Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

Small ADV-Tourers in India: Why Can't They Get it Right?

India has no dearth of small adventurer tourers. However, in our book of thoughts, none of them is perfect KTM ADV 390, KTM ADV 250, Royal Enfield Himalayan, Yezdi Adventure, Kawasaki Versys 300, BMW G 310 GS, Suzuki V-Strom SX 250, Benelli TRK 251 and Hero Impulse 200; these are the names of the adventure/adventure-tourer motorcycles found in India in the 200-400cc segment. In a country where a majority of the people are yet to understand and appreciate adventure/adventure-touring motorcycles, the portfolio is quite long.

Unfortunately, in our book of thoughts, none of the mentioned machines is satisfactory. To be honest, none of them seems on point or perfect. In the following paragraphs, we have jotted down the reasons we feel the motorcycle manufacturers just cannot get them right.

Lack of variants

In India, although a sizeable portion of people crave adventure-tourers, not everyone hits the off-road terrain all the time. Most of the riders stick to highways and therefore, not everyone prefers the spoked-rim tubed tyre setting. Motorcycles such as the Himalayan, Yezdi, and a few others are sold with the mentioned setting. Since several riders do not know how to change a punctured tyre or do not wish to face a punctured scenario, they wish for a hardcore ADV with alloy rims and tubeless tyres. Yes, we know; it is a weird choice, but it is wanted by many. In a nutshell, the said motorcycles should be sold in the market with different optional variants.

Missing ADV elements

Several ADVs in the market are sold without hardcore ADV elements. For example, the newly-launched Suzuki V-Strom features a poor suspension travel, and a small fuel tank whereas on the other hand, the KTM ADV 390, 250 and 310 GS also miss out on a large fuel tank along with an optional spoked-rims plus tubed tyre setting. Not to forget, several of these motorcycles are not sold with official touring accessories such as saddlebags, jerrycans, etc. Low and mid-end torque, poor electronics

Moving on to low and mid-end torque, the only motorcycle that offers the required bite is the Himalayan, whereas the rest of the mentioned motorcycles are known for their high-revving nature. Not to forget, several motorcycles do not pack enough electronic aids such as switchable ABS or traction control.

So, what do we want?

What we want is an adventure motorcycle with KTM 390/250’s engine, technical features and electronic aids. Last, we would like the motorcycle to be a bit torquey along with the suspension setting of the Himalayan/Yezdi Adventure and optional spoked/alloy plus tubed/tubeless tyre setting.