I'm new to the forum so I thought I'd best say hello. I'm picking up my xtz next week and I'm really looking forward to it.

I've been riding for too many years and I've had many different types of bike. I had to leave the sports bikes when knees/wrists/back started aching. The 1200GS was next, then an Aprillia Caponord.

I'm into back road touring and camping now, in the UK and on the continent and my last few trips have been on a DR350. I love this bike and it does everything I want on the road and the dirt but, my god, after five days in the saddle I can barely walk. So, I decided to look for something that could cope with the road miles getting to and from the ferry as well as do the dirt roads that I love in Spain and France.

I hooked up with Tim Cullis in Morocco last year and was impressed with his xtz on the dirt. He, or his bike, handled the sandy patches better than me on my DR and the bike is way more capable at motorway speeds. I came to the conclusion that the xtz was the future for me.

So there we have it. I'm eagerly awaiting the new bike. It's first big trip will be a fortnight meandering around Spain in May but I might have to have a few days in Wales first.

From what I've seen so far the forum is great and has a wealth of knowledge in the many threads and the contributors appear very enthusiastic.

I'll shut up now and leave you alone, but I am looking forward to many years with the bike and on the forum.

All the best

Del