Dual Sport
While the outlook for riding during the winter period is typically grim in the UK, the turn of the new year is an exciting time as most motorcycle manufacturers choose to unveil and launch their newest motorcycles. State-of-the-art adventure motorcycles with thrilling signature Triple engines, innovative progressive technology and equipment, commanding rider ergonomics, and agile neutral handling; every Tiger is built with maximum capability to take you everywhere in style, comfort and control.
Who's to say riding a V-Strom on a smooth dirt road in the jungles of Guatemala is less adventurous than riding a DRZ in your hometown OHV park. To handle the load from these accessories, ADV bikes also generally come with larger stators, so feel free to plug in your heated gear and charge your electronics without having to worry about draining the battery.
Don't confuse a gravel and adventure bike with an endurance road bike like the Cannondale Synapse or Saracen Avro. A rule of thumb that most riders will agree with is, if you frequent the rough stuff, the lighter the better. A smooth powerful bike is set up for taller riders over 5ft 10″ (hint get thicker soles on your boots if you cant flat foot on one side).
The idea of the bigger tyres and relaxed geometry that promotes extra comfort when the going gets rough and bumpy is very attractive given the generally poor state of repair of UK roads. We built it from scratch, drawing on many life times of riding, from 10 years of experience in our shops.
Fast forward to 2019 and BMW have replaced it with the evolutionary R1250GS The bike is essentially the same winning formula as before but gets a brand new engine with Variable Valve Timing tech (BMW ShiftCam). Well, most seasoned adventure riders will agree that there is a lot more to it than that.
A great bike for him yes, but utterly impractical for someone like me. My spin on adventure riding is multi-day camping rides through remote places full of challenges, river crossings, hill climbs and similar gnarly things that make the GS1200 far far too big for me to consider.
The Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin never fails to stir up excitement amongst adventure riders, and when the manufacturer chose to revive the iconic Dakar inspired bike in 2016 it's safe to say that the adventure community was eager with anticipation to see how Honda could modernise the legendary Africa Twin.
Stories of travel and adventure, fmf q4 Rider Skills, industry pros, tech, tips, and much more. Our fleet of motorcycles have been customised for comfort, to a touring specification which makes them turnkey ready for any of our tours in South Africa. It's got a nice and powerful engine, a nice 22.2 inch saddle height, and seems to tick all of the relevant adventure motorcycle boxes - but this is really a road motorcycle wearing off-road clothing.
Disc brakes allow frame clearances for fatter tyres, making for a bike that can cope with a very wide range of surfaces and that points & laughs at potholes. Based in the heart of rural Norfolk, Adventure Bike Training offers complete, top-notch motorcycle training packages for novice, intermediate and expert off-roaders across East Anglia.
This exceeds the factory recommendation of 15 hours due to the factory recommendations being based on hard competition riding that is rarely mimicked by your typical adventure rider. Gravel and adventure bikes, though, are better suited to the demands of on and off-road riding.
If the seat height of a potential bike is far too high for you (eg 4 inches or more) it may be a case of that bike not being suitable as there is a limit to the amount some bikes can be lowered before the suspension is affected to the point it becomes a pig.