There is nothing quite like pitching a tent, firing up a portable burner to cook yourself a meal in the great outdoors before snuggling up in a sleeping bag for a night’s kip. Well, in theory.
The reality is burnt sausages, being eaten alive by midges and waking up with a mouth like sandpaper at 5am as the morning sun turns your tent into a sauna. If you are an outdoors type, here are five great bikes that are more than happy to be loaded up with camping equipment and aimed towards a field.
Based around the VFR1200 platform, the Crosstourer never took off in the UK so prices are low. With a high level of build quality and decent tech, this V4 adventure bike has lots going for it and its shaft drive and DCT gearbox (optional) make it very easygoing. A great mile-muncher, the only real downside is the weight, which at 275kg full-fuelled is chunky. That said, once up to pace that makes it incredibly stable and the V4 is a peach (bit thirsty, though).
To help reduce the width of the VFR1200 and make it easier for riders to get their feet firmly on the floor, Honda employed a few clever tricks while designing their V4. The rear two cylinders are very closely set, making it narrow, and the engine itself runs a single ‘Unicam’ design of head rather than double overhead cams. Developed on Honda’s CRF range of off-road bikes, Unicam helps reduce the size and weight of the cylinder heads, again assisting with compactly packaging the motor within the chassis.
Honda’s Dual Clutch Transmission uses two clutches: one for start-up and 1st, 3rd and 5th gears while the other clutch deals with 2nd, 4th and 6th gears with the mainshaft for each clutch located inside the other to keep the system compact. Each clutch is independently controlled by its own hydraulic system and then a gear change occurs, the system pre-selects the target gear using the clutch not currently in use. The first clutch is then electronically disengaged as, simultaneously, the second clutch engages for a seamless change of ratio. DCT has three modes – manual (M), automatic (D) and automatic sport (S).
Versatile, comfortable and ready to tour
The big-capacity 2015 Versys 1000 sacrifices a bit of sporting agility for comfort but that’s not to say this 17in-wheeled adventure bike can’t be enjoyed on a B-road. Great value and with a good tech package and large 21L fuel tank, the inline-four is super-smooth and although its suspension is set on the soft side, adjustable rebound damping and spring preload means this can be dialled out to a degree.
More than happy to ride across a muddy campsite, the Super Ténéré is fairly off-road focused and as such can feel a bit tall and top-heavy to ride. Get it on the open road and it is soon reveals itself as a very competent tarmac adventure tourer with the added bonus of genuine offroad abilities. Later models (post-2014) have all the tech you need and prices are very competitive.
Old-school but this Brit’s all the better for it
The third generation of Triumph’s original big-capacity adventure bike is a real beauty. The triple (which doesn’t have the T-plane firing order) makes for effortless mile-munching and with a 20L tank and shaft drive, it is very practical. If you can push your budget the WP semi-active suspension of the X and T adds extra plushness but the base XR isn’t to be ignored as there is less to go wrong!
Ignore its DR-BIG styling, Suzuki’s V-Strom 1000 is very much a tarmactourer. Re-released in 2013 with a bigger-capac…