Best A2 Adventure Bike 2026? Four-Way Test

Four of the newest A2 adventure bikes, one set of near-perfect Austrian roads, and one simple question: which is the best A2 adventure bike for your money? 1000PS lined up the BMW F450 GS, Honda NX500, Kawasaki KLE500 and the QJMotor SRT 450 RX and rode the lot back to back. Here’s how it shook out, and which one’s right for you.

The A2 adventure class is the busiest corner of biking right now, and it’s not hard to see why. Full-power fun on a restricted licence, proper touring kit, and prices that don’t need a remortgage. The only hard bit is picking one. So 1000PS took four of the freshest machines out to Austria and rode them on the kind of roads most of us only see on holiday.

Worth flagging before we start: this was on-road testing only. No green lanes, no gravel, no serious off-road. For a class that sells itself on adventure, that matters, so read the verdict with that in mind.

Honda NX500 – the easy one

From around £6,899, or close to £7,000 with the E-Clutch. It runs the familiar 471cc twin bang on the 47bhp A2 limit, with a 19in front and 17in rear on alloys, twin front discs, a low 830mm seat and a kerb weight just shy of 200kg.

Here’s the honest take: it’s the least “adventure” of the four. No crash protection, no bash plate, and you’d tidy up that exhaust in a hurry on a gravel road. Think adventure-styled road bike rather than the real thing. But as an everyday machine it’s excellent. Light steering off that 19in wheel, plenty of torque, low seat, high bars, plush and comfortable, with Honda’s usual neat switchgear and clocks. The E-Clutch is the party piece: pull away in any gear, impossible to stall, which is gold for newer riders and grim November commutes. Push on hard and the rear’s a touch soft, but that’s not what this bike is for.

Best for: the commute, the new rider, anyone who wants easy over hardcore.

Kawasaki KLE500 – the big one

The SE tested here is £6,599, with the base bike at £5,999. It borrows the 451cc twin from the Ninja 500 and Z500, sits a shade under the cap at around 44 to 45bhp, and rolls on a 21in spoked front and 17in rear. Long-travel KYB upside-down forks, a single front disc, and a tall 870mm seat.

This is the one that actually feels like a big adventure bike. Tall, roomy, wide bars, stacks of suspension travel, spoked wheels and a bash plate, so on paper it should be the most capable when the tarmac runs out. The catch is the kit. Switchable ABS, and that’s your lot. No traction control, no rider modes, and you take a hand off the bar to change the dash. It’s a bit revvy too, so you work the engine. At £6,599 for the SE it’s not the bargain it could be, especially parked next to the QJ. The tester is 5ft 7in and found it tall and top-heavy, but bigger, taller riders are going to get on with it a treat.

Best for: taller riders who want the most bike and the most genuine off-road promise.

QJMotor SRT 450 RX Rally – the value bomb

£5,499 plus on-road charges, so roughly £5,799 ready to ride. The 449cc twin sits right on the 47bhp limit, with a 21in front and 18in rear on spoked wheels, adjustable Marzocchi forks, Brembo brakes, three rider modes, traction control and switchable ABS.

For under six grand on the road you get a full three-piece hard luggage set, crash bars, bash plate, handguards, heated grips, a heated seat, adjustable screen, TFT dash, connectivity and a centre stand. As standard. It is ready to tour straight out of the crate while everything else here needs a trip through the accessory catalogue first. Yes, it’s built in China, yes it wears the QJ badge, and some riders will hesitate on that alone. But the build looks solid and the spec is frankly unreal for the money. It’s a little buzzy at speed and the dash fonts are tiny, but the cash you save buys the kit, the trip, and sorts the pillion out while you’re at it.

Best for: budget-minded riders who’d rather spend on kit and miles than a badge.

BMW F450 GS – the best one

The Trophy tested here is £7,760, with the range opening at £6,990. It uses an all-new 420cc twin with an oddball 135-degree crank, again bang on the 47bhp cap, but the headline number is weight: just 178kg, the lightest here by a distance. There’s a 19in front and 17in rear, a single front disc, TFT dash, riding modes, traction control, heated grips and handguards. The Trophy adds the Easy Ride Clutch, an Enduro Pro mode, an engine guard and the blue paint.

It’s the best bike in the test, and the priciest. That power-to-weight makes it feel almost supermoto-playful, the engine strong because it’s hauling less around. Best clocks, best dash, easiest to live with electronically, and it’s genuinely good off-road too. It’s more entry-sized than big-ADV, so taller riders might still lean towards the Kawasaki. And then there’s the sting. It’s £7,760 as tested, and once you add a rally seat, bar risers, the spoked wheels whenever BMW gets round to them, and luggage that isn’t even available yet, you’re staring at eight grand and climbing. It’s built by TVS in India rather than Germany, if that matters to you. It didn’t bother the tester one bit.

Best for: riders who want the best and can stretch to reach it.

The best A2 adventure bike? The verdict

If money’s no object, it’s the BMW. Most fun, most enjoyable, best kit, and it holds up when the road turns to dirt. Best bike here, full stop, if you can afford it.

If you mainly want a town and commuter bike, it’s the Honda. Takes no brainpower to ride, comfy all day, and that E-Clutch earns its keep in traffic.

If you’re watching the budget, it’s the QJ. Ready to tour for the price of the others before you’ve bolted a single accessory to them.

And if you’re on the taller side, it’s the Kawasaki. Big, roomy, and the one that’ll reward you most once the tarmac ends.

Whichever way you lean, this is a brilliant time to be shopping an A2 adventure bike. All four are genuinely good, which is not something you could say about this class a couple of years ago. Pick the one that fits your legs, your wallet and your kind of riding, and go and use it.

Sorted the bike? Now sort the diary. The Lid Life Events Finder rounds up track days, ride-outs, green-lane meets and rallies across the UK, all in one place and all free to browse. Find Your Next Ride →