Which (small adventure bike) for ICELAND trip?

okay hey guys hope everyone’s well uh just back from the island trip got a few more videos to put up about that including a bit of a what uh how to do your own Irish trip uh video just to help people do their own thing tomorrow I’ve got a a group ride coming down to ride the A2 bikes back Tob back so just down here just cleaning up the bikes getting those ready for tomorrow and I’ve also got the the Iceland trip coming up in a few weeks time three three four weeks time so we’re going to ship the bikes from mingam on the East Coast England up to rovic and then flying and we’ve got two weeks to go around Iceland and do some f roads which are the gravel track roads uh got 12 Riders on a mixture of bike sending in the van as a as a backup vehicle and a couple of guys helping me out with that Dave and Julian so very much looking forward to that and so I just thought I’d do a video as I’ve got all the bikes out got them all clean on what bik for Iceland uh and this is mainly for people who are looking for a manageable Adventure you know my my background is smaller bike smaller to midsize bike so that’s where my kind of focus is I’m using this motor Marini xcape 650 as a bit of an example of the types of bikes I’ve not wanted on this trip put in the instructions on the booking in instructions I don’t want anything over a 700 CC B actually I put a 650 CC B for the fact that when I went to Iceland myself I was on a gs1200 and it’s just too big a buy you know that sort of exploration get going through Rivers gravel track bad weather conditions you know I was a fairly strong Rider but even with some basic SK skills I still found those 250 kilo byes just too heavy uh and my fear obviously is that people tend to overbite themselves and and the last thing I wanted were people turning up with sort of a subset not having the right necessary skills to ride a big bike Offroad and therefore a we’re going to have an accident B there’s going to be a lot of time picking it up and C it would be me in the river dragging it out and so I purposefully removed that that risk element for me and and said anybody on a 650 single actually or or less so that automatically removes the Marini and the tenas and the KTM 890s and all those other big bikes although actually some of the guys who signed up on the smaller bikes have since asked if the if they could swap to their their 890s but In fairness I think the small bike attracts a certain mindset which is probably a little bit more modest of their abilities probably more a little bit more cautious which I kind of like so if they’ve decided to bring their 890 as well as long as they bring that mindset that was going to ride the small bik that’s absolutely fine so let’s get this out of the way and go through a few bike options uh it’s basically just me going through why I would choose that bike or why I wouldn’t choose uh this bike people think I’m filthy rich or won the lottery for having all these bikes no I run it as a business for people to come down here and ride these bikes it barely wipes its nose but I love bikes and I hate selling them so I end up with more of a collection than I anticipated uh uh and I just think it’s a great way to offer people the chance to ride these bikes back to back so tomorrow got five guys coming down we going to take all these bikes at minus one or two and just get a feel for what they what they like about the bikes what they don’t like and maybe hopefully they’ll go away and make a purchasing decision which is more educated than if they Haden have come down here so that’s kind of why I’ve got them uh I’ll be putting some more dates up in August time after Iceland August September October so there’ll be plenty of dates in the calendar I was intending to get the CF motor 450 Mt for the Aral trip but unfortunately it’s not going to be delivered in time so it’s left me with a bad choice of these instead so starting at the top we’ve got the Trant 400 x so the Scrambler it’s just at its first service I tell you what I’m starting to really like what the bike offers engine wise it’s got a real bite to it it it’s low geared so the pickup on the thought is really strong and it’s actually quite exciting out the corners it digs and it goes on the gravel tracks and the trails it’s B Bop you know you can lift that front end quite easily with it because it’s always on Power and I’ve got to say it’s it’s an excited engine and I’ve I’ve started to um Overlook its maybe its flaws and focus more on its virtues which is definitely that engine it’s a it’s a great fun bike uh and I can see why they’re selling well because it looks great and it actually for most people it rides great you know I find its limits when I start to push on I find it gets a little bit choppy it’s probably a bit unders sprung or whatever the terminology might be but it just can’t deal with Chop on the back roads that we have around here I mean John at rally raid is looking at an aftermarket kit he hopefully were’re going to send me a suspension down if I chose to do do this for use this for Iceland what’s what’s swayed me away from this for Iceland is the fact that there’s no proper mud guard on it there’s no rear hugger so your back gets splattered with mud there’s not an easy solution for for luggage and so from a practical point of view it it pretty much rules itself out I think it would also Iceland and the gravel trucks would destroy it I don’t think the quality is quite there I’ve had a few little niggles issues a threaded bolt on the on the bracket here I’ve had the tab break off the brake light activator switch on the brake light and TR don’t have any brake levers in the country would you believe it just a fit and finish one of the tabs has broke off the plion seat Mount so that flops around a bit so I do have question marks about the durability of this product and I don’t know if it is a is a true trip motorcycle IE you could just you know go off into the sunset and Bash it around and it come back in one piece I don’t know maybe I would be a great durability test for it so you know let’s have a vote at the end what bik should I take CU I’ve got to decide the end at the end of today so I’d love riding it I love it on the gravel I think it eat the gravel up no problem downside uh practicalities of it and that’s about it really KTM 390 Adventure now these are built in the same Factory actually uh Triumph don’t have any brake levers but KTM 390 has plenty of break levers which fit the Triumph so uh I think there is a lot of part sharing and and I still speculate that the new 397 KTM engine shares a lot with this 397 Triumph engine built in the same Factory you would suspect so but who knows the KTM 390 has been an under overlooked by for a long time really I think it was written off because it wasn’t what we expected from KTM and I’ve said that many times before you know it was a it was a derivative of the 390 Juke which was a road bike and therefore it didn’t have the ergonomics for the off-road standing for the the trail riding for the Enduro sort of ready to race um slogan that stands behind this it was it was a it was a compromised bike I think and I think early reports and early reviews uh ruled it out for for that reason I think what you realize with the KTM 390 Adventure is you you’ve got to not look at it as a trail bike you’ve just got to look at it as look at it as a road travel bike that is capable of gravel track and dirt road because on the road it’s fantastic it’s got the suspension that this bike needs it’s got the uh WP Apex suspension which makes it gobble up back rows so well so effortless so quick so comfortable and so it could fly around ice and no problem it’s also more practical than than the try if it’s got the screen on it it’s got a better rear rack it just feels more versatile and to be honest that’s got 8,000 Mi on it and I’ve not really had a problem with it so it’s actually been very dependable where this fall where it falls down a little bit is that electronic nannying the fact you got to turn off the traction control and it re-engages every time because it’s a Euro 4 model not the five and the ABS I think it would infuriate me in Iceland and so it would ruin the great riding experience every time I came to a stop and had to go through the submenu to turn off traction control I don’t quite know why KTM thought it was so necessary to Nanny that bike quite so much but it does take the edge off it a little bit cuz as I say on the road I think it’s a fantastic bike and anybody wanting a looking at this lineup of bikes wanted a fast capable road bike which goes gives good longdistance ability because it is pretty good on the motorway plus some Trails I think the KTM 390 Adventure is a great bike just not for this trip uh we got BMW 310 GS which got the rally race stage 2 Kit on it now I do like that bike and if anybody saw me you know trying to get it around the the muddy Lanes the Steep Lanes of De Devon recently they’ll know it is quite capable it’s got a great standing position with the uh rally raid upgrade kit it’s got better suspension it rides well uh and all in all I like the bike um it hasn’t got the traction control issues of the KTM so it’s more ridable more jump on and enjoyable and actually when I’ve ridden these bikes back to back at Sweetland which is a big sprawling Adventure Academy in mid Wales it’s a 310 that just outshines this just because it’s got that natural standing position because it hasn’t got those electronic AIDS and it’s got a lovely um usable throttle input which means you can you can really sense what the back wheel is doing so the 310 is another Overlook bike In fairness both these are but it’s got a lot of Virtues for it and I’d be happy to take it but it does just doesn’t there’s other bikes that excite me or give me reason to take it a little bit more but there is a 310 gs on this Iceland trip actually there’s three so it’ be very interesting to see how it features I think there’s also a KTM 390 no triumphs but there is definitely a couple of CRF 300 rallies let’s go to the CRF now you know I be no bones I’ve never been a big fan of the crf300 rally simply the fact I find it very expensive for what it is I do like it I like the way it rides but I kind of feel like come on Honda you were creating incredible bites 20 years ago put a bit more effort in you know all he seem to do at the minute is put the price up rather than increas the ability of the machine so I do struggle with it the Honda although for Iceland it would be the perfect bik there is nothing to fault it for Iceland it’s light it’s manageable you get some luggage on it I don’t have an up-rated shock so it’s going to be a bit soggy whether you would need that shock for luggage cuz we are camping we’ve got some camping nights we’ve got some Hotel bunk house and camping so is the bikes are going to have to carry some luggage but primarily the CRF is a perfect Iceland bike certainly for shipping it in you know I don’t think there’s anything more Rel relable more dependable uh and better suited to it and for for the fact that it just doesn’t excite me to ride quite so much or there’s a better option to come then I’m not take not taking this bite but yes there are three guys going on CRF 300s and I think for Iceland absolutely spot on Himalayan obviously blown enough smoke up the 411’s ass over the years um it again a perfect bik for Iceland it’s heavier than the CRF but it’s got that low down weight it’s got the Chug it’s going to chug Through Rivers nice and easy it’s going to load up plenty of gear nice and easy it’s got plenty of speed I mean all these bikes have got the speed for I because the speed limit in like 50 m an hour so it’s not a question of speed uh it’s I think I’ve ruled this out just because I’ve done that many miles on it I’m no longer curious as to what it what it can do because I’ve done it on it but for anybody who is wanting a a cheapish you know everything’s Rel relative if anybody wanted a cheap small adventure bike that can do Iceland without any modifications or any change you’re looking at it you get a brand new one of these for 3,800 quid buy that bik you’ve automatically saved £2,000 over these bikes here and that’s going to pay for your trip to Iceland you know again no brainer really if you it might not excite you it might not tick your boxes dynamically whatever but as a cheap bike to do the job of adventuring for places like Iceland for Morocco one of these or second hand one of these you know options coming on to the the 4 450 Himalayan which obviously I put a video up the other day and I said they missed the mark and I still think they have because that doesn’t this doesn’t do what that does as well as that does for Iceland for the novice for the average Rider that is still going to be better than this because it’s lighter it’s more manageable it’s better for carrying luggage it’s just got it’s got that resonance about it which would make it perfect in a situation like Iceland when you’re up against the bad weather when you’re in a river when you’re in a gravel track situation I I still think that’s a I still think that’s a better B uh got more feel on the throttle which is a large part of why I don’t think I like this quite so much it’s got better low down traction it’s it’s it’s better weighted as we said softer brakes which means you’re not going to get that front end bite and dig that you might get on something like this so for Iceland shipping bikes in this over this where why I’ve put thisit ahead of it is because a I’m still curious you know I did a road ride around Island and I was unsure actually I didn’t gel with it in around Island I thought it’s a great bike but I didn’t I didn’t connect with it I didn’t feel it um so I’m Keen to try again to see if I can spend more time on it to bring tease out its attributes I’m also putting it here because we are shipping our bikes to Iceland but you you could also ride your bike to Denmark and get the ferry to Denmark from Denmark to Iceland now if you were doing that option then I think this out of all these bikes actually would make the most sense because it has got the bigger bike chops feels a bit bigger definitely needs a bigger screen I need to try that so it would compromise the road to get there plus the trails once you were there and it would do it probably a bit better than these but it depended on your route if you’re doing more Motorway then this but if you’re doing back roads to Denmark I don’t think it would matter but for curiosity St sake I’m I’m very nearly considering taking the 450 I still want to see what it’s like in a in a tricky situation when you back against a wall does it become Friend or Foe um and the weight is the weight is that question even moving the bikes around here pushing them back here it’s the heaviest bike here it’s got a bigger weight to it than any of the others and you know some people saying that’s not an issue for them and that’s great and it’ll be interesting to see how the market the buyer base responds to those criticisms or whatever they are so for now it’s a nearly very nearly I’m very keen and might still but coming on to the choice for the B for the trip to be honest and it’s a bit of a no-brainer really um and it’s interesting why we choose different bikes and we can analyze bikes we can look at specs and we can ride them back to back even and we can make judgments and very calculated judgments as we do in everyday life you know we can make logical brain Le decision decisions or we can lead or we can take emotionally Leed decisions and the V since I did the long trips on it last year and and I rode it actually you know I came back here after the trip on the Himalayan 450 and I just took this home 2 miles away and and I and I jumped on it and it just it it lit me up you know and you can hear it popping on the overall and it’s just got a sprightliness and I just love its weight it’s a it’s it’s much lighter than this closer to the CRF but without the lean on the stand it hasn’t got the Soggy suspension of the CRF and it’s 2,700 cheaper to buy so you could buy those go to Iceland and buy it have a great adventure have a great bike job’s done really and and I really do enjoy riding this bike it’s been reliable and actually the quality is better than the Triumph and the quality is up there with all the rest really by the CRF the Himalayan is still an unknown but the quality is there the parts are there the enjoyment of the ride is there uh when I go trail riding it’s my favorite bik I trail riding so you got to think you know where are the compromisers or what’s the logical decision but they just come if you base your bike decision based purely on what you like what you enjoy riding I don’t think you can go wrong that I think that would be my conclusion choose what you enjoy riding most even if you have to adapt it or compromise it or do something take the bike you enjoy riding the most because in the morning when you go out to your bike and you love riding your bike that’s the best thing that’s what keeps you going you’ve got to enjoy your bike if you don’t enjoy your bike it’s it’s the wrong bike even if somebody else said it is the right bike or the magazine say it’s a right bike or the YouTubers say it’s a right bike if you don’t enjoy it it’s not the right B you’ve got to go with what you what warms you what gives you a bit of a a gigle when you get on it and go and I love the fact that it’s a cheap bike but I love the fact that it does the job actually this and the Himalayan 411 have got a lot in common both cheap bikes both do the job and that’s it’s simple calculation for me as that so for Iceland if I was setting out I mean the only issue is seat height and and that might put some people off which is why I’d steer them towards maybe the 411 if you’re a bit shorter leg 411 or maybe the 310 GS because that’s got a nice low seat height a lowed CRF maybe you know but that that wouldn’t be the only thing against the V it’s a tall seat but if you can manage the seat cuz the bik’s nice and light then yeah for me it’s just a bit of a no it’s a bit of a no-brainer where that CF Moto 450 is going to sit I think it’s going to be up here and I think it’s going to be up here because as I said if you’re going to Iceland on the road that twin cylinder engine I think is going to go up the motorway to Denmark easier than any of these bikes here that’s my feeling about it and then if it’s capable on the trails if it gives confidence on the trails as well which I still need to test then I can’t see why it wouldn’t be the best compromise for these bikes um but choosing a bike whether you as I say coming back to it choosing a bike for any trip just choose the one you enjoy riding it’s a bit like Bruce smart when he went around the world on the GSX th000 you know why did he go around the world on a GSX i000 because he loves riding his GSX i000 it was a terrible bik choice you know practically logically sensibly it was a terrible bite choice but he loved that bite and and that bite made his trip he come back with great memories cuz he was on the right B so don’t agonize too much Listen to listen to the heartbeat rather than to the head sometimes because the heartbeat will make the right decision in life the head will sometimes Cloud judgment so come down to me good to your dealer wherever just try a few bikes sit on a few bikes listen to a few bikes ride a few bikes and the right bike will find you I think that’s often the the thing the right bite will find you eventually all right take it easy um going to give him a bit of a shine and a bit of chain L and then we’re going to uh make a decision what should I take what would you take what would you take to Iceland two weeks around Iceland on trail and Road tell me tell me in the comments cheers