Adventure Bikes and Dual-Sports
Over the last several years, motorcycling seems to be trending away from classic cruisers and moving into some new categories. Two of the most popular are Adventure Bikes (ADV) and smaller Dual-Sports. A third category that's gotten a lot of traction lately are trikes and Can-Am type machines, but they're hot for a different reason (primarily Boomers aging out of two wheels, but fighting the good fight to stay in the lifestyle). Sitting in a Pennsylvania multi-line motorcycle shop this April, I saw zero inventory of new ADVs, Dual-Sports, or trikes, but a showroom full of cruisers that were taken in on trade. The sales people said every crate that arrives on the dock is pre-sold and the phone's ringing off the hook. What gives? According the Motorcycle Industry Council, the AMA, and anecdotal evidence, a couple of events converged to truly push ADV and Dual-Sports center-stage: A desire to actually explore the myriad dirt and gravel roads we encounter while touring on o