Adventure bikes might be right for you even if you never go off road

Adventure bikes have become the fastest-growing segment of the motorcycle market. While there have always been some regional variations, such as naked and sport bikes being more popular in Europe and cruisers being the mainstay of the US, adventure bikes have been around for over 40 years but have become the overall best seller in the past decade or so.

Dual sports could be considered the progenitor of the adventure bike. Most dual sports were 650cc and smaller, which, with their lightweight, made them good options for off-road. However, the single-cylinder engine wasn’t as smooth as other engine configurations, and the smaller size limited cargo-carrying options. Adventure bikes gave up some off-road capability for increased roadworthiness, assuming the mix probably favored pavement over dirt for most riders.

BMW is widely regarded as the creator of the adventure bike segment. Its first BMW R80 G/S was produced in 1980. This motorcycle, like most BMW motorcycles up to that point, had an 800cc boxer twin motor. Based on their street bikes, which were popular touring bikes, the G/S or Gelände/Straße (terrain/street) had more aggressive tires, increased ground clearance, and suspension travel.

At first, nobody knew what to make of it… it seemed odd.  BMW pretty much owned the segment for the first few generations.  It wasn’t until the documentary Long Way Round that Charlie Boorman and Ewen MacGregor used the 4th generation BMW R1150GSA to ride around the world on whatever roads they could find, where the road was often made of dirt.  The film increased the visibility of the adventure bike and what you could do with it.  Suddenly, everyone wanted to be chasing the ability to “adventure” worldwide.

Since then, adventure bikes have continued to be refined, often with increased capacity. BMW was joined by many other brands, like KTM, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Ducati, and most recently, Harley-Davidson, in offering adventure bikes to the market. While Kawasaki owners will often bring up the KLR650, due to the single-cylinder engine, it is more of a large dual sport than an adventure bike.

While the original big adventure bikes have gotten bigger… BMW’s 1980 R80 G/S has continually updated over the following 40+ years.  The 2024 model year saw the release of the BMW R1300GS, with ~500ccs more engine capacity than the original 800cc G/S and pushing 145hp vs the original’s 50 HP.

Adventure bikes have gone in two directions. Most have continued to grow in engine capacity and power, which was often the feature for those who liked ADV bikes for reasons other than the off-road capability. Ducati offered a more sport-oriented take with the MultiStrada, and BMW matched that approach with the S1000XR. On the other hand, some ADV bikes were made for lighter weight and more off-road capability while also being cheaper.

Mid-weight adventure bikes (typically <1000ccs, but larger than the big dual sports) have been a fast-growing sub-segment.   They are cheaper than the “full size” options but often have more manageable power and lighter weight, making them easier to use off-road.

Why have adventure bikes become so popular

Besides the original films that jumpstarted BMW sales, more riders have started to notice the bikes’ other benefits and how they can be used for everyday riding.

Comfort

ADV bikes have a relaxed riding position that makes them comfortable for many hours and miles in the saddle.  They aren’t the cramped position of sport bikes or bent like a clam shape typical on cruisers with ape hangers and forward controls.  This has helped them be the bike of choice for those putting in long days and many miles.

It isn’t unusual to see ADV bikes at the top of the charts for Iron Butt riders, where they will do more than 1000 miles in 24 hours.  The odds are high that if you see a bike with out-of-state or other country plates, it will be an ADV bike.

Road Compliance

Even if you aren’t riding on dirt roads or trails, the quality of roads has deteriorated around the globe. Broken pavement, potholes, and bumps can make every ride uncomfortable. But ADV bikes have long travel suspension, often >7”, so these road irregularities seem to disappear to the rider. I used to always joke with my first couple of GSs that riding into NYC was perfect for them as all the potholes disappeared on the bikes.

Visibility

Like the growing popularity of SUVs and trucks, the high riding position gives riders more visibility of traffic around them. The added height makes the bikes and riders more noticeable to the drivers in those SUVs.  We have to be honest that as motorcyclists, we are more vulnerable, and with more distractions for cage drivers, improved visibility is critical to keeping safe.

Handling

With so much travel, ADV bikes can also tune the suspension to offer compliance and sportiness. They are some of the best-handling bikes out there, undoubtedly able to beat any cruiser bike. They can give sport bikes a good run on real public roads, too, since their suspension travel can absorb the poor road conditions while sport bikes need to slow down more. Brands have even produced what many call sportbikes on stilts, like the Ducati MultiStrada and BMW S1000XR.

The wide handlebars give plenty of leverage to change direction quickly on the bike. At slow speeds, the turning radius of the bars also gives tighter circles than many other bikes. When I compare my sports bike with my ADV bike, it’s night and day, and I find it much easier to move the ADV bike around in the garage due to the increased lock-to-lock range.

Cargo Carrying Capacity

Many adventure bikes have a lot of cargo-carrying ability, both from the capacity of the OEM bags and the ability to strap on stuff.  Most ADVs have stock cargo racks, making attaching any bag or camping gear easy.  OEM panniers, like the aluminum ones on several makes, have a high capacity.  On my R1200GSA, the aluminum panniers produced by Touratech as the OEM are 44 and 38 liters (exhaust side).  A regular “Bagger” like the Street/Road glide with panniers is only 2.42 cubic feet or ~69 liters vs ~82 on my GSA.  A cruiser tour pack, a.k.a. top case, has nearly the same capacity as the panniers.  The top case adds an extra 32 liters of space.  When you compare this to the full-dress Harley touring bikes, which claim ~4.7 cubic feet of capacity with a “tour pack,” which works out to 133 liters.  My GS is only slightly smaller at 112 liters, mainly because the top case is smaller.

If I swap the top case for a soft bag like a waterproof duffel like my Giant Loop Tillamook, with its 48 liters of capacity, and attach it to the rack where the top case would go, I’ve got 12 liters more capacity than a full-dress Harley. For even more space, I can add soft bags on top of the panniers, like my Kriega US 10 & US20 bags.

If I plan to camp in one place for a few days, I often bring my Redverz tent with a garage where I can park the bike. This is a huge tent I can stand in at 6’3”, making it very easy to change into or out of riding gear. If riding solo, it can easily fit on the back rack or passenger seat, so I’ve no worries about space.

Versatility

This combination of so many positive characteristics makes adventure bikes some of the most versatile bikes out there. For riders with a single-bike garage, adventure bikes can provide a bike for many different rides.

Finally, the adventure aspect, or what I refer to as explore mode, can’t be ignored. On my BMW R1200GSA, I don’t mind if I come across a dirt road and will happily continue along it, whereas I’m more likely to turn around on a more street-oriented bike like a cruiser or sports bike.

The capability of ADV bikes to switch from canyon carvers to long-distance tourers that don’t mind hitting dirt roads does lend itself to allowing owners to have an adventure where they don’t know what they’ll run into.

It’s also not unusual for ADV bikes to have larger gas tanks than many other bikes.  My 2012 BMW R1200GSA has 8.7 gallons of fuel capacity & I averaged about 39MPG over the 12 years I’ve owned it.  That gives me more than 300 miles of range.  Most ADV bikes will have a range of at least 180 miles, which covers most anywhere in the world.  If you’re still worried about range, throwing on a spare gas tank like the Giant Loop Armadillo or RotopaX is pretty easy to mount on the luggage rack of an ADV bike.

Weight

While ADV bikes aren’t the lightest on the market, if you compare them to the large cruisers popular in the United States, most ADVs, even full-size ones, are significantly lighter.  If you have trouble moving your cruiser around a parking lot or a garage, having a 100-200 lbs lighter bike could be a significant advantage.  For example, my cruiser, the BMW R18 Classic, weighs 805 lbs, fully fuelled with saddlebags and windshield mounted.  My BMW R1200GSA with 8.7 gallons of gas comes in at 560lbs.  That’s nearly 250lbs lighter or about 30%.  To be fair, that is my GSA without the saddlebags.  But even with my aluminum panniers added, it comes in around 586lbs, still over 200lbs lighter.

A full-dress cruiser like the Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited weighs 917 lbs fully fueled. Compared to my full-size GS with the panniers and top case mounted, which weighs 597 lbs, the ADV is still 320 lbs lighter, or 35%!

If you consider the middleweight bikes like the KTM 890 Adventure, Yamaha Tenere 700, Triumph Tiger 900 & the BMW F900GS, those are all around 450-480lbs fuelled, or nearly 100lbs lighter than my full-size GSA.

Power

Modern ADV bikes have plenty of get-up-and-go, even in the middleweight category.  We’ve discussed the weight advantages of ADV bikes over heavyweight cruisers, but there is also a power advantage.

Let’s use the Harley Ultra as a data point.  With 917lbs of weight, Harley claims 122ftlbs of torque and 93hp for the 2024 model.  The current full-size BMW R1300GS weighs 523lbs and produces 145hp and 104ftlbs of torque.  While the Harley has 18lbft more torque, it is down nearly 50HP and has to push almost 400lbs more weight.  Absolute numbers are one thing, but it’s the power to weight (lbs per HP) & torque to weight (lbs per ft/lb) numbers that affect the feeling on the road:

The GS has nearly three times the power-to-weight ratio of the Harley. Even in torque, which cruisers are typically known for, the GS still has about a 50% better torque-to-weight ratio. Even Harley’s own ADV bike, the Pan America is significantly better than the Ultra in both power and torque to weight ratios. The GS & Pan America will have much more get-up-and-go than a big cruiser.

Even middleweight bikes can still be compelling.  The KTM 890 Adventure, Triumph Tiger 900, and the BMW F900GS all have about 105HP and about 70lb/ft of torque.  The Yamaha Tenere 700 has some lower specs of 72HP and 50lbft of torque but is also quite a bit cheaper.  But they aren’t that far off if put into the same power-to-weight chart.  All these middleweight ADVs beat the Harley Ultra in power-to-weight ratios.  Only the Tenere is behind the Harley Ultra in torque torque-to-weight ratios.

The performance gap for middleweight vs full size isn’t significant. Middleweight ADVs are roughly 50-100lbs lighter than full-size ADVs, and the lower sticker price can be compelling.

Why not?

The most common reason to avoid ADV bikes, and probably the reason the US cruisers are so popular, is seat height.  ADV bikes are usually taller than other bikes and much taller than cruisers.  If you have short legs, this could be something that worries you.  While my R18 Classic cruiser has a seat height of just 30”, my GSA’s height in the high position is 36”.  While neither is an issue for me, being 6’3” as I can flat foot either bike easily., someone 5’3” might be intimidated by that tall seat.

While seat height is a simple single measurement you can compare bikes, it’s not the most critical.  You want to look at the inner leg curve.  What’s the difference, you may ask?  Suppose you have a 32” inseam.  You assume a 30” seat height would not be an issue for you.  But in reality, the seat and bike have a width to it that your legs need to go around, so while inseam is good for knowing which size pants to wear, it has little bearing on whether you can flat foot on a bike.  The inner leg curve considers the width of the seat and bike to give a more realistic measure.  You have the inner leg curve if you measure from the inside of your foot up and over the seat to your foot down on the other side.  This will be longer than 2X the seat height since it includes the width of the seat/bike.

Manufacturers are addressing the seat height concerns

But even if you are shorter, modern adventure bikes have a few features that can make a difference.  First, many have focused on making the seat and bike in the front, where you would put your legs down much thinner to make the bike feel shorter effectively.  To keep comfort up, the seat is wider at the rear, so you have the support for long rides.  Harley-Davidson added a feature called Adaptive Ride Height with their Pan America, which several other brands are also adding.  This lowers the suspension when stopping to reduce the seat height so you can get your feet down more easily.  It lifts back up as you get going to get the ground clearance and handling space.  BMW’s new R1300GS has a similar feature.

Many riders with older bikes will slide off on one side of the seat so they have a solid triangle formed with their foot and both wheels to steady the bike at a stop.  The technique can be a big help.  Before you start thinking, I’m too short to do that; think of Jocelyn Snow, who competed on the International GS Trophy team and was a featured rider on one of the Backcountry Discovery Route’s films and is only 5’1” tall.

Conclusion

ADV bikes have a lot of advantages over other motorcycle segments, and that is the reason for their growing popularity.  These have the net effect of allowing owners of ADV bikes to ride more often and for longer.  While seat height is a legitimate concern for some riders, Jocelyn Snow should inspire those who are hesitant.  If a 5’1” (155cm) woman can manage a full-size BMW GS in technical off-road terrain for the GS Trophy, most riders could handle an ADV for on-road efforts and gain all the benefits of an ADV bike even if they never get dirty.