Berg Man

I know the feeling of overthinking haha

My 2c, for what it's worth. You can lock out the rear suspension on the soft tail, which I do a lot when riding road or good trails. My bike, Scott Spark, even has a remote lockout on the handlebars for that. I mostly ride dirt road etc for training (think XC), but last weekend my son and I went to Cascades in PMB and did some awesome enduro style riding. Unlocked the suspension and I was A for away. Best of both worlds with a bit of a weight penalty for the extra shock. If you shop around you can still get some great deals on a full suspension, especially 2nd hand if you done need new. Full suspension is nice to have when you decide to point it to the rough stuff.

Eish, now the wait will hurt 🤣

Good news and congrats. Let us know how it goes.

Without going back too far to read up to see if you have considered it, don't discount the BMW F800gs. It's a twin, so good for road riding, good off road and super reliable too. Also, there is a lot of them around so you should be able to get a good one at a good price. Weight wise its comparable to the Tenere. My biking history is dirt bikes for many years, then a KTM990. Sold it and a few years later bought a KTM990. For some reason I couldn't really gel with it even after trying twice. Maybe it's just too big for me, or too tall or something. I looked at the Tenere a lot and bought a BMW 800 GSA. For some reason it feels so much smaller and lighter than the 990, although it shouldn't on paper the specs.

Of these 3 options, I would get the Tenere 660Z. Yes it may not be the fastest or most powerful or best on dirt, but it will last forever and be more comfortable on the tar than the other 2. The KTM is vibey, the BMW might bore you on the road. Ultimately you need to decide what sort of riding you will realistically do most of the time and get a bike to suit that. It's a "romantic" idea to ride off into the dirt paved sunset, but you will probably end up doing more tar roads. Also consider what your mats are riding as that plays a part too. No point in taking the Tenere to do a hardcore enduro sort of ride, then that would make the BMW a better choice. There is a reason a bike is popular or not.

Thanks so much. Are the lu2lug Nato not very nice, or is it just a preference for you?

Where are you guys buying straps from? Online?

Yup. It's not mine, I just spied it there, so I don't really know much about it.

https://wilddog.net.za/threads/2005-ktm-640-adventure-r.283325/ @Hairy, take a look at this

It's really difficult to keep the trails in top condition with the rain we have had up here. It is not unheard of to have 80-100mm in an hour here and that wreaks havoc with the trails and bridges. On top of that, it rains nearly everyday, so there is very little chance for the trails to dry out and maintenance to be done. With regards to the trees being cut down, unfortunately that is business. The land owners allow the trails to be used while the trees are growing, but at some stage they need to be cut down and the the trails are closed until they are complete. Only Sappi is a large company, all the other forests are privately owned. These are all issues out of the trail builders control. Another issue they have is riders using the trails without paying for them which puts more pressure on the resorts who contribute to the upkeep of the trails. The Cathkin trail network includes all the runs around Mountain Splendour, Dragons Peak, Sappi and Ardmore sections, so there are usually some areas open to riders that don't include forest sections being worked on. The tails will come back up to the "old" standard, it is unfortunately going to take a bit of time

Hi Yes the tails are open again, just very wet due to the never-ending rain we have had

Thanks @Hairy I managed to get a set at my LBS (who would have thunk it). So far I am very impressed. I haven't tried them out in proper anger yet, but hope to do so in the coming month or so.

Thanks for the response all. I've done some research on them and they seem to be good brakes, but the feedback here seems mixed. For what it's worth, I had Hope Tech 3 E4 before, but they don't fit on the Spark due to the position they fit on at the back. Therefore I need a slimmer setup for the back. I also like the fact that the Cura runs mineral oil. Shimano brakes are not an option as there is no stock anywhere at the moment.

I'm looking to upgrade my brakes on my Scott Spark. Does anyone know where I can buy a set of Formula Cura in black? Most online sites come up as Out of Stock.