My experience is that BMW's are probably comparable to the Japanese bikes for reliability, but their riders do more of their own maintenance and are more creative about fixes. I ran the Alcan 5000 in 06, and three KTM's broke down and didn't finish, several BMW's were down for a day or less but their owner's managed a road side or hotel repair (one guy cut a new engine cover gasket out of a beer box and went on to finish). None of the KLR's or V-Stroms were out of service to my knowledge.
As far as resale value, BMW is going to be much stronger, but that's what you're paying for up front. The X-country is a cool looking bike and probably will get great mileage for commuting. It's not a street bike and you might miss some of those amenities though.
As far as resale value, BMW is going to be much stronger, but that's what you're paying for up front. The X-country is a cool looking bike and probably will get great mileage for commuting. It's not a street bike and you might miss some of those amenities though.
