- Joined
- Jun 7, 2002
- Messages
- 260
- Location
- UK
I spent some of this afternoon prepping my Berg, an 03' FE450, whilst I was doing it this thought entered my head.
In my garage I have 2 TM's,( a 530 SMM and a 400E)) a BMW GS1150Adv, 2 Cannondales (a S440 and a E440) and a Aprilia Pegaso.
None of them are as easy to work on, none of them seem to supply the same'bang for the buck' as the Berg. OK the Beemer will walk across continents and is a truly great bike but it's BIG and whilst I have ridden it off road it wouldn't be my first choice, the TM's are dripping in 'bling names', yes the TM 530 is a beast but has already stripped three sets of starter gears, the TM 400 is evil to start, very twitchy on the lanes, more akin to an MX'er and I think will be sold soon (I must be getting old). The Cannondales are great when they run but if you need parts it's a LONG wait and you do ride them like they might let go at any time.
The Peggy is not mine, it's my neighbours but it feels ill balanced in comparison to the Beemer and seems a bit gutless.
That leaves the Berg'. Cheap secondhand, easy to get parts from DCR (usually next day and with free tea bags!!), very easy to work on and with the newer ones very reliable.
As a test I lined up the tools needed to do basic stuff on the bikes, the Berg had 8, 10, 12, 13 and 27 spanners a cross head and a flat screwdriver, a couple of allens, that was it. Some of the oher bikes had major workshop amounts of tools to do the same kinds of jobs. The Berg' just seems to have been designed by engineers who have ridden them and found out what works and what dosen't. They then left off the redundant stuff.
Anyway to draw this to a close. I'm planning a possible trip through Portugal, from the North (Braganca) to Lisbon and back, that's about 600-700 miles off-road. It's a trip I did on the roads last year on the BMW. I am now seriously considering doing it, off-road, on the Berg. I'd need a bigger tank, but that would be about it.
I left the Berg fold for a while but I'm glad I'm back....
In my garage I have 2 TM's,( a 530 SMM and a 400E)) a BMW GS1150Adv, 2 Cannondales (a S440 and a E440) and a Aprilia Pegaso.
None of them are as easy to work on, none of them seem to supply the same'bang for the buck' as the Berg. OK the Beemer will walk across continents and is a truly great bike but it's BIG and whilst I have ridden it off road it wouldn't be my first choice, the TM's are dripping in 'bling names', yes the TM 530 is a beast but has already stripped three sets of starter gears, the TM 400 is evil to start, very twitchy on the lanes, more akin to an MX'er and I think will be sold soon (I must be getting old). The Cannondales are great when they run but if you need parts it's a LONG wait and you do ride them like they might let go at any time.
The Peggy is not mine, it's my neighbours but it feels ill balanced in comparison to the Beemer and seems a bit gutless.
That leaves the Berg'. Cheap secondhand, easy to get parts from DCR (usually next day and with free tea bags!!), very easy to work on and with the newer ones very reliable.
As a test I lined up the tools needed to do basic stuff on the bikes, the Berg had 8, 10, 12, 13 and 27 spanners a cross head and a flat screwdriver, a couple of allens, that was it. Some of the oher bikes had major workshop amounts of tools to do the same kinds of jobs. The Berg' just seems to have been designed by engineers who have ridden them and found out what works and what dosen't. They then left off the redundant stuff.
Anyway to draw this to a close. I'm planning a possible trip through Portugal, from the North (Braganca) to Lisbon and back, that's about 600-700 miles off-road. It's a trip I did on the roads last year on the BMW. I am now seriously considering doing it, off-road, on the Berg. I'd need a bigger tank, but that would be about it.
I left the Berg fold for a while but I'm glad I'm back....
