Rise of the Midsize Adventure bike!

(picture rudely taken form HellforLeather)

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.

Two Fifties!

It looks like Honda is jumping into the baby bike business. Kawasaki has as been the sole provider of pint-sized sports bikes for nearly 20 decades. (Well, you could buy an Aprilia 125 or a Hyosung 250 but neither of those bikes are exactly "mainstream.") The 250 is a big seller for Kawasaki, and while it doesn't boast a huge profit margin, those sales have some advantages. When gas prices spike in the US small bikes the the 250 are very popular, not to mention a great way to new motorcyclist interested in your brand.

Honda's 250 aims directly for the Ninja. Prices are near identical, the CBR uses a fuel injected single while the Ninja features a carbed twin. The Ninja makes more power, but the Honda weighs less. With fuel prices up and the economy down logic would tell you that small bikes are going to be easier to sell than big bikes. That coupled with Honda's name and some sharp looks should do the CBR250R well.

If the Ninja and CBR are hits one has to wonder; who's next? Where's Yamaha and Suzuki in all this? KTM could surely produce a bike in this class, maybe Triumph too. How about a super single form Ducati? or an Aprilia RS250? This leads me to my next point...

Small displacement bikes make up the majority of motorcycles outside the USA. Based on rules and regulations different sizes are popular in different parts of the world. In the UK 125cc bikes are a must for beginners, in India 150cc bikes are popular, Japan has different levels as well with 250 and 400cc bikes being big sellers. What we're left with is a hodgepodge of different bikes made for specific markets. It would be nice to see some consistency and globalization of these small bikes, maybe then motorcycle manufacturers would be encouraged to offer one strong product world wide.