7 pioneers of the adventure segment

1. 1988 Suzuki DR750 Big
Back in a time when bigger translated to better, Suzuki built the single-cylinder DR750. Earning the nickname DR Big because, well, it was, it was built as the Japanese firm’s Paris-Dakar desert racer. Released in 1988, it was the world’s largest single-cylinder engined production bike at the time (trumped two years later by its DR800 successor), it had a seat height of nearly 900mm, a dry weight of 180kg and a power capability of 52hp. But the real reason Dr Big has made the list of pioneering adventure bikes is it is, from what we can tell, the earliest example of what pretty much defines the segment these days: that beaked front guard. Oh, and Belgium’s three-time 125cc motocross world champ Gaston Rahier won a couple of Paris-Dakar events on one, too.

2. Royal Enfield Bullet
Though nothing like any adventure bike we’re used to by today’ standards, pretty much any year-model Royal Enfield Bullet of any capacity is well proven to take would-be adventure riders high and wide over the vast and remote Himalayan mountain range. Okay, so for the many thousands of intrepid travellers who have traversed the Himalayans during the last 60 years on Royal Enfield-branded machines, it’s been more of a case of having no other option, but the world’s fleet of Royal Enfield Bullets have probably covered more mountainous gravel roads than many machines which purport to be full-blown adventure bikes. Besides, it was the forebear to the firm’s first ever bike designed from the ground up, the aptly named Himalayan adventure bike.

3. 1980 BMW R 80 G/S
Back before even the term dual-purpose motorcycle existed, BMW went and baffled many with the release of its R 80 G/S. It might be regarded today as one of the world’s most iconic and influential models, but its enormous weight and size juxtaposed to its off-road intentions left many experts and enthusiasts scratching their open-face helmet covered heads. It was 1980 and what initially seemed to be a bike with very limited appeal soon began to make a lot of sense to a lot of people. Helped by the fact that the R 80 GS, and later the R 100 GS, proved to be superb desert racers and doing extremely well in the popular Paris-Dakar events. It was the first in a long line of BMW-built bikes to bear the GS moniker and is a genre critical to the German brand’s success. In fact, in 2014, the 500,000th Boxer-engined GS rolled of the production line in Berlin.

4. 1968 Yamaha DT-1
British-built scrambler and trials models aside, Yamaha’s DT-1 is often credited as the first true competitive, but road-legal, off-road machine. It broke cover at the end of 1967 for a 1968 release and its narrow width, light weight and long-travel suspension made it a true race-on-Sundays roadbike and it immediately became a sales hit. Powered by a 246cc oil-injected two-stroke single-cylinder engine, it boasted 18hp of power at 6000rpm and had a top speed of 100km/h. Aimed squarely at the American market, the DT-1 answered many questions the motorcycle-mad Americans of the late ’60s were asking and it wasn’t long before Yamaha was selling in excess of 50,000 of the things a year. To put that into perspective, Ducati sold 16,000 examples of its hugely popular Scrambler range in 2015 and it was a result that put it in the list of top 10 best-selling bikes of last year.

5. 2003 KTM 950 Adventure
The 2003 KTM 950 Adventure is significant for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it was KTM’s first-ever twin cylinder machine and secondly, because it lured would-be adventure riders away from the-then dominant BMW R 1200 GS. Lighter, more nimble and some would argue better looking than the boxer-engined German, the LC8-powered 950 paved the way to KTM’s current success in the highly competitive adventure segment. While the firm released a bike called the 620 Adventure six years earlier in 1997, the tall single-cylinder bike was really little more than a dirtbike with lights. But the 950, as well as having the credentials to be a competitive contender in the likes of Dakar, the large-capacity V-twin was both a highly capable roadbike and a very handy off-roader. And now, 13 years later, with the 1290 Super Adventure R, the model is as true to its design brief as the 950 was then.

6. 1990 Cagiva Elefant
The Cagiva-branded Ducati-powered Elefant is pioneer in terms of using Superbike-spec technology in big-bore dirtbikes, much the same way as happens these days. Twenty seven years ago, the same year Italian Edi Orioli won the Paris-Dakar Rally riding a Cagiva Elefant, the Italian firm released the Raller racer for the road. It used Ducati’s air-cooled two-valve 900cc (bored out to achieve 904cc) V-twin and employed the same Weber-Marelli fuel injection used in the young but successful Superbike World Championship at the time. It boasted a then innovative hydraulically actuated clutch, a Marzocchi fork and an Öhlins rear shock. To celebrate Orioli’s Dakar win, the firm released a limited number of Elefants in his famous Lucky Strike livery and remains the brand’s most recognisable bike and sponsor combo to this day.

7. 1988 Honda XRV650 Africa Twin
You can’t talk about pioneering adventure bikes without mentioning Honda’s original Africa Twin. In 1986 Honda’s specifically designed rally racer, the NXR750, won the Paris-Dakar in the hands of Cyril Neveu and two years later released the XRV650 version to the people. Powered by a water-cooled 647cc 52-degree V-twin engine, it boasted rally looks with its styling and HRC tri-colour paintwork, a 24-litre fuel tank and quick-release fairing bolts for that true rally feel. Componentry was high, Showa front fork, disc brakes at both ends and a race-inspired dash but it was heavy for a bike of its capacity, and tipped the scales at 193kg dry. Still, Honda’s Collection Hall, where an original example is on display, touts the Africa Twin as “nothing less than a true milestone motorbike in which Honda just got everything right.”