Middle weight bike for tall person touring
Discussion
I'm not sure the bike I'm looking for exists. I'm 6ft 3 and would like a bike for longer rides without getting too uncomfortable.
I've been looking at adventure bikes but most of the middle weight ones feel abit small. (Vstrom 650, transalp 750, cf motor mt700)
I'm going to try and test a tenere. But they are a bit newer and more £ that I was hoping to spend. (Ideally 5k ish)
I'd rather not go to the 1000/1200 bikes. Cost / Mpg and general heft moving it around + I don't really feel the need for the extra power for the riding I intend on doing.
Any taller riders out with middle weight recommendations.
I've been looking at adventure bikes but most of the middle weight ones feel abit small. (Vstrom 650, transalp 750, cf motor mt700)
I'm going to try and test a tenere. But they are a bit newer and more £ that I was hoping to spend. (Ideally 5k ish)
I'd rather not go to the 1000/1200 bikes. Cost / Mpg and general heft moving it around + I don't really feel the need for the extra power for the riding I intend on doing.
Any taller riders out with middle weight recommendations.
Tenere World Raid is what you're looking for, if you can find one in budget (or close to it). I'm 6'4" and have mine sprung to my weight, it's fantastic ergonomically (I've done 700km days in the saddle, standard seat and ergos, with no issues) - just get a wind deflector to stick on top of the screen.
Personally wouldn't recommend the XT660Z tenere suggested by others, my WR replaced one and the 660 was hard work on the motorway by comparison.
Personally wouldn't recommend the XT660Z tenere suggested by others, my WR replaced one and the 660 was hard work on the motorway by comparison.
One of these tools might help you to compare seating positions: enter your body measurements and select one or more bikes

Newer bikes: https://motonomics.com/simulator.php?lang=en
Older bikes https://cycle-ergo.com/
Newer bikes: https://motonomics.com/simulator.php?lang=en
Older bikes https://cycle-ergo.com/
FSEngineer said:
Tenere World Raid is what you're looking for, if you can find one in budget (or close to it). I'm 6'4" and have mine sprung to my weight, it's fantastic ergonomically (I've done 700km days in the saddle, standard seat and ergos, with no issues) - just get a wind deflector to stick on top of the screen.
Personally wouldn't recommend the XT660Z tenere suggested by others, my WR replaced one and the 660 was hard work on the motorway by comparison.
I've toured all over Europe on my Tenere, people say it hasn't got the most comfortable seat, but I stuck a cool cover on mine and never had an issue.Personally wouldn't recommend the XT660Z tenere suggested by others, my WR replaced one and the 660 was hard work on the motorway by comparison.
Not the best on motorway, but a taller screen and winglet sorted the buffeting. I prefer A roads anyway, and avoid motorways wherever possible.
What I love a bout the T7 is the seating position, loads of legroom, upright, and wide bars, and if you're tall the seat height won't be an issue either.
The T7 may not be the best at anything, but it will do everything quite well. I have green laned on mine, toured on it, and commuted. 4 years and 25k miles, and I still love it.
bigdrew said:
I'm not sure the bike I'm looking for exists. I'm 6ft 3 and would like a bike for longer rides without getting too uncomfortable.
I've been looking at adventure bikes but most of the middle weight ones feel abit small. (Vstrom 650, transalp 750, cf motor mt700)
I'm going to try and test a tenere. But they are a bit newer and more £ that I was hoping to spend. (Ideally 5k ish)
I'd rather not go to the 1000/1200 bikes. Cost / Mpg and general heft moving it around + I don't really feel the need for the extra power for the riding I intend on doing.
Any taller riders out with middle weight recommendations.
I'm 6'5" and just yesterday I've picked up T7 Rally. Plenty of room for my long legs. If you're on for longer trips then you'll need a taller screen, but other than that I reckon it will be very comfy for you.I've been looking at adventure bikes but most of the middle weight ones feel abit small. (Vstrom 650, transalp 750, cf motor mt700)
I'm going to try and test a tenere. But they are a bit newer and more £ that I was hoping to spend. (Ideally 5k ish)
I'd rather not go to the 1000/1200 bikes. Cost / Mpg and general heft moving it around + I don't really feel the need for the extra power for the riding I intend on doing.
Any taller riders out with middle weight recommendations.
If you're looking for 2nd hand ones try joining "Yamaha Tenere 700 UK Owners" group on failbook. Quite often you'll find some good deals there.
Moto Guzzi V85TT sounds like it should be considered.
e.g.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-details/20260819...
e.g.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-details/20260819...
BlackG7R said:
FSEngineer said:
Tenere World Raid is what you're looking for, if you can find one in budget (or close to it). I'm 6'4" and have mine sprung to my weight, it's fantastic ergonomically (I've done 700km days in the saddle, standard seat and ergos, with no issues) - just get a wind deflector to stick on top of the screen.
Personally wouldn't recommend the XT660Z tenere suggested by others, my WR replaced one and the 660 was hard work on the motorway by comparison.
I've toured all over Europe on my Tenere, people say it hasn't got the most comfortable seat, but I stuck a cool cover on mine and never had an issue.Personally wouldn't recommend the XT660Z tenere suggested by others, my WR replaced one and the 660 was hard work on the motorway by comparison.
Not the best on motorway, but a taller screen and winglet sorted the buffeting. I prefer A roads anyway, and avoid motorways wherever possible.
What I love a bout the T7 is the seating position, loads of legroom, upright, and wide bars, and if you're tall the seat height won't be an issue either.
The T7 may not be the best at anything, but it will do everything quite well. I have green laned on mine, toured on it, and commuted. 4 years and 25k miles, and I still love it.
They are fantastically capable, albeit a bit heavy (including shunting them around at home, if that's an issue for you) but we did some TET and a whole load of mountain passes and their ability to just lap up hairpin after hairpin after fast sweeper, even on semi knobblies (I ruin Kenda Big Blocks on mine) far outweighs expectations. All of us who went have other bikes from sports bikes to big ADV to classics, and we kinda concluded that if you had to go down to just one do-it-all bike, the T7 would take some beating.
We did have one day where we were out for 12 hours (Morzine to the Furka Pass, return). I have the Yamaha one-piece seat on mine (can't recall what it's called) and to be fair it was getting a bit uncomfortable towards the end, but that's a long day. Loads of other seats are available now so I'm sure you can find something all-day comfortable.
Where are you based OP
I sold my T7 to get a f850 gs - which is now for sale and has all the touring kit (alu panniers, cruise, quickshifter, heated grips, nav loom, tft, auto lights, keyless go) freshly serviced with new tyres for around your budget…
I’m only moving on as I don’t tour anymore so buying a speed twin when we reg is out.
I sold my T7 to get a f850 gs - which is now for sale and has all the touring kit (alu panniers, cruise, quickshifter, heated grips, nav loom, tft, auto lights, keyless go) freshly serviced with new tyres for around your budget…
I’m only moving on as I don’t tour anymore so buying a speed twin when we reg is out.
bigdrew said:
I'm not sure the bike I'm looking for exists. I'm 6ft 3 and would like a bike for longer rides without getting too uncomfortable.
I've been looking at adventure bikes but most of the middle weight ones feel abit small. (Vstrom 650, transalp 750, cf motor mt700)
I'm going to try and test a tenere. But they are a bit newer and more £ that I was hoping to spend. (Ideally 5k ish)
I'd rather not go to the 1000/1200 bikes. Cost / Mpg and general heft moving it around + I don't really feel the need for the extra power for the riding I intend on doing.
Any taller riders out with middle weight recommendations.
There are loads of 1200GS available at that sort of price, which are ideal for a tall rider if you avoid ones with lowered frames/suspension. They'll do 50+mpg and probably only 10-20kg heavier than the bikes you mention.I've been looking at adventure bikes but most of the middle weight ones feel abit small. (Vstrom 650, transalp 750, cf motor mt700)
I'm going to try and test a tenere. But they are a bit newer and more £ that I was hoping to spend. (Ideally 5k ish)
I'd rather not go to the 1000/1200 bikes. Cost / Mpg and general heft moving it around + I don't really feel the need for the extra power for the riding I intend on doing.
Any taller riders out with middle weight recommendations.
outnumbered said:
There are loads of 1200GS available at that sort of price, which are ideal for a tall rider if you avoid ones with lowered frames/suspension. They'll do 50+mpg and probably only 10-20kg heavier than the bikes you mention.
This is also a fair shout, whilst OP isn't after a 1000cc+ bike they carry their weight so low that they don't feel big. I had a R1200GS previously and I reckon my T7 WR feels heavier to push around because all the weight is up the top. If you're never planning to go off road (and can stomach the sound of the boxer) then an R1200GS is definitely worth a look.
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