Hyperstrada for world travel?

I'd rather take my V-Strom 650 for that type of thing. More available parts. Cheaper. Better range. Not worried about messing it up. Probably more reliable. More comfort.

Not as much fun in the twisties but you'd be thankful the rest of the time!

The fact that you are even considering doing this with any bike makes it likely that you know a lot more than me about these sort of trips. I just wanted to say that I hope you do it so you can post how she did!

I've often thought about Austrlia to the UK...this is a path that many take. See this blog The Path Less Ridden | Two-wheeled wandering?

However, the more I watch and learn, the more I realise that the Hyper is not the bike...you would be better with the V-Strom or even better with a DRZ 650.

If you do, please bring a lot of gear shift lever.

Victoreric,
The site above is interesting because they have gone far on the DRZ 650. If you're really serious about global travel the first site below is the best I've come across and the second is a Multi that did Australia.

Welcome to the global home of motorcycle travel and overland adventure travel! | Horizons Unlimited
The Grand Australian Roadtrip : Motographing 23,000 kms on a Ducati with Shell Advance

If it can be done on a Multistrada, as the xBhp guy has proved many times now, it can also be done with a Hyperstrada.... it seem to me that the 821 engine is proving to be pretty reliable.

I just took mine on a 2,000 mile trip, not that far. The bike is not designed for heavy off road or for carrying a lot of things. The bags are JUNK.

If a v-strom can do it this can do it. Both road bikes, but the the strada is a better one in terms of weight, agility and fun.

It really depends on how offroad you're going - and your idea regarding repair is a good one. I'd check this out: Rally-Raid Products Honda CB500X | Page 72 | Adventure Rider

and: http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/trans-am-500-the-seven-year-itch.1061450/

Having had a cb500f I can testify to how much fun these bikes can be.

Also, Honda is coming out with the new Africa twin - it looks perfect for your plans, and is designed with easy basic maintenance in mind. For example, the air filters can be changed without removing the gas tank etc..

I love the strada - just got back from 1k of back road scratching and camping, and it just gets better - but it's a high compression, highly stressed engine, it needs premium fuel, the desmo is complex and specialized, and if it broke in xxxxxistan, good luck with that.

Another thing to note is that it attracts a lot of attention - not always a good thing.

beef **** said:

I just took mine on a 2,000 mile trip, not that far. The bike is not designed for heavy off road or for carrying a lot of things. The bags are JUNK.

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Gotta say this is one man's opinion (granted, a man named beaf ****, so that counts for something.) I carry about a 80 - 100lbs of gear with no issues, and the bags work fine. For rtw - yeah - better to get a rear side frame and strap on some wolfmans.

Yeah, I really like the new Africa Twin also, Appliance. However, it is heavier than I was really hoping for. Also, I'm curious to see what the upcoming Husqvarna 701 Enduro will be like.. Might be more in the right weight class for my taste. Will definitely check out the Africa Twin when it's out, regardless.... never had a Honda before..

BlueSwede said:

Yeah, I really like the new Africa Twin also, Appliance. However, it is heavier than I was really hoping for. Also, I'm curious to see what the upcoming Husqvarna 701 Enduro will be like.. Might be more in the right weight class for my taste. Will definitely check out the Africa Twin when it's out, regardless.... never had a Honda before..

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Between Husky and KTM there's some interesting stuff in the works. The revamped 690 single and the new 800 twin, not to mention the svartpilen... Thing with ktm is that there's usually a failure that takes a few months to show up - they never fix it, but 3rd party stuff comes out. If I was doing RTW I wouldn't do it on a new ktm/husky model.

The At is heavy (though lighter,in base form, than the BMW 1200gs,S10, and ktm 1190 ) - and I keep finding myself on nasty rocky stuff with my strada and it's a handful at 50lbs lighter. My guess is that a few mods brings the AT to within 20lbs of the strada - though it is a different ball of wax, and would probably roll over the **** that keeps knocking me around.

appliance821 said:

Gotta say this is one man's opinion (granted, a man named beaf ****, so that counts for something.) I carry about a 80 - 100lbs of gear with no issues, and the bags work fine. For rtw - yeah - better to get a rear side frame and strap on some wolfmans.

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One man's opinion indeed! Riding style and the places you want to go should be in mind before buying a bike. I must say though, my beef **** don't add a whole lot to my 5'10" 170 lb frame

My bags have 5,000 miles on them in 3 months and are faded purple and practically coming apart at the seams. My Ducati "Performance" tank bag is ripped after two weeks of use. I don't overstuff things and they haven't seen any terrain that the rest of the bike hasn't. Ducati's gear is overpriced garbage. Fit for carrying groceries around town and that is about it.

As for traveling around the world, the bike is a lot of fun... yeah. Nimble, quick, fun in the twists and easy to maneuver. One wrong line through a bouldery jeep-trail though and you are ******. I banged the bottom a few times on moderate fire roads, it is not well protected. It is not geared well for even semi-rough off-road. When you get stuck in the middle of nowhere looking for parts or service... good luck! If you are doing all highway and gravel roads - go for it. Also, high speeds are not fun for extended periods of time. The wind protection is mediocre at best.

I bought the Hyperstrada because it is a good all around bike. It's not the best tourer, not the best racer and not the most dependable. It does good enough at a lot of things, but doesn't particularly excel in any one area except FUN.

If you want a bike for "Around the World" I'd suggest a BMW or KTM and plan to drop about $5-10k on additional gear, that is... if you want to take the FUN routes.

beef **** said:

One man's opinion indeed! Riding style and the places you want to go should be in mind before buying a bike. I must say though, my beef **** don't add a whole lot to my 5'10" 170 lb frame

My bags have 5,000 miles on them in 3 months and are faded purple and practically coming apart at the seams. My Ducati "Performance" tank bag is ripped after two weeks of use. I don't overstuff things and they haven't seen any terrain that the rest of the bike hasn't. Ducati's gear is overpriced garbage. Fit for carrying groceries around town and that is about it.

As for traveling around the world, the bike is a lot of fun... yeah. Nimble, quick, fun in the twists and easy to maneuver. One wrong line through a bouldery jeep-trail though and you are ******. I banged the bottom a few times on moderate fire roads, it is not well protected. It is not geared well for even semi-rough off-road. When you get stuck in the middle of nowhere looking for parts or service... good luck! If you are doing all highway and gravel roads - go for it. Also, high speeds are not fun for extended periods of time. The wind protection is mediocre at best.

I bought the Hyperstrada because it is a good all around bike. It's not the best tourer, not the best racer and not the most dependable. It does good enough at a lot of things, but doesn't particularly excel in any one area except FUN.

If you want a bike for "Around the World" I'd suggest a BMW or KTM and plan to drop about $5-10k on additional gear, that is... if you want to take the FUN routes.

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A little harsh but sure. Though I think it's a very good tourer. Not a high speed beast, though I can comfortably cruise at 75 - 85 depending on the wind, but roll on that power and you can pass 6 cars and an xanax riddled suv faster than a blink - and life is good again.

Although,I'd never look at BMW, and the ktm 690 needs a lot of upgrades for rtw - I'd look at the Rally Raid cb500x very carefully.

Victoreric said:

I just got back from a 3800kms loop from Vancouver to California searching out some of the best twisties the Pacific Northwest has to offer and I have to say that I love my HS for these kinds of trips. It's comfortable enough to get there without pain and a lot of fun in the tight twisties when I get to it. Bags were great for a 7 day trip and will need more if it's an extended one. Other upgrades I would like after this trip is a larger windscreen. Hopefully I can find a height adjustable one and also wider to get that wind around me better. If it's going to anywhere barren, I would definitely extend the gas range either with a bigger tank or some Rotopax.

This trip is the one that inspired me to see if I can take the HS further. Will likely pick mostly paved roads for sure. I can see this bike is perfect for me across North America and across Europe. It's just the crossing between Eastern Europe to Asia that I have to pick my route carefully.

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Long dead thread I guess.
That's an impressive ride on the Hyper. Nice report and I'm hopeful my new to me Hyper will be able to match what you've done!
If you're serious about RTW (most aren't) look no further than these two bikes:
Yamaha WR250R
Suzuki DR650

I'm buying a WR250 soon, will be outfitting it for LD travel over next year. My current DR650 has over 60K miles of mostly out of USA travel. (mostly Mexico, 5 trips to Baja, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Idaho ... and MORE.

You only need read the LONG and HUGE DR650 thread on ADV Rider, in Thumpers sections. It's the BIGGEST thread on all of ADV Rider forum with over 24 million views.

Also, DR Rider forum is good. But for info on RTW, you can't beat HUBB.
(Horizon's) I was active there 10 years ago when I was doing lots of Mexico on my DL1000 (90K miles) Lots to learn.

Find the MANY Ride Reports featuring the DR650 and you will be sold. As I get older I'm leaning toward the WR250R.

The DR is lighter than many other bikes ... and is MORE RELIABLE than just about any other bike I can think of in the 650 dual sport class. Fact is, the
DR650 is the BEST ADV travel bike out there. Fantastic value, tough as nails and SO easy to work on. I've owned KLR, XR650L, XR400, R100GS, KTM Duke ll,
Vstrom 1000, 2 DR650's ... and 30 more over last 40 years. DR650 hard to beat.

Do a few key mods and you will be HAPPY as a clam when you're 20K km away from Canada. LOTS of Canadians on the HUBB, many DR owners there too.
The WR is a close 2nd.

On many of the roads in S. America and Mongolia you'll find serious washboard that will literally shake the Hyper Strada to bits. Plus broken wheels, sub frame,
who knows what else. Don't waste your beauty there. Go cheap and cheerful.
DR650 .... good luck.

easier to buy a bike overseas, and leave it there or sell it when you're done. There's lots of penalties if you bring your own bike from here to use there.