Malcolm, my DR is set up to ride the TAT. It was a trip I had planned for about a month and a half, and then my little sister's husband got orders to Germany. I was going to ride from where I lived at the time in Georgia out to the end of the TAT in Oregon, then head north to where they were living in Washington State. Since the TAT ride fell through, I was at least able to make several rides down into the Florida Everglades and the Clearwater/St. Petersburg area. Since we moved out to Arizona, the DR has taken to the desert trails like a champ. I have some trips planned to go a little further out and check out some of the airplane crash sites that in the desert. I've found one so far, here are a few pictures:
http://www.chinariders.net/attachmen...1&d=1524797583
http://www.chinariders.net/attachmen...1&d=1524797583
http://www.chinariders.net/attachmen...1&d=1524797583
Back to the original question, though; I find the DR is about the simplest bike on the market today. Plenty of DR's have already gone around the world, and there are some ride reports where people were able to go out with nothing more than a couple days worth of food, and the clothes they had on their backs. They worked odd jobs at various places around the world to cover the cost of their travel and maintenance, and always seemed to land on their feet. I would feel perfectly comfortable taking the DR on a RTW trip. I would also feel just fine taking the Hawk on a RTW trip, although a much slower one. I think it just depends on your faith in your own maintenance and problem solving abilities, as well as your faith in humankind. That's my two cents' worth, your mileage may vary.