Take a new v2s up a gravel track nooooooooooo!

Demo you mean test drive?

@@hello-dz8co Yes, it's short for demonstration ride or drive. As in, “I'm interested, can I get a demo?”, the salesman usually looks at you and says no, we haven't got any demo models in stock! 😖

@Tyler Braden I'm afraid those days are gone for me! I have to take it easy, too much wear and tear has taken its toll; bad knee, back, shoulders, etc. One of the main reasons for buying the Yamaha Ténéré 700 was for the longer suspension travel to soak up the bumps, but, the downside as I soon found out was the high centre of gravity. Adventure bikes are great, and you can tons of fun on them, but they're designed to do a specific job. It just became clear to me that it wasn't the bike for me, for many reasons. I wanted to go back to a naked bike, with 17" wheels. I was thinking about a new Triumph Speed Twin 1200, but they're a tad expensive, and the insurance was a joke! Then, I spotted a 2021 Suzuki SV650 for sale at a local dealership, a bike that had gone off my radar for some reason. It was an excellent price, with two owners, but it had zero miles, and had never left the showroom? It turns out, the dealer had pre-registered the bike, then they sold it to an 82-year-old who thought he was still 22! When he came to pick it up, the dealer realised it was too much for him. They tested him out on a 125cc training bike, and he fell off three times, so they cancelled the sale because he would've killed himself! So, I went to see it, got some more money off, plus a servicing deal, picked it up two days later, and I've had a smile on my face ever since! What a great bike; very quick, and handles really well even with the standard old style right way up forks fitted. I've carried out a few mods and fitted a knock-off Yoshimura Alpha exhaust, which looks fantastic and sounds epic! I sold the Yamaha Ténéré 700 very quickly and didn't lose that much, and I've fitted a rack to my SV650, so I can even use all my Givi top boxes when needed. While I was in the dealership I had a look at a Kawasaki Z900RS in Candy tone Blue, and what a bike that is, it may be one for the future. 👍

Good to read you experience. I keep looking at reviews for T7 ‘s aprillia touregs and other tall bikes but the reality is I’m 5,7 and hate anything that feels vague and top heavy. I should just keep my gen 1 rsvr and 750F1 and get a wee trials bike for some dirty fun.

@@paulred158 This style of bike was designed for the Paris-Dakar Rally and desert terrain, so it's the nature of the beast, they're all going to be top-heavy. But, let's be honest, most bikers will never venture off-road with their very expensive "adventure" bike; a campsite maybe, but never off-road! They'll use them for touring, because you can load them up, they have an excellent view of the road ahead, some weather protection, and a great road presence. But, why not get something that's built for the job, which has more weather protection, is far more comfortable, usually comes with a better dash, and is a lot easier to move around - like a touring bike! Or, at least take a look at the BMW R1250GS, arguably the best adventure bike out there, which has a lower centre of gravity due to the boxer engine layout. I'm 6' 2", and even I found the Yamaha Ténéré 700 a handful at times, especially on uneven or slippy ground, and that could be anywhere! And, those large wheels with big knobbly tyres, can make it difficult to move a large heavy bike about, as they dig-in and grip, even on rough tarmac. You also had to be really careful about where you placed your feet, and your front wheel needed to be dead straight coming to a stop. If the road dropped away for any reason; a sunken road, a steep camber, or you put your foot in a pothole, those few inches difference were enough to overbalance the bike, and once it goes, you're not stopping a Ténéré 700 hitting the deck! Riding an adventure bike is a lot different from riding a sports bike with slick 17" wheels, a lower seat height, and with most of its weight down low; it's a far better balanced bike. I had a few scary moments when I first started riding my Yamaha Ténéré 700, but I soon got used to it. If I was going off-road, I'd buy a good, second-hand, off-road bike, maybe something like a Kawasaki KX450, or a KTM 250 SX-F; nice and light with a kerb weight of about 108-110kgs. In the end you'll have a lot more fun, because picking up a big heavy bike all day long is no fun at all! 👍

I think you'd get used to the height within a month. Go with your heart

If you get used to the off road technique of holding the bike in the crook of one knee over the saddle with the other leg on the ground, you can banish the fear of dropping the bike altogether. Go with your heart - unless you’re not planning to stray off the tarmac. 😆

V2S looks like a more sensible machine. Imagine calling Ducatis sensible... But the DesertX is much more offroad focused.

once u start exploring dirt roads it might become addicting!!!! haha go with your heart.

If u dont intend to go offroad, its not a bonus but a drawback.

Go out ad put miles on one you will be hooked rode the street on 13 different harleys through the 50 years I've been riding traded a softail two years ago for a used bmw GS now i cant stop riding it and yes i do alot of off road jus saying

I'm 5'9" (29" inside leg) the V2 is doable - but not comfortably low - flat footing is not a confidence thing - it is a tight u turn thing and a holding the bike when the pillion gets on thing and a stopping in an unfamiliar place (especially off road) thing. 830mm is just too high for general purpose motorcycling. Footrests can be lower - few road riders ever drag footrests or stand in real life

I have a 2019 690 Enduro and consider it my lightweight adventure bike. I am interested in the DesertX as more a traveling adventure bike but with some off-road capability. Yes 220kg is on the heavy side but still probably 25kg than the GS, KTM 1290, etc. A proper test ride is in order.

You got that right. I’m not a sticker guy but for the Desert X, I would plaster it with some.

Chinese ?

@@johnmartin6854 what bikes are not build from chineese parts now :)

Desert x is senseless bike for England.

My Ducati is more expensive to maintain than my Hondas. Also, Italian bikes are designed primarily for pleasure rather than reliability. It doesn't mean that they are not reliable but they are certainly not as reliable or easy to maintain as most of Japanese bikes. I had about 40 Japanese bikes and only 2 Italian ones. Most reliable bike for me were the Hondas. No surprise here.

@@mototomcambodia I've had 1 Gilera many years ago didn't have it long had 2 Honda motorcycles OK nothing special, 1 Triumph very little use few miles in the sunshine, 8 suzuki motocyes 1 bad one I bought it second hand sold it within 8 weeks, now SX KAWASAKI 1000 bought it new 2017 one fault I wasn't happy with warped front discs started at 2 years old first mot reported it Kawasaki didn't think they should replace them 2 year warranty had passed, I emailed Kawasaki UK several times said about the suzuki motocyes no problem left on the pit / coalmine in all weather snow ice road all year round never failed ,in the end they wanted photos of the bike so the could see the condition milage was 6500 , and the service history from the dealer, hard work but paid half in the end , They was reluctant to do that,

FYI - The DesertX comes with 4 year warranty as standard in the UK and parts of Europe

The biggest difference in maintenance costs comes down to the valve service interval. 18K miles for that Ducati engine, whereas the T700 from Yamaha is 26k miles. Safety recalls happen, but they happened on my Yamaha and Triumph too. But I've owned Japanese, British and Italian bikes. Japanese bikes just don't do it for me anymore. Doing my own work on my bikes, the fit, finish, and engineering is great on Japanese bikes, but it's also boring.

@@jpow4893 True, I was never boring while repairing the Multistrada whereas my slow Guzzi doesn't want to die and my 30 old Honda never stop running!