Top 5 Reasons to ride Small Motorcycle on a Long Adventure trip

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Why to ride Small bike on a long Adventure trip? Motorcycle touring.

Most of the experience riders, will advice you that on the long trip you need to have big adventure bike, something like BMW 1200 or Yamaha Super Tenere. You will need powerful engine and enough luggage capacity. Big petrol tank is absolutely necessary and there is nothing better than driveshaft. In this video I will try to convince you that on the long motorcycle tip it’s much better to ride a small and light bike. Stay with me!

N: 1 – The price of the trip.
To travel the world you need a motorcycle: Big adventure bikes, like BMW 1200GS, KTM 1290 or Yamaha Super Tenere will cost you not less than 15,000 euro. When you include your gear and the hard cases you can go up to 18,000 euro. This will be just to have the bike, than will comes tyres, oils, maintenance taxes and insurance. With the big boys the costs will be 30-40 up to 50% higher than a small and cheap bike. Spending so much money will not guarantee that you will have better adventure, it’s only guarantee that you will spend much more before you even start the trip.

N: 2 – The Weight
The weigh always matter. If you are looking for adventure, soon or later you will leave the asphalt roads and go deep into the off road world. It’s just the matter of time to realize that the lighter you are the better chances to stay straight you have. To learn that the big and heavy engine is useless on the dirt. To find out that it’s much easier to lift 200 instead of 300 kilograms. You can make it once, twice or ten times, but you cannot do it all day round. You have to skip some parts of the road or you will need help. More you travel lighter you will become.

N: 3 – Constant instead of top speed.
You don’t need to be super good in the calculations to see that on the long motorcycle trip it’s much better to have a constant instead of top speed. You might disagree with me and tell me that you prefer big bike, but you will ride it slow. Really, why you need a big bike then? I have seen many guys to ride small bikes fast, but I have never seen the opposite way. When you ride fast you have to be concentrated on the ride. By doing so, you cannot really look around and enjoy the ride. You can miss important thing or information signs. You increase the chances to make an accident or to avoid somebody else mistake. Reduce the speed if you want to see the world.

N: 4 – Good reason to take less luggage.
With small and light bike, you probably will go to soft luggage, which is right if you ask me, and this will automatically reduce the number of the items you taking with you. You don’t need to double or triple everything. You will ride on Earth not on Mars. Leave the kitchen sink and the toilet seat at home, they are too heavy. Yes, but on the long trip you need more staff! Really! Guys, I always taking the same staff and it doesn’t matter how long is the trip, one week or one month.

N: 5 – Safety.
I will split this on two categories:
– Personal safety.
With small and light bike it’s much easy to ride in the traffic and do some not so legal manoeuvres. Easy to move it when the engine is not working. Easy to ride on and off road and lift it, if you have to. More likely to stay unhurt if you fell down and stuck under the bike. Easy to cross a river or ride on the sand, especially if you are alone. By having this easy control you are increasing the chances to finish the trip without any problems.
– Bike safety.
So guys, the definition of Adventure is exciting or unusual experience that usually involving some risks. You can do it with any bike. Instead of spending 20,000 euro for new and fancy bike, spend 5 or 7,000 and the rest use to travel the world.

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Rating: 4.82

33 Comments
  1. Charlie Brand says

    Wise words and very true . Most people don't go of tarmac anyway.

  2. Hurricane#1 RocknRoll says

    Great video!

  3. SUNSET POET OF TEXAS says

    Everything that you said was true. Traded in a GS800 for a GS310. I have a lot more fun and worry a lot less. Am going to trade again for a CD500X because I want a little more top speed for the Texas Interstates. Trying to stay as close to 400 pounds as I can.

  4. very informative video, worthy to watch. thank you for making the video.

  5. Joe Weider says

    great presentation! i love the way you express yourself with the colorful examples… non-native englsih speaking folks who speak it well, have a great flair for verbal expression…always impressed by that– THX FOR THE VIDEO– 😀

  6. DerpEye says

    The Bmw GS1250 goes for 22/25k euros these days ….That's the price of a VW Golf. Btw, it's also the best selling motorcycle here in Italy. That's because mainly rich people can afford nowadays to maintain a motorbike, and for most normal/young guys, the cost of entry is just too high. But the used market is flourishing, and it's not accounted by official statistics.

  7. Gordon Wright says

    Totally agree wish i had bought something a bit lighter, can't lift it on my own. Fallen over twice and have to wait and ask for a lift up

  8. michael brogan says

    There might be 5 reasons to ride small bikes BUT there are hundreds of reasons to go large and if you have done these rides you would know it.

  9. ED 25 says

    I could say any better than you could you hit the nail on the head for that What you are explaining Is So true

  10. panzr110 says

    Great info sir. Well done.

  11. Eleven : Eleven says

    A friend has a big adventure bike. He's forever injuring himself…ankles, knees, femor, wrist, upper arm, shoulder. He's been trapped under the bike.

    A mid range bike is way better. Economy, range, weight, manouverability. 350 – 650cc

  12. Jack Kendahal says

    Maybe the type of engine would be a cool subject to cover, I rode on a KLE 500 and I currently use ER6n and kawa Z650 (limited to 47.5 hp) at my driving school and I'd say that I appreciate the elasticity of the twin cylinder on all these bikes. Really smooth and easy on low revs and yet that's pretty "torquy". I can't wait to try the KLE with a passenger and feel how it performs 2 up and loaded.

    Unfortunately I did not have the chance to try out big mono such as the tenere yet. Is it smooth in low revs and confortable at cruising speeds (90kmh to 120 kmh)? What about 2 up on it?

    I think that inline 4 are simply not made for adventure (high reving engines, roadster or race orientated)

    Thanks again for sharing your experiences and knowledge 🙂

  13. Alles Absicht says

    When you are out in the wilderness you need a very lightweight motorcycle. Everything above 150 kg is not useable. Go with the "smallest" motorcycle you can get. 12 horsepowers are more than enough. Don't believe these crazy guys, who keep on telling you, that you need more.
    And by the way, buy a simple motorcycle from the nation you want to travel. Because you get spare parts in every village, and what is even more important: the mechanics are familiar with the technique and can repair every problem within a couple of minutes.

  14. Jesse Davis says

    Hey, I love your videos. Common sense speaks at last.

  15. Terry Boaz says

    Being from Texas where Big is always better I really enjoy your presentation and common sense approach .

  16. Robert Campbell says

    Getting rid of my 1100, going to CB500X, much smoother and lighter.

  17. bamsefar1 says

    I think you made rational arguments for adventure-biking. "Less is more"; so to speak 😉

  18. Sasha M says

    also, the biggest problem with modern mid size bikes is gearing! they i remember the time when some bikes used to be deliberately overgeared so they would rev slower and improve engine life and fuel economy.. it feels absolutely ridiculous to see my gsx1250f reving at nearly 4000rpm, doing mere 100km/h

  19. Sasha M says

    big engines will last longer than smaller ones that are constantly pushed to the limit. that said, years ago i had a lot of fun and even decent mileage with my 2 stroke, 350cc

  20. Allen Attoni says

    Thanks. Great video. Sub for you 🙂

  21. Skeleton Forge says

    You have some good points. Great video keep it up

  22. Michael Tagg says

    Watch real adventure biking Mondo Enduro not that Ewan McGregor crap

  23. Vinay Kumar says

    @05:45 haha

  24. Vinay Kumar says

    This video is genius

  25. György Rabenschwartz says

    Fat elephant GS bikes are an expensive nightmare.

  26. Mike Hurley says

    Excellent advice, all the reasons why i bought a BMW 650 GS, less than 3000 euros with luggage, more money left for my trip. How much of the world can you see at 140 kmph?'Slow down and enjoy the ride.

  27. Ron Fleck says

    Love your content…but the background music was distracting.

  28. S. tachos says

    very good analysis!!! Especially what you said about enjoying the trip. For me both are important, destination and trip. I have a small chopper Modenas bt for 15 years I travel all time with that. Keep up the good job!

  29. RexBuck1 says

    Did my adventure travelling (Mexico a few times and South America) on an 800GS. Great bike for me but, many times wished I had a smaller bike – particularly picking that loaded pig up.

  30. Michael Yakimenko says

    After riding between countries, and across Poland from south to north on my G310R. I understand all what you say more fully than before 🙂 Less luggage, less wieght. Small motor! 😉 Also, constant speed, like 70-80 for me it's totally ok!

  31. Austin Martin says

    100% agree

  32. akmal zainal says

    Good advice
    .

  33. Gregorius Yudho Baskoro says

    you don't even need a 250cc to ride 100-120 km/h, a 150-200cc (20+hp) can do that just fine

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