Shopping for ADVENTURE
The popularity of adventure bikes means that there’s plenty of choice in the second-hand market. But which one to buy? Here’s our selection of the best ones, in lightweight, middleweight, and heavyweight form. Which one you plump for will depend of course on your needs: a lightweight 400 or 600 single is perfect for one-up work and urban commuting, while a heavyweight 1200 will be better suited to high-speed, long distance duties. We’ve also got a selection of price points too, from well-used cheapies to nearly-new premium wheels. All you have to do now is pick one up, and go have your own personal adventure…
LIGHTWEIGHTS
At the lower end of the adventure scale is the lightweight option. These are, often, more like green lane or enduro bikes, but they can be stretched into more of a daily commuter, or very light touring tool. Luggage and a pillion might start to overwhelm their suspension and engine performance, so if you want to do massive two-up distances, they’ll struggle without lots of mods. Only a masochist would want to use a DR-Z400 for daily motorway commuting…
Engines are mostly single cylinders, so they’re light, grunty, and simple to work on, and running costs tend to be excellent: fuel, brakes, tyre consumption will all be on the frugal side.
BMW F650 GS (2000–on)
‘F650 GS’ actually covers two main models: the 2000-2008 bike based around the original single-cylinder ‘Funduro’ from the 1990s, and the more recent twin-cylinder version. Even more confusingly, the later 650 is actually an
