Most of the retro models you can buy today started life as a sporty naked bike which has been modified to look more traditional, but without sacrificing all the modern tech and riding experience you would expect from a new bike. Some bikes, like the Honda CB1000R straddle the line between modern naked bikes and modern bikes with retro styling so end up being called neo-retro.Ĭheck out our top ten naked bikes or all of the naked bikes in our choosing tool. They are also referred to as roadsters, especially by BMW, or standard bikes while the highest power models are sometimes called muscle bikes, street fighters or hyper-nakeds.Īt the lower end you have the Yamaha R-125 derived MT-125, with a similar relationship between the Suzuki GSX-R750 and GSX-S750 in the middle, then at the top the BMW S1000RR and S1000R. The engine is sometimes from a previous generation sports bike to save cost. Other tweaks usually involve making the geometry less aggressive, flatter handlebars, no screen, single light cluster and some tidying up of wiring etc to showcase the engine. Roughly half of naked bikes tend to start off life as last season's range topping sports bikes, which then have their fairing removed to make them 'naked'. They often have much larger fuel tanks, lots of crash protection, even longer travel suspension and some of the highest seats going.Ĭheck out our top ten off-road adventure bikes or see all of the models in our bike choosing tool.

Some manufacturers offer the same bike in a more off-road focused variant, such as the BMW R1250GS Adventure and Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports, designed for proper off-road adventures.

The bikes tend to be so good at commuting, touring, sports and more recently looking good, that they are generally taking over from the other types of bike, particularly sports bikes with their aggressive and uncomfortable geometry.Ĭheck out our top ten adventure bikes or see all of the adventure models in our bike chooser.

Some older definitions also referred to them as dual purpose, dual sport and on / off-road bikes. They aim for maximum capability, range and the odd bit of very light off-road/dirt track adventuring, although taking a large heavy bike properly off-road will be very hard work. Usually designed as a jack of all trades, Adventure bikes tend to feature long travel suspension, a decent sized screen, high seat height, extensive luggage options, optional wire-spoked wheels and decent drop protection. We've taken a look at the most common styles and trends, from the cheapest scooter to the most expensive adventure bike: Adventure There are many different systems out there for describing the different classes of motorbike and it's a constantly evolving problem.

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