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I know your not gonna listen, but I will try to explain one last time. There is a segment of motorcycles called "adventure bikes" that are one of the hottest selling segments in the industry. This is a fact. Adventure bikes are not offroad bikes. I repeat. Adventure bikes are not offroad bikes. Adventure bikes are bikes that you travel with, exploring places on highways, side roads and gravel/dirt roads. ROADS... all while carrying camping gear and the like. Suzuki is attempting to grab a piece of the adventure pie with the new XT. Kawasaki has not with it's sport touring leaning 2015 Versys. Period.
I know you're not going to listen, but 90% of these so called "Adventure Riders" will never ride on any gravel roads other than the unpaved parking lot at the country club. I've given you two examples of "Adventure Bikes" that have as little "adventure" capability (just to avoid calling it "off road capability") as the Versys and they are selling just fine.
Current "ADV" bikes are just like SUVs, all about looks, because that is what people want, looks. Even the next generation Jeep wrangler is going to be a freaking unibody:
http://www.auto-types.com/autonews/f...ine-12225.html
Remember the old Jeep Wagoneer? Spring leafs, solid axles, 4x4 in the base model. Compare that to the new "Jeep Grand Cherokee", a highly specialized mall crawler that will bust the oil pan if taken over the curb. Every generation of SUV has become more and more car like, because people want the looks, SUV looks with car handling.
Believe or not, a lot of bike sales are "emotional", people like the looks and how they look on that vehicle, specially in the USA where motorcycles are nothing more than toys. "Look at me on my ADV bike, I'm outdorsy, I like adventure, I like to ride the less beaten path... But had to get my mocha late at Starbucks." So there you have it, the "ADV" bikes are less and less "ADV" capable every year, they have become more road oriented, Kawasaki figured out that 90% don't care about "ADV Capability", so they are catering to that 90%.
If you definition of "ADV" is riding well groomed gravel roads, you can do that just fine on the Versys, or even a Ninja ZX-6, so I really don't understand what you're bitching and moaning about.