8/20/23
There’s one type of shootout the Cycle World crew always looks forward to: adventure bikes. No other testing allows the staff to experience more of the great outdoors than a multiday, multi-stop adventure throw-down. These are the days that we almost forget that this is a job—until our photo and video director yells at us to regain focus and tighten it up for visual awesomeness. Even with the frequent stops for visuals, we always find excellent routes to put the bikes to the test. We ride through rocks, sand, and asphalt, sun, rain, and sometimes even snow. We live the ADV life for days, and if we could find a way, we’d do it for months.
This week, we traversed Colorado’s high alpine passes on three 2023 middleweight ADVs: Aprilia’s Tuareg 660, Yamaha’s Ténéré 700, and Suzuki’s V-Strom 800DE. Yamaha’s Ténéré 700 has been a huge success thanks to its low price and excellent CP2 engine, but the two newcomers to the segment are giving it a run for its money. Aprilia has infused the Tuareg 660 with a ton of tech and performance while Suzuki’s V-Strom 800DE has an all new parallel twin that might be one of the best all-around engines ever to come out of Hamamatsu.
We crested 13,000 feet, dodged rain and hail, and raced the sunset each day. And at the end, we had a winner—but you’ll have to wait a few weeks for the article. Until then, check out some of our favorite adventure bike shootouts. I’ve also thrown in one dual sport shootout as there was plenty of adventure during that one.
As always, there’s more than we can fit into this email. Check out cycleworld.com for additional tests, reviews, and news.
Ride on,
Justin Dawes
Executive Editor
