The BMW G650X range is a cracking bike that comes very close to the ideal RTW bike. 10.000Km service interval, very good on fuel and plent oompf for what it weighs (around 155 Kg wet) It does need some work though like the an extra tank and some suspension work.

I love the look of the new AT but I'd hate the weight of it every minute I was handling the bike.
My next bike (if I'd need one) could well be the coming AJP PR7.

If i see an ADV bike I like, I try and tilt it upright from the side stand with one hand on the LH end of the handlebars. It gives me a good indication of why I shouldn't bother with that particular bike.

I nearly bought an X Challenge. Rode it and was NOT impressed. Heavy feel to it, very poor suspension (soft front, harsh rear). That Bladder rear suspension is hazardous to your health ... and considerable expense$$$ to change it out for conventional shock absorber. The front too needs help, IMO. Way out of balance with rear. Now add fitting a larger fuel tank. PITA IMO.

Power was not impressive either, this getting straight off my DR650 (40 HP) and right onto the X Challenge ... which was a LIKE NEW example with about 3000 miles on the clock. Would not loft front wheel in 1st gear under power.
My DR does it in 1st and 2nd gear, power only, no clutch.


I had the cash in my pocket and positively LOVED the look of that BMW! ... had to tell seller I just could not do it. Did not feel right to me.

A striking beauty ... but just did not measure up to my Suzuki ... not even close.

Then I saw this ... and that pretty much put me off the X series bikes:

Here we see an X Country, broke swing arm riding very mild sand Whoops in
Mojave desert.

So sad, BMW could have dominated the segment with just a few more years
of R&D (and stealing 40 years of Japanese development).

They did exactly this with their S1000RR sport bike (based 100% on Suzuki GSXR1000) followed by massive R&D work, BMW have made it the worlds BEST sport bike! Could have done the same with X series bikes.

Better test is to lay the bike in its side ... flat ... now try lifting.
I like the new AT as well ... a beauty. But certainly won't be a "True" dirt bike, won't do what an AJP will do off road. But perhaps the AT is enough of a compromise to work for most travelers? Could you go two up on a AJP? Or CCM? Trade offs.

Oh, now I understand where X challenge name come from


p.s.
BTW BMW has I guess the best marketing department in the world, because they are still leading in the adventure bike segment despite of such evidence....

Whilst my head tries not to be affected by looks, my heart loves the white/blue and gold rims, especially with a DCT box.

I think the AT will clean up against the 800cc bikes and will impact 1200cc sales as well. All very positive for us as it forces other manufacturers to improve their game.

__________________
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

KTM parallel twin 800 spied | MCN

I agree ... and others are already responding. The old link for the KTM above could come in a variety of sizes (600, 700 or 800cc P-Twin). Of course it will be more $$$$$ than a BMW, so who knows you will buy it.

Kawi has a nice potential ADV bike in the Versys 650. Yam could transform their 700cc P-Twin FZ-07 to ADV as well. Yam's IMO, has most potential. Time will tell.

Also, Honda themselves are broadening their coverage of the segment as the
CB500X is looking more and more "adventurous" every year. (see new '16 version)

IMO, if Honda were smart, they'd invest in a super light, better performing CB500X. Might put Jmo's Rally Raid company out of business, but would be an interesting bike if they do it right ... MAKE IT LIGHT! (but lightweight = $$$$$)

Sales, you could convince the public that Plutonium was good for them they would buy it, just create a lifestyle. Do you really think that HD are great amazing bikes? I mean keeping with 50 year old designs and the cheapest shocks money can buy they still dominate the Market as the "Merican Freedom Machine"
Nothing more.
BMW has been absolutely brilliant in their marketing, thus why they dominate the adventure Marketing category. They have made sure their bikes are part of Iconic Adventure Movies, from Resident Evil to the Charlie Ewan Star Wars guys nonsense films they sold it famously. They then have their "Beat your BMW to death" contests which are a win win for them. Not only are they pushing the bikes and exposing them as something amazing to the public, they get the people dingy enough to bash the hell out of their bikes they also sell their parts or as I used to do when sellign cars, convince someone who had a broken down car why it was a good Idea to spend thousands more on a new one.

As noted in my post, BMW shown is an X Country, not X Challenge. But nearly same bike in swingarm area.

BMW are not leading any more, KTM have overtaken them, and continue to pull away. Look at the numbers.

But both KTM and BMW are tiny players compared to Honda in overall motorcycle market.

come, you should rather look at the numbers - I'm talking about adventure bikes not general motorcycle. Honda didn't have any new, real adventure bikes until now.

Depends how we define "Adventure Bike". IMO, Honda has been building variations of Adventure bikes since the 1960's. We didn't call our "Dual Purpose" bikes "Adventure Travel" bikes back then, but we certainly had many adventures riding them.

Sometime in the late 1990's the Media woke up to ADV bike movement (very late to the party, as expected) ... and then used BMW's GS as their standard by which to judge all others.

So moto media largely dictated to us what Adventure bikes are meant to be ... and by that measure ... you are 100% correct.
But honestly, what do most of those kids know?
How many are dirt riders with 50 years experience?

I contend the Honda XR650L is every bit the Adventure bike any BMW GS is or ever was. With the right modifications the XR650L makes an excellent travel/adventure bike. Better than any BMW GS new or old. Why? It's more reliable, is a real dirt bike and if set up right, you can travel on one. I know ...
I owned one in 1992.

My favorite BMW "Adventure Bike" would be a heavily modified HPN built R80GS. Just my opinion. GS bikes got worse and worse for off road after the R80, the only BMW GS truly off road capable when ridden by mere mortals.

Original R80 retained WW2 technology ... some good, some not. The Electrics were 30 years behind the Japanese ... and they made very low HP, used oil and did generally the things Jap bikes do not do.

In 1981, 1st year for R80GS, the bike had a Varta Volkswagen battery and the system could not keep it charged. The electrics were late WW2 tech as was drive shaft and Panzer spec gear box. But it was fairly light and strong, rode well overall. (yes, I owned one)

The modern GS's are wonderful ... to ride ... as long as the trail does not get too rough. I love them, ridden thousands of miles on test bikes ... I just don't want to be around when the warranty is finished and something major breaks down. $$$$$$

But in terms of large CC ADV bikes, correct, Honda has not built a multi cylinder off road style bike since the last 1st generation A.T. in ... what? 2003 or so?

But clearly, bikes need not be 1000cc or bigger to qualify as ADV bikes.

Ouch - there's a guy over at ADVrider whose frame broke in several different places. Pretty unforgivable from BMW really.

There's probably dozens of guys on ADV Rider that've broke frames or whatever.
It's not just BMW but I do believe they are leaders in this area!

But KLR's break sub frames and rack bolts and even main frame. Honda's XR650L's and XL all had weak sub frames (I owned TWO that bent). No data on XT's, TTR's or 660's. Even Suzuki has had a couple guys break frames.

But for BMW's, there's plenty of data showing lots of breakage among GS's owners going back 20 years, even back to Helge Pederson's bike ... remember? He had to make his own drive shaft in Argentina! But mostly with GS's it's final drive, sometimes swing arms give up or frames. But it's mostly because guys are riding OVERLOADED bikes too fast in too harsh conditions.
A few pics of more broken bikes:

My fav ... KLR ridden too fast in Baja. The guy had frame temp welded back together, rode back to US, bought another salvage KLR, transferred everything over ... and went back to Mexico to continue his LD ride!


Lots of threads about this issue ... F650 (and some G650's) broke off front forks. One German guy sued and got paid from BMW, other law suits rumored.
DOZENS of documented cases of forks broke off. (Showa forks are CLEARLY under spec'd for this 400 lbs. bike! So not Showa's fault, bike should have a least a 43mm fork)


Too fast for conditions.


Broke final drive caused crash ...

Simple final drive oil change! (just a joke folks!)

This would have been a great idea at the NEC, but all the new ATs were secured to the floor better than my house! The Honda guy I spoke with wasn't keen when I mentioned weight, and classed the NC700X and CB500X bikes as mid weight off road bikes . Even with the RR kit, the 500 is hardly much lighter than my 800, and my bike has more power for my every day riding. I'd asked him about the possibility of a mid weight AT.

It basically weighs the same as an R1200GS. I appreciate it's probably way more reliable , but that's just a bit too much for me. The main reason I went for my F800 over the 12 was due to weight. Just moving the damn thing around the garden, let alone riding off road!

At the moment, I think I'll stick with my current bike. Having upgraded the suspension and improved the seat (amongst other things), there doesn't seem to be any need to change.

I did say to the Honda gent that I really hope the new ATs sell well; if this is the case, it only adds to the commercial viability of 'adventure' bikes, and who knows what might appear in the future?