Years ago I taught a Photography 101
course. Every new class was filled with eager students, each one with
a Canon or Nikon and a special lens that was sure to take spectacular
photos. They were shocked when I made them do the first few
assignments with cameras I had picked up from yard sales for about
fifty cents each.
The point I was trying to teach them was that it was the eye and the heart that takes the picture. The camera is merely an electro-mechanical device to record the moment.
It is exactly the same with adventure biking. It is all about your eyes, and ears, and spirit.
The motorcycle is merely a contraption
to carry your stuff for you.
The gorilla in the room is, of course, the BMW R 1200 GSA. A 573 pound gorilla to be specific. The thought of picking up this huge bike with another 100+ pounds of gear attached is right up there with visions of a root canal! Maybe if you're a Teutonic warrior or Vin Diesel, but I would need a crane and a winch. Not that this is likely to happen to most of them. These are for people who need to show how cool they can afford to be. At $30,000 fully loaded this bike is not something you want to get scratched up. It's for going to get a latté and letting people admire it.
The Yamaha Super Ténéré
ES is the same weight and size as the BMW but around $10,000 cheaper.
Long ago this bike started out as the XT600Z Ténéré.
Maybe it wasn't that Super,
but it was 300 pounds lighter and Chris Scott described it as “the
best of the lot” for desert travel in his 1995 book “Desert
Biking”.
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If
you must have a BIG bike the KTM 1290 Super Adventure is the pick of
the litter. A dry weight of 503 pounds and deep suspension travel
make this a serious contender if you want a bike to go around the
world. However, add fifty
pounds of fuel in the tank and 100 pounds of luggage and gear and
you're right back into jumbo jet territory.
The
Triumph Tiger 800 XCx is a more reasonable adventure bike for the rest
of us. The $12,000 sticker price is more reasonable, and with the
five gallon tank topped off it weighs in at a more reasonable 473
pounds. This is a bike that will be a comfortable commuter and with
a change of tires take you anywhere you want to go in the world.
The
BMW F 800 GSA is an alternative that costs $2,000 more and weighs
about the same. For the extra money you get marginally better dirt
performance and give up some on-road comfort and ability.
The
Kawasaki KLR 650 is the Rodney Dangerfield of adventure bikes. It's
been around forever. It has been ridden everywhere. It is fun,
reliable, light, and cheap. And it gets no respect!Right from the
factory it has a 6.1 gallon tank. It weighs only 432 pounds. It has
over 7” of suspension travel. There is a huge aftermarket industry
that supplies inexpensive parts and accessories for it. Kawasaki has
been making it for so long there is nothing left to go wrong. And it
only costs $6,600! Compared to the BMW GSA you can buy a new one
every time it needs new tires and still save money.
If
the KLR is the Rodney Dangerfield of adventure bikes, the Honda XR
650 L is the ugly duckling. It is the punchline of every dirt bike
joke. Until you ride it. Yes, it is too heavy for woods single track,
but it will go through anything if you work at it. Yes, it has an old
school air cooled engine and steel tube frame, but there is no
radiator to smash or hoses to leak. The steel frame can be welded
back together by anyone in any third world country. Try that with an
aluminum forged frame.
It's
$100 more than the KLR650 and really needs a bigger after market tank
to give it any range, but the weight is only 346 pounds fully fueled.
If you trade the stock exhaust for an aftermarket pipe you can save
another 25 pounds. Suspension travel is 11” front and rear. This is
only a fair commuter bike but when the going gets rough the XR650L
turns into a beautiful bird. Making it even better, good used
examples can be found all day for $3,000 and under.
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| Transalp in Baja |
I'm
including the Honda Transalp (XL600V) because it was and is my
favorite bike of all time. If I was to choose only one bike of the
several that I own it would be this one. The V-twin 600cc engine is
powerful enough for any task. It is smooth on the highway and torquey
in the rough. The XR suspension soaks up the ruts and bumps and keeps
a steady line.
Once
accustomed to the 400 pound weight, the rider is rewarded with a
virtuous, comfortable bike that goes anywhere with Honda reliability.
It's like a Swiss Army knife; it doesn't do anything perfectly but it
does everything pretty darn well. Too bad it was far ahead of it's
time and Honda didn't promote it properly. Not quite a cult bike,
examples appear from time to time for ~$3,000.
Those
are some examples of adventure bikes now on the market. I don't have
the room or time to list everything. The Suzuki V-Strom 650 Adventure
does come to mind, but it's pricey (~$10k), heavy (~500 lbs) and I
wouldn't take it anywhere until I got a decent skid plate to protect
that exhaust pipe. The KTM 690 Enduro R is another great bike that
has always suffered from the high price and lack of promotion in the
KTM lineup. The Suzuki DRZ400 deserves an honorable mention as well.
Remember,
no matter which you choose, the bike is nothing but a pack mule. If
you want an ego extension go buy whatever you can afford. If you want
to go for a ride know what you really want to do and be realistic
about your choice.
Got
a favorite bike you would like to recommend? Or a comment on one of
my choices, good or bad? Let me know in the comment section.
Make my day, tell a friend about this blog!
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