The Adventure Motorbike, or ADV for close friends, is poised to become one of the most lucrative categories on the motorcycle market, thanks to the models who sailed the Paris-Dakar Rally in the 1980s. I started. While some are designed for serious off-roading, others are designed for tourism. With engine sizes ranging from 125cc to 1200cc and above, most manufacturers have adventure motorbikes in their lineup. Here is the list of Top Five Famous and Five Forgotten Adventure Bikes.
Top Five Famous and Five Forgotten Adventure Bikes – Top List
Top Five Famous Adventure Bikes in the World
BMW R80G/S [1980]
The ‘Gelande / Strasse’ (off-road / road) R80, BMW’s first adventure motorbike, was a true pioneer for both the brand and the marketplace.
The first big bore, a twin-cylinder adventure tour that could go off-road, featured BMW’s single-sided monoloever rear suspension, cleverly fitted plastic panels for weight loss, and quickly became BMW’s best-selling bike.
Perhaps the most notable feature of the R80G / S is that it launched the GS lineage, which will undergo numerous changes and establish itself as Europe’s best-selling bike year after year.
Yamaha XT600Z Ténéré [1983]
Even though BMW’s R80G / S won the Dakar Rally, it did not impress the first ‘Paris-Dakar clone.’ Yamaha XT600Z is the winner of this award.
The first two raids of the Paris-Dakar Rally, in 1979 and 1980, were won by a modified, larger tank version of Yamaha’s XT500 single, the largest ‘trailer’ around the time.
He encouraged Yamaha to build the Yamaha XT600Z in 1983, a road-going variant. It was a big hit for the brand, featuring an extended 46bhp engine, longer travel suspension, 30-liter fuel tank, front disc brakes, and compact headlights. Hauling, brilliant racing replica white/red or blue/yellow paint, and even a new manicure (Sahara dialect meaning ‘desert’).
Honda XRV650 Africa Twin [1988]
Although Honda was reluctant to take advantage of its initial success at the Paris-Dakar Rally – except for a copy of the 1982 overall winner, the Honda XL250 – when it did, it achieved great success both on and off the road.
The Honda NXR750 was the dominant motorcycle of the late 1980s, winning the Paris-Dakar four times and launching the first Africa Twin.
The XRV650 was designed as a road gong clone of the Dakar-winning racer and was built by none other than the HRC. It was full of subtle touches like Dzus fasteners and suede texture sets, and this part also looked like a replica of its race with red/white/blue.
BMW R 1150 GS Adventure [2002]
The BMW R1150 GS Adventure, the motorcycle with which the adventure category is most popular, has become the go-to for those who want to get their shoes dirty over the weekend.
The Adventure Spin-Off, based on the BMW R1150 GS, features a standard mix of extended travel suspension, off-road wheels/tires, and a larger tank to make it as off-road as it is on-road.
After KTM became infamous on Charlie and Avon’s TV show “The Longway Round,” GS Adventure became so popular that it catalyzed the current adventure bike class, such as motorcycling. Has become a myth.
Ducati Multistrada 1200 S [2010]
The Ducati Multistrada 1200 S is, without a doubt, the most crucial motorbike coming out of the best Ducati in Borgo Panigale.
Multistrada, a brand known for its sports bikes and mouthwatering exotica, clearly indicated that Ducati needed to develop and build new routes. Unfortunately, the company’s seemingly bizarre initial effort was not entirely successful, but when the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S hit the tracks in 2010, it brought many new technologies.
Top Five Forgotten Adventure Bikes in the World
Honda XLV750R [1983]
Honda is known for being so technically ambitious that it is not afraid to make mistakes. There is one VF750S for each RC30—Pacific Coast for each Gold Wing and inboard disc brakes for each DCT gearbox.
So it’s no surprise that Big H’s “Dakar Replica” adventure bike’s initial attempt was almost perfect but ultimately wrong. The RD01 was Honda’s first ‘dual sport’ bike (the NX650 Dominator was the RD02, and the 650 and 750 Africa Twins were RD03 and RD04, respectively) The 50bhp BMW R80G / S should have been beaten.
Kawasaki Tengai [1989]
Kawasaki, the youngest of the ‘Big Four’ Japanese manufacturers, has never had an adventure bike. The short-lived KLV1000 may have been a worthwhile endeavor. Still, it was a rebounded Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom and its current four-cylinder Versys 1000, while a capable Tourer, is the Z1000SX ‘on stilts’ which is almost too much. Is more Off-road capability in Gold Wing.
However, his first attempt in the 1980s, although unsuccessful, came close to killing him. The 1987 LR650 was based on the Tangai KLR650 trail bike but had a larger 24-liter tank, frame firing, and shorter suspension travel.
Moto Guzzi Quota 1000 [1992]
While Kawasaki may have the least legendary adventure bike in history among the Japanese marquees, Moto Guzzi is one of the least likely adventure bike makers in the European marquee.
Italy’s Grand Dam has made a strong case for the title, and the reason is easy to understand. Moto Guzzi tried to make the “Italian BMW GS” with its BMW-like Transverse V Twin, shaft drive power plant.
Cagiva Gran Canyon [1998]
Cagiva, now a defunct Italian manufacturer, did a great job regarding adventure or Paris-Dakar imitation motorcycles.
With his Ducati-powered Elefant 900, he won the race twice in 1990 and 1994, and his road-running clone looked stunning (especially in Lucky Strike Leverage), perfect, and capable. But that was the limit.
The Ducati-powered Grand Canyon from 1998 to 2002 was neither a spectacular Tourer nor an off-roader, falling anywhere on the beach, as the Cagiva Navigator followed in 2000.
Buell XB12X Ulysses [2006]
The Buell Ulysses, perhaps the most excellent roader motorcycle out there, was sold as an adventure motorbike, but you must be brave to take it far.
Until the launch of Harley’s Pan America Adventure Cycle this year, no adventure bike seemed more incomprehensible than Buell’s widely ridiculed Ulysses, even nicknamed ‘Useless-ly’ – and Rightly so
The idea was simple: get a fairly old cruiser engine, a redesigned version of the Harley Sportster 1200 knot Buell, insert it into Buell’s sports bike aluminum twin-spar frame, Buell’s off-road improper belt drive and rim mounted front disc, slap ۔ Here are some highlights of the adventure bike style, and present it as a real adventure bike.
It was a complete failure. The Ulysses was not a poor motorcycle; It wasn’t just a real adventure bike. It was heavy and old, cracked in the mud, the quality was poor, the pegs would shatter if you jumped, and it was slow, simple and expensive.
Top Five Famous and Five Forgotten Adventure Bikes – Top List
| Top Five Famous Adventure Bikes in the World | |
|---|---|
| 1 | BMW R80G/S [1980] |
| 2 | Yamaha XT600Z Ténéré [1983] |
| 3 | Honda XRV650 Africa Twin [1988] |
| 4 | BMW R 1150 GS Adventure [2002] |
| 5 | Ducati Multistrada 1200 S [2010] |
| Top Five Forgotten Adventure Bikes in the World | |
| 1 | Honda XLV750R [1983] |
| 2 | Kawasaki Tengai [1989] |
| 3 | Moto Guzzi Quota 1000 [1992] |
| 4 | Cagiva Gran Canyon [1998] |
| 5 | Buell XB12X Ulysses [2006] |
