...and the shed. Stuart's blog of riding & tinkering about with bikes
Tuesday 8 November 2016
Featured Bikes - 250cc Adventure Bikes
A class of small adventure bikes seems to be emerging.
Honda CRF250L Rally - looks like a baby Africa Twin
Suzuki VStrom 250 - uses the twin cylinder engine from the Inazuma. Can it be a "V" Strom with an inline engine?
Kawasaki Versys 250 - looks good, but this is only a
rendering. Likely to be powered by the Ninja 250/300 twin engine
BMW G310GS - based on the recently announced G310R single.
The Chinese may have been ahead of the game. They offered this Honley RX3 with full luggage a few years ago.
I'm not sure about these bikes. The adventure sport has
replaced the dedicated tourer but 250cc is not enough for long distances with a
passenger & gear. These bikes would make good urban commuters or back roads
bikes but would be a bit of a pain for a long haul. Their light weight would make them manageable off road though.
If I had the choice I'd go for this little hooligan from the
late '80's the Yamaha TDR250. A 50 bhp two stroke twin in a trail bike frame - described
as "the Ultimate Dual". A very silly bike!
All these press releases and reveals have me pretty excited for the industry. I think they are filling a niche that was lacking in small cc bikes that weren't just dirt bikes (at least here in the US)
As someone looking for a lighter weight dual sport to purchase I am intrigued. I don't plan on 500 mile days or freeway riding, but something small would do just fine for commuting, gravel roads and puttering along the back roads.
Awesome looking bikes! They looks super quick, great photos. Thanks for the share.
ReplyDeleteSamantha
All these press releases and reveals have me pretty excited for the industry. I think they are filling a niche that was lacking in small cc bikes that weren't just dirt bikes (at least here in the US)
ReplyDeleteAs someone looking for a lighter weight dual sport to purchase I am intrigued. I don't plan on 500 mile days or freeway riding, but something small would do just fine for commuting, gravel roads and puttering along the back roads.