The TRX was utterly reliable during this trip, although she used some oil when being soundly thrashed ("they all do that, Sir"). I was very cross when I dropped her, mind... Having the luggage high up on the back didn't upset the handling too much, although I'd probably be looking at getting some pannier luggage for future trips.

The bike was reasonably comfortable, if a little hard on the backside, and I needed a short rest and stretch at every re-fuelling. Speaking of which, even when being worked very hard, she didn't go under 55 to the gallon (except round the 'Ring, where she still did 50 mpg or so).

Going off-road was an experience I'd love to repeat, but not on Trixie. Plenty of ground clearance meant that I wasn't really worried about damaging her, but I was a bit concerned about damage from flying stones. She performed well in an environment for which neither she nor her tyres were designed. I have yet to explore this bike's full capabilities and maybe never will, but grew quickly used to the best way to keep her "oil the boil". The engine is an absolute gem, giving power in all the right places. She does throw up some serious vibrations when compared to an inline four, but I didn't find these too much of a worry & they certainly didn't give me numb fingers or anything like that. I think these vibes just kept me in touch with what the engine was doing!

When I returned from the trip, I considered buying an FJ1200 for future long tours, but I'm not sure its really worth the bother and expense. The TRX has a less comfortable seating position (and seat!) but otherwise I'm not sure there's enough significant difference in the overall experience.

mike