Best Adventure Touring Bikes
Kawasaki KLR650
Budget bush basher – Well, its time to update my review of the gen 2 klr650. Mine is still going strong. After nine years it now has 107,000km on the clock! Yep. That's… Read more
right, 107,000km. No oil burning. No "Doo hickey" modification. No power pipe. No carby mods. No air box mods. Totally stock and original. I use Castro 4t oil. Do the air cleaner often since 80% of my riding is on dirt. Yep, it's still a heavy pig. It's still awkwardly tall. The brakes are still very average. It always has at least one thing that needs fixing, and it's still put to shame by the average 250 for power. But.........after the zombie apocalypse, the cockroaches will emerge from the smouldering ashes riding a klr650! They won't be breaking any records, but it will keep on running. Cheap to buy. Easy to work on. Parts are readily availble along with a huge range of aftermarket farkles in every price range. I'll be keeping mine for a while yet I reckon
Yamaha XT1200Z Super Tenere
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Hugely underrated – I have owned and ridden probably 30+ bikes over the years, from sports bikes to tourers to adventure bikes. As a bike to own, this one is my… Read more
surprise favourite.
If you read any magazine review it watch the videos, the S10 always gets an average review. However do some research on owner reviews and you may find that most owners rate them highly.
I was expecting an average, generic Japanese ride, yet for some unknown reason I just 'clicked' with this bike. It's as if Yamaha came and measured me and built it just for me.
I'm a fan of the BMW GS and KTM Adv bikes but honestly, I now prefer my S10. The engine character is similar to the GS boxers, riding position like the KTM 990. Suspension works well and the handing is more than good enough for the road. I don't experience any of the 'top heavy' feeling the journos keep going on about.
Engine performance is more than enough for road use, plenty of grunt when needed. It's no superbike but still plenty to get you before the court if desired.
They are also reported to be very reliable.
Fuel consumption is only average and there is no big tank option from the factory, probably the only things limiting it as being the perfect road bike for Australia.
I'll be keeping this bike for a long time.
Yamaha XT250
Brilliant – Owner of over 30 motorcycles! Should have bought one of these years ago . It will take you anywhere you point, it will do legal highway speeds all… Read more
day , super light agile deceptively quick of the mark very frugal on fuel, cheap to maintain , anyone can ride the xt 250 from learners to world champions and have fun all day simple and low demanding of either skill or fitness! Only fault is could be a slightly larger capacity by no means a deal breaker
CFMOTO 650MT
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The bike is well made . I have done 13000klm with no issues. The engine performance suits a learner rider, and for the price and design i think is a competitive buy, being usable and quality product
Triumph Tiger
2019 Triumph Tiger XRX LRH H – PROS: 2019 model Triumph Tiger XRX LRH is a really fun bike to ride. Mine is 4 months old,responsive, fuel efficient, with the low ride - no more… Read more
paddling,good city/twisties/highway/backroad handling. Cruise Control really takes the pain out of long highway commutes. MAJOR DRAWBACK: Excessive heat. Riding brand new bike home, frame literally began burning my inner thighs through Kevlar jeans (yes, I wear all the appropriate gear). And that was I was half cooked by the constant stream of hot exhaust fumes. For some years Triumph/Triumph dealers have denied there is a heat problem. 24 hours later I asked for my money back as I considered the bike not fit for purpose. All the men at the dealers believed I was imaging the engine exhaust heat. Finally the Service Manager took it home for a weekend, tested the frame, which he said was 57 degrees centigrade. Plus, the fan cuts in way to late (when bike is nearly overheating) so rider has really hot air blowing back on them all the time. Taller riders repeatedly say they do not have this problem, but shorter riders do because our legs are not long enough to fan out from the bike frame. And the excessive heat is dangerous. Being broiled by your ride,when you don't have a choice but ride on hot days, is dangerous. I spent 2 days ill with heat stroke after an unavoidable long trip on 35+ centigrade day. Despite precautions, the combination of sun, humidity and constant hot air from the engine exhaust, totally dehydrated me. Triumph are rightly proud of their heated seats, hand grips etc. for cold climes. BUT, riders in South Africa, Australia, California or Nevada ALL complain about excessive heat as we live in hot desert places. SOLUTION: Upon request, dealer changed coolant to "ICE" (made for racing bikes) which lowered the frame temperature 28 degrees. Blogger in US got his fan to cut in at 70 degrees, not 90, which has helped somewhat. One owner has put in an override switch on the fan, to make it cut in earlier when bike is idling, in traffic, so bike stays cooler. On unavoidable long run this week (normal 30 degree centigrade day) started feeling lots of heat from the engine after riding for about 2-21/2 hours. Needed to stop to let bike cool. Problem was not so bad on return journey today on slightly cooler day. Does anyone know if there a faring which would push the air AWAY from the rider? If there is, what was it made of and where was it placed. Before you buy, check out the heat problem and get the dealer to contact Triumph to fix the issue.
Great bike for shorter and not as strong ladies! – Great bike, easy to throw around - and reach the ground! Love the electric start. Would be good to have a kick start for a backup (new ones do),… Read more
although after 3 years have never had a problem with electrics. Was ready to give up riding until I bought this bike. Price is great! Low seat height and controllable power, but can still (almost!) keep up with the boys.... Suspension is not crash not, but for the price shouldn't complain. Does get put over some pretty rough stuff though.
BMW F 800 GS
2008 GS – Purchased with 10,000ks loved the grunt Rotax motor..now at 40000ks still love it..have added akropovik muffler..Fuelpro mapping..plastic throttle… Read more
rocker..comfort seat...easy to do 6000ks over six days "almost a ride" Yes they are a tall bike so not for those with ducks disease..Wont be buying from Worthy's Bmw on central coast
CFMOTO 800MT Explore
Older rider so after something for touring with the odd gravel road. Can’t fault this bike other than the fuelling takes some getting used to and the… Read more
side stand sucks. Handles well on the road and ok on gravel with standard tyres. Great value for the money.
CFMOTO 700CL-X Heritage
Nice Ride – Have been riding for forty years, this being my fifth motorbike. Thought long and hard about buying a Chinese ride but so far extremely good (bought… Read more
new 11 months ago and have waited to give an honest review). A truly good bike to own. Had a loose wire connection which caused an ignition lapse but quickly sorted by Moto Adelaide. Handles like a dream, nice riding position, a lot of power around the 7000rpm mark; stock features are outstanding! Paid $8490 ride away and no regrets.
Yamaha WR250R
Excellent – I decided to step up from my other bike. I spent a lot of time researching 250cc bikes that were not full enduro bikes. End of the day the 250r was… Read more
the best. Got it, put bark busters on, bash plate, dropped a tooth on the front, put offroad tyres on and put a FMF powercore on it.
Use it at our farm, and to date it has been flawless. I was pleasantly surprised recently when it out climbed a KX250 on a hill climb to the point where the guy on the KX gave up, turned around and went back. Although only 20cc more than the TTR230 we have (also a good bike) the power is vastly higher. It will whip up to 100km quite easily and catches the 230 without trying.
The reviews are correct, its not a beginner bike, especially as it it bogs down at low revs and likes to be revved, thus the few times i have come off are normally when im trying to be careful at low revs and stalls when i go for power. Simple answer is to drop a gear and keep them up.
If you don't have the money for a 250r, id personally look at the current KLX250.
Moto Guzzi Stelvio 1200 NTX 8V BS
THE european adventure bike – The rollerised ntx version is bullet proof luxury adventure tourer with a whopping 32L tank... it is an Italian luv story with character performance plus you can do all the feeling yourself Show details
Husqvarna Norden 901
A great mid size adventure bike – Ok, my thoughts on the Norden. I bought this bike because I wanted something lighter and a bit more dirt oriented than my Triumph Tiger 1200 XCA. I… Read more
test rode a lot of bikes when looking, including the CF Moto 800MT Explore (actually a very good bike), but the Norden gave me the biggest smile when riding it. I have spent a bit of money on accessories for it, like a larger rear rack, centrestand, cat delete pipe, one piece enduro seat, high front fender, handlebar risers and a Garmin Zumo XT-2 gps. After 8,000kms, I have replaced the original Pirelli Scorpion XTR tyres (very good on road, ok off road) for a set of Motoz Tractionator RallZ tyres, excellent off road, not so good on road, I probably should have gone for the Motoz Tractionator Adventures, which would be better on road. Now, problems with the bike…..zero, nada, nothing, it has been great, I have done a couple of long rides (800kms per day) and a lot of dirt/gravel roads. More intense off road isn’t something I’m interested in because I’m old, and it hurts if you fall off. Being tall (189cm/ 6’3””) has presented a couple of problems, one being standing up while riding was not great until I fitted the handlebar risers, also the enduro seat has helped being slightly taller. If you are looking for a mid size adventure bike, the Norden comes with cruise control, quick shifter, and useful rider modes, although opting for the Explorer mode is worth the cost if you do a fair bit of off road. All in all, I love this bike, more than I expected to.
Unreal – If you don't have one of these bikes that's a real pitty, if you can't afford one start saving. After owning all sorts of trail , enduro race n road… Read more
bikes. This is the best all round bike I have ever owned. Instead of going into town in the car for that little job , or something you forgot, you will find yourself putting a tank bag on and using your bike. I luv riding it, and when it comes to road riding , sports bike will be a thing of the past. They are simply unreal,comfortable,practable,rideable ,almost affordable,and any other ables you want. The noise is better than my old Harley ,plenty of go on road or trail, a little heavy when you crash,very durable. The best alround bike I have owned , not a tight bush basher , but just great. Comfort n go Cost
KTM 950 (2004 Model) vs 990 (efi/abs model) review – The bike is awesome, but you would expect that kind of comment from an owner as we become biased by the pleasure they give, however after 8 years and… Read more
60,000 km of varied usage of it, I still consider it an awsome bike.
I have ridden the new 990 (efi version with abs brakes), for a few days of both highway and dirt usage after a few years of riding my own bike, and because the newer 990 had taller (ie still original) gearing vs my bikes reduced gearing, this was the biggest single factor I noticed between the two models. The electronic fuel injection seemed crisper than my carburettored bike, however since I have had my bike re-jetted due worn needles, it has run equally well.
Regarding the requirement for new needles to be fitted, this was a bit of a surprise as I expected to go longer before needing them, as I am still running original exhausts. I experienced symptoms similar to fuel starvation/running lean prior to having them done, and raising the clips one notch only temporarily fixed those symptoms, however new needles have since overcome that problem. For those who farkle-up their machine from new with lightweight exhausts, the re-jetting is standard for that exercise!
The abs brakes work well on tar, but I prefer the non abs version for dirt, as there are occasions when locking up the back wheel is an advantage!
The Pirelli scorpion tyres that they come with are great on the road but I rate them an 80/20 road/dirt tyre. The Mitas tyres I have since switched to, are a 50/50 road/dirt tyre, and allow more of the bikes potential to be utilised while still giving good performance on tar. For serious offroad usage there are a few brands of full knobbies that are speed rated for bikes of this size and weight available now, though for a while they were hard to obtain in the rear wheel rim width this bike has.
The bike will sit on high speeds all day with no complaints, and will do it loaded with panniers, topbox, plus a pillion equally well! The fuel economy averages 16 km/litre under those conditions, but with conservative usage it will get as much as 22 km/litre.
Single (goat) track usage ie where one is mostly in 1st or 2nd gear all day, will cause fuel consumption to plummet down to 11 km/litre.
Shop around when it comes to insuring it as this can save you many dollars, due the fact that they are not highly represented in crash statistics(!), and as a consequence they are way cheaper than a fireblade to insure!
Both the 950's and the 990's are excellent machines and early foibles like fuel pump issues that some had, have long since been sorted.
Get one. You know you want to. You won't regret it! I have loved it since new, and the longer I have it, the more I like it! It really does everything asked of it at a better level than I have ability to extract from it, so makes for forgiving riding!! Nothing till it required re-needle-ing at 45K kms, and has been great since then. At 197kg it is too heavy for pleasurable goat track usage! The original seat is ordinary, but the gel-model seat is OK.
I love this bike..! Fun and more fun.! – I've had this bike nearly 9 months and have put 7000k's on it. I got the Acrapovic full exhaust system and K&N air filter all installed on delivery… Read more
which from what I'm told there's nothing else to put on it for race. It's my daily ride and I got to say it my highlight to and from work every day. Corning is pin point and I love rain as it's MotoX breed eggs you on to power slide round corners. The power in the dry is bloody awesome just loves bringing the front wheel up under heavy acceleration. Being so light and having big disc and callipers on the front will have you doing stoppies at every set of traffic lights. The bike begs for play time you do have to kind of discipline yourself and hold back sometimes. Long rides have been great and I would also like to point out having the full tank under the back of the seat puts the CG low and adds more confidence in the balance of the bike. Handles like you would want every bike to handles amazing. The standard Coni Attack sm tyres have also been great with quick warm up times. I'm only now after 7000k's starting to get some wheel spins on corner on cold tyres as there near the wear limits. I might also be getting use to the power now and have start riding harder. Fuel performance isn't to bad I see the fuel light come on around the 180k's mark leaving with 2.5l in the tank giving me about another 50k's till I start walking. Highway on long trips I didn't notice much better fuel Performance. All in all I will own this bike for a long time to come.. Great work KTM. Servicablity Power, Corning, light weight, balance Seat on long rides.
BMW F 800 S
Faultless and unique looking – Excellent Bike. I've had plenty of bikes and scooters over the years and bought my f800s due mainly to price. I was in the market for an 800 and was… Read more
looking at VFR's which I must admit to still liking. The BMW was a bit left of centre for me but since owning it for the past 3 years and clocking up just over 20,000kms I can't say I have any regrets whatsoever.
Shortly after purchasing I swapped over the clip on bars for a standard superbike bar and love the upright riding position.
This bike has a real 'quality' feel about it. The style is different enough to get noticed without being bizarre. Perfectly balanced, economical and when rolling (even at walking pace) feels like a 250. Handles freeways and long distances with ease.
Only carried a piliion once and there were lots of complaints due to cramped riding position and hard seat but that's not a big deal for me.
My bike's out of warranty so I keep away fom BMW therefore servicing is affordable and I can do most of it myself. Belt drive (lack of maintainance). Perfectly balanced engine. Light and agile. Unique looks. Expensive servicing if doing so through BMW franchise. Otherwise no more to service than a Honda.
Triumph Tiger 1200 GT Pro
Yamaha Tenere 700
Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports DCT
The Best Adventure Bike BUT – Purchased a new 2022 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports DCT and in the last year have done 13,500kms on it. Honda advertises this bike as an… Read more
adventure bike with their promo material showing the bike going over all kinds of challenging terrain, water crossings, mud & sand.
I don't do any of that on my Africa Twin. I'll tour on it over the bitumen and every now and then check out some gravel roads to go somewhere different.
Well after about 11,500kms I had a front fork seal start to leak. Thinking it might just be something in the seal I had a dealer inspect & clean the seal. But it kept leaking.....and leaking.....and leaking.
I Googled the problem and it seems this has been an issue on the Africa Twin for several models in the past for many riders world wide.
You'd think Honda would've fixed it.
Recently I had a 13,000kms service on the bike at a Honda dealer and explained the issue. They stated to me that it's not covered under warranty. So I emailed Honda and this is the exact email I got back: ---------------------------------------- Dear Brett,
Thank you for contacting Honda Australia Motorcycles and Power Equipment.
We recommend speaking with an authorised Honda dealership as they would be in the best position to assist with your concerns.
For your convenience, you can use our website to locate a dealer for an inspection. https://motorcycles.honda.com.au/#!/finddealer
Notwithstanding, this enquiry is now closed. Should you have any further questions or concerns, please contact our Customer Relations department on 1300 559 846 or customer.relations@honda.com.au
Kind Regards,
Xxxx | Honda Australia Motorcycle and Power Equipment Pty Ltd
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Pretty disappointing considering it's a $25,000 bike that's been advertised as an "Adventure Bike"