The 9 Best Beginner Adventure Motorcycles: Best Entry-Level ADV Bikes for New Riders (2023 Edition)

Hello friends and welcome back to the Dork side I'm the dork in the road and today let's talk about the best entry-level Adventure motorcycles for new off-road Adventure Riders [Music] on the dork in the road and I want to be your internet riding buddy and I'm better than your regular riding buddies because I come with a mute button so please consider subscribing today I want to talk about what I like to call entry level Adventure bikes and I just want to clarify before I start that entry level does not mean they're not capable does not mean they're less capable it means they're easier to ride handle and enjoy for a newer rider rider with less skills a writer that's still building their confidence it doesn't mean that a skilled writer can't also enjoy these bikes but it means that they're not something that's going to be so crazy intimidating or difficult to ride for a new Rider that they can't build confidence on the bike so if you're a brand new Rider to off-road riding and you know that you want to spend time on and off the road you want to ride a long distance to a place and then also right off-road to get to the place you want to do things like bdrs you want to go Moto camping and far-flung destinations you want to be able to carry gear and be comfortable on the road as well then an adventure bike might be right for you I always try to recommend people if they just are interested in pure off-road writing that you start with a lighter dual sport is an easier better way to build your skills and build your confidence before you move on to the heavier bike but if you're sure that adventure bike is what you want and what you want to get into then these are the bikes that I would recommend that you start with all of these motorcycles are readily available used and if you look and are patient you can find basically any of them with a ton of farkles that is functional Sparkles we're talking about Crash guards new tires a better seat bigger fuel tank things like that already installed so you can find a lot of value in a used bike and this is the six or seven models that I would recommend starting your search with you're going to notice that most of these bikes are Japanese for a new Rider particularly someone who is not very mechanically inclined or experienced you cannot beat the reliability of a Japanese motorcycle if you want to ride a bike and not work on it then I recommend Japanese particularly if you're looking used not every bike is Japanese but that is my personal preference and bias so have keep that in mind as we roll into the list and these are going to be smaller bikes so Honda Africa twin is a great used bike but it's not a great used bike for a new Rider because it's big and tall and heavy so we're going to start with the smaller and medium displacement Adventure bikes that are reliable and good and easy to handle for newer Riders and you can pick them up used okay sweet that's enough caveats let's talk about some bikes so the first bike that I would recommend if you're a brand new adventure Rider looking for a bike is a Suzuki V-Strom 650. now I said 650 there is a dl1000 out there there is a Suzuki V-Strom 1000 and if you look for used bikes you're going to see a lot of those 1000s but for a new Rider I don't recommend the 1000 it's bigger and heavier they're supposedly less reliable than the 650s so I would recommend sticking with the 650 look for the V-Strom 650. you can pick these up for three to seven thousand dollars depending on the year they've been around for a while so there's a wide range there and they are known as bulletproof reliable machines they are called the poor man's GS for a reason because people buy these bikes and take them on thousands and thousands of miles of reliable trouble-free perform probably the most Street biased bike on the list so it's also the best for two-up riding so if you're looking for an entry-level adventure bike that you can take a passenger on the V-Strom 650 is one of the best bikes on this list for that the V-Strom has limited ground clearance and it's got a squishy Road bias suspension like I said it's very Road biased bike it is easily the best bike on the list for touring for long highway miles but it's not as good off-road as some of the other bikes on the list so just keep those things in mind I did a test ride on the V-Strom 650 back in my early early days which I will link for you if you want to get a sense of what it's like to ride it for someone that has very little writing experience I liked it but I didn't end up buying it another great used or new entry-level adventure bike to consider is the Kawasaki versus X300 I did a test ride on that too and came away very impressed actually I was not expecting to be so impressed with the X300 but I really did enjoy my time on it it's a surprisingly capable little bike it's got spoked wheels standard unlike the V-Strom where you've got to get the adventure or find an old Adventure model to get those spoked wheels is it the most capable off-road bike in the world world no but basically nothing on this list is but it is very capable and capable enough to do gravel roads to do logging roads and anything maybe some a little bit tougher stuff depending on where you're heading it's definitely going to get you to that campsite or Trailhead with no problem there are some disadvantages to the X300 interesting because it has a lot of ground clearance but it also has a low seat height and so something's got to give and the thing that gives is the distance between the pegs and the seat is a lot shorter than some of the other bikes on the list so it can feel very cramped the seat is also very thin so it's not very comfortable it's an unusual engine as far as Adventure bikes go because it's the engine out of the Ninja 300 same engine so it has a red line of like 14 Grand it feels like you're piss winding like you're going to break the thing all the time when you're riding it it's crazy how it loves to live in the high revs that was weird but that's just how it's designed that's what it's for things to look out for with the X300 so I said versus X300 there is a versus 650 and a versus 1000 and I do not recommend either one of those bikes as an adventure style bike I had the 650 myself self it is an upright Touring bike it is an adventure style touring bike and people have converted them into Adventure bikes people always make this argument well if you put three grand into it and new tires and suspension and armor and skid plate then it's fine true but that's true of almost any bike you're looking to spend the least amount of money and have the most capable bike for what you're trying to do and the 650 and the 1000 just ain't it so avoid those they cost a lot more it's completely different bike even though they share a name look at the versus X300 as an entry-level adventure bike that I think is cool next entry-level adventure bike that I think is awesome that you should consider if you're looking to get into the world of adventure riding is the Honda cb500x I've got one here in the garage right over there I've borrowed my brothers for an extended test ride you can pick these up used anywhere from 4 500 to 6500 they haven't been around for very long so there aren't like a lot of old ones like there are some of the other bikes on this list but the 500x is great because it has a low seat height it's incredibly easy to ride I said in my last test ride that the bike asks very little of you you don't have to think about it a lot it's just easy to ride it's easy to get your leg over it doesn't have an intimidating amount of power but it's very comfortable and has plenty of power to do what you want to do it'll do the highway miles I rode it to the coast and back carrying all my model camping gear and there's tons of aftermarket support for the 500x so if you get it and you like it instead you want to stick with it long term rally raid on England makes a full kit that you can convert it into an honest to goodness adventure bike the support is out there the aftermarket is out there for the 500x and you can pick them up pretty cheap and it's a good reliable Honda reliable bike that's super easy to ride there are some disadvantages to the 500x I I don't find the seating position very ergonomic it's not very comfortable so the foot pegs the stock foot pegs suck they're obviously Street pegs so I'd replace those pegs and get bar risers or replace the handlebars almost immediately if it were me it does not come with spoked wheels you can't get it with spoked wheels only cast Wheels which you know is only a problem if you're pushing it super duper hard but I prefer the flexibility and versatility of spoked wheels on an adventure bike personally just because I sometimes hit really big rocks that I didn't see coming and I don't have to worry about cracking a rim the other thing to look out for on the 500x is that in 2019 they switched the front wheel to a 19-inch front wheel but before that it was a 17 so you if at all possible want that 19-inch front wheel if you're going to be riding off-road bigger front wheel makes it easier to roll over obstacles makes it easier to deal with any kind of obstructions or just uneven terrain so that is a big Advantage so do yourself a favor and avoid the 17-18s and try to find a 19 or newer so you can get that bigger front wheel the 500x has been all over the world all over the country our friend the graceful Renegade who we met at the gym loop ride she has written hers up to Canada and back and all over the U.S plenty of examples of these bikes lasting a long time and taking a lot of abuse out there so you do not have to worry about a 500x if you pick one up and honestly it's the bike I wish that I had started on so that's a great entry level Adventure style bike if you're looking for one so the first three bikes are the more Street biased bikes if you want to spend more time on the highway than off the highway they're good Adventure bikes that I would recommend if you're going to spend more time off-road then let's talk about some more off-road biased Adventure bikes also I'm breaking my own rule here because uh most of these are actually dual sports but they are dual sports that are better on the highway they're dual sports that come with adventure bike trappings they're dual sports that can be taken out and ridden as Adventure bikes and the first one is the most obvious choice it's the bike that I said is the best used adventure bike out there that you can buy it's the Kawasaki KLR 650. these bikes have been around for so long and there are so many different models and so many different model years you can pick them up for a wide range you can pick one up for two Grand if you look for a gen 1 old one with tons of miles or maybe not even tons of Miles all the way up to seven or eight thousand for a brand new one they underwent a pretty significant change in 2022 I had a 2022 I really enjoyed it advantages of the KLR 650 there are so many out there it is easily the easiest off-road motorcycle to find if you're looking for one go on Facebook marketplace right now there's probably 20 for sale near you and this is the off season imagine what it's like in the spring in the summer it is very easy to find a nice KLR with a ton of add-ons and farkles for a good price there's a very active very enthusiastic KLR Community there's no question that hasn't been answered no problem that somebody hasn't dealt with in the past so it's easy to get information the aftermarket is very very very active there's tons and tons of products out there and more rolling out every day for the New Gen 3s it is hard to be a KLR it's got good power plenty of power to cruise on the highway even the freeway at 75 I did a test for that but it's not scary or intimidating and you really can't even spin the rear tire unless you drop the clutch and really do it on purpose it's almost like a built-in traction control so it's an interesting bike with plenty of power when you need it but not scary or intimidating power some disadvantages to the KLR the first one you'll hear about every time is that damn do hickey there's an issue with one of the tensioners inside the engine that it can wear out in the spring can explode or whatever that's what people say depends on who you ask I interviewed a Kawasaki mechanic he said he's never seen one fail but lots of people swear that that's a thing that has to be done right away so you can make your own decision draw your own conclusions you will hear about it all the time if you buy a KLR so that's a disadvantage if you don't like hearing the word doohickey you're going to hear it a lot if you buy a KLR if you're looking at klrs they're all carbureted up until gen 3 so if you want a fuel injected bike you have to buy a 22 or a 23. if you don't mind a carburetor or you don't care one way or the other the older bikes are fine they seem to be super reliable but just know they're not fuel injected everything else on the list with one exception is fuel injected like the KLR 650 in many ways but also very distinctly different is the Suzuki dr650 so it's the only bike on this list I haven't ridden you can pick up a Suzuki dr650 for three to six thousand dollars again they've been around for a long time so there's a lot of variation in price it is a light bike it is one of the lightest bikes on this list at 366 pounds it has a huge long-running Community just like the KLR the dr650 is a very simple machine it's very easy to work on tons of them out there they have a cult following it is very easy if you're patient to find one with a ton and ton of mods particularly for adventure riding people love to turn these into Adventure bikes so you could find one with crash protection and Pioneers and they exist out there even super low mile ones so keep your eyes open you can find a great deal and get basically a bunch of extra parts for free this bike is pretty unique in terms of being a seat height accessible large displacement dual sport that's easy to ride but it can also go long distances the KLR is definitely heavier and has a lot more Street traffic it's got a bigger Fairing and all that people always like to throw out the xrc 650l but that's a very tall bike otherwise very similar to the dr650 but it's not on the list because it's super tall and you just don't see as many of them the dr650 is a great choice but there are some disadvantages to it one the damn thing hasn't been updated in decades it's like riding a time machine from the 2000s so if you don't mind a carburetor and an analog speedometer and and basically a complete dearth of Technology no ABS no nothing if you want an old school motorcycle just a motorcycle and nothing but a motorcycle that dr650 is a great choice one thing to look out for if you're looking for them is people tend to label the bikes incorrectly so there's a Suzuki dr200 which is the entry level really easy to ride dual sport there's a dr650 which is the one we're talking about here which is a much better Adventure style dual sport and then there's the venerable DRZ400 DRZ400 is a great great bike but it's definitely more of a dual sport than an adventure bike and I wouldn't recommend it for a ton of highway miles the way I would at Dr 650 so just make sure that what you're looking at is actually a dr650 because they are often and mislabel the dr650 has a much more bulbous looking tank just be careful because people don't label them right sometimes on the old Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist another great entry-level adventure bike that you can pick up used or new that I would recommend is the Honda CRF250L or 300L rally you can pick these up used from anywhere from four to six thousand dollars based on my research in the local market and on Kelly Blue Book it is easily the easiest smoothest off-road easiest to learn on bike out there it is incredibly forgiving to a new Rider I had a 250l loved it it was a great bike to learn on it helped me out with a lot of my inconsistencies and shortcomings as a new Rider and I've ridden the 300 and same thing it's just the same bike with a little bit more power there's a massive Community a huge cult following and this is a bike that is an entry level style bike that people keep forever people add mods to them people update the suspension whatever but people love these bikes for good reason because they're amazing motorcycles now is it really an adventure bike it's technically a dual sport but the rallies have a road biased Fairing and a bigger gas tank that make it more of an adventure bike in my book or at least it functions as an adventure bike so I would recommend it to you if you're looking to get started in the world of Adventure writing there are other advantages to the 250l or 300L rally it's a bike that's much better for trail riding it's much lighter so easy bike to ride and easier to get into more difficult off-road stuff but there are some disadvantages that smaller engine and lighter weight makes it a little bit harder to ride on the freeway or the highway you have less power at highway speeds you're going to get blown around a little bit more out there on the highway the suspension particularly the forks on the 250 and 300l's are notoriously squishy they're not fabulous but for most work a day and Logging Road entry level easy riding or even moderately difficult off-road riding even light trail riding the 250l or 300L rally is going to do it something to consider is if you're trying to save money you can just get a regular 250l or 300L you're not going to get the bigger gas tank you're not going to have the fairing to protect you on the highway but you can add enough mods to make them capable and useful but you are then dealing with a true dual sport and it's a little bit different experience but just keep your eyes open there's lots of good ones out there I saw at least two 2018-ish 250l rallies for four thousand dollars which is a great price when I was looking just recently and the last bike on the list the last uh really cool entry-level adventure bike that I would recommend for beginners that you can pick up use inexpensively is the Royal Enfield Himalayan this is the only non-japanese bike on the list they are anywhere from four to seven thousand dollars used depending on where you look and what you buy this is a cheap low to the ground easy to ride motorcycle I had a fun time on my test ride of the one that I did I definitely found it to be a little uninspiring in terms of Speed and Performance but man it is easy to ride it is so low to the ground so confidence inspiring I felt like I could take it a bunch of dumb places and you can pick them up super cheap they are underpowered at highway speeds you're gonna be struggling to go you know over 70 miles an hour the looks are definitely or love it or hate it if you like that old school kind of Scrambler style military inspired if you're into that then you can't beat the Himalayan if you don't like the look you don't like the look I don't there's I've never met anyone that was like that's okay it's generally I hate it or I love it kind of thing and you know the reliability concerns are there they build these things in India you know it's not a Japanese bike it doesn't have the same quality control or manufacturing standards it's true they do come with a three year warranty I think if you buy a new one so that's some peace of mind but this motorcycle is a mule it will take you anywhere just not fast it does have reliability concerns but they are riding these things all over the literal Himalayas right now touring companies use these bikes almost exclusively there has to be a reason there has to be something there so worth considering just keep in mind it's not the same reliability as the other bikes on this list so that is seven bikes that I would recommend to though I do have a couple honorable mentions slash bikes that people are going to be like what about this bike in the comments so worth looking at depending on your own personal preferences the KTM 398 Adventure I would call that an honorable mention you can pick those up used or new from 5500 to 7 000 and my biggest concern with that bike is well one cast Wheels uh but two it's a KTM this is a KTM also manufactured in India supposedly their Austrian factories are better I don't know I've never owned one the people that I know that have them seem to love them so I'm not going to let my anti-ktm bias tell you not to buy that bike just know that it's not as reliable or doesn't have the same reputation I should say for reliability as the Japanese bikes on the list and another one worth considering is the one that I said you shouldn't consider at the beginning if you're a little bit taller a little bit more skilled you have a little bit more confidence off-road or you're okay with a heavier taller bike the Africa twin is a great bike to pick up used because they're just great motorcycles that'll go freaking anywhere and you can pick them up I saw a 2017 yesterday for eight thousand dollars but you're generally probably going to pay more towards the ten thousand dollar range all the way up to 15 or 16 depending on what used ones you're looking at and you could get close to 20 on a new one so that's up to you but it is a great bike I just don't recommend it for newer Riders because it is unwieldy and I was definitely intimidated and it was too much bike for me when I started off-road riding I shouldn't have jumped right onto an Africa twin I just found such a great deal on one I had to have it so that is what nine that is nine entry-level-ish Adventure bikes that I would recommend looking at new reviews for someone who's trying to get into adventure riding and I'll leave links to my test ride videos and other content on these bikes for you in the description I'll link them here in the video but if you have questions or thoughts or if you own or ride any of these bikes and you want to pass that information that knowledge onto other riders in the comments that's always appreciated so thank you for watching I appreciate you and please do not forget to be excellent to each other oh thank you excellent [Music]

Channel: Dork in the Road

Views: 382,131

Keywords: dork in the road, motorcycles, motorcycling, best beginner adventure motorcycles, best beginner adventure motorcycle, best beginner adventure bikes, best beginner adventure bike, entry-level adv bikes for new riders, entry-level adv bikes for beginners, adv bikes for beginners, beginner adv bike, new rider adv bike, best new rider adv bike, best adv bike for new rider, klr 650 beginner bike, dr650 beginner bike, honda cb500x beginner bike, versys x 300, ktm 390 adventure

Id: jHC6P4OZIpQ

Length: 18min 41sec (1121 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 30 2022