Middle weight bike for tall person touring

[bigdrew]

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.

[Xcore]

Xt660?

[NullReferenceException]

I'm 6-6 and found a Tiger 800 great for touring. Could find one it budget I'm sure

[Baldy881]

I've a 2017 Tiger 800, great bike for getting about on, very comfortable!

[Vaultdweller]

Anything Ktm is worth a look, I've always found them more generous when it comes to rider ergos

[Bob_Defly]

Tiger 900 RP?

[FSEngineer]

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.

[Ambleton]

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-vie...

I assume you've seen this already?

[BlackG7R]

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.

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.

[mrdelazouch]

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.
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.

[Soloman Dodd]

Moto Guzzi V85TT sounds like it should be considered.
e.g.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-details/20260819...

[-Cappo-]

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.

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.

I have a T7, amongst other bikes, and have had two trips to the Pyrenees and Alps recently. We use them off-road as well as on, hence taking them to the mountains over other bikes.

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 run 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.

Edited by -Cappo- on Thursday 20th August 22:57

[oxnop]

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.

[outnumbered]

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.

[FSEngineer]

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.

[Marquezs Stabilisers]

BMW have got 0% finance on the F900R and XR at the moment. This has cratered the price of used ones which might help you. Though I'm testing an F900R at the weekend as the finance offer means I can afford a brand new one, which is appealling.

[Steve_H80]

You can easily modify some bikes, the v-stroms for example have higher seats and footpeg lowering kits readily available (£180 & £60 respectively).

[Bob_Defly]

The F900 is a gorgeous looking bike.

[Chicken Chaser]

KTM 1050/1090 adventure. Not much heavier than a T7 but much better on the road and plenty room. The1050 is cheap, but the 1090 has more power.

As mentioned the old Tenere Xt660 is massive and really only serves tall people but it is a single and therefore any distance it becomes a bit tiresome but the engine has a good character for shortish journeys.

[Biker's Nemesis]

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 6ft 4".

I had a Yamaha Ténéré 700 for a weekend last September, I was really impressed with it as an all rounder.

I might be ordering one for the new registration coming up this September.