Top 10 Favourite Motorcycles (Adventure)

Adventure bikes are pretty awesome.  They're excellent for touring, can handle themselves off-road, and still have enough stank under the hood to be fun around town.  In terms of a do-everything bike, they really are the best.  Why then, in this-list-within-a-list structure, are they ranked so low?  I mean, we're pretty much at the half way point here, which means that there's at least three types of bikes that I like more than them.  Well, what can I say?  There is at least three types of bikes I like better.  Logic be damned.

Don't get me wrong, the idea that you can be riding along and just look at the top of a hill and think "I want to go there", and regardless of whether or not there's actually a road to take you, you can still just point your front tire in the right direction, and actually get there, is a very bad-ass notion.  It's the sort of notion that kind of made bikes appealing in the first place.  The sort of freedom that you just don't get with cars.  But in the end, that's just not me.  I do all of my riding on tarmac, and I just don't get that itch to take it off the road.  So, while on paper Adventure bikes are perfect, really, they would just have all this great potential that I would never utilize.  I still love 'em.  They're just not for me.

Also, you'll notice that I've added a few Enduro-style bikes to this list.  And while they may not really be considered Adventure bikes, per se, honestly they are often more capable than most of the bikes that are considered as such.  But, if that still ruffles your feathers, maybe consider this more like 'off-road capable' bikes, rather than strictly Adventure bikes.  If that helps.

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10. Honda XR650L

Engine: 644cc 4-Stroke Single
Power: 61.2 hp
Torque: 47.2 ft lbs
Weight: 348 lbs (wet)
MSRP: $8199

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9. Honda NC700X

Engine: 670cc Parallel Twin
Power: 50.9 hp
Torque: 45.7 ft lbs
Weight: 480 lbs (wet)
MSRP: $6999 (US)

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8. Suzuki V-Strom DL1000 Adventure

Engine: 996cc V-Twin
Power: 98 hp (est)
Torque: 68 ft lbs (est)
Weight: 525 lbs (wet)
MSRP: $11,499

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7. Kawasaki KLR 650

Engine: 651cc 4-Stroke Single
Power: 37 hp
Torque: 33.4 ft lbs
Weight: 432 lbs (wet)
MSRP: $6,899

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6. Moto Guzzi Stelvio 1200 4V

Engine: 1151cc V-Twin
Power: 103.2 hp
Torque: 79.7 ft lbs
Weight: 553 lbs (wet)
MSRP: $16,190

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5. Triumph Scrambler

Engine: 865cc Parallel Twin
Power: 58 hp
Torque: 50 ft lbs
Weight: 506 lbs (wet)
MSRP: $9,999

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4. Yamaha Super Ténéré

Engine: 1199cc Parallel Twin
Power: 108 hp
Torque: 84.6 ft lbs
Weight: 574 lbs (wet)
MSRP: $16,499

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3. Triumph Tiger 800 XC

Engine: 799cc Inline Triple
Power: 94 hp
Torque: 58 ft lbs
Weight: 473 lbs (wet)
MSRP: $13,399

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2. BMW R 1200 GS Adventure

Engine: 1170cc Flat Twin
Power: 110 hp
Torque: 88 ft lbs
Weight: 491 lbs (dry)
MSRP: $20,600

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1. Ducati Multistrada 1200

Engine: 1198cc L-Twin
Power: 150 hp
Torque: 87.5 ft lbs
Weight: 485 lbs (wet)
MSRP: $17,495

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I know, it's complete sacrilege to not include the KTM Adventure 990 R.  It's a great bike.  I know.  But it's just so ugly.  I could never see myself riding one in a million years.  You'd probably see me on a Cam-Am Spyder before you saw me on one of these… and I really don't like the Cam-Am.  Plus, KTM snubbed Ewan and Charley in the Long Way Round, and out of loyalty to them, I feel my snubbing them in return is only fair.

I also know that the Scrambler is probably more of a Standard bike than it would be an Adventure bike, but I still think it belongs here more than you might think.  It could probably give a few of these bikes a pretty good run for their money off-road, perhaps even surprising a few of the 'contenders'.  So, it stays.

And of course, I must talk about the Multistrada.  Sure, it's probably the weakest of the bunch at actually going off-road.  But it is such a good bike, it couldn't help but win.  And it has so many uses.  It would be a strong contender for first place on the Sportbike list, the Touring list, and obviously, it did just that here on the Adventure list.  It's practically the reason I didn't let the same bike be eligible for more than one category.  It's that good.