good two wheel transportation anywhere

If you don't want to ride a mountain bike then the next best bet anywhere on earth would be a motorcycle, a Kawasaki klr 650.

Some people prefer the bmw 650 or 1200 for status and I considered this carefully because I could afford one. However, after researching the number one complaint about bmw's which is that they have so many automatic gadgets on them that if one of these options goes down in the backwoods your only recourse is to use your cellphone and call for help. Whereas the klr 650 is sort of like a vw bug in that one can fix most things with the tools that come with the bike built into the black utility carrier that comes standard when you buy the bike. Though it might be good to have gray duct tape and a spool of wire along with you for really remote places in case you break down there with no cell phone coverage.

In many parts of the world the klr 650 is to necessity what the toyota 4wd truck is to utility of all kinds. In some situations you might want something lighter like a 250 dualsport though because the 650 is something you could drive around the world just like ewan McGregor did with his friend on I believe BMW 1200s. However, they had a support team in several suvs following them with parts and medical support and emergency food and tents and stuff and cameras.

One of the reasons I chose a klr 650 over a bmw is that the US army chose the klr 650 to buy for their dualsport go anywhere motorcycles and has converted them to run any fuel including diesel in emergencies. So, since the army chose this bike over all others it makes sense to own one if you want to literally ride anywhere and not just on freeways and city driving.

Since I'm only really interested in remote riding on country paved, rock and dirt roads because of the really beautiful rides one can have in the U.S. and Canada I chose the Klr 650. New this bike sells for around 1/2 to 1/3 of what you will pay for a bmw 650, so you can save in that way too. though at some time I might also buy a bmw for less backwoods riding I plan to use my klr 650 for my most remote rides where if something breaks down I can usually fix it myself and keep on going.

It is still built much like motorcycles of the 70s and 80s without a lot of unnecessary extras and so will be there for you when you need it or you should be able to fix it relatively easily on the spot wherever you are.

The KLR 650 has an incredible reputation for about 30 years much like the Kalashnikov that people have poured sand down the barrel or dropped it in mud or water and it still worked fine without jamming or exploding.

One article mentioned that it must have been very hard for the company to resist the urge to change perfection in the last 30 years in the KLR 650. And instead stay much like the VW Bug a work of perfection the just doesn't break down much and if it does it is relatively easy to fix.

There are very few mechanical things around that have stayed as simple and nice as the KLR 650 down through the years. Even the VW Bug isn't built anymore.