Adventure Bike Truth

[AZJW]

4 hours ago, Tigerjohn said:

Am I the only one still waiting in hope for a 500cc lightweight version of the Tenere?

No.  (Holding breath currently)

[Hibobb]

@DT675, in the 80's & 90's I road enduros in Wisconsin's District 16 and a few in the U.P. of Michigan.

Stone Lake doesn't ring a bell, but I have ridden for fun in that general area. For the past three years I have been trying to get any of my buddys to ride the trails over near Duquette/Holyoke, they look like a lot of fun. Have you ever been there?

[SO_Rider]

Surprise! Motorcycle manufacturers are trying to lure folks to buy motorcycles based on hyped up visions using expert riders showing them doing things most of us will never do. C'mon, we're all adults here, and should be able to make rational (or irrational!) decisions on what we want to purchase. Marketing in this category of bikes is similar to any other IMHO, except for the demographic, which is older and generally more affluent than others. I understand that market size is dropping in most if not all other bike categories, so it's not surprising that the manufacturers and their marketing companies pull out all the stops to sell these bikes. I've ridden mountain bikes for 30 years and saw the same gimmicks in that industry - creating new "categories' of bikes so that we could justify fulfilling the "N+1" rule. Do adventure bikes fill all needs for all purchasers, no. Are they still heavier and higher than most of us would like, yep! But they're still a hack of a lot of fun and provide a great platform for certain types of travel. I knew what I was getting into when I bought my T7 and had no illusions that I would ride like Chris or Pol. If some of us get sucked into a purchase without really understanding what we're getting into, I think it's misplaced to blame it on the manufacturers and their marketing minions.  My 2c.

Edited October 28, 2022 by SO_Rider
typo

[SO_Rider]

5 hours ago, Tigerjohn said:

Am I the only one still waiting in hope for a 500cc lightweight version of the Tenere?

And then it's no longer a Tenere...  I get what you're saying though. The consumer is clearly asking the manufacturers to push the design limits to create a twin cylinder bike that is lighter weight, and still suitable for medium to long distance travel.  In the end it's all about profit - they have to be able to justify making huge investments in design and manufacturing, as opposed to recycling old platforms.  In the meantime, I'm having a heck of a lot of fun on the T7 (and the WR250R)!

[Hibobb]

12 minutes ago, SO_Rider said:

twin cylinder bike that is lighter weight

My brother-in-law just ordered a Yamaha R3 (Twin cyl 300cc street bike).

I bet that will be a lot of fun! He has a A/T and a Wee Strom also, for longer rides.

[Dougie]

7 hours ago, BikeBrother said:

I really like the german word for these kind of bikes:

Reise-enduro. This means travel-enduro. Enduro is like long distance motocross, for us meaning getting an suitable bike for covering long road distances, then take unpaved/gravelroads or tracks. For me it covers my use, travel to nice unknown places, preferable on unpaved roads  with all my camping gear. I guess we call this adventure...

They’ve always loved these types of bikes over there. That’s why there’s so many good old teneres still around. While we were pretending to be foggy in the 90s in leather babygrows. best times of my life in deutschland. Another German term. Currywurst. Mmmmm. 

[roygilbo]

After taking a trip this summer from Victoria BC up into the Yukon to ride the South Canol Road, my decision to purchase the T7 has no regrets.  That was 5500+ km with about 500 on gravel/dirt roads.

The T7 lit up off tarmac and was a hoot.  On pavement, it ate up the kilometers.  Not as comfortable as my older sport touring bikes, but maybe that is my age talking.

On most logging roads, the bike is great, but when it gets really narrow, twisty, rocky, steep all in one (think branch logging roads etc - the ones very less traveled), it takes a skill level higher than mine to do it well and look good.

I have to temper my enthusiasm to tackle things beyond my ability.  

[DT675]

On 10/28/2022 at 8:56 AM, Hibobb said:

@DT675, in the 80's & 90's I road enduros in Wisconsin's District 16 and a few in the U.P. of Michigan.

Stone Lake doesn't ring a bell, but I have ridden for fun in that general area. For the past three years I have been trying to get any of my buddys to ride the trails over near Duquette/Holyoke, they look like a lot of fun. Have you ever been there?

Stone Lake Enduro (Blue Hills Enduro it was also known as) was the toughest one in our round.  A lot of it was on private property and it was always the wettest with muddy hills filled with rocks and slanted roots.  I feel kinda priveledged to have ridden it before it was shut down for good (Lost the private land owner(s) support)

 

I live pretty close to the Duquette trails.  They still have a strong running enduro through that area as well.  Its super popular for cities off-roaders to come up and ride.  Ive ridden there alot over the years. Probably too much.  It has a good mix of dirt roads, ATV trails and a bunch of single track here n there.

[Yamablueridge]

Marketing is the same with all the flavors of bikes and cars. From a Subaru to jeep to a Silverado, always shown crossing rivers, climbing mountains and then the happy young person marveling at the great wide open. When I was a kid the only jeeps around delivered mail, now they go for 60k+ and younger folk gobble them up. 
 

Hell, after a few hours of watching the Isle of Man TT I want a v4 210 hp Ducati, but then the buzz wears off. 

 

For me the T7 just filled the widest gap. I needed a bike to cover 20 miles of interstate 75mph, have enough suspension to carve and jump the terrific blue ridge mountain roads, take some gravel roads, logging roads and stream crossings.
 

I’ll admit to being a bit unprepared (out of shape, those 30 Marlboro lights won’t smoke themselves) for the weight in some tighter logging roads but that’s on me. And 200 miles in a day is not beyond my comfort tolerance. 
 

The CP2 is the cherry, super flat torque curve and it’ll rev out for some decent power. The 270 degree twins sound awesome uncorked and with my days of superbikes long gone carving on a T7 has more than filled the bill. 

 

But I do agree that any BMW/KTM/Honda/Vstrom/NX is a massive waste…..