Hi, I live in South Africa and would like to buy my first Adventure bike. I am 1.90 m tall and weigh 118 Kg. It will be my first time riding a bike so I do not have much experience or know what to look out for. The two options in my price category are the KTM Adventure 390 and the Kawasaki Versys X 300. I will likely do a combination of long road and gravel travel, and the occasional trail. If all goes well, I would do travel weekends away. What bike would you suggest?
KTM 390 Adventure or Kawasaki Versys X 300
- Thread starter Lazo
- Start date
Maddmatt
Explorer
There's a learning curve involved here - In the US we have motorcycle training courses available - a couple of days with a combination of classroom and on-the-bike training, and at the end you qualify for your license. If you have something similar available, I highly recommend it. I was new to motorcycles in my 40's, took the course, now I'm on my 2nd bike, completed a 3 day trip that was largely back country last fall, and now have a multi-year record of 0 tickets and 0 unexpected get-offs. OK, 1 unexpected get-off, but it was on the trail at 1mph, so was just funny, not dangerous. So I highly recommend starting with a class.
Then, for your first bike, I recommend going used and somewhat under your budget. There's a lot of "stuff" that you suddenly need once you get the bike, often used bikes come with a lot of that stuff for way less than the cost of a basic new one. Then, of equal importance: Which bike calls to you?
I'm serious about this, whenever you start a new sport or hobby, your equipment should call you from the garage. I got that advice from a guy trying to teach my how to golf many, many years ago. The more you ride, the better rider you'll be, and honestly, these days, everything is good. Both of the bikes you list seem awesome, which one makes you want to go ride it? For me, I have a ton of options demanding my time: family, job, dogs, house chores, skiing, mountain biking, camping, golf, vehicle maintenance, etc.... but everytime I walk by the garage that awesome motorcycle catches my eye and makes me want to ride it.
Good luck - post up what you decide!
Then, for your first bike, I recommend going used and somewhat under your budget. There's a lot of "stuff" that you suddenly need once you get the bike, often used bikes come with a lot of that stuff for way less than the cost of a basic new one. Then, of equal importance: Which bike calls to you?
I'm serious about this, whenever you start a new sport or hobby, your equipment should call you from the garage. I got that advice from a guy trying to teach my how to golf many, many years ago. The more you ride, the better rider you'll be, and honestly, these days, everything is good. Both of the bikes you list seem awesome, which one makes you want to go ride it? For me, I have a ton of options demanding my time: family, job, dogs, house chores, skiing, mountain biking, camping, golf, vehicle maintenance, etc.... but everytime I walk by the garage that awesome motorcycle catches my eye and makes me want to ride it.
Good luck - post up what you decide!
Excellent advice. I have the same demands in my time, and I want to be on my motorcycle with any of my free time. I am almost 50 and bought my first motorcycle in 25 years. 2021 KTM 890 Adventure R and I love it. I am signed up for a 2 day adventure riding course this month.