on it, took it in for a valve job, and had them check all of the throttle body and air box gaskets to just be sure nothing had come loose. When all said and done he either had no tune loaded on it or maybe the battery died and it reset the tune but it's one of those things where it only happens when the bike sits for a while, I have had no reason to mess with the power commander, and it will do it a tiny bit after sitting and sometimes die on decel from the backfire but I usually just fire it back up and give the throttle a whack through 3 or 4 gears and that usually clears it out until I get stupid and let it sit for months on end, so Bravo for the Italian tune-up.

I would ride it daily but my work requires me to fly out of state/town a lot so it's a matter of practicality. Additionally I recently inherited my fathers 82 Electra-glide so that is a money pit to put back together and get running but once done it's going to replace the Vee's for touring duties so I'm looking to clear up some garage space for pojects and stuff as well as get the bike to a good home to someone who can really enjoy it. I do not have a price handy at the moment but I'll just say maybe $2000/negotiable. I'm not trying to get rich off it, lol No photos at the current moment but I can take some tomorrow. I've been meaning to list this bike for a while but the hoarder in me just has a hard time letting it go

I was actually considering riding it out to East Texas to visit my father but hey, I have 4 other bikes I can work with eventually, lol.
 
I can't help you with the bike, but I'm seriously impressed with your girl who's willing to ride around Mexico with you on such a small bike. Well done Sir, you have someone special in your life!
 
I've been considering listing my 1150gsa for sale. I'm in the middle of doing basic maintenance on it right now (new air filter, new fuel lines, etc.). It's the one in my sig fwiw.

The only reason I'm thinking about sending it down the road is I've barely ridden it in the last 4 or 5 years.
 
You'd be remiss not to consider a Moto Guzzi Stelvio. They are reliable air-cooled, shaft drive, mile eaters with a huge 8.5 gallon tank that can be had fairly cheap. I'm not selling mine, but thought it might be worth considering.
 
We ride two-up on our 2017 DL650 quite a bit. I upgraded the rear suspension by sending the stock unit to Sasquatch and it transformed the bike.
I am 220 SWMBO is 155 and the Wee will cruise all day at 70+ without any strain. The chassis can also easily take a decent load (IIRC) about 447lbs.
Plus they can be fixed pretty much anywhere in North America:thumb:
 
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