ADVENTURE bikes are still flavour of the month and it’s no surprise – even if you’re not actually trekking round the world they offer a great mix of practicality and fun while managing to look so much cooler than a commuter or tourer.
But if you’re limited to an A2 licence, are you going to be frozen out of the adventure bike scene? Definitely not – while the big bruisers that have made the style recently popular might be too powerful, there are plenty of smaller and older machines to choose from that will fit the A2 regulations.
Aprilia
Tuareg 600
WHILE the long-lived Pegaso 650 – made from 1997-onwards – is almost the ideal A2 class adventure bike, with a claimed 49bhp it’s just a couple of horses too powerful. Sure, you could get one restricted, but why not search out its predecessor, the Tuareg 600? With 45bhp and a wet weight of 168kg it’s bang on the 0.2kw-to-kg power-to-weight limit of the A2 class restriction, and it looks like a real Paris-Dakar racer from the 1980s – which is pretty much what it was.
Dorsoduro 750 (restricted)
WANT a brand new Aprilia adventure bike? The Dorsoduro 750 can be restricted to 35kw/47bhp with an official kit, bringing it within the A2 class rules. OK, so it’s not a real off-road style machine, but the £7732 Dorso still has the adventure vibe.
BMW
F650 Funduro
LIKE the Aprilia Pegaso that shared its Rotax single, the 2000-2007 F650GS is just a fraction too powerful for the A2 class (unless you restrict it). But its predecessor, the Funduro, should be ideal. Power is right on the 35kW/47bhp limit, and the weight of 187kg means it’s not too light to qualify under the power-to-weight restriction.
G650GS
BMW’s brand new £6195 G650GS is effectively the son of the Funduro, and its power is again exactly right for the new A2 class – only this time it’s by design rather than luck.
F700GS (restricted)
WANT a bigger GS but still stuck with an A2 licence? The new F700GS can be restricted to 47bhp from the stock 75bhp, using an official kit, if you’re in the market for a brand new bike. At £7595 it’s the bargain end of the twin-cylinder range.
F800GS (restricted)
LIKE the F700GS, only more expensive at £8595. Usually the extra cash pays for more power (85hp instead of 75bhp) but if you’re restricting it anyway, the F700GS might make more sense.
R65 GS
WANT a proper boxer-engined GS on your A2 licence? Well, an original R80 G/S could theoretically be restricted, since it made only 50bhp anyway, but it would be an expensive route to take. What about an R65GS from around 1987, with 45bhp as standard? Just the job for an A2 machine.
