That, I suppose, goes right to the heart of the whole 'adventure' riding debate. There is a kind of unwritten pecking order in these things where offroad is assumed to be at the top of the greasy pole - "when the tarmac ends the adventure starts", that kind of thing. And therefore, by definition, some huge great tank of a bike can't do any more than play at 'adventure riding'. All you're getting when you buy one is some marketing parody based on fooling some of the people all of the time. The fact that a lot of them are very good at transporting people long distances in comfort (i.e. touring) is dismissed because they're sold as 'adventure bikes' and 'adventure' in the sense it's implied isn't really within their skill set.



My current 100bhp+, 600lbs 'adventure' bike that is the worst vehicle of any type I've ever used off road but has taken me on trips that certainly count as an adventure.

Paragraph 2 would have gone on to muse on the contradiction that people keep asking for some kind of baby bear's porridge (in the Goldilocks sense) adventure bike - something that's the ideal balance of all the characteristics - weight, power etc, but the manufacturers keeps serving up daddy or mummy bears stuff - lumpy, bland, too hot, too cold etc. Everything that comes along that seems to shine brightly for a while always seems to end up with feet of clay - the CCM GP450, the Himmy, and going back a bit, the XT660Z. There is a lot more that could be said but it's too hot and I can't be bothered to write it.

Well I couldn’t help myself but take another look and thanks Homer, of course you’re right - my apologies for being flippant.

It still remains that everyone on this thread has just about said it all but I will just flip the coin over - imho there is no such thing as an adventure bike, sports bikes or touring bikes...... there are however sporty riders, adventurous riders, tourers etc.

There are plenty of people who’ve ridden RTW on sports bikes including Mongolia and the Stans. Also people who have done the Dalton and Dempster on Harleys - not adventure bikes but adventurous people.
We’ve all seen the video of the rider riding the IOM circuit on Mad Sunday on a BMW GS and roasting all the sports bikes - a sporty rider undoubtedly.
20 years ago we did a tour of Germany, Czech, Slovakia, Hungary and back - my wife was riding a 600 Bandit, loaded with camping gear - not sold as a touring bike.

"How many 1250's do you see off road ?"

Well, not many, but then I'm not often off-road.

However, I saw an absolute SHEDLOAD on the roads of Lapland when I was there last week on my TDM900.

Forgive me but the thread title and the thread OP are a bit non sequitur.

There is no doubt that your smaller bike is a better choice for that sort of trip unless you know your potatoes and can ride accordingly. My "smaller bike" is an XL600V and that is still pretty heavy.

But, in the same way that most Land Cruisers never see trails, most 1250s never see dirt.

And the marketeers know that full well.

They make a bike that can munch miles of tarmac in considerable comfort, at considerable speed, with a considerable luggage capacity, all the while giving the owner the feeling that they could, if they chose to, go anywhere with their bike.

And why not? If their bike lets them feel freer, feel like all their worries are back at home, then I think their bike is an excellent investment.

Most people buy stuff because of how it makes them feel, rather than purely for what it can do. Even on here you get a traveller asking for recommendations. They get pointed at the "on paper" perfect bike for their needs, but they are often distracted by something that they simply like more.

That's one of the best feelings about riding: being on something that you love riding, even if it's not the most logical choice.

So, no, I don't think the big ADV is dead.

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Adventure: it's an experience, not a style!
(so ride what you like, but ride it somewhere new!)

I'd have to disagree with the poster....if u said sportsbikes and 600 race reps were dead , I'd agree cos apart from v4 and V2 panagales our shop doesn't sell any . However we sell shed loads of ktms naked and adv , teneres, multistradas , streetfighters and pcx125s lol
Given the general age of current riders seems to be late 40s and upwards , they cant fit on sportsbikes anymore and unless you track them they are totally irrelevant in today's busy camera infested roads . Who needs a 600 rep when you could have a mid sized ktm that will spank it on a b road and not leave you needing a neck massage at the rides end.....

You can also forget the new fireblades....
No one wants one . As for dedicated adventure bikes , that is small cc , lightweight etc they arent big sellers, other then the 700 tenere , as customers arent interested in them . If u r lucky enough to go to places afar then u r in a happy minority.......as I would guess less then 5% of people I deal with do that sort of thing in fact it's probably less then that . Most bikes seem to be pcp for a couple of years , used for a bit of fun then chopped in when something else comes along
.

So what is an adventure bike? And what is a big bike? And what is a big adventure bike then? Is there a unison understanding and agreement about these terms? I dont think so....and if so the value of this discussion isnt very high.

Any bike can be an adventure bike - some people say. Any trip, one day long - 100 kms, one week trip - 2-3000 kms long can be an adventure. Right or not? You dont have to ride London to Sydney or Alaska to Ushuaia to do an adventure? Right or not? So any bike can be an adventure bike and any trip can be an adventure. Yes I personally think so and like this attitude towards bikes and riding.

And what is a big bike then? Any unison agreement and understanding about the term «big bike»? I dont think so. For example - I spend a good bit of time in Thailand where I ride a 250 cc bike. When I ride to the local shopping mall to buy my groceries Im always shown to the big bike parking as everything over 150 cc is considered a big bike down there. And big bikes have a different parking lot than those smaller ones 100-125 cc. And its annoying as its further away from the entrance than the regular small motorbike parking
So I have started to use my gf old Honda Wave 100 cc on my grocery shopping trips as I both can park closer to the entrance and it has a shopping basket mounted...
On the other hand - when I bought my first «big bike» here in Norway and it was a Honda Transalp 600 cc most of my friends and surroundings commented - hey mate thats a womans bike, hey mate - when are to going to buy a real bike ?, yeh its a good beginners bike but you soon will want a bigger decent bike (oh - how wrong they were...) etc etc. So here a 600 cc bike isnt considered a big bike, not even a «real» bike.

Anyhow - I dont think theres any danger that big bikes or big adventure bikes will be extinct in the near or even distant future. The good thing as Touring Ted mentioned earlier in this thread is that many manufacturers have started making smaller cc bikes that can be used as travel bikes the last 5-6 years or so. And by that I mean bikes in the 150-500 cc range. And that is great thing as the choices and selections are getting better. If only the manufacturers could make the smaller cc bikes a bit lighter. Most new 250-500 cc bikes still weigh much more than the old Suzuki Dr650 - which I consider one of the best, if not the best alternative and compromise for a adventure/overland/travel bike....

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

This topic is like a sushi bar and goes round in circles and gets plucked off for a fresh bite every now and then....
I'm stuck on the fence with this one, at later 50's and still very able I much prefer the feel of a bigger bike on tarmac and my smaller bike (500cc) for the looser stuff. I'm a builder of bikes so I've built two adventure bikes that are at polar opposites of the weight scale. One for solo trips and one for pillion adventures.

Neither bike does everything perfect and am I willing to make sacrifices on a trip....YES of course. Am i worried about the weight and can I pick it up or not..... NO..!!

Big 'ADV' bikes and aggressive sales staff are going nowhere and will continue to punt bikes out the door while the 'Horses for Courses' comment is the valid statement here....

I'm not getting any younger but as long as my biking mojo remains at high output I'm gonna stay with big bikes !!!

One more comment tho, my smaller adv build uses the CB500F engine, I had to use it for a commute of around 120 miles of pure slab a couple of weeks ago and it amazes me how that little engine can soak up the miles and sit at 70mph without flinching one iota, ironically the same speed my GS12 feels comfy at these days.....

I own a 2 wheel Boss Hoss with a 350 chevy engine in it that's gone across Canada and the USA, a 1980 Harley FLT bagger that's been to Alaska, a 2008 susuki vstrom that's gone to from Canada to south America and a 2006 susuki DRZ400 that I ride from Arizona into the Mountains of Mexico and BaJa.
Every time I get on my bike for a day or more it is an adventure no matter where I go. So the bike you are on does not have the adventure. The adventure will open up before you.