2025 Lightweight Adventure Bike Comparison – Updated

These bikes represent the newest crop of adventure machines in the 450cc range. They can all lead you to a life of motorcycle-mounted exploration. More than the smaller dual sport dirt bikes, these are full-size, fully featured and highway-capable travel whips. They are also approachable, simpler than full-size street bikes, and affordable off-road adventure vehicles. They are the perfect starting point (or settling spot) for those wanting to open their riding life to diverse terrain. And they all come in under $7000, excluding taxes, fees, tariff surcharges and all that stuff.

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On paper, these three bikes are very close in specs, performance and functionality. Come along for the ride as we find out that they are three completely different animals, perfect for three completely different types of riders.

Does Entry Level = Cheap?

All these bikes are imported from China or India. The perception of low quality from those places of origin is evaporating quickly. Here’s why: Two bikes here (KTM and Royal Enfield) have ride-by-wire throttle, and the KTM has lean-angle-sensitive rider aids and three ride modes for $6999 plus optional quickshifter and cruise-control add-ons. The CFMOTO has a parallel-twin 449cc engine, holds almost five gallons of fuel, and growls with a 270-degree crank firing that sounds like a small race truck as it accelerates away. It also has switchable ABS and KYB suspension. It’s only $6500. The Royal Enfield is the least expensive bike in this test by $700, and even it has four ride modes and a new DOHC, liquid-cooled engine, a navigation-capable dash and Showa suspension. It costs $5799! All three bikes have LED lighting. These are not low-quality machines. While they may be affordable and efficiently built, entry-level today certainly doesn’t mean “cheap.”

What You See Is What You Get – 2025 Royal Enfield Himalayan 450

Royal Enfield, India’s retro-cool manufacturer (with British roots), has updated its Himalayan lineup with impeccable timing, giving us the Himalayan 450. Our testing crew all agree the upgrade from the standard Himalayan (411cc of air-cooled sleepiness) is significant. The new Sherpa 450 engine is much more capable without giving up the charming Royal chug as it scoots along. It isn’t a rocket, and it’s certainly the least exciting bike to ride here, but it’s not in the way of itself anymore. In a performance comparison, the Himalayan will not win, but that’s probably okay since I’ve never met a Himalayan owner or prospective owner who couldn’t care less about how much power it spits out.

This bike is a culture and an aesthetic purchase more than a performance purchase. It works exactly how it looks. And this bike’s appearance alone resonates with a lot of people who don’t need aggressive racing looks or thrills on their ride. When you sit on the Royal Enfield, you’re not expecting it to jump sand whoops, drag pegs in the canyon or even be the least bit exciting. You’re expecting it to be comfortable, rugged and fun. And that’s exactly what this bike is.

Nobody on our testing crew doubts the Himalayan’s durability or robustness. You can take this bike to the top of the world if you wish, dogpaddling with your feet along the way thanks to the lowest seat height in this test (31.7 inches with the low-seat option installed, 32.5 inches in low setting as tested). Or you can just cruise around town on shop runs. The 17-inch rear wheel/tire combo sits nicely in its stance. Its utilitarian style matches its performance perfectly. It’s a robust scrambler that can take on all terrain but feels much more substantial than an entry-level dual sport bike. It is the most beginner-friendly bike here, except for its high weight. It can even punch above its weight if you want to get rowdy/irresponsible with your friends. But beware, it’s very close to being unhappy when pushed at any sort of speed off-road. And no good has ever come from an unhappy motorcycle.

The Himalayan 450 is the second heaviest here, pushing 430-plus pounds full of 4.5 gallons of fuel. The chassis handles the weight well, and the whole package is in tune for some chill traversing.

The Himalayan runs great. The EFI mapping and ride-by-wire throttle are clean. The gear spacing in the six-speed box is a bit stretched out for some (it’s not a race bike), and it doesn’t get too buzzy at higher rpm; it just rumbles along, mirroring the whole vibe of this bike.

The same goes for the suspension. It has 7.9 inches of front and rear travel and is tuned more toward the plush side of the valving spectrum, making it ideal for riding the Himalayan the way it seems meant to be ridden. Suspension components include Showa’s SFF fork in front and a fairly basic monotube shock in back. Both ends only have preload adjustability, but their performance is quite good despite lacking clickers. Nine inches of ground clearance allow it to tiptoe over most off-road obstacles you might encounter, but it definitely has its limits off-road.

Stopping the Royal Enfield is a suite of Brembo’s India-born ByBre brakes brand, matching the KTM 390 Adventure R in spec with the Enfield getting a slightly larger rear rotor at 270mm compared to KTM’s 240mm. They work fine on both bikes.

The tech on board is surprisingly existent and hidden well inside the low-tech style of the bike. The retro-styled Tripper dash is round and proud in your line of sight. Its four-inch TFT display is analog-inspired in normal riding modes but can be turned into a Google Maps-enabled GPS and gives you visual cues for answering calls or selecting music on your connected mobile phone. It’s not the brightest in the full sun. Surely, a TV screen on the console would look wildly out of place here.

There are four ride modes, which combine two engine mapping tunes (Performance and Eco) and two ABS settings (on/off). You can’t switch modes on the fly; you need to stop, and ABS settings only switches the rear. We simply ride in Performance/ABS Off all the time.

No, it’s not going to out-accelerate the CFMOTO or have the top-end pull of the KTM. It will also not compete in aggressive off-road riding or have the best wind protection in the rain. But, if you want to simply cruise on your adventure ride, this bike will cruise with a tractor-like character as you smile in simplistic bliss. If none of that is for you, you will likely be bored riding this bike.

Pick the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 if you’re looking for a retro-cool utilitarian all-terrain scoot that can handle big adventures, if you’re not in a hurry and stick to dirt and gravel roads on the extreme side of things.

Full-Spec Mimic – 2025 CFMOTO IBEX 450

CFMOTO is bringing a premium, fully featured adventure touring machine to this fight from China. CFMOTO is a massive manufacturer building very nice bikes for its own brand and others across the globe.

The IBEX 450 couldn’t be further away from the Himalayan in purpose. The IBEX 450 takes the most popular features, specs and styling from the larger ADV market and simply reduces the size and price of everything accordingly. The IBEX takes inspiration from Yamaha’s Tenere 700 rally-inspired style, delivering the disruptive approachability the T7 offers on an attractive, entry-level platter. This is all playing a strong hand against intimidation in the ADV game, once ruled by 1000cc-plus monsters of the desert. CFMOTO’s IBEX 450 is an example of the new ADV world, taking the game Yamaha changed in the segment and cranking it up another degree by shrinking everything down.

Design cues back to the big guns of ADV abound with exterior-spoked tubeless rims, an adjustable windshield, a long-distance-comfortable seating position and an ultra-smooth twin-cylinder engine that is a joy to ride and hear. There is also a catalog of accessories to add bulk, if you’re into the BMW GS sort of thing.

The 449cc twin claims the same peak horsepower as KTM’s smaller-displacement single (not surprising since KTM is producing a lot of single-cylinder power), but it has a 10 percent advantage over KTM in torque. And it couldn’t run any smoother. Perfect EFI settings and sharp throttle response make the bike feel more alive than both single-cylinder options in this comparison from the get-go. Thanks to the 270-degree crank-firing configuration, the engine mimics a small, torquey V-twin very well.

As tested, the IBEX 450 topped our scales at 449 pounds full of fuel (4.6 gallons) and with an accessory skid plate, crash bars, rear rack, rally seat, and a couple of empty soft bags installed. If we call it 440 pounds without the accessories, the bike is the heaviest in this group by eight to 10 pounds. It’s also worth noting that it is lighter than a Tenere 700 by about 20 pounds.

The CFMOTO’s chassis and suspension are taking this weight well without being too sluggish. Sure, it’s not the most precise handling with its relative bulk. But the engine is so docile and smooth that it’s rarely upset to the point of danger.

The IBEX features KYB suspension with 7.9 inches of travel both front and rear. The front fork offers full compression and rebound adjustability, along with preload tuning. In the back, the shock is adjustable for preload and rebound, and it is the only rear shock in this test to be linkage-mounted and center-aligned on the swingarm. The 8.7 inches of ground clearance is the lowest in this comparison, making the bike more likely to drag its underbelly, despite its full-size 18-inch rear and 21-inch front wheel/tire setup. When you carry the most weight and have the least ground clearance, this will happen.

Brake spec on the CFMOTO comes courtesy of Chinese J.Juan components. This is the same brand found on KTM 790 and 890 machines, and apart from a few component recalls and updates, there has been little to complain about in the J.Juan ADV world.

The rider-aid tech stack on the IBEX 450 consists of switchable traction control and ABS. Switching ABS/Traction control is easy with the push of a button, and the minimal options mean there is less fuss in the menu department. The ABS is rear-switchable only, and there are no off-road-specific ABS settings up front. It is Bluetooth-enabled to connect to your phone and comms system as well. CFMOTO, like everyone else, has an app you can use with the bike, if you want.

Compromises are few on the CFMOTO. It accelerates the best of the bunch, with the twin-cylinder torque and aggressive gearing getting it off the line. Interestingly, the bike doesn’t pull as hard or as far on the top-end as the KTM single thanks to final drive gearing more biased to slower-speed acceleration. It is fine off-road, thanks to its smooth, consistent power delivery, but is limited in confidence here by its overall weight, wider wheel width, and shallow ground clearance. Riding the pavement with ultra-smooth power, drifting dirt roads and tackling two-track with great throttle response are where this bike is most at home. The IBEX 450 looks every bit the part of a full-size adventure machine. And there’s no reason it can’t handle full-size adventures.

Pick the CFMOTO IBEX 450 if you plan on riding fun road miles, appreciate clean fueling, snappy throttle response and high-quality builds, but also want to chase your friends on their other ADV bikes around backcountry gravel roads while you remind them how much money you saved.