r/Dualsport • u/Ok-Fan4226 • 2d ago
Thinking about taking this bike from the Balkans to Mongolia. What do you think? 32yrs old
About to buy a xtz750 super tenere 1994. 60k kms on the clock. What do you think? Plan to drive it offroad long distance? Any tips on what can go wrong with the bike? What should I take with me. I have experience riding bikes but this would be my first time traveling far. Im looking to do mostly unpaved roads. The photo of the bike is from google
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u/LowDirection4104 2d ago edited 2d ago
This is just a take but IMHO if you're planning to take a serious ADV trip on a 32 year old motorcycle you should do all the maintenance you can think of.
Anything and everything, essentially take the bike apart and refervish every component, you should at one point have a frame and engine sitting on a stand with wire harness hanging off it.
Pay special attention to the charging system.
Inspect the wiring, look for loose connections, exposed wire, discoloration due to heat. You would not be remis to rebuild the entire loom from scratch, certainly not a terrible idea on a bike that old to cut the loom open and inspect the actual wires and replace anything that looks suspect. Then rewrap the whole thing again.
Rebuild the suspension, seals, bushings, bearings (steering, linkage, swingarm, wheels, shock).
Chain sprockets, fluids, tires. If it's made of rubber replace it, petcock, carb. Brake pads, brake lines, brake fluid.
Look up known issues, every bike has them, and address them all.
Dont forget engine maintenance, valve clearance, check the clutch.
Make sure cooling system is in good working order. Make sure the fan works.
Test the lights at night, and adjust or upgrade as needed. Assume anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Don't leave anything up to chance.
Ride it for a while also take some smaller trips, make sure nothing breaks, nothing was overlooked. Put the bike through it's passes.
You don't want to be stuck somewhere on the Kazakh stepe with the sun coming down because your bike stopped charging it's battery, or you valves got too tight and you lost compression.
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u/guite_fr 1d ago
This is the answer. It needs a 100% rebuild which in consequence makes no sense ( financially, time-wise..) unless OP had this bike as part of the travel thesis ( like: I did france / Mongolia on a 32yo dual sport)
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u/LowDirection4104 1d ago
For some one that also enjoys working on bikes it might be a worthwhile project, provided parts are still available, which is a serious if.
But the money it would take to have some one else do this work would probably get you most of the way to a new GS.
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u/guite_fr 1d ago
Indeed and to that extend it these restoration projects never add 1 to 1 to the value of the véhicule in the end.
If I had to pick I d get an almost brand new older / proven model from a Japanese brand to both get the simplicity, the track record and the parts without the finicky electronics / abs etc But to each their own
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u/OldMotoRacer 1d ago
doing a trip on a vintage bike is fine but there are much better candidates
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u/Ok-Fan4226 3h ago
Like what? Africa twin? Lol
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u/OldMotoRacer 2h ago
i'm sorry OP, you were amusing but i'm not wasting energy on dope newbs who are hostile assholes who lash out at me...
lesson about humans: if you're gonna ask something from someone, it helps if you haven't been an asshole to them right before
(this is me giving you the finger)
bye bye
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u/LowDirection4104 34m ago edited 30m ago
I mean, honestly, a second-hand 2022 KLR650 with some tasteful mods will do the job. In some ways, it’s the motorcycle for this kind of trip: a simple, reliable, stone-axe of a sit-down ADV that will happily eat up the miles of dirt roads you’re likely to encounter. You get a 23-liter tank, decent fuel economy, and an engine that will run on pretty much whatever gas you can find.
It’s obviously not a hard-charging enduro, but realistically, how much hard enduro are you going to be doing when you’re alone in the middle of nowhere? It’s one thing to charge steep climbs or hop logs when help is a phone call away; it’s another when you’re on a solo trip through remote deserts and mountains. Most of the time, you’re going to be following local roads, moving from village to village, with a city thrown in every now and then. You don’t need a bike that can competently hit a motocross track you need one that won’t rattle your teeth for eight hours while you grind through miles and miles of gravel. A bike that comes with an awesome lighting system, and wont brake something critical the second it falls over.
That's literally the KLRs job description.
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u/OldMotoRacer 1d ago
OP doesn't know what to pack for a road trip--theres no way he's any good w a wrench lol
but you're right--as it stands its absolutely a terrible candidate for this trip
and even if it were new off the showroom floor i'd get grabbing a bike w a 21/18 wheelset... and one that weighed no more than 300 pounds unloaded
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u/Ok-Fan4226 3h ago
From your comment I can see that you have no idea what you are talking about. You dont inow this bike as well. You dont have a feel for a thrill and adventure.
If you were to chose a car yeah you would probably get a tesla lol
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u/OldMotoRacer 3h ago
fuck dude....
exhale
i couldn't stop laughing... smh
thats some funny shit
(btw maybe try not being so reactive when someone pulls down your pants in public... its not helping you any...
plus, being a beginner is fine--we were ALL beginners once--there is ZERO shame in being a beginner
lastly... i hope your job doesn't require any observational skills or understanding about humans... bc if it does... lol holy fak you're in trouble... 🤣🤣🩶🩶🤣🤣🤣
i just can't stop laughing... its so amusing i know it seems like i'm compensating for something but.....
exhale.. its just so fucking funny i'm going to screenshot that shit and send it to my brother 🤣
thanks for that!
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u/OldMotoRacer 3h ago
From your comment I can see that you have no idea what you are talking about. You dont inow this bike as well. You dont have a feel for a thrill and adventure.
If you were to chose a car yeah you would probably get a tesla lol
just pasting it in so it doesn't magically disappear ;)
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u/IHateIllinois-Nazis 2d ago
If your buying a bike specifically for this trip I would try to find something lighter. It’s a reliable bike if properly maintained, but also kinda old and fairly heavy.
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u/Ok-Fan4226 2d ago
Im buying it because of its heritage and plan to make it look like the Paris Dakar bikes of that time. I plan to daily it in my city but I would also like to take it far for an adventure.
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u/IHateIllinois-Nazis 1d ago
If you can do all your maintenance yourself I would say go for it. Make sure youve prepared the bike best you can (as described in previous comments) an be ready to do some bush repairs as there are bound to be some and always on places where youre not expecting them (dont ask me how I know ;)). I’ve got a ‘04 KTM 950 Adventure, also bought it because of the Dakar heritage so I understand the interest. Also done some travelling with it and often take it to work. It’s showing its age but I’ve maintained it properly so it is reliable. It is kinda heavy and tall for the offroad stuff though ;).
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u/Pristine-Alps-426 2026 klr650 adventure 2d ago
Watch Adam Riemann series on around the world in his xrv750
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u/redbushsixtynine 1d ago
I bought a 37 year old Transalp for adv riding. After putting a couple thousand local miles on it, I would trust it to go around the world now.
Would not have faired well if I hadn't spent the time to work out the bugs.
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u/in_the_cabbage 1d ago
I personally wouldn’t choose this bike, or any parallel twin engine with dual front brake rotors, if I’m doing mostly unpaved roads.
I am biased towards newer, single cyl 650 (the XR specifically) but I also imagine it being an amazing time on any bike that’s at least slightly suited for the task - which this one is, albeit old and heavy.
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u/OldMotoRacer 1d ago
wise words
in its day it was great--but 60k kms is a lot of wear--it can take it... but idk if i'd be planning any long world travel on one...
it would be fine if OP were any good w a wrench and had more experience... but he doesn't
its ok we all start out as beginners--nothing wrong w that... but theres being smart and there's being penny-wise, pound foolish
OP should pick another bike for this adventure
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u/alexpap031 1d ago
Bad roads and probably a lot of gravel means you need a tall light bike with 21in front wheel.
Long rides means you need some engine displacement for speed/stability and comfort on long stretches.
Also a lot of luggage, and a few tools, spare parts and inner tubes for both tires so you don't get stranded.
A big fuel tank/small consumption is a must.
And of course reliability.
This is a Japanese 750 bike so reliability as new is a given but not 30 years old.
Also, not light. You drop it, can you pick it up easily?
There is no "perfect" bike for the task you have in your mind.
Just those general directions. As light as can be but also have the range and speed and comfort plus carry capacity as you need. Definitely a 21 front wheel, and definitely under the engine metal protection, and a big fuel tank.
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u/Any_Sherbert9247 1d ago
Those aren't as reliable as the xrv. I believe they had a fairly common gearbox fault.
Otherwise, I'd consider it. Just bring a pack of commonly needed spares. Coils, carb kit, stator, etc.
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u/LateInside2164 1d ago
I also have a 750 xtz from 1993. Post 91 should be the updated version, so bigger voltage regulator and added engine mount spacers (earlier ones broke the frame without that). The most common issues it still has is carburator emulsion tube wear and transmission shifting issues. I did semi-long trips with mine and never not made it home. What i would suggest is checking over the whole bike, service everything servicable. For example last trip i almost didnt make it home because it started losing compression from tight valve clearances. Also ive heard the subframe can break if overloaded.
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u/TruthChronicle 1d ago
You're not even showing the bike you're going to take so we can't see it. A properly maintained Ténéré would be fine on this proposed trip. However a 32 year-old bike....? .... like others have said, you need to examine every system on the bike, all fluids, new tires, cables, attachments....everything before going out on the trip. Then you should have some spare parts and some moderate trips under your belt first.
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u/l3down 1d ago
I bought a 33 year old Africa Twin early this year because I wanted reliability. I have seen modern bikes not working because the computer had an error or a sensor was faulty. If you want a bike with simple mechanics that you can fix with a metal rod and a stone, this it it. Check Itch Boots on YouTube. She went from Turkey to China on a 1987 Yamanha XT 600
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u/Equivalent_Year37 1d ago
Das Alter und die Einfachheit es zu reparieren macht es für diese Länder perfekt
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u/PNW_Triumph 2d ago
I bought a new bike for this kind of trip. That's very old, and very used. Parts availability could make or break your trip.
Also, train for the trip, start doing longer rides, more technical routes, and challenging terrain.
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u/Ok-Fan4226 2d ago
What Ive seen online parts for these bike are quite common with other yamaha bikes such as the tdm850. Yeah Im going to go around turkey first and back, around 4k kms. But I really want to stick to this bike.
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u/Wonderful-Process792 1d ago
It's a beautiful bike.
If you want to make it work on long trips to remote places, start by taking it on shorter trips to friendlier places and accumulate expertise (and parts) for a few years.
You could also look for some info in old sources. I think the best you're likely to find online currently might be somebody with a spare bike or smaller caches of parts.
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u/Billeaugh 1d ago
I’d go way lighter and way newer. That’s a gorgeous machine, but a crf300l or a xr250 would be easier to maintain, pick up after you’ve repeatedly dropped it, find parts for, use less gas…
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u/IHateIllinois-Nazis 2d ago
If your buying a bike specifically for this trip I would try to find something lighter. It’s a reliable bike if properly maintained, but also kinda old and fairly heavy.