10 Suzuki And Honda Motorcycles That Nail The Balance Between Touring And Adventure

On the face of it, Suzuki and Honda are quite different. One is the largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the world, and the other sits at the opposite end of the scale. One has long been at the pinnacle of motorsport, while the other has a more up-and-down history with it. Both of them have one thing in common though: their products are extremely reliable, offer great value, and can be really good fun!

If you’re the kind of person who likes to explore on two wheels, then you want the traits that Hondas and Suzukis have – a reasonable purchase price, great ability to deal with different conditions, and unwavering reliability that gives you the confidence to go further while exploring. Here are ten Suzuki and Honda touring and adventure motorcycles that nail the balance between touring and adventure.

Honda CRF300L Rally

Price: $6,499

Honda

The CRF300L Rally is a beginner adventure bike. The displacement doesn’t make it very conducive to multi-day rides, but what it lacks in performance it makes up in agility. If you’re planning to ride in the dirt, there aren’t many adventure bikes that can give you encouragement and support like the CRF300L Rally can. Switchable ABS and a linkage-type rear shock along with LCD instrumentation might seem basic, but they’re great for a small bike.

Honda NX500

Price: $7,399

Honda

The NX500 is more of the CRF300L Rally, but with a tarmac bias. This is one of the smoothest engines in class thanks to its twin cylinder layout, and despite being available only with alloy wheels, it can handle a little dirt with no problem. The ability to switch the traction control off has something to do with that, we’re sure – although the ABS cannot be switched off. A 5-inch TFT display with Bluetooth and navigation is the instrument cluster. Of note is the engine’s efficiency: the NX500 has one of the highest tank ranges among all motorcycles.

Suzuki V-Strom 650XT

Price: $9,799

Suzuki

The V-Strom 650 has been around for a long time, but its fun quotient has not dimmed over the decades. It is old school in some ways, with an analog tacho, an LCD instrument cluster, and a cable-actuated throttle. In other ways, it is quite modern, sporting three levels of traction control, and spoke rims that support tubeless tires if you pick the V-Strom 650XT. No matter which V-Strom 650 you get, you’ll get a 19-inch front rim, which gives it a good balance between ability on tarmac and off.

Honda XL750 Transalp

Price: $9,999

Honda

The Transalp has a name that is well known for off-road ability, but the current Transalp is more suited to riding on tarmac. Still, like the NX500, it has a surprising amount of ability off-road. This is no doubt helped by the 21/18 tubeless spoke rims, ride modes, switchable traction control and ABS, and a standard two-way quickshifter. The engine is also the most powerful one in an ADV below $10,000. Other features include self-canceling indicators, an all-LED lighting system, and a 5-inch TFT color display with Bluetooth and navigation.

Suzuki V-Strom 800DE

Price: $11,709

Suzuki

The V-Strom 800 is the modern midsize ADV from Suzuki, and the DE is the off-road-ready variant. It compares favorably with the 650, offering more power and torque thanks to its increased displacement, but also weighs a little more. Still, it offers a standard two-way quickshifter, ABS with levels including one where it can be switched off at the rear, ride modes, and a 5-inch TFT color display with Bluetooth and navigation, all of which the V-Strom 650 does not have.

Honda NT1100 DCT

Price: $11,899

Honda

The NT1100 is a crossover, meaning it is more sport tourer than adventure tourer. This is borne out by the pair of 17-inch alloy wheels fitted to it. The NT uses quite a few Africa Twin components like the engine, gearbox, and instrumentation. That means 100 horsepower and a six-speed dual clutch automatic with manual control. Packaged along with it are a by-wire throttle with ride modes, traction control, and ABS. Honda has left out a six-axis IMU, which is part of what has given it is fantastic price.

Honda Africa Twin

Price: $14,799

Honda

The Africa Twin is the gold standard of Japanese adventure motorcycles. It doesn’t seem like much when you look at the spec sheet; a full-size adventure motorcycle that makes a maximum of just 100 horsepower will not make headlines today. However, if you look closely at the price, you’ll notice that it is the same as premium middleweight ADVs, and it offers all the kit as standard, including a six axis IMU, ride modes, switchable traction control with levels, switchable ABS, and a touchscreen TFT color display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Suzuki V-Strom 1050DE

Price: $16,449

Suzuki

The V-Strom 1050 is a full-size adventure bike priced like that as well. It is the last of a dying breed – an ADV with a twin-spar aluminum frame. It doubles down on the retro tech with a 90 degree V-twin engine. The rest is modern, however, with a six-axis IMU, a by-wire throttle and ride modes, cruise control, cornering traction control, cornering ABS, a standard two-way quickshifter, and a 5-inch TFT display. One quirk of the V-Strom 1050DE is the tube-type 21-inch front spoked rim, while the rear 17-inch spoke rim mounts a tubeless tire.

Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT

Price: $18,399

Honda

The Africa Twin Adventure Sports is the adventure touring version of the Africa Twin, which means it has a smaller 19-inch front rim. That gives it a slightly lower seat height and gives it better weight distribution for its intended use, tarmac touring, with more weight on the front axle. The Adventure Sports is available in the US market only with Showa electronic suspension, which can set the damping automatically. The rear preload can be set electronically as well. An automatic gearbox makes sense for an ADV-tourer like this, and it retains the ‘G switch’ that the Africa Twin DCT sports.

Suzuki GSX-S1000GX+

Price: $18,599

Suzuki

The GSX-S1000GX is the NT1100 turned up to 11. It has an old GSX-R engine powering it and giving it over 150 horsepower. Don’t expect it to have lots of shove at low revs, but get it to the mid-range and beyond, and warp speed is very easily achieved. Keeping things in check are a six-axis IMU and electronically adjustable long-travel suspension. That means you not only get cornering traction control and ABS, but the suspension will do its best to give you the optimum ride and grip at all times. It also has features like the smart cruise control, which doesn’t disengage if you change gears.