Wales 500
While the outlook for riding during the winter period is typically grim in the UK, the turn of the new year is an exciting time as most motorcycle manufacturers choose to unveil and launch their newest motorcycles. Ducati even claims that the new engine, which delivers 85% of its torque at under 3,500rpm, has the highest torque output of any bike in its class at 4,000rpm, a welcome change as we found the 1200 to be a bit sluggish from a rolling start when compared to, say, the BMW S1000XR.
RawHyde has been involved in the Adventure Riding segment of the motorcycle world for more than 15 years. To some riders, this is an issue, but if you're really into adventure riding, the less things that can go wrong, the better. A mid-sized adventure bike normally weighs in between 140 kg to 180 kg (fuelled without gear).
The off road rides are primarily beginner and intermediate dirt roads and include the Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route and parts of the Utah Backcountry Discovery Route. Many bikes have fairly high seat heights, performance off-road bikes (suitable for adventure riding) normally have even higher seat heights.
Adventure Bike Warehouse is an online shop providing great gear and offering genuine help and advice. Having lived and solo ridden in Western China on small motorcycles, he understands that the most important part of your adventure is you. Riders that use a DR650 for adventure riding will normally perform oil changes at the factory recommendation of 5,500 km.
Resources to help plan your trip, how to get in touch with local riders, camping equipment, shipping your bike, budgeting and more. Many modern bikes have a lot of fancy plastics and shrouds that don't do well in an off, but that's not really the true definition of crashability.
Thanks to a major update in 2017 the outgoing BMW R1200GS received shiny new looks, reduced vibration and plenty of new high tech options like hill start control and self levelling suspension; both incredibly useful on a bike which weighs a quarter of a ton before two people and a full luggage accompaniment are added into the mix.
Next, you've got the other extreme: utilitarian dirt bikes that really can scale mountains and cross rivers, but they're not much fun when you're trying to clock serious mileage on decent roads with your camping gear strapped across the non-existent seat.
Adventure motorcycles are built for reliability. Some adventure bikes, like the BMW S1000XR and Ducati safari tanks Multistrada , tend more towards the sports riding experience. These dual purpose machines excel in both on and off-road terrain and have been selected based on ability, reliability and the ‘fun-to-ride' factor.
Disc brakes allow frame clearances for fatter tyres, making for a bike that can cope with a very wide range of surfaces and that points & laughs at potholes. Based in the heart of rural Norfolk, Adventure Bike Training offers complete, top-notch motorcycle training packages for novice, intermediate and expert off-roaders across East Anglia.
A big bike can be just as capable as a smaller bike in most†off-road conditions but it normally means a lot of extra effort and you often feel beat up at the end of a hard day. It provides a ride that is as lovely as the bike is to look at, with space for wide tyres for heading off into the wilderness or adding dirt and gravel roads to your route, and a high level of refinement.
A supermoto (also known as a supermotard or motard) is typically a converted motocross bike with less suspension travel, smaller front and rear wheels (typically 17" at both ends), road tires and an oversized front brake designed to be primarily run on asphalt.