nope. lots of adventure bikes in these parts. tons of motorcycles-period. all kinds, but not a lack of adventures. heck, we have our own stromathon coming up in may.

you are from 'earth' so that territory is kinda hard to nail down.

 

ADV bikes are the fastest growing motorcycling segment I understand.

Funny how ADV bikes...and V-Stroms in particular---are rarely a person's first bike...but often their LAST scoot...

There is a lesson there somewhere...:beatnik:

 

ADV bikes are the fastest growing motorcycling segment I understand.

this is a meaningless statistical fallacy.

eg 1+1 = 2 -->100% growth rate, OMG!!!!!
100 +1 = 101 ---> 1% growth rate, meh

But in both cases, the same amount of growth occurred. The fallacy isn't in the calculation, it is in the natural human (and misguided!) tendency to believe that growth rates are static. The car companies try to make a benefit of being 'the fastest growing car brand in America', when in fact what this really says is that the brand is starting from way, way back and has alot of catching up to do.

I very much doubt that ADV bike sales will ever catch up to cruisers or sport bikes, that's just the way it is. Hell, if 80% of the market suddenly was ADV bikes I'd probably switch to some other style because part of the appeal of ADV is in being a bit different from the crowd.



oh, and here in the PNW in winter, probably 60% of the bikes I see are ADV because the cruiser and sport bikes stay home in the rain.


.

 

Lots of these style bikes here in Ohio, although the cruiser crowd by far is predominant.

 

Seems like what I see around here [extreme NE Alabama]are about 98% cruisers and 1.999% sport bikes. Pretty sure most of the adv bikes I see are just passing through. There was/is a Ural that lives near me. Haven't seen him in quite a while.

 

Lots of different bikes in georgia. Mountains are close and the fire service roads are great for the adventure types.

 

FL = cruisers & sport bikes with the occasional ADV bike thrown in.

 

You don't say where you are located, but I see plenty of adv tour bikes up here. I've only seen one Ural. Also, up here, about 80% of the bikes are HD.

 

I've never seen another Super Tenere in the county I live in, and I only ever saw one other older V-strom. They aren't the norm here; it's mostly cruisers (with Harleys seemingly predominant), with the rest being sport bikes.

I don't think we're rebels, or mavericks, or some other glamorous term. The word you're probably looking for is practical. I rode other types of bikes for years, and finally began doing some real long distance touring, and found that I got tired of trying to bungee cord a bunch of gear to something like a Road King. For all its size, the bags on an RK (and most other cruisers for that matter) are designed to stick your jacket in there when you're off the bike, not to carry two peoples' worth of stuff for a week or two on the road (especially if you're camping). For me, the ADV bikes are the ideal compromise between cruisers and a Gold Wing.

And because they are practical (especially when you attach two big square boxes to the side and one on top), they have almost no sex appeal to someone who is looking to make a statement about themselves. Even the clothes a lot of us favor look pretty dorky to the uninitiated; extol the virtues of Hi Viz lime green jackets all you like, but they will never look cool standing beside a guy wearing leather. But if you're into the whole "ADV Bike" gestalt, then those things don't matter to you anyway.

 

I'm a retired GI, my dad was a GI. I'm really from nowhere and everywhere. I travel with my trailer about 5,000 miles a year from Maine to Florida. I drive mostly weekends and I do not see the predominance you guys tell me there is of adventure bikes. I've been from southern Kalifornia to Maryland on I40, I70 and from SD to Maine on I80, I90 and have only seen ONE adventure bike with cases in 8-9 coast to coast trips. I did see 4 BMW's several years ago in Elkins WV during the fall traveling together and they were decked out to travel. I get approached all the time with questions about the bike and the side cases and I get "I've never seen a bike like that, what is it?" Not common to see even a standard V-Strom where I travel or reside. P.S. I put 58,000 miles on my 2007 bike, so I do ride a little...........

 

There are quite a few Stroms around here. I see them every day, often whilst sitting at the local coffee roaster having a coffee. There are fewer Super Teneres and BMW GS.

There are lots of sports bikes and tourers but few Harleys or other cruisers. Seeing a Victory is, thank goodness, extremely rare. I think they and HD come out on the weekend when I don't ride.

I see most HD at the local outlaw gang clubhouse (yes, there is one).

P.S. I don't know what a Malcolm in the Middle is.

 

In my area , upstate SC . there are adventure bikes everywhere. Last time I went to the mountains I saw 10 or so v-stroms... there are lots of other adv bikes here too ... Harleys out number all other bikes though... I guess I found a good home ...

 

Are you near Greenville? I am seriously considering a relocation there. Only an hour from Asheville!

 

Fairly even distribution of bike types in Norcal, more crotch rockets in urban areas and cruisers out here where Billy Bob lives. "Adventure" bikes take a back seat numberwise to real dirt bikes though, since most Sierra trails are gnarly enough to demand the real thing and all OHV parks are designed for MXers with jumps, etc.

 

I'd say in my area, Phoenix and surrounding area, there is a mixture of all types. Mostly cruisers and sport bikes with a smattering of adventure bikes. It's still a low enough number of stroms that I get excited when I see another one.

 

Man I see V-Stroms and GS all the time when I am out riding, literally almost every time I am out riding. KLR is really popular as well, and can't say I have ever been on a trip and not seen several Stoms and the like, been all the way to Maine and all over the South and SE of country.

 

- "I40, I70 and from SD to Maine on I80, I90"

The mix is probably different on interstates/major dividied higways vs. back roads.

I'm new to the vstrom, my other bike being a BMW K1200RS (sport touring bike). When I travel by bike, I rarely take the interstate and I see lots of ADV bikes - BMW and Suzuki mostly, and sport touring bikes.

 

Most of the last 58,000 motorcycle miles since 2007 were back roads in WV, NC, OH and KY.

 

Cruisers, mostly Harleys out number everything else about 20:1 around here but it doesn't bother me. Everyone rides for a different reason. The spectrum ranges from image at one end of the scale to functionality at the other end with a perfect blend of both being right in the middle. We all fall somewhere on this scale. I'm almost as far as you can go toward the functionality side but I understand the other end as well. One thing we all have in common is that we all like to be on two wheels!

 

I live at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in California so I do see plenty of ADV bikes around here. In the Valley I see lots of sport bikes too and quite a few cruisers. I guess I live in a well-mixed area.

 

Malcolm in the middle?....don't what that is.

A mix of bikes here. Mountains, deserts, Death Valley National Park and Sierra Mtn passes. No shortage of chrome cruisers though. Some serious dual sport riders in a local club with the emphasis on single track.

 

It's an old TV show.

 

I'm definitely in cruiser land in this part of the country. I actually like being different than the 'in' crowd.

I get more takes and double takes riding my VStrom than any H-D rider.

 

+1 on the Moonshiner 28. It's a blast, lots of twists and turns, and nowhere near the kinds of crowds you see on the Dragon.

 

Forget Malcolm. Look up Maynard G. Krebs.:beatnik:

The last thing I ever want to do is "fit in".:biggrinjester:

 

Forget Malcolm. Look up Maynard G. Krebs.:beatnik:

The last thing I ever want to do is "fit in".:biggrinjester:

Malcolm means nothing to me, but I certainly don't need to look up Maynard G. Krebs.

Fitting in, as if I ever could, is not a goal of mine either.

I spent three weeks on the Atlantic Coast of Florida this winter. Saw many many (100+) cruisers, mostly HD. Three sports bikes. One old Yamaha Dual Sport. Arrgh, I guess. Or maybe I should do like that new guy Francis, and not judge. I'll retain the right to make fun of anyone, though, but in a nice way.

Around here, and for where I mostly ride in the rest of Ontario and Quebec, we see all kinds of bikes. Cruisers, for sure. They and sport bikes make up the majority. Most days out (but not for the next two months) in addition to the cruisers and sports bikes, I'll see a few Sport-Touring bikes, a DRZ400SM super-moto or two, dual-sports (new or maybe an old Kaw 2-stroke still running), a few ADVs (GSs and Stroms mostly), maybe an old Norton, or new Triumph or Guzzi, scooters, ebikes, maybe an old CB350 or another Japanese bike of that ilk. Can-Am three wheelers for sure. If I'm really lucky an old ratty (really ratty!) Jawa that I've seen a couple times.

I love the mix. We mostly all wave to each other; though some Can-Am riders (drivers?) seem perplexed at the whole thing.

 

Fairly equal numbers around here. You just don't see many large groups of ADV bikes riding together.
Frequent riding in the very cold or rain however, the few bikes I see are generally split between Adv's and Harley's. And I'm usually on one or the other

I don't give a hoot if my bikes are popular or not. If I enjoy them I ride them. If not they get sold. Not riding a bike because it becomes popular is about as dumb as riding one because it is.

 

Here in northern WV, ADV bikes are in the minority. I know of half dozen ADV bikes near me. And they are ridden year round. Yes we have a LARGE HD following(and metric look alikes) plus because this is a college area. There are a large number of sporty bikes. But if you live on the 4lane going coast to coast you'll miss all of our ADV riders. We love the twisty, scenic, less traveled roads because that is where the ADVentures are. The Appalachian mountains offer some of the best motorcycle roads in the country. Enjoy life on whatever style of ride you have.

 

I see adventure bikes reasonably often in Lost Angeles but they are still a fraction of the number of sports bikes and cruisers out there. On a summer day ride PCH from Ventura to Santa Monica and you will see hundreds of bikes . . . perhaps 6-12 will be adventure bikes. They are better represented among commuting motorcycles than the whole riding population. Ducatis have become very popular here, especially among the canyon racing types

 

Yesterday I saw a group of 6 guys all on GS's. All 6 bikes were silver too. I swear to the flying spaghetti monster I am NOT making that up! Also saw a Super Tenere. Very nice one...brand new!

Today I saw another GS & also a Strom. Wasn't close enough to tell if it was Wee or Vee.