READERS LETTER
ADVENTURE WOES
H
ey there KR, I was wondering if you could
do an article on why the manufacturers
are making worse and worse ADVs every
year. The more we scream for mid-weight
ADVs the more they seem to make heavier and
heavier ADVs. Is it a conspiracy? My guess is the
motorcycling market is for the super rich now. The
manufacturers seem to be avoiding building the
‘do-all’ model because they know their market is full
of people who can park three to four bikes in their
garage for different riding needs.
I’ve ridden over 130 different makes and models
over the years, and owned over 20, so I’ve got a
pretty fair idea what’s out there and what works.
Based on what I’ve owned and ridden it is obvious
to me that the ultimate ‘all-rounder’ is possible to
build out of existing parts, without massive expense
to the manufacturers. That is to say they wouldn’t
have to create a new bike out of all new parts.
My biggest gripe with modern adventure bikes
is how, not only have they not developed in a
positive direction, for the most part they have gone
backwards in performance. For a comparison let’s
look at sports bikes. I took a small sample from the
main manufacturers and looked at the power and
weight improvements from the early 90s through
to the more current models. On the whole power
improved approx. 35%, whilst weight dropped
approx. 15%. Here is a breakdown of those figures:
Suzuki GSX-R1100
130hp, 240kg wet GSX-R1000R
199hp, 201kg wet
Yamaha FZR1000R
131hp, 236kg wet 2018 YZF-R1
195hp, 199kg wet
Kawasaki 1996 ZX9
141hp, 242kg wet 2018 ZX-10R
210hp, 204kg wet
Honda 1990 CBR900RR 2018 CBR1000RR
Yamaha’s very light
DT175 being pressed into
adventure duties
KIWI RIDER 17