Need an Adventure Machine?
The SUVs of the motorcycle world are adventure bikes. They’re the motorcycles that are designed to do anything and pretty much everything. They can take you across the country comfortably, traverse difficult terrain, and they even handle much better than expected on a twisty canyon road.
These motorcycles are the Swiss Army Knives of the motorcycling world and they’ve become quite popular in recent years. If you want a bike that can chug along through pretty much any pavement-based environment and handle loose dirt, hard-packed trails, sand, mud, rocks, and more, you have to have one of these. So, with all that said, let me guide you through this interesting segment.
The State of the ADV Market
Born from the need to do more than a typical dual-sport motorcycle is capable of, adventure motorcycles seek to be the only bike you need in the garage. The genesis of this type of bike is often attributed to the 1981 BMW R/80 GS, a motorcycle that basically opened the door for these hybrid off-road and on-road machines. It was a misunderstood machine at first, but it made more sense than people originally thought.
Since that first GS, BMW has crafted more and more advanced adventure motorcycles and became more or less the king of the segment, but other manufacturers were building interesting dual-sport and adventure machines right alongside them and the segment continued to evolve until we get to where we are today.
And where we are is a wonderful place to be. What you have is a slew of fantastic adventure motorcycles that blend touring characteristics with off-road characteristics into one extremely practical and versatile package.
These days there’s not just big adventure bikes and middleweight adventure bikes, there are smaller displacement bikes, too. Smaller displacement used to lean more towards the old school dual-sport lineups, which were little more than dirtbikes with lights and number plates on them, but now we have legit adventure motorcycles with displacements in the 300cc and 400cc range. This brings the price and barrier of entry down. It opens the door to more adventure riders, and that means even greater popularity of these bikes.
A Bike For Every Rider
At the top end of the spectrum are bikes like The BMW R 1250 GS, which has been more or less the king of the segment for some time. Then there are other bikes like the KTM 1290 Adventure models, Yamaha Super Tenere, and Kawasaki Versys 1000 that really do a good job of kicking butt off-road and on the road.
In the middleweight category, we have motorcycles like the BMW F 850 GS Adventure, Triumph Tiger 800, KTM 790 Adventure, BMW F 750 GS, Honda NC750X, Kawasaki Versys 650, and the non-new versions of the Suzuki V-Strom 650.
On the low end, there are several bikes, including the Honda CB500X, Royal Enfield Himalayan, BMW G 310 GS, Kawasaki Versys-X 300, and Honda CRF300L Rally—that last one is a bit more of a dual-sport than a legit adventure ride but it does a good job of splitting the difference. Needless to say, there are a lot of options to choose from.
Note: we’ll be updating all available 2022 models for all brands. In the meantime, refer to the 2021 models for additional information.
The 5 Best Adventure Motorcycles for 2022
Now that I’ve established the lay of the land, so to speak, let’s dive into the best models out there right now. It’s important to note there are so many excellent motorcycles in this segment, that choosing just five of them was really tough.
2022 Ducati DesertX
For many years now, if you wanted to go adventure touring on a red rocket, you were stuck with the Multistrada or, in a pinch, the Scrambler families of bikes. That is no longer the case, as Ducati has released the new DesertX, a more-off-than-on-road adventure bike that was born from lessons learned during desert rallies, most famously the Dakar.
The DesertX was built from the ground up for rough rides, with a 21-inch front wheel, an 18-inch rear wheel, and 10 inches of ground clearance. The chassis is a double frame for added resilience and rigidity, and while it may be designed to kick up a wild rooster tail of sand, it is perfectly happy on the road as well… just not as happy as a Multistrada is.
This is also shown in that the default riding mode, of which there are six, is set to rally. This bike wants to be leaping over dunes, spraying dirt and mud behind on an adventure trail, and getting so dusty that you need a vacuum cleaner with three replacement filters just to get the seat clean. As well, it has a rally-inspired windshield that gives more than enough room for a navigation roll, and the exposed rear frame can handle pretty much any panniers or saddlebags you need.
- Price: $19,295
- Company Website
2022 Husqvarna Norden 901
Might as well address the elephant in the room right off the bat: Yes, the Norden 901 is brother/sister with the KTM 890 Adventure. That, however, is where the two brands and three bikes take different approaches to the ADV space. The 890 Adventure is much more of an on-road tourer, while the 890 Adventure R is much more composed on the dirt. The Norden 901 straddles the two, with riding modes adjustable on the fly to suit either riding style.
One thing that also impresses with the Norden 901 over the KTM bikes is that is it much less edgy in terms of styling. Some people like the triangles and geometric shapes that KTM has adopted as their aesthetic, but the Husqvarna is, at least in this writers’ opinion, much more civilized and not as garish.
Another huge bonus to the Norden 901 is that it massively improves on one major nitpick many KTM riders have, and it has an actual seat cushion for the saddle instead of a brick covered with some waterproofed cloth. Tailbones of ADV riders rejoice! In truth, if you’ve been wanting to get a KTM because of their specialization in off-road machinery but could never find their aesthetics pleasing, the Norden 901 is the answer you’ve been looking for.
- Price: $13,999
- Company Website
2022 Aprilia Tuareg 660
While the other manufacturers go up and up in the cubic centimeters, Aprilia has really doubled down on the 600cc to 700cc niche. First came the highly anticipated RS660 supersport, then the sport-touring Tuono 660. Now, for the adventure crowd, the Tuareg 660 is just a few short months away from jumping into the midsize ADV market.
Sporting the same 659cc parallel-twin as the other two 660s, the Tuareg comes with 80 HP and 51 lb-ft of torque, giving it appreciable and friendly grunt in lower gears for rock scrambling, but good power to keep the trail fast and fun. It’s also built to last, with a steel-tube trellis frame supporting an aluminum bracket, all of it high tensile. A 21 inch front wheel and 18 inch rear is almost par for the course in this segment, but Aprilia adds nice touches like classic spoked wheels, Brembo brakes, and a full suite of electronics.
Those electronics are simple to use as well, with two default ride modes (road, off-road) and two customizable ones that let you set traction control, engine braking, engine mapping, ABS levels, the works. It also has a traditional rally-style seat, with the lowest point being 33.85 inches high. All said, this promises to be one hell of a midsize bike, and we can’t wait to get our hands on one for a thorough test!
- Price: $11,999
- Company Website
2022 Triumph Tiger 1200
You really can’t fault Triumph when they introduce a new motorcycle. Not only do they take what they learned from previous generations and evolve it, they also introduced no less than five different versions of the new 2022 Tiger 1200. Your base model is the 1200 GT, meant to be an adventure tourer, with the top of the range being the 1200 Rally Explorer that is a dirt-eating beast through and through.
All models, however, share the same 1,160cc T-plane crank triple, chucking out a modest 148 HP and a grunty 95 lb-ft of torque. What makes the differences in the models is that the GT side gets 19-inch fronts and 18-inch rears, while the Rally versions get 18-inch rears and 21-inch fronts. All of the bikes also feature a low-maintenance shaft final drive, so no chain to snap when you are a hundred miles off into the wilderness.
Also of note is that the Explorer versions (GT Explorer, Rally Explorer) are designed to be long-distance machines, as both have 9 US gallon tanks and an EPA rating of 58.8 MPG. For those that don’t want to do the math, that’s over 500 miles per tank. 500 miles. Per tank. Sign us up!
- Price: $19,200 to $24,200
- Company Website
2022 BMW R1250 GS Adventure
There’s that saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This is especially true with the BMW 1250 GS Adventure. The twin-cylinder, 1,254cc boxer engine inside engine cage, the steeply raked windshield, the flat rear rack just begging for a top box and a pair of pannier lockers… you really can’t go wrong with any flavor of BMW GS, but the 1250 GS Adventure is their top of the line model for a reason.
The 1250 GS Adventure has a peppy 136 HP and a grunty 105 lb-ft of torque on hand, thanks to the engine characteristics of the boxer. It’s also dual-cooled, air and liquid, so even if you accidentally bash the radiator while riding, you can limp it home on air cooling alone. The TFT display is amazingly visible in all lighting conditions, there are rider modes aplenty, and the variable cam timing (what BMW labels as ShiftCam) makes sure you have power when you need it, and grunt when you need it, and both when you’re riding along standing on the pegs as the bike conquers the trail beneath its wheels.
- Price: $20,345 before options
- Company Website
Interesting that You refer to the Smaller bikes in this category as the “Low end”. Imho they are far better adventure bikes than the ungainly behemoths that get all the glory. There are also plenty of round the world trips recounted in books and on the web to bear this out. Its high time that world motorcycle journalists gave the smaller bikes the credit they deserve rather than focussing all the time on overpowered, overly expensive, oversized ego trips like the KTM’s and BM’s and the like.
John, I mean low-end only in terms of displacement, not quality or capability. Smaller bikes are far more-capable off-road, and if anyone loves small bikes, it’s me. I have five bikes in my shed right now and all of them have a displacement under 300cc.
Wrong people are in lock down so no money. You cant say BMW or KTM because they are to expensive. The best ADV is a cheap and cheerful bike
No one is in lockdown in the US.
And people in the US are spending money like it’s their last year on earth.
Big bikes are great for riding across the plains in Idaho but not good for spirited off-roading and city riding/filtering. I’ve had a few, over the years, and got rid of them quickly because they’re simply inconvenient and cumbersome to own.
You are 100% correct.
The author of this trash has a lot to learn about motorcycles.
It’s regrettable than he pretends to know about the subject and is allowed to publish such blatant misinformation.
I would not wipe my ass with a printed version of the writings of this Wade Thiel idiot.
Having a rough day, bud?
No mention of ANY KTM in this list? Really ?
The 2022 releases of KTM 1290 or 890 will out-adventure the Triumph 1200 and/or Aprilia 660 any day.
For the five featured motorcycles, the displacement and horsepower is listed in each machine’s description. However, for these bloated adventure bikes, the more important specs to me would be the weight and seat height.
Hey Greg, definitely important numbers. I do link out to our other articles on these bikes. Our model overviews (linked in most cases to the name of the bike) show the information you’re talking about.
I’ve been in Central Florida for the last 10 years. Why is that important you might ask? Well Florida is flat, there are some places where the local go ‘Mudding’ but often in a Pick-up that has been raised. (I don’t go, it’s not my cup of tea).
I am happy to ride my Suzuki (feet forward) to the next burrito shack, or beach side bar (shout out to Coconuts, Cocoa Beach), and day dream about the adventure bikes during lock down…
Fun article. Thanks
I like the article but things I think about for an adventure bike regard the adventure part. What happens if and when things break. What bike has the best support and is less likely to leave you without a part in the middle of nowhere?
The Long way series is great but I don’t generally travel with a support crew and back up vehicles.
Which bikes take a licking, fall down, get up, and keep going. Which ones get broken and are fixable in the wilds of somewhere?
For me the best in the list is the Ténéré 700. The lack of electronics (except for EFI and ABS) makes it a winer. The more junk you cramp on a bike, there more there is to brake. Try finding a mechanic with the technical know how and specialized equipment to work of those electronic dependent bikes. And good luck finding parts for the exotic BMW’s and KTM’s and other European bikes in some third world countries. The T7 is not only an amazingly capable bike like there are few, but it’s simple to work on. Plus on the long run I think that a bike that lacks traction control and all the features of those big and sophisticated bikes will i prove your skills in ways that those other bikes can’t. In the T7, your skills is as good as the bike gets. On those other bikes you can develop a false sense of confidence in your skills, when in reality it was the bike saving your butt. I noticed that when a friend jumped from his BMW 800GS to a T7. He could not ride it as hard and impressively as he did his GS. While the T7 owner rocked the world of the GS. Even though he hated the way traction control made the bike handle. Once he turned it off, he rode that bike like it probably never had before.
They don’t even carry any of these, where i currently reside in Thailand . A few showrooms in Bangkok, maybe —but that’s about it , LOL. Good machines, yes —- for those parts of the world where u can get parts, service etc.
Here, it’s the smaller-displacemt CRFs ( 250 ) , the KLXs [ 150, 230, etc ] , and the like, that get the lion’s share of both the locals’ spending power and , too, the rental action from visitors.
That said, though, I realize the thrust of your piece is not “best bikes to focus on if you are tooling around developing countries. . . ” . Interesting article, thanks.
People who know motorcycles well read articles like this one and laugh.
Why do we laugh ? Because the article is so off-base it’s hilarious.
I’ve ridden all the bikes mentioned in the article with the exception of the Aprilia, and I’d never choose any of these heavy machines for an adventure bike.
The crowning touch is the failure to mention the Tenere 700. The entire article is a combination of misinformation and thinly disguised pandering to advertisers.