Agreed here. There seems to be this strong sentiment that people who ride bigger bikes are automatically disqualified from having any notable "adventure" and that every last one of them is just pretending. People are out in the world traveling on a motorbike, big or small. Why this indictment of them personally if they chose a bike that you disagree with? How narrow minded.

This thread was started with an honest question. I hope that the OP feels that there have at least been a few helpful answers .

That makes sense. Yes, ADVr is a behemoth and I could see why advertisers would want in.

I think I mentioned it earlier, ADVr is my general motorcycle forum and there's a ton of information about everything except their focus on overlanding, where this forum has, what it seems to me, a bigger advantage/focus. I personally prefer the atmosphere of a smaller forum like this, although I also understand their need to grow to stay viable.

At a motorcycle meet a while ago, I bumped into a young couple who in spite of owning some very nice touring motorcycles decided to go touring on BSA Bantams !!!! they had a fantastic time
for myself a clapped out 750 guzzi with 38bhp does just fine, as my riding skills are not great ( read non existant)
but wandering along a narrow road over the swiss alps I got overtaken and laughed with a load if nutters on scooters, 250 Vespas the modern ones, they were having a whale of a time
its all down to how much time you have, how far you want to go
or in most peoples cases the bike they already own
mine was described by journalists as the ideal bike for some one passing their test and to commute on
they just didnt specify how long since passing the test or how far the commute was !!
40 years ago, an old workmate returned to France to see his mates , on a 50cc Motorbike, a Honda, technically a moped, he owned a much bigger bike, but his reason was he wanted to travel light and at the speeds he used to travel then as a Don R , he came back after 2 weeks and had enjoyed his trip and laid a few ghosts to rest, and visited his mates in Normandy
I used to ask him to write about it, I know he took a few pictures, but he said that trip was between him and his mates !
pity it would have made interesting reading

Small bikes it is more for everyday riding in a town but if we talk about journeys it is better to choose bigger and more powerful one.

I picked up a 500x with a Rally RAID L1 kit already installed. So far it has been great for city and paved roads between cities. I have yet to take it off road, but then again I'm not an experienced off-road rider. I have ridden larger adv bikes and this CB500X inspires much more confidence. I think it'll be the foundation of my travel bike. It does need some ground clearance though. The L2 kit could solve that.

done a few trips here and there and the smallest bike I've ridden for any distance is a 250, my own TTR250 and in Thailand a 250 mini dominator. Gotta say the Thai riding was probably 60/40 road and off road but the off road was high becasue I was so happy and confident to take the bike away from the tarmac which meant I got to explore away from the road and see more. On the winding corners it was great fun and more than powerful enough given the rest of the traffic.

The TTR took me to Morocoo and yes the long ride across the windy plains of Spain were a chore but when I then spent months exploring Southern spain including lots of beach and mountains my 250 was an absolute joy, in soft sand you had to power on but once it was up and going it was great fun. 2 up when someone needed a lift i just took it easy and enjoyed the views. My TTR had the big 23 litre tank which meant I didnt need to stop very often.

I prefer the thinner flatter seats, i have short legs so the better stand over height and lower weight are a real plus for me, never found that my sheepskin over a think piece of camping mat were not up to a good 12 hour plus of riding, lets be fair you feel a 12 hour ride on any bike!

Would more power have helped absolutely but I don't think I would want lots more weight, My 660 tenere had the extra power but I always found the extra weight and wide seat/tank hampered my enjoyment away from the tarmac and it wasnt much fun to pick up, having a bigger tank and fairing meant it suffered badly in cross winds too.

I have a sv650 on the road its got a lovely engine but you really notice the weight when moving the bike around, it drinks fuel and back tyres wear out fast and cost a lot to swap!

What next, ideally a do it all bike that looks good and is not too heavy, got my eye on the new Fantic Cabelero 500 but need to wait until they come down in price on the used market andsee if they prove relaible or maybe a scrambler 800.

An easy pick would be the Honda 250 Rally, I love the looks and I'm not expecting it to set the world on fire or a ktm 390 adventure but KTM seem a bit slow on the uptake

I enjoyed your comments! I traveled a bit on my former XR250R in Mexico, done LOTS of serious dirt riding on it too.

It was never set up properly for travel but could have been, but that bike's lack of elec. output and no sub frame was limiting. There are road versions of the XR (XR250L) but are heavier, less capable off road.

Many await KTM's 390 Adventure bike. Not sure why such a delay ... hopefully for KTM to correct some quality problems with the Indian made engine, which had some issues on both 390 Duke and Sports bike. If KTM can get that engine right, a 390 Adventure bike could be a winner for many.

I believe for now, KTM's focus is on upcoming 790 Twin next year. A critical bike for them ... but, IMHO, a really good 390 Adventure could turn out to be the REAL money maker. Time will tell.

I've been shopping a year for a Yamaha WR250R. Many good deals have come and gone and I still haven't bought one. Somehow I keep retreating back to my lowly old Suzuki DR650. I know this bike and have some idea of it's limits ... and mine. (the bikes are always more capable than I am off road!)

Plan now is to buy a "younger" low mile DR650, sell off old bike very cheap. It still runs fine, could be a great Travel bike for someone, it's well set up. Funky but strong and reliable.

for dual sport riding best bikes are in 600-800 cc range, most riders I met agree.
It's simple physics, nothing you can do about it. Luckily we have come back to that midrange in adventure bikes from yamaha, ktm and soon honda will joins.

Thanks for the replies, I understand there are pros and cons.

Mainly wanted to see if the adage "no one ever wished they had a bigger bike once they actually got going" really held up. A lot of time it just seems to be left unquestioned or only challenged by people who have never travelled 10k miles or more on a sub 300cc bike.

Good point regards riding 10K mi./sub 300cc bike thing.
i've ridden 100 km at a go in Asia getting between guess houses, but never hit the long road for 6 months or a year. My 125cc experience ran maybe 3 weeks,
so can't comment on doing what others have done on small bikes.

Other thing that could apply is riders age, condition and experience. A 30 year old in good physical shape and off road experience will do much better Horsing around a loaded up R1200GS off road than folks over 50 years of age and not in such good condition.

But no question, once out on the more open road, a bigger bike works for many.

As mentioned earlier here, if you go out "looking" for serious off road tracks, then the small bike adage is valid.

Best to try them all, big medium and small ... try to pick the best for your particular journey.