There's little doubt that adventure bikes have become increasingly popular with the buying public. Sports tourers used to be the default choice for eating miles in good comfort whilst carrying enough luggage for an arctic expedition, but things have changed. However, it's now all about big wheels, a high riding position and looking like you're about to enter the Paris-Dakar. Perhaps the fashion for adventure bikes is similar to cars, with people ditching hatchbacks and saloons in favour of rugged-looking SUVs and crossovers. There's a lot of choice out there, too. Nearly all manufacturers now offer a top-tier adventure bike, but to make sure every possible gap in the market is well and truly plugged, most of them offer smaller, lighter, junior versions, which are just as capable, but with a lower price tag. Big or less big, the choice is yours.
Honda
CRF1100L Africa Twin Adventure Sports
From £14,749
There is a lot of choice with Honda's Africa Twin. If you want something with a little more focus on off-road riding, you can go with the CRF1100L. However, if you lean more towards road-riding, touring and adventuring, the CRF1100L Adventure Sports version is the one you want. You can then decide to add a dual-clutch automatic gearbox or semi-active suspension, or both. Nevertheless, whichever option you choose, you'll get a bike which is not only capable of going pretty much anywhere but also a joy to ride and with typical Honda reliability.
It may only have 100hp, but it feels more than adequate with its 1,100cc parallel-twin punching above its weight. Since the revision in 2020, it now comes with heated grips, Bluetooth, Android Auto and Apple Carplay connectivity, and cruise control. There's a full-colour touchscreen as well, which is a nice idea, but in reality, you'll rarely be prodding it.
XL750 Transalp
From £9,499
The younger brother of the Africa Twin is the XL750 Transalp. With a little over 90hp, it's not that far behind its elder sibling in terms of power, but it's in a more compact, slender package. Whilst it may lack a few of the posher features of the Africa Twin Adventure Sports, it's far from basic. You'll get a full-colour TFT display, LED lights from and rear and even a USB-C socket to power your accessories. There are five riding modes, including one which is customisable and the option to disable ABS for off-road work.
However, there's no option for a dual-clutch transmission or semi-active suspension, so if those items are a big deal, you'll need to go bigger. The lack of them doesn't detract from the fact the Transalp is an excellent all-rounder and gives you a lot of what the Africa Twin offers but for two-thirds of the price. It also helps that it looks rather good, especially in its retro Ross White colour scheme with tasty gold wheels.
Suzuki
V-Strom 1050DE
From £13,699
Suzuki's V-Strom received a chunky update last year, and the DE version is a competitor to Honda's Africa Twin. With a 21-inch front wheel and a chassis setup more suited to hooning along surfaces not covered with Tarmac, it's aimed at riders who want a solid road bike with some occasional light off-road work.
With an 880mm seat height, it might be a bit of a stretch for those of shorter stature, but once you're in the saddle, it feels soft and compliant, and everything works well together. The V-twin engine pumps out a reasonably healthy 107hp and delivers it smoothly throughout the range, made smoother by a slick quickshifter for both up and down changes. The instruments are particularly good, with a perfectly clear 5-inch TFT display, which presents its information well. However, at 252kg, it's not exactly a lightweight option, but if your main usage is road riding, it's worth a look.
V-Strom 800DE
From £10,655
If the 1050DE is too heavy, too high or too expensive, the 800DE might be a better choice. Unlike its bigger brother, the 800DE uses a 776cc parallel twin—a first for Suzuki and delivers a perfectly adequate 83bhp. There are three different throttle maps, from the urgent 'A' mode to the lazy 'C' mode and three traction control settings, including a gravel mode which allows a certain amount of slip before reeling things in.
In addition to the same wonderfully clear TFT display of the 1050, it also comes with an up-and-down quickshifter. The quickshifter may sometimes be a little bit clunky on downshifts, but it's better to have one than not. The seat height is some 30mm lower than the 1050, and, more importantly, the bike is a good 23kg lighter, meaning you can at least pick it up by yourself should have a spill.
BMW
R 1250 GS Adventure
From £16,136
What can I possibly say about the GS which hasn't been said already? The GS is the default choice and arguably the king of adventure bikes, and for good reason too. It's been around for a long time and, over the years, has been refined to a point of excellence which is hard to rival. It's solid, reliable, packs every feature you could possibly want in a bike and has a genuine premium feel. Like the Africa Twin, the GS comes in many different flavours and with a raft of options to configure it to your liking.
However, there are a couple of downsides to the R 1250 GS. For one, it's not the cheapest option. Sure, it may be well-appointed, but it's quite a high entry point. Tick a few options, and you can get beyond the £20k mark with surprising ease. Then again, it's also not the most expensive option out there. With 136hp and 143Nm of torque from its 1,254cc flat twin engine, it's not short on poke, which arguably makes it a great choice for touring. Furthermore, the 870mm seat height and 249kg mass might make it a bit of a handful for some riders, but I'm assuming you'll test-ride it before you buy it, no?
F 850 GS Adventure
From £11,675
The F 850 GS Adventure may be the junior compared to to the 1250, but it's still a premium package. Moreover, it gets features a lot of the other smaller adventure bikes miss out on. Features such as a whopping 23-litre fuel tank combined with the possibility of almost 70mpg mean longer trips can be performed in one stint. I'm not saying you should ride more than 300 miles in one go, but the option's there if you need to.
You get ride-by-wire throttle, stability control, and a selection of riding modes, which can be further expanded by the Riding Mode Pro package. Speaking of packages, there's a lot of decent stuff you can bolt onto your F 850 to make it just as comfortable and capable as its bigger brother. Keyless go, active suspension, heated grips, riding modes, LED headlights, quickshifter and cruise control, are all on the table. However, like everything else in the range, you'll need to be prepared to open your wallet to get all the best bits.
Triumph
Tiger 1200 Rally
From £18,095
If you want to buy the best of British, look no further than the Tiger 1200 Rally. Starting at just over £18k, it's not the cheapest option, but Triumph isn't just trading on its Union Jack and immeasurable Britishness; it's a properly capable machine. Tucked in the frame is Triumph's 1,160cc three-cyclinder motor, which squeezes out 148bhp and 130Nm of torque into its shaft-driven rear wheel. So, not only has it got more than enough punch to deal with every situation, it sounds good whilst doing it.
Once you've added panniers and the heated seat (which, let's face it, you know you want it), you'll be a sniff over £20k, but it still represents pretty good value for money. If money isn't much of a concern, there's also a Rally Explorer version available with a vast 30-litre fuel tank, able to take you a long way from home with relative ease. It's quick, it's comfortable, it sounds fantastic, it look amazing, it's packed with technology and it's British. What more could you possibly want?
Tiger 900 Rally
From £12,795
The 900 Rally is the baby adventure bike in Triumph's range. It still uses a three-cylinder motor but displaces 888cc instead of the 1,160cc of the 1200. That's still good enough for 94bhp and 87Nm of torque, which puts it at the top of the midrange adventure bikes. The other important difference over the 1200 is the real wheel being turned by a chain rather than a shaft, but that's no big deal—I'm sure we're all used to chains by now.
The 900 Rally is a real peach to ride, too. The thrum of the three-cylinder engine, combined with a near-faultless ride and a wonderful fit and feel, makes the 900 a fine choice. There are plenty of accessories to bring it up to your desired specification, too. It also helps that it's available in a particularly pleasing khaki colour option (for £300), which really adds to the whole off-road adventure vibe. You certainly won't feel short-changed if you opt for the 900 over the 1200.
KTM
1290 Super Adventure R
From £17,299
The 1290 Super Adventure R is the most powerful bike in this list. In true KTM style, the bike is as bonkers as you'd want it to be. With 158bhp from its 1,301cc V-twin, it's fair to say it has enough in the bag to keep up with (and probably pass) a fair few sports bikes, but that's not what it's about. The big-boy KTM is about having fun with plenty of excess, and it has that in droves.
In its most recent update, the Super Adventure R received a new 7-inch display and a host of media functions, so you no longer have to do your route planning on a phone and can do it all through the display itself. There's no fancy semi-active suspension here but it's all manually adjustable with its split cartridge forks and offers up to 220mm of suspension travel for those moments when you decided to get muddy (or drive over most of our pot-hole strewn roads). The seat height is 880mm, which makes it a bit of a tall boy, but that is at least 10mm lower than it used to be. Additionally, there's the typical raft of riding modes and electronic assistance fed from a six-axis IMU. It's a compelling package.
890 Adventure R
From £13,299
It's the most expensive junior in the list, but, in true KTM style, it's also the most powerful. With 104bhp from its parallel twin, it's more potent than Honda's 1,100cc Africa Twin. Some may consider that a little excessive but, hey, it's KTM and you know what you're doing. Should things get horribly out of hand, you have a complete suite of electronic aids to keep you on the straight and narrow. Furthemore, If you specify the optional £180 Rally Mode, you can choose between nine different levels of traction control, which work with the other systems to keep everything in check. It's relatively light at 196kg, too, which possibly helps with the 62mpg and potential range of 275 miles.
The options list is fairly extensive, but you'll need to shell out for nice-to-have options such as cruise control, heated grips, up-and-down quickshifter and the MSR engine braking control. However, even when you've added the bits you want, the 890 is still priced fairly competitively compared to its immediate premium rivals.
