BEST ADVENTURE BIKE: Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin

With a few exceptions, the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers have sat out the rise of the adventure-touring market, at least here in the US. Europe has enjoyed a few more Japanese ADV offerings, but the dominant machines have been Bavarian or Austrian. Honda changed that with the Africa Twin. Thanks to its torquey and soulful 998cc parallel-twin engine and highly capable chassis (with wheel sizes made to take serious off-road rubber), the Honda can go head to head with the best ADVs in the world. But more importantly, Honda brought a balance of size, power, and refinement that the adventure-touring segment hadn’t seen. It was worth the wait.