In the past 15 years, the adventure bike segment exploded. ADV-style bikes have been around for decades, but they’ve never been as popular as today. Everyone wants one, from the ex-pro rider that got old and wants a bike for everyday use, to the neophyte that has never laid his/her/their butt cheeks on a motorcycle before.

As a result, we are witnessing the introduction of more bikes to accommodate a wider range of riders. While the entire adventure bike scene is growing in popularity, the biggest boom these days is in the light-to-middleweight segment, with engines between 400-900 cc, and pricing that’s generally reasonable compared to the flagship models. Not that you can’t get expensive ADVs in this segment, as we see below…

The expensive ones (over $17,000)

Photo: Ducati

Most of these bikes are 1200-1300 cc. The prices are high and it almost feels to me like the OEMs are competing to make the most ludicrously powerful and expensive machine possible.

The Ducati Multistrada V4 Pike Peaks is the undisputed queen in this sense, selling for an incredible base price of $32,000 USD and sporting a 170 hp motor. The BMW R1250 GS Adventure and the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce SCS start from $28,000 and are a close second. The Tiger Rally Explorer sells for $25,000 and delivers 150hp, like the other competitors in this segment.

The “cheapest ones of the expensive ones” are surprisingly the KTM 1290 SAS (with Tech Pack and Radar) that sells for $24,000 and Harley-Davidson’s Pan America Special with its price tag of $20,400. At the bottom of the list we have Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki, which sell their biggest (1000-1200cc) models for roughly $18,000.

The pricey ones ($14000-$17,000)

Although they’re less than the most expensive machines, this group of bikes is often considered too high-priced for the average rider who is entering the world of adventure riding. Fifteen to sixteen grand is a lot of money for someone who is only an occasional rider, or has a partner that doesn’t ride. That’s why the new category of bikes under $14k is becoming more popular—see below.

The more affordable middleweights ($8,000 to $11,000)

Yamaha has absolutely dominated this segment in the past two years, selling a pile of Tenere 700s (at least that’s the case here in Europe, where availability has been better, thanks to in-market manufacturing).

Why has the T7 done so well? Yamaha understood two basic concepts the average rider wants. First, the majority of people don’t know anything about motorcycles, so they have no need or desire for top-spec’d machines. Second—almost everyone wants a bargain. Hence, the T7 was the right bike at the right time. The bike looks amazing and it costs $4-5k less than the competitors! People were too excited about the price to ask themselves why it cost so little. The answer was, no riding modes, cheap suspensions, basic brakes, no color display, no extras. Just ABS.

Photo: Yamaha

Despite the lack of features, it sold very well, demonstrating once more that people care more about the looks than the substance. But in all fairness, we cannot question Japanese quality and Yamaha did an amazing job.

Chinese brands are trying to enter this price range, from the bottom, with their top-of-the-line models. The new TRK800 from Benelli, the 800cc from CF Moto and SRT800 from QJ Motor are good examples. Most people would not trust to buy those because of their manufacturing origin, but I was honestly impressed by the quality once I saw them first-hand.

– The cheapos ($6,000 to $8,000)

The bottom end of the price spectrum is where we find the Benelli TRK502, CFMoto 650MT, Voge DSX500, QJ Motor SRT550, Morini X-Cape 649 and all the other Chinese-made small-bore bikes. Some of these sell very well in Europe and other markets, although American riders have yet to take to them. This segment is dedicated to the newcomers of adventure riding or people that are on a tight budget, but still want to impress their girlfriend/boyfriend, but maybe not their experienced rider friends.

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Over the entire spectrum of ADVs, the gap between $11,000 and $14,000 seems to be the most intriguing one at the moment. This is the price range where companies are focusing their new production on.

The new Aprilia Tuareg 660 is the king of this segment.

Photo: Aprilia

The new Tuareg is a beautifully-built motorcycle, with interesting technological features, that still feels and handles like a much lighter bike. This makes it appealing to ADV newcomers and for people that want an easy-to-ride machine. The low center of gravity and the docile twin-cylinder engine makes it suitable for everybody. Let’s not forget the very low and comfy seat, which makes it also great for touring. Yeah, performance-wise, it’s lacking punch and its suspension is not the best, but overall this is one of the best-thought-out bikes available.

Photo: KTM

The new KTM 790 Adventure is a perfect fit for this category too. This features the slightly smaller, and less powerful, version of the revised 890 engine. What makes this bike great is the fact that looks and feels like the new 890 Adventure, but the price tag is much less breathtaking . That’s because it is made by CFMoto in China, lowering production cost vs. its Austrian-built counterpart. A great move from KTM which should definitely increase sales.

Photo: MV Agusta

Another potential show-stealer in this segment is the MV Agusta 5.5. It’s a great-looking bike, recalling the glory days of the Dakar rally and the Lucky Explorer team, but the engine is less exciting. It will probably be powered probably by the same Chinese engine used in the Benelli TRK. It will be a great fit for the less technical riders that still want to ride a machine with a prestigious badge on the tank.

Photo: Suzuki

The new V-Strom 800DE will be another competitor in this segment. The new headlight, modern and colorful TFT display, a 21-inch front wheel and sporty parallel twin engine are all going to help sell this machine. The price of this one is going to be around $13,000—definitely appealing for riders who want solid reliability and an aggressive look.

Photo: Honda

Finally, we need to mention the new Honda Transalp XL750.
Here, you get a solid 755cc motor with 90 hp, which is just a few hp short of the much bigger Africa Twin’s 1000 cc engine. Price tag for this new Honda model is supposed to be set around $11,000, very reasonable for what you’re getting. Will this last one be the future queen of the light mid size adventure bikes?