Hello from Canada! Moving to Scotland.

Quote from philipbarrett

Your wish may be fulfilled - https://imotorbike.my/news/en/…/ktm-500-naked-adventure/

The Husqvarna 501 & the KTM 500 can be easily modified to get pretty close to unicorn status and any year model will work so can be done on the cheap. This is the typical "Texas-Mexico" riding build up done by a friend of mine - http://www.texasadventure.net/…ar/the-ktm-500-exc-build/

Thanks for your thoughts and links. My name is Scott, by the way. The as of yet, non-Scot Scott.

Unfortunately, the new bike will be a Bajaj build...I'm not too trustworthy of Indian (or Indonesian/Chinese for that matter) quality control (though the production is infinitely better supervised than it was, say, 10 years ago). I know the culture intimately...if money can be saved/made by cutting corners...all the way from the man on the production line to the manager, it will happen. It's cultural. Have done business there...we have a saying..."if you want to get something done in India, it won't get done, unless you are standing over the work yourself with a big stick". And I don't begrudge them...pay is low, inequality is high with no social safety net, cost of living is rising all the time. I will be pleasantly surprised if the maintenance intervals are as generous as the 690+ bikes.

Even Itchy Boots in her initial tours on the Enfield Himalayan had mechanical failures with the bike. Yes, they were overcome but those things just don't happen with many alternatives and luckily she had brought lots of extra parts because the issues with poor reputation e.g. needing to rebuild the gear set, were well known beforehand. (Never mind that the Himalyan is a heavy pig. It defintely has the looks...but then so did various psycho ex-girlfriends ). She was limited by initial budget, which is understandable.

The existing 501/500 platforms still have the (relatively) short service intervals and I worry about reliability/parts availability in the boonies. Texas and Mexico are right next to each to other. As the texasadventure feller says, he wouldn't use his build for long distance touring, though I didn't catch why he said that. I'm not sure why he said that as he says it managed it handled highway duties well...I suppose it's either having to stay in the high rev band, vibrations or the oil/filter change mid-trip.

Sorry to be a "negative nellie". On the plus side, your national animal is the unicorn, so when I move there, I will be closer than ever. Thus hope will live eternal.

I may still try and track down some old Japanese dual sport and farkle it up. The bonus being it'll be so ugly, it may be less likely to be stolen . If my old K100 is still available in Germany, I may just make due with that, as nearly-free is a hard to beat price. And If I drop it in the mud, I will love her all the more.

Anyhow, despite all my nit-picking...by the time I get settled in Scotland, I may very well end up distracted by other things/people. And then just settle for some bike along the path of least resistance and you can all laugh at me for wringing my hands over nothing.

Quote from flyfifer

Bear in mind that ,as has already been said, there is very little legal, off road motorcycling in Scotland.

Or am I missing something ?

It has been said, oh wise bard. But most of my big tours have been in Eastern Europe where some ground clearance/tougher suspension/lightness would have been nice. As it is my friend blew out a fork seal and we made it through some bits by shear luck, adrenaline and unjustified faith. Most of my current riding buddies are in Germany, so I expect I'll be heading to the continent at some point. Though they are conversely great fans of Scotland. One of them did a tour of Scotland with his father joining him on an old BMW GS equiped with a side-car.

Quote from philipbarrett

Hello soon-to-be-Scot Scott, I'm soon to be Scot Philip!

The service intervals on the KTM based motors are complete works of fiction for the average rider. They're written for those who are capable of riding these bikes at their limits in competitive situations. For normal trail & road riding you can do 3K between changes & I've never had a valve adjustment needed.

Remember when Richard says "long distance touring" he's referring to US Southwest scale distances. Some of the best off road riding in Texas is 10 hours drive from me, the Mexico border is a similar distance and this is certainly not something you'd want to do on the 500 platform. But I've done 2 to 3 hours highway on mine & had no issues, sure it ain't an FJR but it gets the job done fine.

Hey Philip...so you're not in Scotland yet either? From Big Sky to Skye, eh?

And I hear you...I forget that long distance can mean different things in different situations. And yeah, I don't really push motors to their limits. I suppose for most riding, which would be local and thus of shorter distances, the 500s or similar would be fine. And for all day slab, get something bigger. The KTM 790's, thus far seem to hit a sweet spot in the middle. But more competition is coming and that's good.

One buddy in Germany just bought a pair of KTMs last year and I think he took them in his pick-up to Switzerland. His wife said the roads were a blast. Lol...she used some strange German expression, "It makes Isle of Man looks like a children's birthday party."

Oye Fifer...everytime I see a dodgy cheap apartment for rent in Aberdeen...I think of you and the amusement you might have...

but now I'm a-feared I won't understand the language...

Quote from flyfifer

Cheap and Aberdeen don't usually go together - even in these non boom times

Injecting a preface to the following drivel because of a more urgent question: To open a bank account, one needs proof of address. I can sign a lease paying with cash (for example, for deposit and first month's rent), can I not? Some website said I needed a bank account to sign a lease...I think that's a load of tosh, no?

Anyhow Fifer (hmmm...why flyfifer? do you have a pilot's license? Just curious...still a dream of mine...)

Ok...tell me where's cheap...I'd rather save my money for the eventual purchase...esp. since I don't intend to be at the place much once settled, as I hope to be travelling around getting to know Scotland, and visiting friends. But as I'm not too picky, I've seen quite a few that fit my budget all over the place...I basically, just want a legal address to get settled. I'll take a back outhouse if it's got a tennancy agreement attached. But I won't fix the hole in the roof.

Anyone with an opinion on real estate, feel free to pipe up. I know everyone's a bit of an expert in real estate...though usually that pertains to only their own neighbourhood. My whole extended family aside from my Dad and I are estate agents in Canada, and I'm in the third home I've owned. So I'm not a total novice.

My general opinion is market may cool off with rates rising, but that may translate to fewer bidding wars and a slower rise of prices, rather than any drop in prices. But you know what they say about opinions...they are like ____________, everyone's got one.

Quote from flyfifer

Gentlemen from the Kingdom of Fife have often been regarded as crafty; the ability to use a long spoon, to ensure receipt of a perhaps slightly more than fair share, is another illustration of the talent.

"Fly" is an adjective in that context.

The ability to ensure you divert others so you get the best seat in the bothy, could be another manifestation.

It is of course an exaggeration and not necessarily a universal characteristic.

Occasionally the term of endearment - "Fly Bastard" may be used: possibly a nod to Royal ancestry, coming from a Kingdom.

Check out--- King Malcolm drinking the bluid red wine in Dunfermline.

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That's a good reminder to be wary of the nuances of local culture. "Fly" has many different connotations in U.S. urban/hip-hop culture and "long spoons" in the religious parable actually are meant to symbolize generousity (https://sofoarchon.com/heaven-…rable-of-the-long-spoons/) Time and effort will be needed to really learn about Scottish culture/history.

Quote from JimRidesThis!

Thanks Jim. That guy's a character. Kinda guy you wouldn't mind listening to all day over too many beers.

Though...I'm getting (very mildly) concerned that I'm really going to have to concentrate to catch everything people are saying and will have a confused look on my face for first couple of years when I appear in public. Hmmm...something tells me Scottish es no a Duolingo course... Scottish Gaelic begun... someone telled me Manx Gaelic is closer to Irish...but I'm nae gwan tay Ire...

Quote from philipbarrett

I've ridden the 690/790/701 Enduro series quite a bit & if I was riding down to Tierra del Fuego with lots of off-piste planned I think these are excellent weapons of choice. But the caveat is, that with the 500 series you get a compromised road bike & an amazing dirt bike. With the Enduros you still have a compromised road bike plus now a compromised dirt bike.

Couldn't agree more. As the cool kid in Pasadena on the fringes of Houston (and Dave Chappelle) would say: "Word. "