D-Mac
Distance Rider
Hi folks,
My 'dream ride' is to ride down to South America. I spend quite a bit of time down there for work, but it would be absolutely amazing to ride down there. Most folks who've done it ride a KLR, V-Strom, DRZ, BMW F650/GS, or KTM.
So how would the FZ6 stack up?
There are folks who've ridden practically every type of bike around the world, including a guy who did it on an R1. So anything is possible. It's a matter of riding style/patience/route selection.
Advantages of the FZ6 over other streetbikes:
-Upright riding position
-Less plastic
-Low maintenance (e.g., long valve check interval)
-High exhaust pipes reduce likelihood of drawing in water (!)
-Good wind protection
-Decent luggage options
-Good range per tank
-High quality radiator protection /engine guards are available
Obvious disadvantages of the FZ6 (vs a dual sport):
-Low ground clearance / less suspension travel (hmmm..... should be ok unless the road goes to crap)
-High compression engine (better than an R6, but would it run ok on low-octane fuel?)
-Tubeless tires/rims - easy to plug a leak, but would the rims crack under the pressure? (V-Stroms can do it, so I'm not too worried here)
-Less torque than a big thumper
-Can't fit knobby tires to it
-Headers / oil cooler exposed
-Although the modern engine of an FZ6 is a plus, if something does go wrong it might be tough to fix. I'm not sure our bike is even sold in South America (if it's not that also means a longer wait for parts).
-Front/rear fenders are close to the wheel (could clog up with mud at times)
-The cooling fan seems prone to catching rocks and burning out. An extension on the front fender should help with this.
Choosing a route carefully would be critical. In my case I want to jump the Darrien gap and ride east through Venezuela and down through the Guyanas (the less traveled route - most people head for Ecuador and Bolivia). The roads in the Guyanas are some of the worst in the world, so it would have to be done during one of the dry seasons. On the plus side, a couple on a Harley made the trip a few years ago.....although they had to wait several days for a flatbed truck in Guyana! It would be awesome to go through the Guyanas and then continue down to the Amazon. A series of boat crossings are needed, but once across the Amazon there's a paved road that goes along the river and into some pretty amazing places. From there the roads look pretty good heading south.
I'm going to try this ride someday, although I'm 50/50 right now on the possibility of using something like an FZ6 versus getting a DR-Z400 or a dual sport. By the time the trip rolls around my FZ6 will likely be getting beat up anyway, so I might just try it.
What am I missing here?
My 'dream ride' is to ride down to South America. I spend quite a bit of time down there for work, but it would be absolutely amazing to ride down there. Most folks who've done it ride a KLR, V-Strom, DRZ, BMW F650/GS, or KTM.
So how would the FZ6 stack up?
There are folks who've ridden practically every type of bike around the world, including a guy who did it on an R1. So anything is possible. It's a matter of riding style/patience/route selection.
Advantages of the FZ6 over other streetbikes:
-Upright riding position
-Less plastic
-Low maintenance (e.g., long valve check interval)
-High exhaust pipes reduce likelihood of drawing in water (!)
-Good wind protection
-Decent luggage options
-Good range per tank
-High quality radiator protection /engine guards are available
Obvious disadvantages of the FZ6 (vs a dual sport):
-Low ground clearance / less suspension travel (hmmm..... should be ok unless the road goes to crap)
-High compression engine (better than an R6, but would it run ok on low-octane fuel?)
-Tubeless tires/rims - easy to plug a leak, but would the rims crack under the pressure? (V-Stroms can do it, so I'm not too worried here)
-Less torque than a big thumper
-Can't fit knobby tires to it
-Headers / oil cooler exposed
-Although the modern engine of an FZ6 is a plus, if something does go wrong it might be tough to fix. I'm not sure our bike is even sold in South America (if it's not that also means a longer wait for parts).
-Front/rear fenders are close to the wheel (could clog up with mud at times)
-The cooling fan seems prone to catching rocks and burning out. An extension on the front fender should help with this.
Choosing a route carefully would be critical. In my case I want to jump the Darrien gap and ride east through Venezuela and down through the Guyanas (the less traveled route - most people head for Ecuador and Bolivia). The roads in the Guyanas are some of the worst in the world, so it would have to be done during one of the dry seasons. On the plus side, a couple on a Harley made the trip a few years ago.....although they had to wait several days for a flatbed truck in Guyana! It would be awesome to go through the Guyanas and then continue down to the Amazon. A series of boat crossings are needed, but once across the Amazon there's a paved road that goes along the river and into some pretty amazing places. From there the roads look pretty good heading south.
I'm going to try this ride someday, although I'm 50/50 right now on the possibility of using something like an FZ6 versus getting a DR-Z400 or a dual sport. By the time the trip rolls around my FZ6 will likely be getting beat up anyway, so I might just try it.
What am I missing here?