A brief history of adventure and dual sport bikes.
In a sense, the very first motorbikes were all dual sport and adventure bikes.
In the late 1800s, most roads were dirt and so the very first steam-powered motorbikes
were usually kicking up dust.
As tyre designs improved, tread patterns emerged that suited dirt roads and paved roads.
As steam power disappeared, it was interesting to see how many of the early bikes were two strokes.
Advertisements well into the 1920s showed motorcycles on dirt roads.
Over the next 20 years, most roads in developed countries were paved.
Motorcycles became heavier and more suited to road riding.
In the 1950s and 1960s, BSA and Triumph offered versions of relatively light street
motorcycles with high exhaust pipes, and they called them 'scramblers'.
In 1968, Yamaha created the DT-1.
It was arguably was the first true dual sport motorbike.
The DT-1 was comparatively light and slim,
equipped with block-pattern tires and had good ground clearance.
Its design put it at the cutting edge of off-road motorbikes at that time,
with a 250cc, 5-port engine based on a motocross design, and Ceriani-type front suspension.
Adventure riding really began with the BMW R80 GS in 1980.
The GS is German for 'Gelände Straße' which means off-road and on-road.
Many riders say it was this motorbike that helped BMW continue,
as the company had been struggling since the 1950s.
Modified versions won the Paris-Dakar race four times in the 1980s.
Helge Pedersen rode one the R80 GS for 10 years
and 250,000 miles around the world which helped to create BMW's credentials.
BMW released the R100GS ‘Dakar’ model in 1984 with protective bars,
a solo seat, luggage rack, and a 35-litre fuel tank.
Over the next 20 years, manufacturers began producing heavier and less dirt-worthy
motorbikes based on four-stroke engines, as they searched for better combinations of weight,
power, durability, performance and comfort.
Suzuki introduced the popular DR350 in 1990 and promoted it as a dual sport motorbike...
“a dirt bike with a license plate”.
This is when the concept of 'dual sport' really became popular.
It also led to lots of debate.
Some riders felt that 'adventure' and 'dual sport' are the same thing.
Some riders love to argue about this.
Our opinion?
We see a lot of these terms as overlapping
and use graphs like this to try and make sense of each motorbike's purpose.
Personally, we would rather ride than argue about definitions!
Do you see yourself as a dual sport or an adventure rider?
Which motorbikes really stand out as examples of dual sport or adventure classics?
Let us know in the comments.