The Six Best Small Adventure Motorcycles for Beginners

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Dorkside. I am the Dork in the Road and these are my six favorite small adventure bikes for new riders. I am the Dork in the Road and I want to be your internet riding buddy so please consider subscribing and don't forget to turn on those notifications so that you know when I post awesome new content just like this. So you want to get out there and explore on two wheels and Maybe you've decided that an adventure bike is for you and you want to get into the world of adventure bikes but you're a new rider and you're not sure where to start. Adventure bikes can be intimidating, they're very large, very heavy, lots of accessories and other things to buy so let me give you an idea of just a place to start if you're a new-ish rider looking to get into the world of adventure bikes. Like many adventure bikes most of the bikes on this list are primarily street machines with some off-road capability. If you're looking for something that's a lot more off-road focused that can also go on-road, I might recommend a dual sport. Check out my five best dual sports for beginners video up here. And if you're not sure what the difference is between a dual sport and adventure bike, well I have a video for that too. Check that one out up here. But if you know you definitely want an adventure bike and you're not sure where to start for one, especially as a new rider or an inexperienced rider, check out these six bikes. So the first small adventure bike for beginners that I want to talk to you about is the Kawasaki Versys X300. Many of you know I had a Versys 650. I loved the bike, it just ended up not being exactly what I needed going forward so I replaced it with my Africa Twin. But the X300 is the Versys 650's little brother. It has a 296cc parallel twin engine, 39.3 horsepower, a six-speed transmission, 5.8 inches of suspension travel, 7.1 inches of ground clearance, a 32.1 inch seat height, curb weight of 385.9 pounds, a 4.5 gallon fuel capacity, and if you want to buy one it'll cost you $54.99 for the non-ABS model, $57.99 for the ABS model. Something to know about a 300cc adventure bike is that it is capable of going at highway speeds. It's probably going to struggle and be a little uncomfortable on the freeway. If you're planning on spending a lot of time on the freeway going over 70-75 miles per hour, you may want to look at something bigger. But Versys 300, great first step into the world of adventure bikes, comfortable, capable, reliable motorcycle, great place to start. Another bike about the same size to consider is the BMW G310GS. So the G310GS has a 313cc single cylinder, it's a thumper motor, 34 horsepower, it's a six-speed transmission, has 7.1 inches of suspension travel, that's a lot more than the Versys, 8.6 inches of ground clearance, that's actually tied for the most of any motorcycle on this list. Those two things, suspension travel and ground clearance, make a difference when you're going over rough terrain off-road. It's 374 pounds, has a 3.2 gallon fuel capacity, and retails for $57.95 MSRP. It also comes with ABS standard. Like I mentioned, of the two we've talked about so far, the G310GS has a lot of advantages in the off-road category. So a third small adventure bike to consider if you're just getting into the world of adventure or motorcycle riding is the KTM 390 Adventure. This is relatively new, just came out this year. It's a 373cc single cylinder, so a little bit bigger, it's got 37.5 horsepower, six-speed transmission, 6.7 inches of front suspension travel, 7 inches of rear suspension travel, ground clearance of 7.9 inches, 33.7 inch seat height, so slightly higher than the two we just talked about. It's 387 pounds, has 3.8 gallons of fuel capacity, and retails for $61.99 MSRP. The KTM is loaded with features. It has traction control, off-road ABS, and cornering ABS, and none of the other bikes have anything beyond ABS and traction control. So the KTM has quite the electronic suite. It's also the newest model on the list, so that makes sense. Disadvantage to that is that it costs you a little more than the other bikes we've talked about so far. We're halfway through the list. Next bike on the list, one of my personal favorites, one I just got a chance to test ride, so if you haven't yet, check out my Honda CB500X test ride video, it's up here. But the fourth bike on the list is the Honda CB500X. The 500X has a 471cc parallel twin and 50 horsepower, so we're jumping up here quite a bit. It has a six-speed transmission, 5.9 inches of front suspension travel, 5.3 inches of rear suspension travel, 7.1 inches of ground clearance, 32.7 inch seat height. It weighs in at a slim 430 pounds, has a 4.7 gallon fuel tank, and there's two models available. The non-ABS model retails for $66.99 and the ABS model retails for $69.99. CB500X is often referred to as the Africa Twin, the little brother to the Honda Africa Twin. It's very reliable, and I can tell you from experience, easy to ride motorcycle. The next one on the list is kind of an outlier, but this is the Royal Enfield Himalayan. The Himalayan is a 411cc single cylinder, so it's a thumper. It only has 24.5 horsepower, so that's notable, worth considering. It's a five-speed transmission, the only five-speed on the list, 7.9 inches of front suspension travel, 7.1 inches of rear suspension travel, that is the most travel of any bike on this list, 8.6 inches of ground clearance, the seat height is 31.5 inches, lowest on the list, 428 pound weight, carries 4.9 gallons of fuel, and price-wise, cheapest bike on the list, $49.99, MSRP, comes with switchable ABS, it's the cheapest bike on the list with the most suspension travel and ground clearance, but it also has the least horsepower, so keep that in mind. The last bike on the list is a tried and true classic, and with this motorcycle, we're starting to climb a little bit out of that small adventure bike category into the maybe more mid-range category, but if you're a new adventure bike rider, this is a motorcycle that most of you will be able to handle, if you're willing to be a little bit more uncomfortable at first for the sake of having a bike that's going to last you a lot longer, that's harder to outgrow, and that is the classic, the tried and true, the Suzuki V-Strom 650. So the V-Strom 650 is a 645cc V-Twin, 70 horsepower, 70, so almost twice everything else on the list, because the engine's a lot bigger, what? Science. Transmission is six speeds, it's got 5.9 inches of front suspension travel, 6.3 inches of rear suspension travel, it's got 6.7 inches of ground clearance, 32.9 inches of seat height, curb weight 470 pounds, bigger engine equals a heavier bike, but you can carry 5.3 gallons of fuel, and there are three models to choose from, so there's the base model, $87.99 retail, for $92.99 you can get the XT, which comes with a little bit more off-roady features, and $10,399, the big money, you can get the XT Adventure, which comes fully equipped. Those bikes have ABS and traction control, and like I said, it's a little tall and heavy for a beginner, but manageable if you're okay with being a little uncomfortable at first, in exchange for getting a bike that maybe is going to last you a little longer. These smaller bikes, they're going to be good to start on, they're going to be comfortable on the back roads and stuff, but if you really want to get out there and do the types of touring that most adventure riders eventually get into, you will eventually want to upgrade to a larger bike. If you're looking for a smaller adventure bike for a beginner or for a new rider, either new motorcycle rider or new adventure rider, these are the six bikes I would start with. Take a look at them, see how you feel, go sit on them if you can, I always recommend that. So, is there any bikes that I've left off the list? What small adventure bike would you recommend to a new rider? Leave that in the comments. 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