3 reasons NOT to get a BIG Adventure Bike | The Right Choice: Part 1

#chroniclesofsolid #adventurebike

I know those are fighting words but I really do think that for new and returning motorcycle riders a big flagship adventure bike might not be the best motorbike for off road riding. This video goes through 3 reasons why that is the case.

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[sspirito]

I guess there is a tool for every job. Most people are not interested in Enduro riding. Not everyone is into technical climbs, rock gardens and drowning bikes in waist deep mud. Most riders can only afford one bike, so that bike needs to be versatile. Must be able to carry a passenger, commute to work, capable of touring and have the option to explore offroad. That’s why midsize ADV are hugely popular, they are the perfect tool to cover large distances, explore new forest paths, chew hundreds of Kms of corrugations, and go on remote camping adventures.
It really depends where you live and the type of riding you do. Me fore instance, I love riding offroad, but I got rid of my enduro bikes and moved to mid-size ADVs. The closest trails are 60Km from my home, doing that stretch of highway on a dual sport is exhausting. Loading a bike on the trailer every Saturday is not my cup of tea, and I want to spend my scarce free time riding a bike rather than driving a car, adjusting straps on a trailer and also having to do frequent maintenance intervals.
Having two bikes would be ideal, but not everyone can afford it

[UncleWally]

At 70 I’ve been riding long and hard for over fifty years. A few months ago I added an Africa Twin DCT to my garage. While I agree with most of what’s argued here, I’d add a few caveats. First, “off road” for me (and most?) means off tarmac; plenty of interesting off tarmac is available where I live. I paid about 50% off MSRP for a fully farkled low mileage “pre-loved” example - if it gets bruised, it gets bruised. I’ve got other bikes (sport/road and lighter off road) to ride; I wouldn’t want a big dual purpose for my only bike. Bottom line? It depends . . . and, I really enjoy the Africa Twin.

[fixento]

Yep, 80 years old, bought a 2022 CB500X, 439 lbs added 45 lbs of engine/crash guard, tool box, skid plate, pannier and luggage racks, and I can pick it up.

[tracythorleifson]

I’m 62. I’m getting to the point where even my trusty ol’ DR650 ‘ADV’ is getting too heavy. After I’ve dropped it four or five times in rough going, I start to lose interest. I wish, wish, wish somebody would build a sub-350 lb ‘ADV’ with decent off-road chops, decent highway manners and a little wind protection, making 40-50 HP and equivalent torque. That’s all I want or need, and I’d gladly pay a premium for it. Especially if it comes with cruise control and all the other modern farkles. Come on, manufacturers, I’m just sitting here waiting to throw money at you, and I’m never going to buy even one of your “middleweight” ADVs - even those are just too much for me off-road.

[chrigul]

My opinion: you have to chose the right bike for your needs! Heavy @bikes fit perfect for a long trip through the continent, but are totaly wrong for single track. Still, they are surprisingly capable, as long as the wheels turn..
The golden rules are:
-Never go in gnarly Terrain all alone with big bikes, you will need some hands to get out of troubles.
- Never go with mixed bikes, i mean light dual sport and big heavies together. It will always be a stress for the extreme opposits.
-don't take too much stuff with you, even when big bikes offer the space for you. You will hate every kg you carry for nothing, including bling bling on your bike, when it's getting tough. But conquering a difficult trail on heavy bikes together with your mates, helping each other can also be a fantastic feeling, like:"yeah, we did it!"

[BlazerLz]

Just went on a 6 day logging road adventure with a handful of people. Some with big bikes (like me on my africa twin) and some with smaller bikes (like CRF300 and DR650s) and I can confirm this 100%. While I had to slow down for every corner, those on lighter bikes could ride much faster and had WAY more fun in the end.

[daltonknox]

My dealer tells me that most adventure bikes are bought by older riders and never taken off road. No rider over 60 is going to spend hour after hour on a sport bike. Compared with a cruiser, ABs have a much better riding position, resembling riding a horse, whereas a cruiser has your legs forward and all your weight on your tailbone. They are also a couple of hundred pounds lighter which makes them more fun to ride. In the last 20 years, I have had 3 ABs: a 2003 V-Strom 1000, a 2015 Multistrada (total POS, will never buy another Ducati) and a 2020 1290 SAS which I rate as a great ride. Yes, I was sad to sell my R1, but I could ride it for less than 30 minutes, particularly in town, before I was worn out. Again ABs are perfect bikes for older riders and I am delighted that manufacturers are embracing them.

[JohnDoe-xris]

I recently sat on a Africa Twin at a dealership. I couldn't believe how BIG it was. There's no way I would want such a big and heavy bike. Now I'm much better suited with a Honda CB500X...also known as the half-frica twin.

[troyschultz]

Great to see someone tell it as it is! I rode a KLR650 from U.S. through South America. I met many on road with big bikes, they toured great on paved but off-road were nightmares while I had zero problems! One friend on a GS spent more just shipping his bike home from Peru after catastrophic failure then I spent on mine including buying cost and maintenance for 1 year 50000km!!!

[xrscott]

I believe Ewan and Charlie certainly fueled the big bike adventure craze. I wonder how many people were disappointed to find out they didn’t come with chase trucks and a group of people working out the logistics for them

[adventurechannel]

SO TRUE
I went from a BMW GS1250 to a KTM 980 to a BMW G310GS.. I have 45 years of experience riding Street bikes and almost nothing off road. I love everything abouth these comfort mamouth 500lbs+ couches on wheels but, grew tired of having to pick them up. I wanted to enjoy riding not fight Mike Tyson each time I fell off or got stuck in the mud. With a large ADV one can't ride alone. It's just too stressful having to worry do I have to call someone for help if I couldn't get untuck from the mud. Now five years later and a 375Lbs G310GS I can ride all day with no worries. I have the TAT and Continental Divide under my belt I'm also planning a solo trip to South America (Patagonia) then onto Europe. Sure I had to do a some mods and upgrade to the suspension and wire wheels but now I can finally focus on enjoying my trips not fighting with it. Sure there are some drawbacks but it's worth it. A smaller ADV is the way to go if you truly want to travel 90% off road. Big ADV bikes are perfect if you want to look good and travel mostly on pavement.

[rvrrunner]

I agree 100%. I've ridden a HD from Arkansas to Yukon, CA and a 1200cc Yamaha Super Tenere to Alaska and Artic Circle. The HD was much more comfortable, had cruise control and CB radio. Only rode the Tenere on dirt on the Dalton Highway so much better than an HD on that short 400 miles. Also rode a Dual Sport KTM 350 from east coast to west coast on the Trans America Trail (TAT). Saw lots of big adventure bikes on the TAT but dual sport is only way to go on that type of riding. Best dual sport is the Yamaha WR250R!!!! BTW I was in my late 60's and early 70's when I made those rides.

[godfreytomlinson]

I had a air cool R1200GS for 6 years. It really surprised me how good it was offroad. It was a bit big and heavy but just manageable for me at 5'6. It was easy to pick up as the cylinders stopped it from falling over all the way.

I would recommend one of these if you do want to try off roading on a big bike. Just keep a bit of money spare for shaft drive repairs.

[resovius]

Excellent points. As a returning rider 3 years ago (48 at that point) with no real off-road experience other than mountain bikes, I bought a Yamaha XT250 to get started. The bike is an absolute wonder for learning not only off-road skills but motorcycling skills in general. In a year of consistent riding (about 3, 000 miles, mostly fairly technical off road) I felt I wanted to up my game and get an adventure bike. My choice was a Tenere 700. It was a revelation and not in a good way. At 5’10” with 32 inseam the bike felt super tall and incredibly heavy. I was shocked how different it felt off road than the XT250. I basically had to re-learn how to ride it off road. I got beat up a lot doing it but persisted and after a year and another 3, 000 miles of mostly off road riding, I feel fairly competent in fairly technical terrain. But it is never enjoyable in such terrain as the XT250 is. I always feel stressed when taking it on technical trails because of it’s weight (485 lbs with bars and other necessities). Although I’m fit and can always lift it even in difficult terrain, it is a brutal effort. Tenere is top heavy and it loves to pull you down any chance it gets. In less technical terrain or on tarmac, it’s a blast because of the power. Overall I enjoy it very much but I’m judicious on what terrain I take it on. If I had to choose between XT250 and T7 for an around-the-world journey with any significant off roading, I’d take the XT250 every time. They are both awesome bikes, but as capable as T7 is off-road, you have to have mad off-road skills and superhuman strength to take it alone on rough single tracks. I think that for most people, middleweight and heavy ADV bikes are not a good choice for serious off-roading. It’s far more fun to ride a light dual sport off-road that can still do highway miles at 70-75 mph. You’ll just have to avoid high speed freeways.

[michelveit]

Well big ADV bikes might not be the best bike for everyone, but I have found them to be perfect for me. I use my bike for all sorts of stuff, from after work fire road shenanigans, over longer weekend trips, to multi day holiday travel. I have tried many styles of bikes, all have left me longing for more variety. I had a ninja which was fun, but awefull on bad roads and uncomfortable on longer rides, switched to a virago which was much more comfortable, but left me standing in front of a lot of fireroads thinking "damn I wish I could blast along here". So I got a crf-250, to realize quickly that Offroading is fun, but getting there is miserable. So I sold both and got myself a F650GS Dakar. And this was the first bike that really made me feel free, because I could just go anywhere with it. It was decent on road, really good off road and was really comfortable, so I could easily make longer tours and see a ton of new things. So I knew this style of bike was perfect for me. After about 2 years I realized I still wanted a bit more on road focus, since most of my offroading was fireroads and forest paths and next to no hard offroading, and I wanted a bit more weight, so the bike was less influenced by wind when I'm riding on the highway for vacation or work. So I ended up selling it and got a R1200GS and I do not know how a bike could be more perfect for me and my riding profile.

But thats just me. I don't want to go into the extremes on any front. Surely if you love dragging knees in corners, an adv bike isn't for you. If you want to do trails and fight through the actual wilderness, and adv bike isn't for you. If you enjoy stunting, an adv bike isn't for you. If you like to go to the extremes in anything, an adv bike probably isn't for you. But if you just want to relax, have some fun, enjoy the weather and the environment around you and just go where you please, an adv bike might just be the perfect thing for you.

[NoAdventureMoto]

Great video. I love my huge adventure touring bikes, because I don't take them off road. They are great touring bikes, yes you can get cheaper bikes to tour on, but nothing beats the all day comfort and low maintenance of a shaft drive upright seating bike.

[ComfyDadShoes]

Absolutely well said. I’ve made this mistake and couldn’t be happier having gone to my DR650. The heaviest I’ll go now is a T7 and that’s pushing the weight limit.

[toddwmac]

As always, solid commentary on a complex topic with countless opinions. Big bikes can mean big fun and big challenges. I've been riding and teaching on a KTM 990 in the woods, mountains and deserts for 15 years, and as it was my 1st "dirtbike" one of your comments stood out to me as very accurate. If you don't have a deep desire to invest the time and effort to learn how to ride these bikes off-road (and I don't mean off-tarmac) ....don't waste your time and money. You will at best inconvenience and frustrate yourself and at worst endanger others. And while many trainings focus on picking up these beasts, I start from the other end of the spectrum. Before I accept an off-road student, I have them send me a video of their ability let that bike fall to the ground. If you cannot walk up to your brand new $20k motorcycle and nock it off its kickstand into the dirt, you are not going out into the woods with us. The only thing that keeps a 500lb bike upright is balance and momentum. When people are more focused on damaging their bike than keeping it moving in tough conditions, bad things WILL happen. There is nothing worse when maneuvering a big bike than creeping along because you are scared to drop it. My suggestion...get over that fear, wear those scratches and dents as a badge of honor. If you can't do that, maybe just stick to the roads with your big ADV bike. Thanks for all your great content!

[ianross]

Great points . I’m 64 and have ridden for most of my life. I’ve been on GSAs since 2008 then an ATAS DCT ES for a few months last year and now a KTM 890 Adventure (non-R). Weight or rather top-heavy weight was the reason I changed. The Honda was narrower and lighter than the GSA but less stable at low speeds in traffic. I like the KTM a lot other than the seat. What’s missing is a light, comfortable single cylinder bike with decent power and weather protection. The nearest for me is the KTM/Husky/Gas Gas 690/701/700 family but all are compromised by being tall, rock hard seats (despite these being “Travel” bikes), and no weather protection unless you add rally towers. I don’t care about off-road capabilities but ADV bikes have a riding position I like.

[superwag]

The best adv bike I’ve ever ridden turned out to be a Honda cb125. It goes anywhere with its big wheels and 114 kilos fully fueled. And burns 1.5L per 100km so you can get 700km from a tank 😅