Euro Enduros

Euro Enduros

THE F650 COINS A CLASS

BMW’s F650ST IS THE first of a new breed of European-flavored "enduros” to arrive on U.S. soil. But while this motor-cycling sub-genre appears

new and fresh, it has existed in one form or another for more than a decade. It just took such a circuitous route that it’s difficult to retrace.

Flash back to the Big ’80s. It was the Decade of Excess, and what could be more excessive than the ParisDakar Rally? This 4500-mile off-road “raid” fascinated Europe, and manufacturers raced to market dual-purpose bikes that resembled those competing in the rally.

The first of these was the 1981 BMW R80G/S, followed by the Cagiva Elefant and similar V-Twin-powered machines from Moto Guzzi and Moto Morini. Later, the R80 grew into the R100GS, and then sprouted a Sahara-sized 9-gallon gas tank and was renamed-you guessed it-the Paris-Dakar Replica. Where in Europe could you possibly need that much fuel? Nowhere, obviously. The rally-bike trend had clearly gone too far.

Not that it mattered. Because in spite of their appearance, these were very much single-purpose motorcycles, designed for off-road show and around-town go.

The enduro evolution took a major step in 1988, when Honda introduced two new models-the NX650 Single and the Transalp V-Twin.

Both were aimed at street riding, with low-mounted front fenders and framemounted fairings that made them look like cowboys dressed up for a night on the town. The other Japanese manufacturers followed suit: Kawasaki soon had the Tengai, while Yamaha had the Tenere and Super Tenere, all named after African deserts.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., land-closure concerns pushed enduros in a different direction. With more and more trails limited to streetlicensed vehicles, off-road enthusiasts found themselves drawn to the dualpurpose market. The manufacturers responded with serious off-road bikes like Honda’s XR650L, Kawasaki’s KLX650, Suzuki’s DR650 and KTM’s R/XC series.

While America zigged, Europe zagged, continuing to drift toward more streetoriented machinery. Suspension shrank, wheel diameters grew smaller and knobby tires shed their knobs. The rally-inspired enduros had become...well, streetbikes, and standardish streetbikes at that.

Now, the Euro Enduro class is booming, with one-, twoand three-cylinder machines from Europe and Japan. Latest entries include the three bikes shown here: the Aprilia Pegaso, a hightech evolution of the model that sparked the BMW F650; the Cagiva Canyon 900 i.e., a fuel-injected, Ducati VTwin-powered version of the Canyon Single; and the Suzuki Freewind, which takes the dual-purpose DR650SE in an entirely different direction. What? You say streetbikes that look like dirtbikes don’t make sense? Well, take a quick trip to the mall, Bubba. See all those sportutility vehicles in the parking lot? All those mountain bikes chained to the bike rack? How many of them do you think have ever seen a dirt road?

Get used to it. Euro Enduros are here to stay.

-Brian Catterson