Honda is shaking up its adventure bike line with the introduction of the NX500—a mild update and rebrand for the long-standing CB500X. A promised reduction in weight, as well as claimed improvements to the chassis, suspension, engine, and electronics, should contribute to an improved on- and off-road package for the middle-weight moto. The NX500 is…
Iraqi Escapade
Photography by Kira Hak On a cool January night, we sat tucked into a small shelter made of piled stones and tried to warm ourselves beside a stubborn fire. This part was supposed to be the relaxing bit after a long day’s ride. Dinner was almost ready when an odd flashlight pattern was revealed in…
ADV Moto Tires :: Ridden and Reviewed – UPDATED
Real World ADV Tire Ratings Editor’s note: this article was updated on April 23, 2024 to include Motoz tires. Choosing the right ADV tires for an adventure ride is a crap shoot unless you know the exact conditions you’ll encounter. Do you start with an aggressive tread and leave half of it on the highway…
Yamaha Funds Public Lands Education
Yamaha’s Outdoor Access Initiative (Yamaha OAI) arm will be the exclusive motorized recreation sponsor of the outdoor recreation exhibit at the National Conservation Legacy Center (NCLC). The Center is part of the National Museum of Forest Service History (Museum), located in Missoula Montana. Yamaha OAI’s grant will help build a display highlighting the many ways…
Triumph 400 Singles for 2024
Triumph’s new 400 singles are ready to duke it out in the light-middleweight market. Sized right to encourage new riders and large enough to cross the continent, they’re also priced to be tempting. Very tempting: the Speed 400 roadster starts at $4995.00, with the dirt-ready Scrambler 400 X fetching $5595.00. Others in the 400cc arena…
Overland News of the Week
Pol Tarrés Sets Motorcycle World Altitude Record In this week’s, Overland News of the Week, we celebrate Pol Tarrés’ most recent accomplishment. Two years after making history and setting an altitude world record on a Yamaha Ténéré 700, Pol Tarrés recently revisited Chile, surpassing his achievement. Not only did he break his previous record, but…
e-Bike Buyers Guide
The electric bike, or e-bike as it is commonly called, is a relatively new concept for most consumers; however, a rudimentary design of the electric bike was first patented as early as 1895 by American inventor Ogden Bolton Jr. For many years, there were several attempts to market the electric bike, but only in the…
Overland Events and Rallies You Don’t Want to Miss This Spring
Lead photo courtesy of Weird Wild West SOUTHWEST USA Adventure Van Expo When: April 13-24, 2024 Where: Scottsdale, Arizona The Adventure Van Expo series returns for 2024 with a packed schedule of events, including the first of the season in Scottsdale, Arizona. Lively music, food trucks, vendors, and camping converge in this all-ages celebration of…
Field Tested :: AltRider T7 Center Stand and Crash Bars
AltRider Center Stand AltRider’s motto could easily be, “find a need and fill it.” From a Ténéré 700 perspective, they’ve created better crash bars, an adjustable kick stand, three-position lowering links, and several other key items. Their latest effort for the Ténéré is an all-aluminum center stand. The OEM stand on my T7 is fully…
Small Bike Adventure Tour – Part 2
Back in the Saddle (continued from Part 1) A locally sourced breakfast at the Cuyama Buckhorn prepped us for a long day in the saddle. Back on 166, we made tracks for Cerro Noroeste Road to start a 2,000-foot climb to the enclave of Pine Mountain Club. The small bikes were willing, but taxed. With…
Small Bike Adventure Tour – Part 1
Small bike adventure touring may sound cringeworthy to some riders, but that’s how I began exploring the backcountry while in high school. Schlepping my camping gear in a Kelty frame pack was an adventure in itself. Many years and miles later, and with Honda’s XR150L test bike in my garage, I was curious to see…
Unparalleled Connectivity with the Cardo PackTalk Edge :: Field Tested
Kick-starting a journey through the wild terrains of the States demands more than two trusty bikes; as a full-time rider couple, we call for seamless contact. That’s where the Cardo PackTalk Edge slots in. Installing the units and pairing them to our devices was straightforward, and the slim, rugged, and waterproof design has a stack…
Ride That Monkey :: One Young Man’s RTW Journey on a Mini Moto
Having spent a fair amount of time in Portugal, I can confidently relate two things about the Portuguese people. Firstly, they are generally wonderful with great humanity, compassion, and culture. Secondly, the Portuguese are incredibly proud of their history, punching far above their weight to become one of the greatest nations of explorers that have…
Triumph Tiger 1200 Updates for 2024
The 2024 Tiger 1200 line received several key updates designed to refine their already capable motorcycles. The new Triumph Tigers are easier to to ride off-road, more comfortable for eating pavement miles, better in the corners, and friendlier to their riders. The bikes in question are the Rally and GT Explorer models, the only two…
Harley-Davidson Pan America CVO Debuts for 2024
Harley-Davidson finds itself at yet another crossroads. Riding the first car on a perpetual financial roller coaster, H-D, through its own machinations as well as factors beyond its immediate control, always seems to be scrabbling for cash and grasping at an ever-diminishing market share. There’s no denying that in the abstract, the brand has staying…
BDR NorCal Revealed
BDR NorCal has arrived. This is the news we’ve been waiting for since Backcountry Discovery Routes teased the new route in November 2023. On February 17, 2024, the organization screened the feature-length film for this BDR. The BDR folks also revealed the route on their website, made GPX files available and put maps in the…
Overland News of the Week
Overland News: Guzzle Introduces 4-inch Stealth Flex Twist UV Water Filter We all love maximizing every inch of space in an overland vehicle, so products that are small but mighty are always a win. Offering the thinnest footprint in Guzzle’s Stealth point-of-use series, the Flex Twist takes up mere inches of space behind drawers or…
Mosko Moto Dusty Lizard Campout Rocks Moab
The Dusty Lizard Campout by Mosko Moto scuttles into Moab, Utah, this April 19-21. It’s time to gear up, set the GPS, and prep your ADV machine for a spring trip to the canyon country. Red rocks, great rides, good food, and loads of fun await attendees at this event. Where? Area-BFE may sound like…
The Highest Road in the World :: Video of the Week
Lead photo by Spenser Robert At 19,300 feet, Umling La is the world’s highest paved road and motorable mountain pass. Located in Ladakh, India, the pass requires a 1,000-mile journey from Delhi, consisting of traffic jams, washed-out roads, and, eventually, the risk of altitude sickness. For Zack Courts and Spurgeon Dunbar of Team CTXP, this…
Buyer’s Guide: 8 Affordable ADV Motos
BMW’s R 80 G/S, which debuted in 1980, is considered by many to be the first ADV motorcycle. While it may be the first one sold for that purpose, it’s not the first to see adventure. People like Robert Edison Fulton (One Man Caravan) and Ted Simon (Jupiter’s Travels) were logging around-the-world adventures on other…