BMW in there quest to expand their moto-empire developed the F800. The F800 is one of many products BMW introduced over the last few years to increase market share and attract younger riders with smaller displacement motorcycles. The GS flavored F800 has proven to be a solid seller, thus Triumph took note while developing a mid-sized version of their adventure bike. The new Triumph Tiger has an engine based on the Daytona/Street Triple 675, however the engine size was bumped up to 800 to match the BMW. Now we have a nice sub-niche carved out. Will this encourage others to move up for the usual 600-700cc size?
Would the Honda Transalp grow from 700 to 800cc? Maybe, but Honda has previewed the "Crossrunner" concept with a downsized VFR V4 displacing 800cc's, so there will be at least one semi-adventure bike from Honda with 800cc's.
What about an 800cc Yamaha Tenre? Perhaps, but the Tenre is more of a dirtbike based adventurer, and 800cc's is a lot for a single. (but Suzuki has done it with the DR800)
Speaking of Suzuki we were teased with promos for an "new adventure bike," what we got was a mild refresh of the same DL650 V-strom. Suzuki had an excellent opportunity to jump into the game, but decided to play it safe with the same old product.
Could Kawasaki pump up the 650 twin in the Versys? I'm sure it's possible, but the Versys isn't really much of an adventure bike to begin with.
Aprilia and KTM would fit this market like a glove.
Personally I like this trend. An 800cc bike strikes a nice balance between the wimpy 600's and the heavy 1000+'s.
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