My feelings are that "adventure " bikes end up being road bikes for 99.999% of the time. If I had some notions of an occasional off-road excursion, I would get a used cheap enduro bike and trailer it to the trails, and have a real road bike for the road.
Just my opinion.
I already mentioned them in another Himalayan thread, but for those who might actually plan on taking their Himalayans a little off the beaten, or at least paved path, they might do well to check out that line of
Butler Motorcycle Maps. I thought I'd try out their
Mid-Atlantic Backcountry Discovery Route Map. At $15 it seemed a tad pricey just to sate my mild curiosity, but it is indeed well made, tough and waterproof, and looks like it offers all the makings for a fine adventurey vacation. It's also directly associated with the BDR (
Backcountry Discovery Routes) organization, which is a non-profit. So I guess you're getting your money's worth
and supporting a good cause while your at it. For the youngsters, for whom printed maps generally seem as timely and useful as buggy whip oil, or even spoiled eldsters like me, whose main "discovery riding" nowadays often consists of discovering they now require their GPS to make it to the damned supermarket on the first try, the printed maps feature GPS waypoints tied in with BDR's online offerings and
even films. In the case of my specific
Mid-Atlantic map, these digital augments and other tie-ins
are described here.
Since my fat ass is being hauled around by a humble old Bullet 500 "Iron Belly," I'm not likely to be soon taking on some of those more "challenging" optional mapped routes, where you're plodding along some muddy creek bed waving a machete or hoisting your ride from some scum pit with a block and tackle. That said, you might find me soon on some of those remote paved route options out there in Western Virginia or West Virginia.
As for "adventure bikes" mostly never seeing any more challenging rides than down to the corner shop for a pack of Marlboros, the weirdest place I ever saw for this sort of thing was Paris. Maybe it's different now, but I recall being struck by the fact that it seemed like every other two-wheeler that wasn't some Mobylette-style moped looked like it was ready to set off on the Paris-Dakar rally. I remember thinking,
"What the hell?," 'cause there were just so
many too-tall scramblers teetering about. But I guess it was just like Hummers in the CostCo parking lot. I'm pretty sure that housewife didn't just swing by and take up four parking spots to grab some supplies before the big assault on Kandahar.
Lastly, as an old Bullet owner too set in my ways to probably ever buy a new vehicle of any kind, Himalayan or otherwise, I feel obliged to point out that a well-found Bullet can get up to and through
all sorts of adventuresome hijinx.