Dual Sport Riding

Remember that feeling of freedom you had on your first bike? Last year the Multistrada 950 signalled Ducati's desire to open up its adventure range to a wider audience by offering its luxury dual sport machine in a slightly smaller capacity, and 2018 has seen that bike's big brother get a capacity increase from 1198cc to 1262cc.

Chances are, you will get to see a lot of the motorcycle touring crowd these days on adventure bikes, from the Royal Enfield Himalayan to the hugely popular middleweight Triumph Tiger 800 and even the top-of-the-line BMW R 1200 GS Adventure And 2018 promises to be the year for adventure motorcycle launches with BMW Motorrad India already launching two middleweight bikes in the BMW F 750 GS and BMW F 850 GS And there are several more adventure bike launches for 2018 in the pipeline as well, so here's a look at the top 7 adventure bikes for 2018.

Don't confuse a gravel and adventure bike with an endurance road bike like the Cannondale Synapse or Saracen Avro. A rule of thumb that most riders will agree with is, if you frequent the rough stuff, the lighter the better. A smooth powerful bike is set up for taller riders over 5ft 10″ (hint get thicker soles on your boots if you cant flat foot on one side).

However once out on the dirt, every pound of that bulk is attempting to do things you don't want it to do. From pushing the front in the corners to trying to get itself stuck in deep mud, adventure bikes like to make life tricky. The entire ride can be done on the National Forest service roads, or riders can take optional trails.

This exceeds the factory recommendation of 15 hours due to the factory recommendations being based on hard competition riding that is rarely mimicked by your typical adventure rider. Gravel and adventure bikes, though, are better suited to the demands of on and off-road riding.

Not just cheerleaders, BlackSwanMoto instructors supermoto deliver a professional level of training and enthusiasm that will greatly enhance your motorcycle experience, and give you an education that will sharpen your wits and take you confidently down that unpredictable dirt road to finally discover what lies just over the horizon.

On top of this comes a host of core technologies that are at the heart of the Tiger 800s superb riding experience, including; switchable ABS and traction control, ride-by-wire throttle, heated rider and pillion seats and grips, powered sockets (12v and USB) and an immobiliser.

RawHyde has been involved in the Adventure Riding segment of the motorcycle world for more than 15 years. To some riders, this is an issue, but if you're really into adventure riding, the less things that can go wrong, the better. A mid-sized adventure bike normally weighs in between 140 kg to 180 kg (fuelled without gear).

The qualities of modern adventure bikes make them a tempting alternative to other road bikes, especially for touring, with the promise of some off-road capability a bonus. There are no electronic rider aids to speak of - no traction control, no ride-by-wire, and no riding modes.

The ride was over 3 days and included some of the Battlefields monuments where Adventure Bike Safaris really knows his history. For us, it's about offering motorbikes that are suited for the purpose - that of touring and relaxing. The heavier machines were less popular with real” dirt riders, who began modifying them to create lighter and more competent trail machines.

Both bikes will make use of a 853cc parallel twin engine (which will be detuned in the 750), which has been redesigned to effectively sound better and add a bit more oomph. Learn to ride a GS or other big bore adventure bike while riding the best trails in the country.