5 Used Adventure Motorcycles Owners Say You Should Steer Clear Of

Brand-new adventure motorcycles can be pretty expensive, but there’s a lot you have to look out for if you try to find one used. Adventure bikes are, by their very nature, designed to be ridden off-road on unpaved trails and paths. This means many of them are exposed to all manner of environmental hazards that other bikes don’t usually face. While some of the damage this causes is easy to spot, there are many other things you might not be able to see.

This isn’t just about how the bike was treated, either. Different motorcycle brands and models may react to stressors in different ways. Some have garnered reputations for long-term reliability — the kind of bikes that can take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’ — while others serve as cautionary tales from riders who’ve purchased them only to discover a litany of issues hiding inside the chassis.

Those interested in picking up an adventure bike on the used market may do well to look at platforms like Reddit and other motorcycle forums to see what previous owners have said about them. It might also be worth taking the time to see which motorcycle models owners have warned their fellow riders to steer clear of.

Moto Guzzi is a fairly boutique Italian manufacturer that has this adventure bike in its catalog: The Moto Guzzi Stelvio. The modern version of this bike runs on a 1,000cc engine, while the larger 2008-2012 model operated on a 1,151cc V-twin engine. This bike had good reviews at launch, but there have been serious complaints about its inability to stand the test of time.

The main culprit appears to be the engine itself. During the 2008-2009 run, Moto Guzzi implemented a Series 1.2 “Quattrovalvole” 8V engine that promised low noise and a smooth riding experience. Unfortunately, it also used a flat-tappet valve train design that was prone to failure and proved to be a massive issue down the line. There are several reports of this issue from owners and mechanics alike. Every motorcycle that used this engine before 2012 is at risk of developing this problem. Some had the engine fail early on, while others took a while for it to develop, and still more never had the issue at all. This has led many to see these bikes as ticking time bombs that might fail at any time.

Moto Guzzi never directly acknowledged this weakness in the engine’s design and never issued a formal recall. Rather, they replaced it with a roller tappet design in later production years and began offering roller tappet conversion kits that customers could purchase to retrofit flat-tappet models. These don’t appear to be available anymore; however, it can be difficult to tell whether a used bike has already been converted without documentation.

BMW isn’t ranked very highly in the Consumer Reports reliability survey overall, but the brand carries a lot of weight in the touring and adventure motorcycle space, and big bikes like the BMW R1200GS and its sibling, the R1200GS Adventure, are sure to catch some attention among enthusiasts. This is another instance where the line, as a whole, is fairly solid, but there is one specific generation that buyers might want to avoid on the used market.

The 2004-2006 BMW R1200GS isn’t a bad motorcycle overall, but it has one issue prospective buyers should be aware of: the brakes. These two models from these specific years utilized a power-assisted, servo-driven integral ABS system. This significantly increases overall stopping power, making it easier for these big, heavy bikes to decelerate. Some riders have even complained that they feel too powerful after coming from a bike with standard brakes, though most people consider it an improvement. It’s an impressive technology, and it’s great when it works, but unfortunately, it can be a bit temperamental.

There have been multiple reports from users stating that these brakes need to be regularly flushed, or else the entire ABS system can fail. This isn’t an issue if the bike has consistently received appropriate maintenance, but it can be difficult to tell on a used motorcycle. What’s more, the BMW Integral ABS System is a touch more complicated than standard systems, as it has four separate circuits that need to be maintained independently. Others have also noted that failure points like faulty servo motors and low-voltage issues can further complicate troubleshooting.

KTM is well known for making bikes that excel both on and off-road, so it makes sense that the brand’s adventure models would seem like solid options. There are a couple of years of the KTM 1190 Adventure that you might want to avoid, however. The 2013 and 2014 KTM 1190 Adventure models are capable machines on paper, boasting a V-twin that could generate 150 horsepower and 92 lb-ft of torque as well as an impressive electronic suspension damping system and other cutting-edge electronics. The issue was the airbox.

These two model years reportedly had a notorious issue with airbox seals that allowed dust to get through. This is extremely problematic, as it can cause dust to enter the throttle bodies and even the engine itself, ultimately leading to much bigger problems if it isn’t taken care of. This is particularly bad when you consider that it’s an adventure bike and is therefore designed to handle dusty trails. There are several reports from bike owners who opened the airbox and found a fine layer of dust inside. Others weren’t so fortunate and didn’t find out about the problem until dirt had already made its way into the bike’s engine and destroyed a cylinder.

There are aftermarket filters that can be used to replace the stock airbox filter, but this is only effective if it’s done before dust has gotten inside the bike. Purchasing a used model is risky, as it can be hard to say how much damage has already been done.

Harley-Davidson might be best known for its cruisers, but the brand has also branched out over the years, producing several other types of motorcycles. Only recently did the company make its first foray into adventure riding with the Harley-Davidson Pan America, though riders reported a few issues with the original 2021-2022 models.

It’s pretty common for a brand that branches out into a new vehicle style to have growing pains, but it seems these bikes had serious struggles. According to owners, the biggest problems with the 2021 and 2022 Harley-Davidson Pan America had to do with the bikes’ electronics and software. This wasn’t isolated to a single system, either. It seems that just about everything was buggy. Users have reported issues with the Adaptive Ride Height feature not functioning properly and locking into incorrect seat heights, as well as problems with the adaptive headlights, throttle-by-wire, ride modes, and even the horn. Two of the main sources of these issues appear to be voltage dips from the battery, which many consider to be underpowered, and power drainage issues related to the starter clutch. This has reportedly caused error codes and often locks out the bike’s digital interface.

While the electrical issues appear to be the most common complaints, riders have also experienced some mechanical problems. Burnt radiator hoses, failing fuel pumps, and outright engine failures have all been reported in the few years since the model launched. This has largely led to a nosedive in the cost of these bikes on the used market, but even at these lower prices, many riders still say that the electrical and mechanical problems mean the bike simply isn’t worth the headache.

Most of the time, when people think about Ducati, the company’s sport bikes are the first models that come to mind. It’s true that many of the best Ducati motorcycles ever made were built for the track, but the Ducati Multistrada 1000DS was a crossover adventure bike that blended the company’s trademark style with versatile off-road capability. It was produced only from 2003 to 2006 and won many fans during that time with its unique design and dual-spark 1000cc air-cooled, two-valve L-twin Desmo engine. That said, many riders have reported a crucial design flaw that came years later: The fuel tank would swell and warp.

The problem was that the plastic fuel tank didn’t react well with modern ethanol-blended gasoline. This led to swelling, which could cause a number of issues, such as the shell rising on its mountings, interference with steering, and fuel leaking through the fuel pump mount. Another issue is that once the tank expands enough to become tight, it can be difficult to remove and even more difficult to reinstall. Many owners replaced the tank with an OEM model, though this doesn’t really fix the problem, as the new tank may also develop swelling. The problem was so prevalent that Ducati was hit with a class action lawsuit, which made it so that “U.S. residents who on September 16, 2011, owned any 2003-2011 Ducati Monster, Multistrada, SportClassic, Streetfighter, Superbike or Hypermotard motorcycle manufactured with a plastic fuel tank” would receive an extended warranty that would cover these repairs, but only for a few years. These warranties are now all out of date.

Motorcycle fans will always have different preferences, and some will like certain models despite their flaws, while others will claim they’re best avoided. That said, in making this list, we strove to choose bikes with multiple reports of specific model years and prevalent issues that made them a risky buy on the used market.

We combed through dozens of adventure motorcycle forums, searching for bikes that had garnered reputations for design or performance flaws. We checked multiple sources for each to verify that these weren’t isolated incidents but were repeatedly mentioned by multiple owners across multiple platforms. This serves as a strong indicator that a flaw isn’t simply a one-time fluke, but rather something inherently wrong with the design across the entire model year. We paid particular attention to complaints that would be easy for a seller to conceal and that a used buyer might not know about until after they’d made the purchase.