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ADV BikesTop 10 Heaviest Adventure Bikes

Top 10 Heaviest Adventure Bikes

What do you get (besides weight) when you cross the 500-pound threshold?

Published on 05.31.2016

Moto Guzzi Stelvio 1200 NTX - heavy adventure bikes

Anyone who rides off-road will tell you that weight is your enemy. But the big adventure bike segment just keeps growing, and sales figures attest to the fact that riders like these mega machines. What’s the appeal?

Actually, there’s a lot to like about big, modern adventure bikes. They’re comfortable and stable on pavement, and perfectly capable of gobbling up hundreds of miles in a day. They excel at two-up riding, and thanks to sophisticated electronics that help keep things under control, they’re even getting pretty good in the dirt.


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Below we take a look at the 10 heaviest adventure bikes on the market today, lightest first, counting down to the heaviest.

10. Honda Africa Twin DCT

Honda Africa Twin - heavy adventure bikes

Wet Weight: 534 pounds – Source: Honda USA
Fuel capacity: 5 gallons
Engine: 998 cc inline two, 94 hp, 72 lb-ft torque

The newest offering also happens to be the lightest on this list. Honda’s Africa Twin combines balanced street performance with surprising competence in the dirt, thanks to a low center of gravity, 21″/18″ wheel set, fully-adjustable suspension and the aid of technological wizardry including switchable ABS, traction control and an optional automatic transmission that can shift more smoothly than most riders. That last feature is what puts the Honda on this list at all; the DCT model is the heaviest Africa Twin. However, the standard-shift model, with ABS, weighs in at 511 pounds and falls off our list.

In the interest of fairness we note that Honda’s Crossrunner VFR800X weighs in at the exact same 534 pounds. That bike, however, is really a retuned and restyled VFR800. The Crossrunner is considered an Adventure Bike by Honda but falls more towards the Sport Touring range in all-road capability.

9. KTM 1290 Super Adventure

KTM 1290 Super Adventure heavy adventure bikes

Wet Weight: 549 pounds – Source: KTM North America
Fuel capacity: 7.9 gallons
Engine: 1301cc V-twin, 160 hp, 103 lb-ft torque

KTM took the engine from Super Duke R and wrapped it in a premium package aimed squarely at the high end of the adventure bike market. The 1290’s list of electronic wizardry is long: active suspension, ride modes, ABS, hill-holding control and engine-braking control. The result is a bike that is so electronically tunable that it is just as capable of sailing down the interstates as it is hanging out the back end on a dirt road. Turn off all the controls and it will yank your arms out of their sockets.

8. Kawasaki Versys 1000 LT

Kawasaki Versys 1000 heavy adventure bikes

Wet Weight: 549 pounds – Source: Kawasaki USA
Fuel capacity: 5.5 gallons
Engine: 1,043 cc inline four, 109 hp, 70 lb-ft torque

Count the big Versys, which only landed in the U.S. last year, among the sport-touring-oriented models in this list thanks in part to its 17-inch cast wheels. What it does offer is smooth power from a retuned Ninja powerplant, good weather protection, traction control, two power modes, ABS and fully-adjustable suspension. At $12,799, it’s also a bargain in this category.

7. Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro

Ducati Multistrada Enduro heavy adventure bikes

Wet Weight: 560 pounds – Source: Ducati North America
Fuel capacity: 7.9 gallons
Engine: 1198cc L-twin, 160 hp, 100 lb-ft torque

The standard Multistrada was updated for 2016 to make it more dirt worthy and improve its range. Ducati claims to have made 260-plus changes, including a 19-inch spoke front wheel, upgraded suspension front and rear with more travel, recalibrated software to make it more dirt friendly, bigger gas tank, wider handlebars, a new seat, etc. Combined with a suite of electronic controls and ride modes, the changes make the new Multistrada an adventure bike that can take you nearly anywhere in comfort, regardless of road surface.

6. BMW R1200GS Adventure

BMW R1200 GS Adventure heavy adventure bikes

Wet Weight: 573 pounds – Source: BMW USA
Fuel capacity: 7.9 gallons
Engine: 1,170cc flat twin, 125 hp, 92 lb-ft torque

BMW’s GS lineup has always been off-road capable. In the case of the GSA, its low center of gravity and host of electronic aides (traction control, ABS, and an engine mode designed specifically to work with knobby tires) mean it can do impressive things in the right hands for its size. The tunable suspension allows for everything from plush highway cruising to two-track bashing, and the 7.9 gallon tank easily gives the GSA 300-plus miles of range.
 

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Author: Bob Whitby
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29 Comments
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Matt
Matt
May 31, 2016 4:56 pm

There are a lot of nice bike but my Honda NC700 is a great bike I wouldn’t trade it for anything g. I can’t believe the NC700 didn’t make the list. I love the storage it has. Putting the gas tank under the seat to even out the weight is nice and having the so called gas take as storage for a helmet or other thing is a big bonus. I love the design of the NC 700 couldn’t be a better bike

Raffa
Raffa
May 31, 2016 9:25 pm
Reply to  Matt

‘Heaviest’ Matt.. Maybe e NC is not that heavy?

Mark P.
Mark P.
May 31, 2016 11:22 pm
Reply to  Matt

Doesn’t belong on a list of heaviest, the NC is not even 500 lbs!

petegrinsted
petegrinsted
June 1, 2016 12:04 am

What about the KTM1190 Adventure R at 235 KG (518 pounds) with a full tank?

ADV Pulse
ADV Pulse
June 1, 2016 8:12 am
Reply to  petegrinsted

Hi Pete, the 1190 is too light to make the 10 heaviest list.

Clive Strugnell
Clive Strugnell
June 1, 2016 12:28 am

What about the 2016 Suzuki DL 1000 V Strom with a claimed wet weight of 501 lbs? (228kg)

ADV Pulse
ADV Pulse
June 1, 2016 8:18 am

Clive – that is too light to make the 10 heaviest list.

Jcolyer@me.com
Jcolyer@me.com
June 1, 2016 3:53 am

You know the 1200GS is lighter only 527 lbs wet

Mario P.
Mario P.
June 1, 2016 8:46 am
Reply to  Jcolyer@me.com

Exactly why it is NOT on the list of heaviest. smh.

Mario P.
Mario P.
June 1, 2016 8:43 am

Great article! Amazing how the GSA has such a piggy reputation yet there are so many other heavier bikes.

Phil Levin
Phil Levin
June 7, 2016 6:24 pm
Reply to  Mario P.

GSA weight is listed without Panniers…. not a fair assessment among these bikes

Dave P
Dave P
June 1, 2016 4:15 pm

Some of these comments make me loose faith in humanity. Did you even read the title of the article and look at the specs at a minimum??

petegrinsted
petegrinsted
June 1, 2016 10:37 pm

Ahh..yes…I see what you guys did here…heaviest…apologies for being a muppet! Carry on.

nose2wind
nose2wind
June 2, 2016 7:34 am

Stelvio?

Eric
Eric
June 2, 2016 8:47 am

Enjoyed the read! Really puts things into perspective with the GSA falling in the middle of the pack!

Andrew
Andrew
June 7, 2016 6:07 pm
Reply to  Eric

Replace the Stelvio 18 pound exhaust with an after market pipe & there will be 15 pounds shaved off for starters.

nose2wind
nose2wind
June 2, 2016 3:17 pm

To be fair, these numbers can vary based on fuel tank size and extras, luggage, crash bars, engine guards. Even ABS adds weight. For example: The Africa Twin doesn’t have crash bars or bag mounts. Take away the DCT and the exact same bike doesn’t make the list. To be fair I think the weight should be bike minus the fuel load and minus add on features. Level the field. I also don’t always believe what the Manuf. Claim. You reviewers should put the bike on scales and give us the True Weight….

advrider
advrider
June 2, 2016 4:09 pm
Reply to  nose2wind

@nose2wind – “take away the dct and the same exact bike doesnt make the list”. come on, that is a different model with manual transmission!!! and the article already mentions the manual model is lighter and doesnt make the list. and no fair because some have abs?? so you want a comparison with made up bikes manufacturers dont offer lol.

Phil Levin
Phil Levin
June 8, 2016 5:37 am
Reply to  nose2wind

Agree %100, not a good assessment at all…. the problems in the way the did this is so obvious I can’t believe they published this dreck

Bill Fretts
Bill Fretts
June 2, 2016 4:29 pm

Ooouf! 99% pavement Porky Hernia generators.

K Counts
K Counts
June 2, 2016 4:47 pm

Now we just need a list of the lightest adventure bikes.

ADV Pulse
ADV Pulse
June 5, 2016 2:01 pm
Reply to  K Counts

Hey K Counts, we published one a couple of months ago. You can check it out here https://www.advpulse.com/adv-bikes/lightest-adventure-bikes/

Claudio
Claudio
June 6, 2016 12:26 pm
Reply to  ADV Pulse

Now we need a list of the lightest twin cylinder Adventure 🙂

Phil Levin
Phil Levin
June 7, 2016 6:18 pm

Not a very fair assessment, if the bike comes with panniers as stock they were included in the weight. If an option, they didn’t… so I.e. the Caponord RALLY which comes w/ PANNIERS, crash bars, skid plate, led driving lights in the weight and these are options on other bikes so they weren’t included.

The GSA W panniers weighs more than listed… etc.

Sean
Sean
June 8, 2016 11:28 am

There’s so much marketing about the electronics on these bikes, I’d even go so far as to say this article (and many others) kind of smear together the concept of weight and sophisticated electronics as though traction control modes etc are in ANY way a consolation for the shear heft of these things in sand, for instance, or when they’re laying on their side in a ditch and you need three people to pick it up, or a truck to pull it out…when it comes to riding monster weight bikes off-road, weight is 99% of the problem, traction control etc is like 1%. Heavy bikes are pigs off-road, electronic packages are lipstick at best.

Eric A.
Eric A.
June 8, 2016 11:28 am

Great article! Some people just like to complain about everything. Even complain about ABS on some bikes?? Show me a GSA or a KTM 1290 without ABS, because I don’t know where you can buy one. That is a meaningless scenario since those bikes don’t exist without it. What I care about are stats of actual bikes manufacturers offer. Not stripped down make-believe bikes manufacturers don’t make.

trackback
Weights and Measures – Mechanical Sympathy
April 26, 2018 12:42 am

[…] How asinine does dry weight get?).  At 566lbs, my old Tiger would be 7th in the current crop of heavy weight adventure bikes.  I don’t think it’s exceptionally heavy for what it is, but it’s hard to […]

Uli
Uli
July 22, 2018 10:00 pm

Pretty useless and wrong data.. I own an Aprilia caponord and the weight with bags is 580 lbs. you. Panniers and rack or mounting hardware adds at least 30 lbs… BMW listed the 1200 GS with 510 lbs but when put on the weighing scale it was more like 540 lbs without panniers. Guys get a weighing scale and describe better details i. e. a center stang weighs about 10 lbs, crash bars, engine protection etc.

trackback
Weights and Measures – Mechanical Sympathy
October 30, 2019 12:23 pm

[…] what, fork oil?  How asinine does dry weight get?).  At 566lbs, my old Tiger would be 7th in the current crop of heavy weight adventure bikes.  I don’t think it’s exceptionally heavy for what it is, but it’s hard to tell […]

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