A 20,000-mile review of the BMW R1200GS Rallye by adventure motorcycle traveller Bento de Gier.
Adventure Motorcycle Reviews by Motorcycle Travellers
Welcome to the Adventure Motorcycle Reviews. These detailed bike reviews are from real motorcycle travellers who cover serious miles and know their bikes inside out. If you’re looking for a new adventure bike, check out these comprehensive reviews first.
BMW
A 50,000-mile review of the BMW F800GS by RTW travellers Anabela and Jorge Valente.
Honda
A 20,000-mile review of the Honda CRF250 Rally by RTW motorcycle traveller James Clark.
KTM
A 20,000-mile review of the KTM 1190 Adventure R by motorcycle traveller Innes Ireland.
A 7,500-mile review of the KTM 890 Adventure R Rally by Canzius Pretorius.
Royal Enfield
A 30,000-mile review of the Royal Enfield Himalayan by RTW motorcycle traveller Jack Groves.
A 57,000-mile review of the Royal Enfield Bullet 500 by RTW motorcycle traveller Franck Lafontaine.
Suzuki
A 50,000-mile review of the Suzuki DL650A by adv biker Keith Gruenberger.
A 40,000-mile review of the Suzuki DR-Z400S by RTW motorcycle traveller Heather Sinclair.
A 30,000-mile review of the Suzuki V-Strom 1000 by RTW motorcycle traveller Daniel Cabrera.
Triumph
A 32,000-mile review of the Triumph Tiger 800 XCX by motorcycle traveller Ouseph Chacko.
A 45,000-mile review of the Triumph Tiger 1200 Explorer by touring expert Paul Yarrow.
Yamaha
A 14,000-mile review of the Yamaha Tenere 700 by motorcycle traveller Pavel Kunc.
A 56,000-mile review of the Yamaha XT1200Z Super Tenere by Marco Colelli.
Other
A 40,000-mile review of the CCM GP450 Adventure by RTW traveller Geoff Keys.
A 50,000-mile review of the AJP PR7 Adventure by motorcycle traveller Bart Haeck.
An 8,500-mile review of the Aprilia Tuareg 660 by motorcycle travellerBrett Anderson.
Adventure Bike Options
Whatever adventure bike you’re after, you’ll find the best of the bunch and the latest models here.
The latest adventure bikes and updated models so you can see what’s new on the market today.
The Best light, middle and heavyweight adventure bikes on the market today, our favourites and golden oldies.
The Best Round the World Motorcycles currently in production in 2023, a shortlist and a selection of older models.
Choosing an adventure bike is a big decision, here’s our suggestions for picking the bike that suits your needs…
Further Reading
Want more info on adventure bikes and prep? Check out our Guide pages.
The Mad or Nomad Travel Guide pages are dedicated to holding all of the articles, features, guides and stories related to a specific subject in one easy to read place. You’ll find everything you need to know about adventure motorcycles with all of our in-depth guides in one place right here.
Adventure Bike Reviews FAQ
Here’s a bunch of the most frequently asked questions we get on adventure bike reviews.
These reviews are written by awesome Mad or Nomad contributors. These people are out there travelling on and living with their adventure bikes day in day out. They know their bikes exceptionally well from the good to the bad and that makes them perfect reviewers.
Press reviews of motorcycles involve a test rider jumping on a new bike for a couple of days. They only have a limited time to cast their opinions. But, they don’t know the nitty gritty that you can only get after covering tens of thousands of miles and actually travelling with your bike like our reviewers do.
These reviews are all unbiased and honest, written by cool people who want to share their experiences to help you find the right bike for your adventures. Their contact info is listed in their reviews, so be sure check them out too.
The term adventure bike in itself is subjective. But for argument’s sake, let’s assume you’re interested in a mixture of on and off-road riding and travelling through distant and foreign lands.
In that case, these considerations make for a good all-rounder:
- It should be easy to repair yourself and get spares while abroad.
- 21-inch front wheels that are tough and can take a battering are important for off-road use.
- Upgrade to a bigger tank or opt for an auxiliary unit.
- It should be comfortable, with good ground clearance yet easy to ride, and easy to protect in case of a crash.
- Lightweight is also important so you can pick it up and move it about with ease if you’re riding off-road.
- You’ve got to love riding it.
For more detailed info on how to choose the right adventure bike for you, check out our dedicated guide and also have a look at our best adventure bike guide for what’s on offer.
No. Of course not. You can travel on whatever motorcycle you like. That’s not to say the BMW R1200GS isn’t a phenomenal bike, because it definitely is. Although, I’ve always preferred the Ducati Multistrada Enduro – but that’s another story. The GS is a very popular bike and actually quite capable off-road despite its size (you’ll know what I mean if you visit the BMW Off-Road Skills School in Wales – check out our Adventure Bike Training Schools Finder for more info).
Problems with the BMW GS for travellers
However, the three main issues with the BMW GS for motorcycle travellers are that while it’s popular in developed countries, it’s not in underdeveloped countries and because it’s a modern machine laden with electronics, it’s going to be much, much harder to find garages in the middle of nowhere who can work on it let alone source specialist parts.
The other hitch is that because of its size, it’s harder to take it on serious off-road routes. It’s a very heavy machine and will be harder to continuously pick up on your own.
Price is also a consideration. Once you’re out of your home country it’s nearly impossible to find vehicle insurance for motorcycle travellers. So, if your bike gets nicked or is written off then that’s that.
However, many people do travel on BMWs, it just takes a little more forward planning on how you will repair and get spares in the countries you’re visiting, take the risk on damage and not go on as difficult terrain as a single-cylinder lightweight bike will go down (or at least not as easily).
Travel on what you like
You really can take whatever you like, and that ranges from a Honda Cub to a BMW R1200GS. To prove that, take a look at our Stories page and you’ll see inspirational tales from well-seasoned travellers traversing the world on a huge range of bikes.
Take a look specifically at Sjaak Lucassen who has ridden round the world on a Yamaha R1, and Franck Lafontaine on his Royale Enfield 500 Bullet.
As much as you like, but only what you can afford. Once you are out of your home country your vehicle insurance is unlikely to be valid (with obvious exceptions for UK riders travelling to Europe etc). But once you’re travelling in foreign lands there is no cover for your bike if it gets stolen or written off in a crash. So only spend what you’re prepared to lose, and certainly don’t take finance out on a bike and then take it abroad without first paying it all off.
Bear in mind that you don’t need an expensive machine to travel the world.
We have a dedicated guide for answering this exact question. Here are some links that will help you decide: