Dual Sport VS Adventure Motorcycles - Which one is better?

Video credits:
EveRide ADV
Brent Pearson
   / brentbat  

I bought an adventure bike recently – No dude, that’s a dual sport. Wait isn’t it the same thing? Over the last few months I’ve been getting blasted in the comments section on youtube and rightfully so, for making the age old error of referring to dual sports as adventure bikes and vice versa. I’ve been using it interchangeably.

There’s a difference between the two, a very distinct difference which I will explain in this video. It’s important to know about the differences because when deciding on which bike you want, whether it’s a dual sport or an adventure bike, knowing the key differences between the two will help you decide which bike may be best for the type of riding you plan on doing.

So basically it all comes down to one thing –
Dual sport bikes are lighter, have smaller engines (up to 650 cc) and are generally more suited to off-road conditions. Adventure bikes, on the other hand have big, powerful engines of 650 cc or more, are much heavier and feature electronic rider aids that make them safer and more comfortable touring on pavement.

Dual sports have single cylinders with a displacement of less than 650cc, while adventure bikes usually have twin cylinders or more. Dual sports have a higher ground clearance, are lighter, the gearing is low for trails, with a higher seat and a lighter frame to keep the bike lightweight.

Adventure bikes have a larger tank capacity, stronger frame, high gearing for highway speeds, a lower, more comfortable seat and a much more powerful engine.

An example of a dual sport would be the Yamaha WR250R. Extremely capable off road, lightweight single cylinder engine producing 30hp. Great long travel suspension, high ground clearance, but lacks in power and struggles keeping up highway speeds.

An example of an adventure bike would be the KTM 1290 Super Adventure. Powerful engine, much heavier, much more capable on the highway but way harder to handle off road.

I believe the ideal bike is where dual sport and adventure bikes meet, in the middle, in that grey area which we could refer to as middleweight adventure bikes. And if you’ve been watching my channel enough you can guess which bike I’d give as an example of this… The Yamaha Tenere 700.

A great mix of off road performance and enough power to be able to handle the highways. This is why its important to know the difference between dual sports and adventure bikes, you need to weigh up what kind of riding you will primarily be doing and then choose a motorcycle that fits your intended riding. If you are going to be doing 30% off road and 70% on road, then I’d recommend an adventure bike. But if you’re mainly going off road most of the time, then you’d want to consider a lightweight dual sport.

Or if you wanna be able to ride anything, then something like a Kawasaki KLR650, 650cc single cylinder with great long travel suspension and ground clearance or the super capable Tenere 700.

Video credits:
EveRide ADV
Brent Pearson
   / brentbat