is it worth getting an adventure bike for ontario roads?

vrus

vrus

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Been around the kawarthas, muskokas, bogie on ashpalt on the sportbike, never really checked out anything with gravel or worse.. not sure if i'm missing out. Not talking about single track stuff, but light gravel and dirt.

I know everybody talks about asphalt like deals gap down south, but what about the rockier roads there? Is it worth getting something like a f800gs or just sticking to something more street oriented like a speed triple.
 
I have had bigger adventure bikes in the past and they worked very well on the crappy paving around here. So much less punishing than SS suspension. With the adventure bikes, 20+ hour rides are entirely feasible, on most sport bikes you'd be crying hours earlier. They don't have the sheer adrenaline and razor handling of an SS, but IMHO they are a much better match for riding on public roads in Canada.

As far as gravel roads, any bike works, people just chicken out normally. An adventure bike will squirm and slide around too. I took my nighthawk through the fireroads north of elephant lake road and sure you get stuck a few times and can't go as quickly as a proper adventure bike, but you would be surprised how much crap you can get through with any bike. The mud eventually did me in and I had to drag the bike out with a rope, but I am not convinced any other bike (without full on knobby tires) would do much better.
 
I say an adventure bike would be a waste unless you plan on going outside of Ontario. Dual sports are wicked, tons of fun stuff.
 
You cannot beat supermoto bike for around town crappy roads, especially in around GTA. If you need something more hwy and longer seat time capable, something like street triple should do well. If you never go offroad, I think getting something like F800GS is too much to give up. There's a lot of bike nowadays calling themselves "adventure", but what they really should be called is "adventure-stay on street" bike.

So what do you actually want? Rip around time town on street, do a whole day trip on street or do both and incl. off-road?
 
What's an adventure bike? - a dual sport, a standard, an enduro? I have a V-Strom (might be an adv bike, is a standard) and when I used to see "Not a through road" on the Road Glide, I kept on the pavement. Now I go looking for gravel country roads, dead ends and so on. Once you are bored of going through the 4 or 5 corners north of 7A & 57, try a country gravel road on a sit up straight bike, no more boredom!
 
I've been planning on an adventure bike for my next one, hopefully this spring, for several reasons. One is that the longer suspension travel would be good for the backroad explorations, as in "where does this road go" that my wife and I like to do. We do run into some rough roads doing that. Other reasons include a generally longer riding range due both to the generally more comfortable seating position and larger fuel tank, and generally heavier build that allows more carrying capacity (neither my wife nor I are lightweights, and she doesn't know how to pack light), as well as some wind protection.
So far, I've tried the VStrom, the GS1200 and the Tiger 1050. I'm leaning towads the Triumph.
 
I see a lot of squiggly lines on google maps that aren't real asphalt roads up north and that's what I want to explore...eventually working my way further into the territories or something to tour down south. I figure the f800 so I can deal with slab and still have fun on the road, where i also figure most of my riding will happen anyways.

I tried a klr and it was fun, but I couldn't see myself owning it. too slow on the road.
 
Check out Dec issue of Motorcyclist magazine...they test a Husqvarna TE449 along with a BMW F650GS, F800GS and a R1200GS Adventure.
I test rode a F800GS at Mosport earlier this year...interesting bike..very different feel from my F800ST even though it is the same motor.
Definitely considering one for exactly the same roads you mentioned.
 
It's worth it. There are many roads up north and all over that aren't paved that are simply awesome to ride on. There are some dirt and gravel roads up north that are more technical than any of the paved roads I've ever been on in Ontario. With a knobby tire on the front it loads of fun.
 
that's awesome to hear. how about the unpaved roads in U.S.? or will I get by just using a pure street bike?
 
vrus said:
Been around the kawarthas, muskokas, bogie on ashpalt on the sportbike, never really checked out anything with gravel or worse.. not sure if i'm missing out. Not talking about single track stuff, but light gravel and dirt.
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I have been thinking the question for the last year or so. I figure it would be best to have both bikes: A bike for twisty gravel and a bike for curvy paved roads.

Or, you can install knobby tires on a V-Strom (ask Shane about them) and have the best of both worlds.
 
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vrus said:
you know what, maybe a klr ain't bad after all
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KLR's are a blast, get some knobbies on it and ride it over 100 kph....you won't be bored...
 
There are times when I really miss my '01 Triumph Tiger 955i. The new ones suck, though, so if I ever tire of the Road Glide a BMW GS will probably take its place. Depending on where you live in Ontario - and how deep you want to get into the muck - a dual sport is a good choice for a daily rider.
 
I have an FZ1, wearing PR2 tires. And we do fire roads and gravel roads all the time. And I was starting to find that more fun and challenging than blasting through the manicured, paved roads around here. Where I live, the really cool roads are gravel/dirt.
I just picked up a DR650 and I am having a blast. The top speed on pavement, so far, is 140kmph. The twisty, gravel roads are even more fun on the DR. The paved twisties are even more fun now, as well. That surprised me.
The FZ1 is up for sale now. I can't see when I will ride it again. :D
 
I also have an FZ1 and a DR650, not ready to sell the FZ1 yet but if I could only own one bike it would be the DR650
Biked to Yukon/Alaska on the 650, also to California, Newfoundland/Labrador. It will cruise all day @ 130 k/h Use it to ride dirt/gravel roads around Ontario. Prefer it over a bigger bike because I am old with a bad back and bigger bikes are too hard for me to pick up now. You can do anything on the 650 that others do on the larger "adventure" bikes
It now has over 96000km on it, with original engine, transmission and clutch. Almost bulletproof
But any bike that allows you to run dirt and gravel roads with confidence will greatly expand your motorcycle experience.
 
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